European Social Policy articles from April 2007

European Social Policy archives from April 2007

INFORMAL EUROPEAN COUNCIL, 24-25 MARCH, BERLIN : DECLARATION ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNATURE OF THE TREATIES OF ROME.
April 18, 2007... For centuries, Europe has been an idea, holding out hope of peace and understanding. That hope has been fulfilled. European unification has made peace and prosperity possible. It has brought about a sense of community and overcome...

FIGHT AGAINST AIDS.(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... On 21 March, while adopting the report by Georgs Andrejevs (ALDE, Latvia), MEPs from the European Parliament's Committee on Environment and Health underlined the need to relaunch the fight against AIDS not only in the EU but also in...

FIGHTING RACISM IN EUROPE.(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March, the Presidency of the European Union declared that new forms of racism, stirred up in particular by the fight against terrorism, 'are especially...

HEALTH PROGRAMME FOR 2007-2013.(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... The EU Council formally adopted, on 22 March, a joint position aimed at establishing, for the period 2007-2013, the second EU programme of action in the field of health. The text must now go through to a second reading at the European...

EUROPE OF PROJECTS : A "CITIZENS OMBUDSMAN", WHY NOT?(European Commission)
April 18, 2007... Europe of results, concrete Europe, Europe of the citizens: the words trip from the lips of our European leaders, unfortunately the reality includes mixed results. There's no denying that the intentions are good and certain projects have...

HEALTH : ADVANCED THERAPIES: EU COMES UP AGAINST ETHICAL ISSUES.(European Union)
April 18, 2007... A first reading agreement on the legislative proposal relating to advanced therapies will not be possible: ethical questions are once again dividing the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission. The EP rapporteur,...

BERLIN DECLARATION: NOT ENOUGH.(Social Platform)(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... The Social Platform is disappointed by the 50th anniversary Berlin Declaration. The declaration not only lacks a clear common strategy to tackle the challenges faced by the Union, but fails to spell out a social dimension that would engage...

SOCIAL PARTNERS : CEOS WANT MORE EUROPE' - BUT ON BUSINESS-FRIENDLY TERMS.(European Union's impact on companies)
April 18, 2007... More than a quarter of Europe's leading companies do not believe that the EU has had a positive impact on their performance, according to the findings of a new survey. Out of 430 top executives questioned, a total of 28% felt the EU had...

URBAN AND REGIONAL POLICIES : CHARTER AND AGENDA TO BE ADOPTED IN LEIPZIG.(European Union meeting in Germany)
April 18, 2007... The German presidency of the EU is actively preparing the informal meeting of urban development and territorial cohesion ministers which is to take place in Leipzig on 24 and 25 May. The meeting is expected to conclude with two documents being...

HEALTH : COMMISSION OPENS CONSULTATION ON PATIENT INFORMATION.(European Commission and the Pharmaceutical Forum)(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... The Health and Consumer Protection and Enterprise and Industry DGs of the European Commission have recently launched a public consultation on how to ensure that patients are given practical and reliable information on health issues and...

EMPLOYMENT : COMMISSION PRESENTS EURES ACTIVITY REPORT.(European Commission's European Employment Services report)
April 18, 2007... The European Commission has presented the Activity Report on EURES (European Employment Services), a cooperation network between the European Commission and public employment services in 31 countries. At the end of 2005, the network had close...

EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS : COMMISSION WANTS BETTER ANALYSIS OF VACANT POSTS.
April 18, 2007... The proposal for a regulation made by the European Commission in mid March on the quarterly statistics on vacant posts in the European Union was examined by Coreper on 4 April. The aim is to make collecting annual and quarterly data on vacant...

SERVICES OF GENERAL INTEREST : COMMUNICATION OUTLINES A TENTATIVE STEP TOWARDS A TEXT.
April 18, 2007... Rather than a directive on services of general interest (SGI), the European Commission may choose to propose an alternative approach, namely endorsement of the common principles of SGI through an interinstitutional agreement or a joint...

SAFETY AT WORK : COUNCIL FINE-TUNES RESOLUTION ON SAFETY AT WORK.(Social Questions Working Party of the Council)
April 18, 2007... The Social Questions Working Party of the Council of the European Union prepared, on 18 April, a resolution on the future Community strategy for health and safety at work. The text should be adopted by the 27 employment and social policy...

SOCIAL SECURITY : COURT RULES ON SOCIAL BENEFITS FOR YOUNG DISABLED WORKERS.
April 18, 2007... The social benefit for young disabled workers in the Netherlands (Wajong benefit) should be considered as a special benefit of a non-contributory nature under social security regulations. This is the opinion handed down by the Advocate-General...

DISCRIMINATION AT WORK : COURT TO CLARIFY THE CONCEPT OF RACISM IN RECRUITMENT POLICIES.(European Court of Justice)
April 18, 2007... The dispute between the Belgian Centre for Equal Opportunities and the Fight Against Racism and the Belgian company Firma Feryn will be resolved by the EU Court of Justice (C-54/07). The Labour Court in Brussels has in fact referred several...

INTERVIEW WITH MEP RICHARD HOWITT (PES, UK) : CSR: THE COMMISSION SHOULD GET THE BALL ROLLING.
April 18, 2007... Richard Howitt (PES, United Kingdom) is rapporteur for the European Parliament on corporate social responsibility. You are one of the best experts in corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the European level. Why do you defend it so...

DECLARATION ON HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE.(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... MEP Aldo Patriciello (EPP-ED, Italy) has drafted a written declaration on Huntington's Disease, a hereditary pathology caused by the degeneration of neuronal cells in certain areas of the brain, which affects 170,000 people in the EU and...

LABOUR LAW : DISCUSSION ON FLEXICURITY WITH EXPERTS AT EP.(European Parliament)
April 18, 2007... The European Parliament's Employment Committee discussed, on 21 March, the various aspects of flexicurity with Vladimir Spidla, the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, and outside experts. "A job for the entire lifetime is a...

ROAD SAFETY : DRINK DRIVING: STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.(European Transport safety Council report)(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... According to the European Transport safety Council (ETSC), the rate of deaths from alcohol related accidents compared to deaths from other road accidents has dropped more in the Czech Republic than in any other EU country. Germany and Poland...

EUROZONE : ECB URGES SOCIAL PARTNERS TO PRACTICE MODERATION.(European Central Bank)(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... As ministers within the Eurogroup discussed 'sharing the fruits of growth' yet again on 26 March, and as salaries in Germany seem set to increase by around 4%, the president of the European Central Bank brought things back to earth by urging...

WORKING TIME : ECJ: CZECH LEGISLATION NOT COMPLIANT WITH EU LAW.(European Union Court of Justice)
April 18, 2007... The new member states until now have been spared from European judgements on standby time. This is no longer the case. Having received a reference for a preliminary ruling in the form of a complaint from a doctor, the EU Court of Justice has...

EIB LOAN FOR SOCIAL HOUSING IN PORTUGAL.(European Investment Bank)(Brief article)
April 18, 2007... The European Investment Bank will provide 200 million to Instituto da Habitacao e Reabilitacao Urbana - IHRU, a public institutea- responsible for the financing and promotion of new social housing, the management and maintenance of existing...