European Social Policy articles from June 2006

European Social Policy archives from June 2006

MOBILITY : A HELPING HAND FOR STUDIES ABROAD IN NEW EUROPEAN CHARTER.
June 13, 2006... Opportunities for people studying or training abroad to learn the language of the host country, and the drawing up of individual learning plans by organisations involved, are two of the principles set out in a new European Quality Charter for...

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING : AMBASSADORS APPOINTED TO SPREAD THE WORD OFaLEONARDO.(ambassadors appointed to promote the Leonardo da Vinci vocational training program)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Czech nursing students receiving training in the UK and Germany and Estonian boat-building teachers learning about business in the Netherlands were just two of the many varied projects honoured with European Quality Awards at an event held in...

YOUTH / INTERNET : AUDIOVISUAL COUNCIL STRENGTHENS PROTECTION OF MINORS ONLINE.(Culture and Audiovisual Council)
June 13, 2006... The Culture and Audiovisual Council adopted a Recommendation on 18 May on the protection of minors, human dignity and the right of reply in the audiovisual and online information services industry. This text, adopted by the European Commission...

WORKING TIME : AUSTRIANS IN LAST-DITCH BID TO REACH COMPROMISE.
June 13, 2006... The first compromise proposal presented by the Austrian EU Presidency to the Council of Employment ministers on 1 June, gives emphasis to the principle of subsidiarity; NO TIME LIMIT The Austrian text still leaves scope for opt-outs...

FUTURE OF EUROPE : BARROSO BRANDISHES ENTICING CITIZENS' AGENDA.(European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso)
June 13, 2006... With an eye on next month's summit meeting of EU leaders, who will be back in Brussels looking for new guidance on where the European integration project is going, the European Commission took the wraps off two Communications (entitled "A...

CALLS FOR TENDER ONaDISCRIMINATION.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The European Commission has launched several calls for tender for a study on a conceptual framework for the purpose of measuring progress in combating discrimination and promoting equality (VT:2006/008), a studyaon multiple discrimination in...

GENDER EQUALITY : CASE-LAW ON LENGTH OF SERVICE MAY EVOLVE.(effect of the use of the length of service as a criterion in pay systems on the principle of equal pay between men and women)
June 13, 2006... Mr Poiares Maduro, Advocate-General at the European Court of Justice, has recommended a change in case law on use of length of service as a criterion in a pay system in view of the principle of equal pay for men and women. In conclusions...

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS.(European Union Freedom, Security and Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini's policies and projects regarding children's rights)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The rights of children were highlighted on 18 May when EU Freedom, Security and Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini gave out prizes for a poster-illustration competition on the subject. Some fifty thousand school children aged ten to eighteen...

COHESION POLICY : CITIES AND TRAINING DOMINATE MEPS' PRIORITIES.(member of the European Parliament)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... MEPs have backed the broad outlines of the strategic guidelines proposed by the European Commission for the use of the EU Structural and Cohesion Funds over the 2007-2013 programming period in support of growth and jobs. urban dimensioThey...

RIGHT TO ASYLUM : COMMISSION FAILS TO AGREE LIST OF ASYLUM-SAFE COUNTRIES.(European Commission)
June 13, 2006... The issue of asylum is causing real tensions within the European Commission. At their weekly meeting on 24 May, the Commissioners could not agree on a list of non-EU countries deemed safe' for the purpose of examining asylum claims from there....

2007-2013 FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVES : COMMISSION PRESENTS PACKAGE OF 31 REVISED PROPOSALS.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The European Commission adopted a package of 31 revised proposals on 24 May in the light of the inter-institutional agreement on the EU's 2007-2013 financial perspective, signed in Strasbourg on 17 May. It outlines in detail the funds allocated...

HIGHER EDUCATION / RESEARCH : COMMISSION: PRIVATE INVESTMENT NEEDED TO PLUG EU'S FUNDING GAP.(European Union)
June 13, 2006... Persuading industry to fill a large part of the funding gap afflicting European universities is one of the main recommendations of a Commission Communication, adopted on 10 May (see below), on how the EU should deliver its modernisation agenda...

