European Social Policy articles from January 2009

European Social Policy archives from January 2009

THE FIGHT GOES ON.(Working Time Directive)(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... While the European Parliament's plenary was voting in second reading on the Working Time Directive, on 17 December in Strasbourg, the ministers attending the Employment and Social Affairs Council were discussing the very same issue as an...

CARL CEDERSCHIOLD ELECTED CEEP PRESIDENT.(European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest)(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The General Assembly of CEEP (European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest), in its meeting of 15 December, elected Carl Cederschiold as the organisation's president. Cederschioldt,...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : CHILD PROTECTION ON INTERNET COMING TO FORE.
January 15, 2009... Although the areas of justice and home affairs are bound to be less of a priority for the Czech Presidency than it was for the French, Prague still intends to address the issue of protecting children on the internet. It will also aim to advance...

CO-FINANCING OF STRUCTURAL FUNDS SIMPLIFIED.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The EU Council of Ministers definitively adopted, on 18 December, a new regulation simplifying the rules for the co-financing of certain income-generating projects (eg toll motorways). The idea is to subject these projects to the usual...

MEDICINES : COMMISSION PRESENTS REVISED AND SOFTENED PHARMA PACKAGE.
January 15, 2009... The pharmaceutical package presented by the European Commission, on 10 December, is very different from the initial proposals put together by Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugen: it is based more on public health and patients' interests than...

FREE MOVEMENT AND RESIDENCE RIGHTS : COMMISSION TO PUT OUT GUIDELINES ON PROBLEM POINTS.(European Commission)
January 15, 2009... In spite of requests by Denmark and Ireland, the European Commission does not intend to modify the 2004 directive guaranteeing EU citizens and their families the right to move and reside freely in another member state, at least not at this...

GLOBALISATION ADJUSTMENT FUND : COMMISSION TO UPGRADE EGF.(European Commission on European Globalisation Adjustment Fund)
January 15, 2009... On 16 December, the European Commission presented a proposal for the revision of the regulation on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Established in late 2006, the fund has an annual budget ofa500 million. The aim of the revision...

EMPLOYMENT : COMMON PRINCIPLES REMAIN NECESSARY, FLEXICURITY MISSION FINDS.(Employment and Social Affairs Council)
January 15, 2009... The visits and analyses carried out by the fact-finding mission for flexicurity'(1) have confirmed the diversity of situations and approaches between member states but also the validity of an "approach in the form of common principles". This...

JUSTICE/HEALTH : COUNCIL APPROVES NEW ACTION PLAN ON DRUGS.
January 15, 2009... On 8 December, the European Commission's Action plan on drugs 2009-2012' sailed through the Council of Ministers, which endorsed its strategy based on both supply and demand. "Drug policy, like any other policy, requires not only...

WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE : COUNCIL CONTEMPLATES SECOND-READING DEBATE.
January 15, 2009... At the end of Social Affairs Council, on 17 December, French Minister of Labour Xavier Bertrand made it clear that there are possibilities for a breakthrough in the impasse over the Working Time Directive between the European Parliament and the...

HEALTH COUNCIL : COUNCIL TAKES ACTION AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... In the context of the EU's ageing population, the member states, the European Commission and the Social Protection Committee should make the fight against neurodegenerative diseases associated with ageing - and in particular Alzheimer's disease...

EMPLOYMENT : CRISIS STARTS TO BITE.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The effects of the financial and economic crisis are starting to be felt in terms of employment. Estimates published on 16 December by Eurostat state that the number of persons employed in the eurozone decreased by 0.1% (80,000 persons) in the...

ECONOMY : ECONOMIC CLIMATE MOST SOMBRE SINCE 1985.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The European Commission's services hope that the implementation of the European economic recovery plan will prevent large job losses and an excessive fall in growth. A spokesperson said, on 8 January, that the national plans already announced...

GLOBALISATION ADJUSTMENT FUND : EGF SUPPORT FOR ITALIAN TEXTILE WORKERS.
January 15, 2009... On the eve of a review of this instrument, the European Commission granted, on 15 December, aid totalling 35.16 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to Italian workers in the textile sector. This concerns aid for the...

EP INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE MOBILITY IN EDUCATION.(European Parliament)(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The European Parliament adopted first-reading reports on vocational education and training during its 18 December session. The reports aim to enhance mobility and improve the quality of vocational education throughout the EU by proposing the...

