European Social Policy articles from February 2009

European Social Policy archives from February 2009

CONSUMER PROTECTION : KUNEVA PONDERS MP3 PLAYER SAFETY.(Meglena Kuneva)
February 12, 2009... Citing latest scientific research results on the health risks personal music players can pose to listeners, Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva sees the need to formulate a "common understanding on the way forward" that should...

SECTOR ACCOUNTS : LITTLE CHANGE IN SAVING AND INVESTMENT RATES.(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... The household saving rate increased slightly and investment rates remained stable in the EU in the third quarter of 2008, according to data published, on 30 January, by Eurostat and the European Central Bank (ECB) on quarterly European...

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION JOURNALISM AWARD.(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... The European Commission announced, on 5 February in Prague, the winners of the fifth journalism competition on the theme For diversity. Against discrimination'. Their articles were selected from among 545 written during 2008 in the 27 member...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : ASYLUM, IMMIGRATION, JUSTICE: WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2009?
February 12, 2009... As the current European Commission reaches the end of its mandate, there are still issues in the justice, freedom and security domain, particularly with regard to asylum, that need to be addressed. Europolitics Social brings its readers a sneak...

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT : COMMISSION TARGETS FOUR MEMBER STATES.(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... The European Commission, on 29 January, announced that it would refer France to the EU Court of Justice because of the incompatibility of French legal restrictions on the ownership of capital in biomedical laboratories. French legislation...

TRADE UNIONS : CONTROVERSY ERUPTS OVER PRESS RELEASE.
February 12, 2009... The trade unions are not impressed with the press release writing skills of the Czechs. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) accuses the Czech EU Presidency of issuing a "misleading" press release on the delivery of its memorandum to...

WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE : COUNCIL: "UNTIL EVERYTHING IS AGREED, NOTHING IS AGREED".
February 12, 2009... With the exception Belgium, Hungary, Greece and Spain, the EU's member states want to keep the opt-out, but the Council sees it possible to negotiate with the European Parliament on on-call time and compensatory rest provisions. The Czech EU...

CHILD CARE : CZECH PRESIDENCY EXPLAINS ITSELF.
February 12, 2009... Substantial differences of opinion are already noticeable on the issue of the Barcelona child care targets on the eve of the scheduled 4-5 February meeting in Prague of the EU's ministers for family affairs. The Czech Presidency wasted no...

EP MOVES TO PROTECT CHILDREN.(European Parliament)(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... The European Parliament adopted, on 3 February, an own-initiative report by Roberta Angelilli (UEN, Italy) on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. It calls for making "all types of sexual abuse of children" a...

IMMIGRATION : EP POSTPONES FORMAL ADOPTION OF SANCTIONS DIRECTIVE.(European Parliament)
February 12, 2009... MEPs approved, on 4 February, the compromise worked out with the Council on the draft directive sanctioning employers of illegal immigrants, but postponed adoption of the resolution to the plenary session on 18-19 February at the request of...

ETUC FINDS SANCTIONS DIRECTIVE "DANGEROUS".(European Trade Union Confederation)(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is critical of the support given by the European Parliament, on 4 February, to the directive establishing sanctions for employers of illegal immigrants. Its objections do not concern the general...

ECONOMIC CRISIS : ETUC WANTS CLEAR AND FOCUSED SOCIAL INITIATIVES.(European Trade Union Confederation)(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... According to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), in today's "unprecedented" economic crisis, a social progress protocol must be added as an annex to the EU treaties in order to reaffirm the "pre-eminence of fundamental rights over...

IMMIGRATION : EU TO PENALISE EMPLOYERS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.(European Union)
February 12, 2009... Over the past two years, the European Union has considerably stepped up its arsenal of instruments to combat illegal immigration. In the wake of the very controversial directive on the return of illegal immigrants to their country of origin...

EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT.(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... The "latest protectionist declarations," particularly by French President Nicolas Sarkozy who criticised relocations to the Czech Republic, ended up convincing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to organise on 1st March an extraordinary...

UNEMPLOYMENT : JOBLESS RATE HEADING BACK UP.(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... In the eurozone, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8% in December 2008, compared with 7.9% in November and 7.2% in December 2007. In the EU as a whole, it was 7.4% in December 2008, compared with 7.3% in November and 6.8% in...