FLEXICURITY DEBATE : COMMISSION REPORT - GUIDELINES OR TOOL BOX?(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Back in March, EU leaders gave the European Commission a mandate to 'reflect, in conjunction with member states and social partners, on establishing a series of common principles on flexicurity'. A 'useful reference framework in the context of...

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES / INSTITUTIONS : COMMISSION TO PRESENT COUNCIL WITH AMENDED PROPOSAL.
June 13, 2006... The Employment and Social Policy Council unanimously reached a political agreement on a draft regulation establishing a European Institute for Gender Equality on 1 June. It is an agreement which matches the position taken by the Commission and...

PENAL COOPERATION : CONCERNS VOICED ON CRIMINAL RECORD-SHARING MOVE.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... A move to exchange more data on criminal convictions has got the qualified support of the EU Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). The proposal is clearly needed in an EU without internal borders, said Peter Hustinx in an opinion issued on 29 May....

GLOBALISATION : COOPERATION NEEDED TO DELIVER ON DECENT JOBS AGENDA.
June 13, 2006... "Promoting decent jobs for all" worldwide is the subject of a Communication expected to be adopted by the European Commission on 24 May, representing a contribution from the EU to the implementation of the International Labour Organisation's...

IMMIGRATION VISAS / COUNCIL OF MINISTERS : COST OF AN EU VISA GOES UP TO EURO 60.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... From 1 January 2007, the price of a Schengen-zone visa goes up by nearly 72% from 35 to 60. The Decision was adopted without debate by EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers on 1 June in Luxembourg. Sweden, Greece and Hungary voted against the...

SUPPLEMENTARY PENSIONS : COUNCIL DEBATE ONaPENSION PORTABILITY MAKING SLOW PROGRESS.
June 13, 2006... Following eight meetings of the Council of Ministers' working group on social issues focusing on the question, the majority of member states still harbour general reservations on the proposal for a Directive improving the portability of...

2007-2013 FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVES : COUNCIL ENDORSES AGREEMENT ON 2007-2013 FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK.
June 13, 2006... Member states approved the provisional agreement secured on 4 April by the EU institutions on the European Union's budgetary framework for 2007-2013 without a debate at the General Affairs Council on 15 May. The inter-institutional agreement...

2007-2013 FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVES : COUNCIL GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO PROGRESS.
June 13, 2006... EU Employment and Social Affairs Ministers approved a Decision in first reading on 1 June establishing a programme for employment and social solidarity (Progress) for 2007-2013. This single programme brings together a number of previously...

HEALTH COUNCIL : COUNCIL PROMOTES WOMEN'S HEALTH.(European Union's Health Council)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Promoting women's health and encouraging healthy lifestyles are two issues highlighted in conclusions adopted by EU Health Ministers at a Health Council in Luxembourg on 2 June. According to the Austrian Presidency, improving women's health...

FLEXICURITY DEBATE : DANISH MODEL WOULD BE HARD TO EMULATE EVERYWHERE.(Denmark's combined employment flexibility and social security model)
June 13, 2006... The flexicurity model that Denmark first implemented in the 1990s is now the flavour of the month. Even the EU's Finance Ministers dedicated their traditional dinner in the margins of this year's spring European Council to this question, giving...

DANISH PENSION TAX DEDUCTIONS.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... European Court of Justice Advocate-General Christine Stix-Hackl suggested on 1 June that Danish legislation introducing tax deductions for payments into life insurance and pension insurance schemes ((more precisely, Articles 18 and 19 of the...

FIGHT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION : DUTCH JOURNALISTS WIN EUROPEAN PRIZE.(Sander Donkers and Harm Ede Botje of the Vrij Nederland magazine)
June 13, 2006... This year's 'For Diversity. Against Discrimination.' Journalist Award has gone to two Dutch journalists working for the Vrij Nederland magazine. The prize-winning article looks at the highly controversial issue of ethnic and racial...