EP ON STRUCTURAL FUND CO-FINANCING.(European Parliament)(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The European Parliament approved in plenary, on 16 December, a European Commission proposal aimed at simplifying the co-financing of certain projects under EU Structural Funds. The proposal presented in September concerns income-generating...

IMMIGRATION : EU BORDERS: COMMISSION ADOPTS 12 NATIONAL PROGRAMMES.
January 15, 2009... Among the European funds for solidarity and management of migratory flows' (2007-2013), the European Commission adopted, on 18 December, another set of 12 funds, this time exclusively for external borders', as well as respective annual...

UNEMPLOYMENT : EU JOBLESS RATE CONTINUES CLIMB.(European Union)(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... In the eurozone, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8% in November 2008, compared with 7.7% in October 2008 and 7.2% in November 2007. In the EU, the unemployment rate was 7.2% in November 2008, compared with 7.1% in October 2008...

DEMOGRAPHICS : EU POPULATION GROWS, MAINLY DUE TO MIGRATION.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... According to first demographic estimates published by Eurostat on 15 December, the EU will have a population of 499.7 million on 1 January 2009. The population grew by 4.4 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2008 due to natural population growth of +1.1...

EU/SWITZERLAND FREE MOVEMENT.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Swiss employers are insisting upon the necessary renewal and extension to Bulgaria and Romania of the agreements with the EU on the free movement of persons, which give European nationals the right to work in the confederation. Failure to do so...

TRAINING : EU TO FACILITATE SKILLS MATCHING TO LABOUR MARKET NEEDS.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Proposals for better job matching and better ways to analyse and forecast which skills will be needed in the labour market for both companies and citizens were presented by the European Commission, on 16 December. The main thrust of the...

EMPLOYMENT COUNCIL : FRENCH PRESIDENCY LOOKS BACK ON "FRUITFUL YEAR".
January 15, 2009... At a press conference following the Employment and Social Affairs Council meeting, on 17 December, French Minister Xavier Bertrand described with satisfaction the ministers' track record over the past six months under the French Presidency -...

HEALTH WORKERS : GREEN PAPER TACKLES HEALTH WORKERS' SHORTAGE AND MIGRATION.
January 15, 2009... A consultation to identify and resolve the numerous challenges facing the EU's health workers today has been launched by the European Commission's green paper entitled EU workforce for health', which it adopted on 11 December. All interested...

HEALTH COUNCIL : HEALTH SECURITY: NEW COMMUNICATION DUE IN 2010.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Globalisation, the increase in international travel and climate change are the main factors that contribute to the spread of bacteria that cause diseases in the European Union, say the conclusions of the Health Council on health security,...

INTERNAL MARKET : HOMEOPATHIC PRACTITIONERS WANT BETTER REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Representatives and practitioners from the alternative medicine industry called, on 17 December, for revision of EU legislation seen as leading to a significant reduction in the number of alternative medicines on the market. The European...

IMMIGRATION : HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATIONS WANT RETURNS DIRECTIVE SCRAPPED.
January 15, 2009... Ten associations are united in opposing the formal adoption, on 8 December in Brussels, of the highly controversial Returns Directive standardising the deportation procedures for natives of non-EU countries staying in Europe illegally. They...

HUSTINX ENTERS SECOND TERM.(European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx)(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The current European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Peter Hustinx, begins a second five-year term in 2009 following a decision taken by the European Parliament and the Council. Hustinx inaugurated the EDPS presidency in 2004, after heading...

IMMIGRATION/HEALTH : ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EXCLUDED FROM HEALTH CARE, SAYS NGO.(Medecins du monde)
January 15, 2009... As Europe steps up its fight against illegal immigrants, Medecins du monde (MdM) has released pessimistic findings. Illegal immigrants, and to a lesser extent asylum seekers, are "on the whole excluded from health care," the NGO announced, on...

SOCIAL POLICY : LIBERAL CZECHS TO PUT SOCIAL POLICY ON BACK BURNER.
January 15, 2009... The Czechs are not expected to highlight the European Union's social policy and may put it on the back burner during their Presidency. Only in the context of a free labour market without barriers' is social policy seen as a priority. In this...

TRANSPARENCY : LOBBYIST REGISTER PROGRESSES SLOWLY.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... After a somewhat difficult start, the voluntary system of registration for lobbyists based in Brussels now has more than 700 organisations registered, with more being added every day. The European Commission announced the latest figure, on 22...

