European Social Policy articles from March 2008

European Social Policy archives from March 2008

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : EU PLANS TO FINGERPRINT VISITORS BY 2015.
March 5, 2008... The creation of an entry-exit system, under which all foreigners entering the European Union would have to submit biometric data such as fingerprints, is the cornerstone of a new border management strategy proposed by the European Commission on...

EURO GETTING EVER STRONGER.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... Joaquin Almunia was relatively cautious in his comments on 27 February on the euro's new all-time high against the US dollar (the single currency has now capped the rate of 1.50 euro to the dollar). The commissioner for economic and monetary...

SOCIAL PROTECTION COMMITTEE : ACTIVE INCLUSION AND NEW SOCIAL AGENDA AT HEART OF PROGRAMME.
March 5, 2008... The 2008 work programme of the EU's Social Protection Committee (SPC) focuses on follow-up of the second-phase consultation launched by the European Commission in 2007 on the active inclusion of those not in the mainstream of the labour market....

ALAIN LAMASSOURE'S MISSION.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... Nicolas Sarkozy's spokesperson confirmed, on 7 February, that the French president had given a mission to MEP Alain Lamassoure (EPP-ED) on "the concrete application of European law to the benefit of its citizens". The goal is to reach new...

EUROPEAN STRATEGY FOR EMPLOYMENT : AN AMBITION GONE ASTRAY OVER THE YEARS.
March 5, 2008... The drawing up of guidelines for employment has become a humdrum exercise, bogged down in an administrative routine of piles of reports and a bureaucratic machine criticised by most of the experts concerned. When launched ten years ago,...

ANDROULA VASSILIOU NOMINATED FOR HEALTH COMMISSIONER.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The naming of Androula Vassiliou as the replacement of Markos Kyprianou in the post of EU health commissioner was confirmed on 29 February by a European Commission spokesperson. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso wrote to the presidents...

WORKING CONDITIONS : A QUARTER OF EU CITIZENS SUFFER FROM MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common form of work-related illness in Europe. In the EU, 25% of workers suffer from backache and 23% report muscular pains. These disorders cost the economy up to 1.6% of GDP. "We can no longer...

LISBON STRATEGY : "A UNITY OF VALUES WITH A DIVERSITY OF SYSTEMS".(Jose Silva Peneda's views on social policy in the European Union)
March 5, 2008... On the initiative of the European Parliament's EPP-ED group, an open discussion on the future developments of the European social model took place at the EP in Brussels on 14 February. MEP Jose Silva Peneda (Portugal), co-rapporteur on the...

LISBON STRATEGY/GLOBALISATION : BARROSO SEEKS NEW CONSENSUS.
March 5, 2008... While Europe is expanding its market shares around the world, globalisation remains a hard sell within the EU, where it triggers more fears than enthusiasm. This is the paradoxical challenge facing Jose Manuel Barroso: how to reconcile EU...

CALL FOR IMMEDIATE SOCIAL ACTION.(the Social Platform sent an open letter to European Union leaders as a call for action)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The Social Platform has sent an open letter to EU leaders calling for social action. For social NGOs, the 2008 spring summit is the last chance to build trust with EU citizens before the European elections in 2009. In its open letter, the...

LISBON STRATEGY/ECONOMY : COMMISSION DOWNGRADES GROWTH FORECAST FOR 2008.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... Jean-Claude Juncker's fears have now been confirmed. For 2008, the European Commission forecasts a significant decline in growth in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), coupled with inflation in excess of the European Central Bank's...

EUROPEAN WORKS COUNCILS : COMMISSION DRAFTING UPDATE TO 1994 DIRECTIVE.
March 5, 2008... The European Commission kicked off, on 20 February, the second phase of a consultation aimed at revising the European Works Councils Directive. The text, presented to all the commissioners on 12 February, was adopted under the written procedure...

COPYRIGHT : COMMISSIONER SEEKS BETTER PROTECTION FOR PERFORMING ARTISTS.(Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The term of copyright protection for European performing artists should be increased from 50 to 95 years. A proposal to that effect will be drawn up by the services of Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, for adoption by the European...