SOCIAL SECURITY : ECJ GUIDELINES ON REIMBURSEMENT FOR TREATMENT ABROAD.(European Union Court of Justice)
June 13, 2006... If someone cannot be treated within a medically acceptable period' in their home state, they may go elsewhere in the EU for treatment and be reimbursed, the EU Court of Justice has confirmed. The ECJ's 16 May preliminary ruling (C-372/04)...

ECJ TO RULE ON GERMAN TRAINING GRANTS.(European Court of Justice)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The European Court of Justice has been called on to rule on a couple of cases concerning the award of training grants. In two pending cases, German legislation is preventing the award of training grants to German citizens on the grounds that...

FUTURE OF EUROPE : EESC URGES ACTION TO GIVE FRESH CREDIBILITY TO EUROPEAN PROJECT.(European Economic and Social Committee)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The European Council must give renewed credibility to European integration in order to overcome the identity crisis which the EU is currently going through. This is the tenor of the call on EU heads of state and government issued by the...

EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... In its opinion on the employment guidelines for 2006, the EU Council's Employment Committee has emphasised the importance of respecting the priorities outlined in the integrated guidelines for 2005-2008: increasing labour supply and modernising...

FAMILY LAW : ENFORCING MAINTENANCE CLAIMS HAS PRIVACY IMPLICATIONS.
June 13, 2006... EU law-makers are examining a proposal to get member states to help each other enforce family maintenance payment obligations. As this involves different countries sharing sensitive personal data e.g. the debtor's income, EU Data Protection...

SOCIAL POLICY : EP DECLARES 2008 EUROPEAN YEAR OF INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE.(European Parliament )(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The European Parliament has approved a Commission proposal to proclaim 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The report by Luxembourg MEP Erna Hennicot-Schoepges (EPP-ED) was approved on 1 June by a large majority (548 votes to 62, with...

FIGHT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION : EP DENOUNCES DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ROMA WOMEN.(European Parliament)
June 13, 2006... Roma women are among the most vulnerable people in Europe, according to an own initiative report drafted by Hungarian MEP Livia Jaroka (EPP-ED), adopted by the European Parliament on 1 June (412 votes to 21 with 48 abstentions). MEPs are...

WORKING TIME / AVIATION : EP REPORT ON CABIN CREW RULES TAKES ON BOARD UNION CONCERNS.
June 13, 2006... The idea of having an EU-wide licence for civil aviation cabin crew is not yet dead and buried. Much to the satisfaction of air transport workers' unions, it has been resurrected by the European Parliament's Transport Committee in the...

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS : EU AGENCY TALKS DELICATELY POISED.(European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... As talks on creating an EU Fundamental Rights Agency enter their decisive phase, the EU institutions remain split on the Agency's remit. The European Commission and European Parliament want the Agency to probe third-pillar' issues too, i.e....

MARTIN SCHULZ, CHAIRMAN OF THE SOCIALIST GROUP IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT : EU CONSTITUTION: "I'M WAITING FOR FRANCE AND THE NETHERLANDS".(European Union)(Interview)
June 13, 2006... Europolitics: After the Finnish decision to ratify the Constitution, do you think the period of reflection is going to grind to a halt? No. Who is to say that other countries won't soon decide to ratify: Portugal, during its Presidency, or...

FREEDOM OF ESTABLISHMENT / STATISTICS : EU COUNTRIES HOME TO RISING NUMBER OF NON-NATIONALS.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... More than 5% of people living in the EU25 in 2004 were non-nationals of their host country, according to a study released on 19 May by Eurostat. The last decade and a half (1990-2004) has seen a significant rise in the proportion of...

ALCOHOL : EU LOOKS AT CONSUMPTION AMONG EUROPEANS.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Europeans are the world's leading consumers of alcohol and their drinking habits are becoming more and more similar from one country to the next. Europeans consume on average 15 litres of alcohol per year. In the EU-15, 40 million individuals...

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING : EUROPASS TO RECOGNISE ACHIEVEMENTS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Adapting the Europass system, set up to provide better transparency for qualifications and skills within the EU, is one of the ideas for improving the recognition of young people's non-formal and informal learning endorsed by the Education,...

