European Social Policy articles from July 2005

European Social Policy archives from July 2005

EUROCHAMBRES' MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE.
July 25, 2005... Cosmetic changes will not be enough to provide future generations of Europe with a viable social model, according to Arnaldo Abruzzini, Secretary-General of Eurochambres. Speaking for some 15 million member enterprises in Europe, he claimed in...

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK: COMPROMISE ON SOLAR RADIATION MEASURE NARROWLY APPROVED BY MEPS.
July 25, 2005... "This is a victory for common sense - it is no business of the EU to decide whether workers can wear shorts and be bare-chested", UK Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne, who was shadow rapporteur for the report, said in a statement. "A perfectly...

EMPLOYMENT: 'NEW-LOOK' EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND APPROVED BY PARLIAMENT.
July 25, 2005... MEPs on the Committee of Employment and Social Affairs, which had adopted the Peneda report on June 15, in general supported the Commission's new ESF proposal. But they have sought to strengthen some aspects of it such as social inclusion,...

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: EP GENDER REPORT RAISES EYEBROWS AT COMMISSION.(European Parliament)
July 25, 2005... The proposed Directive would streamline and modernise old legislation by merging seven existing Directives, some up to two decades old, into a single measure that would also incorporate European Court of Justice case-law into the main body of...

SERVICES: TWO BIGGEST GROUPS IN PARLIAMENT ROW BITTERLY OVER DIRECTIVE.
July 25, 2005... Bad blood between rapporteurs. This was supposed to be the committee's first examination of the amendments since German Socialist MEP Evelyne Gebhardt presented the final part of her report in June. However, much of it was taken up with...

SERVICES: LEAVE US OUT OF DIRECTIVE, LAWYERS DEMAND.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... The CCBE notes that under Directive 77/249/EEC, lawyers can already provide their services in other member states without having to notify the local bar. Under Directive 98/5/EC, lawyers can establish themselves in another member state provided...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS: PARLIAMENT GIVES JUDGES MORE LEEWAY ON ROME II CHOICE-OF-LAW REGULATION.
July 25, 2005... Press freedom victory. Parliament endorsed almost all amendments tabled by its Legal Affairs Committee on June 21 but added a couple of important new ones to assuage the concerns of the publishing industry. For violation of privacy and...

REGIONAL POLICY: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT BACKS STRUCTURAL FUND PROPOSALS.
July 25, 2005... In its motion, Parliament reiterates its funding demands, arguing that the Commission proposal to allocate euro 336.1 billion to the revised cohesion policy for 2007-2013 in an "absolute". MEPs do not want cohesion policy to serve as an...

ROAD TRANSPORT: COMMISSION SETS OUT ITS STALL FOR DRIVING TIME CONCILIATION TALKS.
July 25, 2005... The draft Regulation was tabled almost four years ago but the sensitivity of the issue has considerably slowed up the decision-making process. The Regulation will significantly alter the organisation of road transport activities in the EU since...

TRANSPORT COUNCIL: MINISTERS REACH AGREEMENT ON LICENCE FOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS.(Standards)(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... The political agreement will be transformed into a common position which should in turn be adopted without amendment by Parliament in second reading. The highly-technical proposal covers all the links in the licensing chain, notably conditions...

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: TRADE UNIONS HAND IN WISH-LIST TO TONY BLAIR.
July 25, 2005... The ETUC Memorandum welcomes the British determination to make tackling unemployment a prime objective and to improve European regulation. Yet it also notes that the British government is often perceived as an opponent of 'Social Europe', "and...

EMPLOYMENT: BACK-TO-WORK STRATEGIES TOP BELFAST INFORMAL MINISTERIAL AGENDA.
July 25, 2005... The event began with a 'troika' meeting of the current holder of the EU Presidency and the two countries in line to hold the Presidency immediately thereafter - Austria and Finland. Representatives of all three countries attended the opening...

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL AFFAIRS: EU MINISTERS LOOK FOR NEW WAYS OF BOOSTING JOBS.
July 25, 2005... The July 7 tube and bus bombings prevented Mr Blunkett from participating in a troika meeting held that afternoon with Austrian and Finnish officials representing the next two EU presidencies. But after meeting ministers for dinner the previous...

UK PRESIDENCY PLANS INFORMAL SUMMIT ON FUTURE OF EUROPE.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced he will hold an informal summit during the UK Presidency to look at the future of the EU, focusing on the European social model and how it might need changing to adapt to new competitive challenges....

UK PRESIDENCY: BLUNKETT CALLS FOR 'RECONSTRUCTION' OF EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODEL.
July 25, 2005... Mr Blunkett also briefly outlined the UK Presidency's social policy priorities over the next six months and underscored the critical issues - active inclusion of the disabled and other long-term unemployed, promoting active ageing and...