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION : COMMISSIONER UNVEILS PLANS TO BEEF UP THE UNION'S BORDERS.(Franco Frattini)
March 5, 2008... The external borders of European Union could be massively fortified with satellite surveillance keeping illegal migrants out and all legal visitors being fingerprinted at airports and other border crossings, if proposals put forward on 13...

CONTROVERSY OVER SOCIAL STANDARDS.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The joint opinion on the Single Market Review drafted by the EU's Employment Policy Committee (EPC) and Social Protection Committee (SPC) and submitted to the employment and social affairs ministers has created a small controversy, which is...

LISBON STRATEGY : COUNCIL INSISTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF SERVICES DIRECTIVE.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The single market is the EU's best trump card to take on new challenges - globalisation, innovation, climate change, and energy needs - said EU economy ministers on 25 February in Brussels during the Competitiveness Council. They invited the...

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING : DEMAND FOR HIGH SKILLS HAS YET TO PEAK, STUDY SAYS.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... European workers across all sectors will need to improve their skills and qualifications to keep up with changes in the economy, according to the first forecast of skill needs unveiled on 21 February. The study, prepared by the European...

HUMAN RIGHTS : DICK MARTY SLAMS EU, UN TERRORIST BLACKLISTING SYSTEMS.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... "Inscription on the blacklists of the United Nations Security Council is an administrative act with consequences on fundamental rights," affirmed Dick Marty, president and rapporteur of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights at the...

PROTECTION OF MATERNITY : ECJ: PROTECTION OF WOMEN BEGINS AFTER IMPLANT OF FERITILISED OVA.(European Union Court of Justice)
March 5, 2008... Is a worker undergoing in vitro fertilisation treatment considered to be pregnant and consequently entitled to protection under the 1992 EU directive? The question submitted to the EU Court of Justice relates to an increasingly widely used...

LISBON STRATEGY : ECOFIN REFINES ITS CONTRIBUTION TO SPRING SUMMIT.(Economic and Financial Affairs Council)
March 5, 2008... Ecofin's contribution for the next spring summit will be more direct in style, more cautious on growth outlooks and thicker from the addition of a new annex. This is what has come out of the latest provisional conclusions validated on 12...

EMF DIRECTIVE DEADLINE DEFERRED.(European Parliament directive on the exposure of workers to electromagnetic fields)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The European Parliament approved, on 19 February, the deferment of the deadline for the transposition of Directive 2004/40 on the exposure of workers to electromagnetic fields to 30 April 2012. This amendment of the directive accurately resumes...

EMPLOYMENT FOR THE HOMELESS.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) has dedicated its 2007 annual report to the Inclusion into and through employment for people who are homeless'. Based on the national reports of 16 member...

POPULATION : EP BACKS UNION-WIDE CENSUS.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The European Parliament approved, on 20 February, putting in place an annual population and housing census in the EU, on a report by Ona Jukneviciene (ALDE, Lithuania). This collection of statistical data allows future regional, social and...

ETUC ON WORKS COUNCILS.(European Trade Union Confederation)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomes the European Commission's communication, published on 20 February, on the consultation of the social partners concerning the revision of the Directive on the establishment of European works...

EU FUND TO PROTECT THREATENED PERSONS?(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... In comments made on 10 February, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was determined "to act with the Europeans to put into place a collective fund to ensure the protection of people under threat" when France takes up the EU Presidency at...

GDP : EU GROWTH SLOWS IN 2007.(gross domestic product)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... Over the whole year 2007, GDP grew by 2.7% in the eurozone and by 2.9% in the EU27, according to estimates published on 14 February by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Communities. During the fourth quarter of 2007, GDP grew...

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION : EU PLANS TO FINGERPRINT VISITORS BY 2015.
March 5, 2008... The creation of an entry-exit system, under which all foreigners entering the European Union would have to submit biometric data such as fingerprints, is the cornerstone of a new border management strategy proposed by the European Commission on...

EUROZONE CONCERNS.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... As the tumbling dollar continues to push the euro to record highs (1.52 euro to the dollar on 3 March), the Eurogroup finally decided to voice its concerns, at the conclusion of its monthly meeting on 3 March. "We are concerned over exchange...