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES / CAMPAIGN : EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR EQUALITY OF WOMEN AND MEN UNVEILED.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The European charter for equality of women and men in local life was officially launched at the general assembly of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) in Innsbruck, Austria, on 10-12 May. The launch marked the closing...

FIGHT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION : EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MARKS INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA.
June 13, 2006... The European Parliament marked International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on 17 May by staging a seminar on various aspects of the issue. Opened by the European Parliament's President Josep Borrell, Chairman of the EP's Committee on Civil...

IMMIGRATION : EUROPE NEEDS MORE HIGH-SKILLED MIGRANTS, SAY POLICY EXPERTS.
June 13, 2006... The European Union should attract more highly-skilled immigrants as it would boost the economy, the Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel has said. A new policy paper urges introduction of a Blue Card' scheme under which highly-skilled workers...

SAFETY AT WORK : EXPOSURE TO ARTIFICIAL OPTICAL RADIATION: NEW EU DIRECTIVE OVERED.
June 13, 2006... Formally adopted on 5 April, the EU Directive on 'exposure to risks due to artificial optical radiation' is the last in a series of four specific Directives designed to enhance workers' health and safety. It must be transposed into national law...

HOUSING : FEANTSA POINTS UP HOMELESSNESS AS A EUROPEAN PRIORITY.(European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless)
June 13, 2006... 'How can local authorities improve strategies for dealing with homelessness?' This was the key question discussed at a seminar staged on 11 May by the European federation of national organisations working with the homeless (Feantsa) and hosted...

SOCIAL POLICY : FREE COMPETITION: AN ENEMY OF SOCIALEUROPE ?
June 13, 2006... The European Commission is often presented (and presents itself) as a guardian of the temple of free competition. But shouldn't this claim, repeated ad-nauseum, be qualified? If free competition, given the idea of limiting monopolies, be they...

SOCIAL SERVICES OF GENERAL INTEREST : FRENCH SOCIAL SECTOR DEMANDS EU DIRECTIVE.(European Union)
June 13, 2006... A year after the referendum on the European Constitution, the colloquium staged in Paris on 30 May on the theme of "fundamental rights, social protection and European integration; what EU framework for social services ofageneral interest...

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES / LEGISLATION : GENDER EQUALITY DIRECTIVES BECOME ONE.
June 13, 2006... MEPs on 1 June definitively approved the redrafting of the Directive 'on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation'. The Council's common position,...

IRELAND / ROMANIANS AND BULGARIANS.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The Irish Government will not make a decision on whether to allow Romanians and Bulgarians an automatic right to work in Ireland when their countries join the European Union, until all other EU member states open their labour markets to...

LABOUR LAW GREEN PAPER.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The Green Paper on the modernisation of labour law, drafted by the European Commission and designed to launch a debate on the issue in May-June, will not now be published before the summer. Employment, Social Affairs and Gender Equality...

FREEDOM OF ESTABLISHMENT / QUALIFICATIONS : LAWYERS DON'T HAVE TO PASS LANGUAGE TEST, ADVOCATE-GENERAL SAYS.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Should EU lawyers be required to speak the language of the country where they set up shop? No, saysaEU Court of Justice Advocate-General Christine Six-Hackl. Her 11 May opinion (Cases C-506/03 and C-196/05) slams Luxembourg for forcing lawyers...

LEONARDO DA VINCI TRAIN.(art exhibition)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... An exhibition train left the Gare de Lyon in Paris on 24 May on a tour of 21 French towns which will last until 18 June. The aim is to promote apprenticeships as part of the EU's Leonardo vocational training programme. Leonardo da Vinci, a...

SOCIAL REVIEW / DEBATE : LOOSENING EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS ON EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODEL.
June 13, 2006... There are two good reasons to take a close interest in social affairs. An ethical reason: Europe stems from a humanist project, the social model represents a cornerstone of the EU. And a political reason: the growing social malaise in Europe...

MAGIC MUSHROOMS.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... National laws on use of hallucinogenic or magic' mushrooms vary considerably across the EU, a study from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCCDA) shows. In most countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and...