REGIONAL POLICY: LATEST EU BUDGET PLANS 'FAVOUR WEALTHIER REGIONS', SAYS CPMR.
July 25, 2005... The CPMR assessment shows that the convergence objective kitty is going down as the negotiations on the financial perspective progress: the latest proposals have resulted in a 15% cut in the level of aid for the regions of the 15-member EU and...

EU/TURKEY: ANKARA URGED TO ENFORCE WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
July 25, 2005... EP view. The European Parliament's report pointed to various issues that have posed concerns regarding the situation of women in Turkey. These include violence against women (particularly domestic violence and crimes of honour and...

CIVIL SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVES ISSUE TURKISH ACCESSION RECOMMENDATIONS.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... Turkey has made progress in reforms but further improvements are needed. That, according to the European Economic and Social Committee, was the message to emerge from the 19th meeting of the EU-Turkey Joint Consultative Committee on July 7/8 in...

HUMAN RIGHTS: NEW AGENCY TO MONITOR EU'S RECORD PROPOSED.
July 25, 2005... EU remit. The agency's core mission will be to monitor compliance with fundamental rights, as defined in the EU Charter, when member states or EU institutions implement Community law. The Commission has thus opted for the more minimalist...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN STATES: MEAGRE RESULTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS FROM BARCELONA PROCESS.
July 25, 2005... The disappointing results of the Barcelona Process on the human rights front were criticised by delegates attending a hearing staged by the European Parliament's Human Rights Sub-committee in Brussels on July 11. According to Sandrine Grenier,...

ENVIRONMENT MINISTERIAL: BILBAO AGENCY FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK APPROVED.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... Two regulations that aim to streamline the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions have received a final seal of approval from EU member states. Picking up...

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT: 2006 DESIGNATED EUROPEAN YEAR OF WORKERS' MOBILITY.
July 25, 2005... Both the professional and regional mobility of workers must be bolstered in Europe, Mr Spidla said at a press conference. The basic idea is to attract workers to regions with specific needs while simultaneously reducing the overload in regions...

TAXATION: COURT DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND NON-RESIDENTS.
July 25, 2005... The Netherlands imposes a 0.8% tax on wealth. Residents of the Netherlands and people not living in the country but who inherit there are eligible for this tax. Dutch legislation nevertheless distinguishes between these two categories. In...

MOTOR INSURANCE: COURT RULES IN FINNISH DRINK-DRIVING CASE.
July 25, 2005... Back in 1997, Tanja Candolin, the mother of Katja Candolin, was travelling together with Messrs Viljaniemi and Paananen in Mr Paananen's car, which was driven by Mr Ruokoranta. An accident took place which killed Mrs Candolin and left the other...

RESTRUCTURING AND EMPLOYMENT: SPIDLA KICKS OFF FIRST FORUM.(Vladimir Spidla)
July 25, 2005... In his opening address, Mr Spidla stressed "the need to build partnerships which will allow restructuring to be anticipated and managed more effectively". Directives that deal with restructuring, including the transfers of undertakings...

PUBLIC HEALTH: LINK BETWEEN SEX DISCRIMINATION AND HEALTH SYSTEMS EXAMINED.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... The report proposes that a section on the differences between men and women be introduced into the curriculum for all medical personnel. For example knowledge of support techniques is essential when dealing with women who are victims of...

EDUCATION: NON-EU ACADEMICS GET ERASMUS MUNDUS SCHOLARSHIPS.
July 25, 2005... Of the 803 students, 455 were selected via the general Erasmus Mundus programme, which also provides scholarships for EU nationals studying in non-EU countries. The remaining 353 fall within the programme's country-specific Asian 'windows'....

VOCATIONAL TRAINING: EU GRANTS EURO 86 MILLION TO DA VINCI PROGRAMME.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... Besides promoting trainees' mobility, the programme also supports a range of pilot projects, with the current batch focusing in particular on the following themes: developing new measures to better compare qualifications at European, national...

COUNCIL GREEN LIGHT FOR INTEGRATED GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... European Union Finance Ministers adopted integrated guidelines for growth and employment on July 12. These outline a three year programme (2005-2008) based on macro-economic and micro-economic measures to reverse the current negative trend in...

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL AFFAIRS: EU MINISTERS LOOK FOR NEW WAYS OF BOOSTING JOBS.
July 25, 2005... The July 7 tube and bus bombings prevented Mr Blunkett from participating in a troika meeting held that afternoon with Austrian and Finnish officials representing the next two EU presidencies. But after meeting ministers for dinner the previous...