OPEN FORUM : MEETING EUROPE'S DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE: WHAT POLITICAL STAKES?
February 12, 2009... The Second European Demography Forum (Brussels, 24-25 November 2008) explored the challenges ahead for the European Union as a result of the ageing of its population. It focused in large measure on boosting the fertility rate, which is well...

CHILD CARE : MEMBER STATES WRESTLE WITH DEFINING BEST INTEREST OF CHILD'.
February 12, 2009... Although there was "no overall agreement to revise the Barcelona objectives on child care," the Czech EU Presidency is "satisfied" and looks back on "a very fruitful debate" at the informal meeting of the Union's ministers for family affairs,...

POSTED WORKERS : MEPS CHALLENGE COMMISSION OVER POSTED WORKERS DIRECTIVEE.(Members Of Parliament)
February 12, 2009... While the European Commission sees no need "at this stage" to revise the posted workers directive, five MEPs from the Socialist, Nordic Left and Greens groups are sticking to their guns in an effort to obtain this revision. "Clearly, it's...

MEPS WANT ACTION ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE.(Members of Parliament)(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... The European Parliament adopted a written declaration on the priorities of fighting Alzheimer's disease, on 3 February. This declaration was initiated by MEP Francoise Grossetete (EPP-ED, France), chairwoman of the European Alzheimer's...

CHILD CARE : MEPS WANT MEMBER STATES TO MEET THEIR COMMITMENTS.(Members of Parliament)
February 12, 2009... MEPs have expressed their fears that the Czech EU Presidency's proposal to consider child care a "fully fledged alternative to a professional career" will lead to a return to the traditional division of labour between men and women. By adopting...

AIR TRANSPORT : PILOTS' FLIGHT TIMES TOO LONG, SAYS STUDY.(European Aviation Safety Agency)
February 12, 2009... Should Community regulations on the flight and duty time limitations of airline pilots be reviewed? The question has been raised following the publication by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), on 22 January, of a scientific study,...

FAMILY POLICY : PRESIDENCY QUESTIONS BARCELONA CHILD CARE TARGETS.
February 12, 2009... The Czech EU Presidency wants to start a debate on a "possible revision" of the Barcelona objectives, in particular the child care target, during the informal meeting of the Union's ministers for family affairs, on 4 and 5 February in Prague....

POSTED WORKERS DIRECTIVE : PRESIDENCY RELUCTANT TO SPEED UP REVISION.(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... The Posted Workers Directive should first be implemented in a "proper way" by all member states, says the Czech EU Presidency. Speeding up analysis of the directive jointly with the social partners would be "counterproductive," it believes. The...

EMPLOYMENT : REPORT URGES "RAPID, RELEVANT AND COORDINATED ACTION".
February 12, 2009... Improve "flexicurity pathways" and create "better skills matching": these are the two key areas where the European Commission sees "the need to reinforce certain efforts" during the economic meltdown. In its Joint Employment Report 2009, the...

TRADE UNIONS : RESEARCHERS EXPLORE WAGE DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS EU.(Brief article)
February 12, 2009... Wage moderation has become the norm in collective bargaining in Europe, and as a result real wages have not been keeping pace with actual growth. Meanwhile, low pay and working poverty have become serious concerns, concludes a new book...

ECONOMIC CRISIS : STRUCTURED INDUSTRIAL DIALOGUE CAN PREVENT SOCIAL UNREST.
February 12, 2009... "Conflicts and social unrest in the European Union can be prevented by encouraging social dialogue before more conflicts will lead to serious labour market disturbances. Social dialogue is now more needed than ever," said a senior official of...

EU/SWITZERLAND : SWISS OPEN DOORS TO ROMANIAN AND BULGARIAN WORKERS.
February 12, 2009... Bulgarians and Romanians will be able to work freely in Switzerland after all, following the confederation's renewal and extension of its agreements on the free movement of persons with the EU, on 8 February. Contrary to expectations, the Swiss...

WORKING TIME : THE IMPOSSIBLE COMPROMISE.
February 12, 2009... The Czech EU Presidency has given itself until March to work out a compromise on amendments to the Working Time Directive. There are two challenges involved. First, a negotiating brief has to be obtained from the Council, identifying the...