EDUCATION / LANGUAGES : MINISTERS CALL FOR A EUROPEAN INDICATOR OF LANGUAGE COMPETENCE.
June 13, 2006... EU Education Ministers concluded on 19 May that a European indicator of language competence should be created. The Council invited the member states to set up systems of validation of competence in language knowledge based on the Common...

EDUCATION / YOUTH : MINISTERS FAIL TO AGREE ON EDUCATION PROGRAMMES.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Pending a formal revised proposal from the European Commission, due on 24 May, the Council of EU Education Ministers on 19 May held an exchange of views on education programmes for the next seven-year programming period (2007-2013). This...

EDUCATION / PROFESSIONAL TRAINING : MINISTERS OUTLINE SKILLS REFERENCE FRAMEWORK.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The Council of EU Education Ministers on 19 May reached agreement on a Recommendation on key skills for lifelong learning. Ministers agreed a general approach pending the European Parliament's (single) reading, scheduled for the 12-15 June...

2007-2013 FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVES : MINISTERS REACH POLITICAL AGREEMENT ON CITIZENSHIP PROGRAMME.(European Union Cultural Ministers )
June 13, 2006... EU Cultural Ministers reached a political agreement on the 'Citizens for Europe' programme for 2007-2013 at their Council meeting on 18 May. However, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom abstained from voting on a decision...

SOCIAL POLICY COUNCIL : MINISTERS TO HOLD FIRST DEBATE ON FLEXICURITY.
June 13, 2006... Included on the agenda for the Council of EU Employment and Social Affairs Ministers on 1 June, flexicurity has of late become a European social policy priority. At this year's Spring European Council, EU leaders agreed on the need to outline a...

MISSING CHILDREN.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The European Commission is considering proposing a short telephone code (116) as a Europe-wide helpline for missing and sexually-exploited children. The move was announced on 24 May, timed to coincide with International Missing Children's Day....

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS / INSTITUTIONAL REFORM : MUCH DONE, MUCH MORE POSSIBLE WITH EXISTING TREATIES.
June 13, 2006... The plan to give the European Community powers on police and judicial cooperation on criminal matters is probably the meatiest part of the European Commission's new paper on the future of Europe. Yet it may have escaped many that there has...

NEW CZECH LABOUR CODE.(Czech Republic)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The Czech Republic's lower house of parliament adopted a new labour code on 24 May. The text had sparked a wide political and public debate. Supported by the Social Democrat and Communist MPs, it was rejected by President Vaclav Klaus (ODS,...

IMMIGRATION / COUNCIL OF MINISTERS : NEW SCHENGEN INFORMATION SYSTEM AGREED.
June 13, 2006... Aarevamped Schengen Information System (SIS II) was agreed by EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers on 2 June in Luxembourg. The deal brings the ten new EU member states a step closer to becoming part of the Schengen border-free zone....

IMMIGRATION / VISAS : OUTSOURCING OF VISA-ISSUING MOOTED.
June 13, 2006... To cut costs and put a stop to so-called visa shopping, the European Commission is urging member states to set up joint visa-issuing offices. A draft Regulation tabled on 31 May also lets them entrust the job of issuing visas to an external...

IMMIGRATION : OVER 200 MIGRANT DETENTION CENTRES IN EU.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... There are some 200 centres in the EU where illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers are detained, according to new figures from the left-wing GUE-NGL group in the European Parliament. Germany houses the most (45) while Luxembourg, Lithuania,...

PAEDOPHILE CLAMPDOWN.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... A move to prevent convicted child sex offenders working with children when they move to another EU country has been backed by the Parliament. In a non-binding opinion adopted on 1 June, MEPs threw their weight behind a draft Framework Decision...

PAEDIATRIC DRUGS : PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL REACH A DEAL.
June 13, 2006... A further step was taken on 1 June towards the entry into force of the new rules framing the marketing of medicines for children. Sitting in plenary session in Brussels, the European Parliament adopted its recommendation in second reading on...

HIGHER EDUCATION / RESEARCH : POTOCNIK & FIGEL' SET OUT IDEAS FOR UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY.
June 13, 2006... Entrepreneurship training, semesters abroad and time spent in industry are just three specific recommendations made for students by the European Commission, in its new Communication on how universities should be modernised. The...