UNEMPLOYMENT: JOBLESS RATE STATIC IN EURO-ZONE COUNTRIES, SLIGHTLY DOWN IN EU25.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... In May this year, the lowest rates were registered in Ireland (4.2%), Austria (4.6%), the United Kingdom (4.6% in March), Luxembourg (4.7%) and Denmark (4.9% in April). Unemployment rates were highest in Poland (17.8%), Slovakia (15.5%), Greece...

UNEMPLOYMENT: OECD STANDARDISED RATE FALLS TO 6.6% IN MAY.(Brief article)(Statistical data)
July 25, 2005... The standardised unemployment rate for the OECD area fell to 6.6% in May 2005, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 0.3 percentage point lower than a year earlier. In the Euro area, the standardised unemployment rate fell...

INDUSTRIAL ACTION: DECREASING LEVELS IN EUROPE IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... The report from the Foundation's European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) reviews trends and developments in industrial action in 2000-2004. It also examines the causes for industrial action and looks at dispute resolution in the...

DEMOGRAPHY: TACKLING THE TICKING POPULATION TIME BOMB.
July 25, 2005... "Between now and 2030, a loss of 21 million people of working age, or 7% of the workforce, will see Europe's potential growth decline from 2% today to 1.5% as soon as 2015 and to as little as 1.25% in 2040", Employment and Social Affairs...

FRANCE AND SPAIN ACCUSED OF INFRINGING EU RULES ON MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... EU rules on recognising professional qualifications obtained in other member states have been broken by France and Spain, the European Commission claims. A reasoned opinion has been dispatched to Paris and Madrid, giving them two months to...

DEADLINE FOR APPLYING FOR VICTIM SUPPORT AID EXTENDED AFTER LONDON TERRORIST ATTACKS.
July 25, 2005... The deadline for applying for EU funds to support the victims of terrorism has been extended from July 15 to July 25. The European Commission, which manages the fund, made the move in response to the July 7 terrorist attacks in London. Euro 2...

WOMEN WANT REFERENCE IN FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... A delegation of six women representing gender equality networks and organisations from Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) travelled to Brussels recently to put pressure on EU policy-makers to include the...

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDS EU LABEL IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD LABOUR.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... Greek MEP Manolis Mavrommatis (EPP/ED) steered an own-initiative report through the European Parliament on July 5 recommending a European label in the global fight against child labour. He has called for an in-depth inquiry into ways of...

AMNESTY URGES EU TO CONDEMN ITALY OVER LAMPEDUSA.(Amnesty International)(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... Italy's treatment of immigrants on the island of Lampedusa has been fiercely attacked by the human rights watchdog Amnesty International, which has called on the EU to condemn Rome. Amnesty claims 45 people were forcibly returned to Libya on...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS: COMPENSATION FOR CRIME VICTIMS DIRECTIVE TAKES EFFECT.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... As of July 1, all EU member states must have a state-funded scheme for compensating the victims of crime, following the entry into force of parts of Directive 2004/80/EC. The precise level of compensation will be decided by each member state,...

EURO-MPS DIGEST EU/TURKEY NEGOTIATING FRAMEWORK WITH REHN.
July 25, 2005... MEPs on the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee were said to be supportive of the negotiating framework for the accession talks with Turkey just proposed by the European Commission as they held discussions with EU Enlargement...

TALKS ON SCOPE FOR CLOSER COOPERATION.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... Closer collaboration should develop between the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Parliament, EESC President Anne-Marie Sigmund indicated in a speech to the Conference of Presidents of parliamentary committees on...

VIENNA TICKED OFF BY ECJ FOR DISCRIMINATORY HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY.(European Court of Justice)(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... Austria has been condemned by the European Court of Justice for imposing additional requirements on nationals from other member states who want to access third-level education in Austria. The Court on July 7 found (Case C-147/03) that Austrian...

EIB LENDS EURO 200 MILLION FOR SWEDISH PAPER MILL.(European Investment Bank, Stora Enso Oyj)(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... The European Investment Bank said on June 29 it was extending a Euro 200 million loan to Helsinki-based paper giant Stora Enso for the installation and operation of a new uncoated magazine paper machine at Kvarsveden Mill, an existing pulp and...

NEW EUROPEAN TRANSPORT WORKERS' FEDERATION SECRETARY-GENERAL.(Eduardo Chagas)(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... Portugal's Eduardo Chagas has been appointed Secretary-General of the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF). Mr Chagas joined the ETF in January 2000 to take charge of shipping, fisheries and ports. In February 2005, he was appointed...

PARLIAMENT REJECTS REPORT ON EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK.(Brief article)
July 25, 2005... The European Parliament rejected the annual report on the European Central Bank on July 5, because certain amendments calling on the ECB to take the economic situation more closely into account when fixing interest rates (in other words that it...