CROSS-BORDER HEALTH CARE : LONG-TERM CARE LIKELY TO FALL OUT OF SCOPE.
January 15, 2009... Justifying the findings of an earlier progress report, the public debate on the draft directive on cross-border health care at the Health Council of 16 December reaffirmed that views differ widely on how this directive should be implemented....

MARITIME LABOUR CONVENTION.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The Council of Ministers approved, on 17 December, a proposal for a directive aiming to transpose into Community law the provisions of the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Maritime Labour Convention. The text was the subject of an...

JUSTICE : MEPS RECOMMEND UNION-WIDE RECOGNITION OF INCAPACITY MANDATES.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Adults who are the subject of legal protection measures and are therefore declared incapacitated' in their member state (vulnerable or disabled retired people, incapable of looking after themselves or their property) are also increasingly on...

MORE STATES LIFT LABOUR RESTRICTIONS.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Following in the footsteps of Greece and Spain, Portugal and Hungary will also lift restrictions on access to their labour markets by Bulgarian and Romanian workers. Effective 1 May 2009, Denmark will end all restrictions for workers from the...

PUBLIC HEALTH : NEW DIRECTIVE AIMS TO BOOST ORGAN DONATION.
January 15, 2009... A proposal for a directive aiming to improve the quality and safety measures for organ donation and the exchange of organs between the EU member states was launched by the European Commission, on 8 December. The document comes coupled with a...

PATIENT SAFETY : NEW RECOMMENDATIONS TO PREVENT HOSPITAL INFECTIONS.
January 15, 2009... Each year, one in twenty patients, ie 4.1 million people, get an infection while hospitalised in the EU. Around 37,000 deaths are directly caused by hospital acquired infections, and an additional 110,000 deaths are induced by infections. The...

POPULATION : NUMBER OF NEW EU CITIZENS STEADILY INCREASING.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... More and more people, mostly from non-EU countries, are acquiring new citizenship in the EU. Figures released by Eurostat, on 10 December, show that 735,000 people acquired citizenship(1) in an EU member state in 2006, compared to 722,000 in...

WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE : PARLIAMENT BACKS CERCAS REPORT WITH UNEXPECTED MAJORITY.(Alejandro Cercas)
January 15, 2009... "This is a glorious day for social Europe," commented Spanish Socialist MEP Alejandro Cercas, the European Parliament's rapporteur on the Working Time Directive, following the EP's approval, with substantial majority, of the directive with all...

SOCIAL PARTNERS : REPORT REVEALS DIFFERENCES IN TACKLING WORK-RELATED STRESS.
January 15, 2009... A joint report from the EU's social partners on how national social partners have carried out their autonomous framework agreement on work-related stress' was presented, on 15 December. Stress is considered as the primary cause of lost working...

FREE MOVEMENT OF WORKERS : RESTRICTIONS TO STAY ON BULGARIAN AND ROMANIAN CITIZENS.
January 15, 2009... Bulgarian and Romanian citizens can soon take up work in Denmark, Spain and Greece, as these countries are set to remove labour market restrictions for these two new' member states that joined the EU on 1 January 2007. Spain and Greece lifted...

SOCIAL POLICY : SOCIALISTS SLAM CZECH PRESIDENT'S VISION.(Vaclav Klaus)(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The leader of the European Socialists group in the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, has described as "wholly unacceptable" the conclusions of an article written by Czech President Vaclav Klaus and published in The Financial Times, on 7...

RESTRUCTURING : SOCIAL PARTNERS TO MONITOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... A series of actions will be taken in the next two years to properly manage the changes and restructuring of the defence industry and ensure that neither workers nor the economy are affected. A European partnership for the anticipation of...

SPIDLA "DELIGHTED" AT ADOPTION OF WORKS COUNCILS DIRECTIVE.(Vladimir Spidla)(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The Employment and Social Affairs Council was informed by the French Presidency about the informal political agreement on the recast version of the directive on the European works councils, on 17 December. The recast version of Directive...

TALENT FORUM TO BECOME BIANNUAL.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... The First World Forum on Talent, Agora Talentia', will take place in Pamplona, the capital city of Navarra in Spain, on 11 and 12 February. The organisers aim to turn to forum into a biannual event. Although the European Commission and the...