RIGHT TO ASYLUM : QUICKER RELEASE OF EU REFUGEE FUND PROPOSED.
June 13, 2006... EU funds to help refugees and asylum-seekers would be released faster, if a newly-tabled European Commission proposal is approved. Up to 10 million could be made available immediately for emergency situations, a Commission spokesman announced...

RAINER PLASSMANN / CEEP.(European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest)(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Rainer Plassmann has been re-elected as Secretary-General of public services lobby CEEP. Mr Plassmann has held the position since 2000. His term of office will end in October 2009. CEEP, the European Centre of Enterprises with Public...

WORKING TIME : REMOVAL OF THE OPT-OUT: CHRONICLE OF A FURTHER FAILURE.
June 13, 2006... The abolition of the individual opt-out has haunted the Directive on Working Time since 1993. The provision, introducing scope for exceeding maximum weekly working time (48 hours), provided the worker gives his agreement, was made to measure...

EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL POLICY COUNCIL : SOCIAL ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
June 13, 2006... The morning of the Council of Ministers of Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs in Luxembourg on 1 June was spent examining the EU's strategy for sustainable development in terms of 'social inclusion and protection'. Ursula...

SERVICES OF GENERAL ECONOMIC INTEREST : SOCIALISTS UNVEIL DRAFT DIRECTIVE ON ECONOMIC SERVICES.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Socialist MEPs on 30 May unveiled their own draft Directive to improve the quality of economic' services such as water and transport (SGEI).aThe move came the day after EU Ministers agreed a separate draft Directive to boost competition in the...

SOCIAL POLICY : SOCIAL PRIORITIES FOR FINLAND'S EU PRESIDENCY.
June 13, 2006... Tackling the challenges arising from globalisation and demographic changes is the key issue for Finland, which takes over the EU's Presidency on 1 July 2006. Finland will aim to continue the debate on Europe's changing demography at an informal...

EDUCATION & TRAINING : SOME PROGRESS BUT COULD DO BETTER, SAYSa2006 REPORT.
June 13, 2006... With the end of the school year fast approaching, the European Commission has published its own report on the 25 member states' education and training systems. Its final assessment is that standard remark of "some progress but could do better"....

UNIVERSITIES : STUDY RECOMMENDS EUROPEAN BRAND FOR HIGHER EDUCATION.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... The main recommendations of a study on European higher education are for the creation of a European brand' of higher education, with characteristics common to all European countries, as well as implementation of a more coherent information...

THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, ISN'T IT?(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Citizenship, transparency words like these are being bandied about in Europe with monotonous frequency. But in reality, secret goings-on and rumours persist. The good intentions of the Austrian Presidency could not be faulted in Council on 1...

ECONOMIC MIGRATION : UNICE LUKEWARM ON EU GREEN CARD IDEA.(Union of Industrial and Employer's Confederations of Europe)
June 13, 2006... European employers' lobby UNICE has voiced doubts about plans to introduce an EU green card' to bring in more non-EU national economic migrants. 'If the EU work permit will be valid throughout the EU how would the responsibility of member...

IMMIGRATION VISAS / RUSSIA : VISA AND READMISSION AGREEMENTS ADOPTED.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... Cheaper, faster visas in return for taking back illegal immigrants. That is the essence of twinned EU-Russia agreements formally approved by the EU Council of Ministers on 22 May. READMISSION The readmission agreement has taken almost...

YOUTH : VIVIANE REDING DEFENDS ACTIONS ON CHILD PROTECTION.(Brief article)
June 13, 2006... EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding answered MEPs' questions on the evening of Tuesday 16 May in Strasbourg on protection of minors on the Internet. She pointed out that her department is currently preparing an...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS / INSTITUTIONAL REFORM : WHERE THE EU CONSTITUTION IS NECESSARY.
June 13, 2006... While the existing Treaties provide ample scope for developing EU justice and home affairs policies (see separate article), there are things that can only be done with the EU Constitutional Treaty in force. The Constitution notably makes the EU...