EMPLOYMENT : EUROZONE JOBLESS RATE STABLE AT 7.1%.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the eurozone stood at 7.1% in January 2008, unchanged compared with December 2007. It was 7.7% in January 2007. The EU27 unemployment rate was 6.8% in January 2008, the same as in December 2007. It...

UNION CITIZENSHIP : FIFTH REPORT FOCUSES ON LEGAL CORE OF CITIZENS' RIGHTS.
March 5, 2008... The fifth report on citizenship of the European Union, published on 15 February by the European Commission, focuses on developments with regard to the legal core of citizens' rights (Articles 19 to 21 of the EC Treaty): the right to move and...

FINAL WARNING TO BELGIUM.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The European Commission sent, on 28 February, a reasoned opinion (the second step of infringement proceedings) to Belgium for failure to respect the directive foreseeing the establishment of a general framework for informing and consulting the...

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION : FRATTINI'S PLANS SPARK ACCUSATIONS OF BIG BROTHER' REGIME IN EU.(European Union Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini)
March 5, 2008... The European Commission's sweeping plans to beef up the security of the EU's external borders, unveiled on 13 February, have led Liberal MEPs, civil rights advocates and privacy protection groups to accuse the EU executive of trying to impose a...

FLEXICURITY : FRENCH REPORT HIGHLIGHTS FIVE EU SUCCESS STORIES.
March 5, 2008... The French government has just published a report on flexicurity in Europe. Drafted by Eric Besson, state secretary for prospectives and evaluation of public policies, it presents a snapshot of flexicurity in several European countries...

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION : FRONTEX COULD OVERSEE JOINT BORDER PATROLS.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The controversial idea of setting up an EU border police should be revisited as part of a long-term review of Frontex, the EU's agency responsible for coordination of border controls, the European Commission has suggested in its package on...

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION : HUSTINX SLAMS FRATTINI'S BORDER MANAGEMENT PACKAGE.(European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx and European Union Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini)
March 5, 2008... Too many far-reaching legislative proposals to monitor travellers and a lack of evidence for their need, an insufficient evaluation of existing systems and too heavy a reliance on biometric data. These are, according to the European Data...

DOSSIER: LISBON STRATEGY : IMPROVING QUALITY OF EMPLOYMENT THE KEY MESSAGE TO SPRING SUMMIT.
March 5, 2008... "The European strategy is producing results but we have not yet achieved all our objectives," commented Slovenia's Labour Minister Marjeta Cotman, who chaired the Council of employment and social policy ministers on 29 February. "We have...

GDP : INNER LONDON LISTED AS EU'S RICHEST REGION.(gross domestic product of members of the European Union)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... GDP per inhabitant expressed in terms of purchasing power standards ranged in 2005 from 24% of the EU average in north-eastern Romania to 303% in Inner London. One region in six exceeded the level of 125% of the EU average and one in four was...

RESTRUCTURING : ITALY TARGETED FOR FAILURE TO RECOVER ILLEGAL AID.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... One year after the European Commission's decision, Italy has still not recovered the state aid judged to be illegal granted by the Region of Sardinia to the mining company Nuova Mineraria Silius SpA (NMS). Therefore, on 13 February, the...

EMPLOYMENT : LABOUR MARKET CONDITIONS IMPROVING.
March 5, 2008... Reflecting the improvement in labour market conditions, by the third quarter of 2007, the overall EU employment rate had increased to 66%, up from 65% one year earlier. Figures published by Eurostat on 18 February confirm the ongoing...

HEALTH : LJUBLJANA SEEKS TO LAUNCH COMMON ACTIONS AGAINST CANCER.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... Prevention, screening for early diagnosis, access to treatment and palliative care and investments in research are among the huge challenges of the battle against cancer, which is the number-one health priority of the Slovenian EU Presidency....

COHESION POLICY : MEMBER STATES MUST BETTER MONITOR STRUCTURAL FUND EXPENDITURES.
March 5, 2008... The European Commission has decided to change to a higher gear regarding the monitoring carried out on expenditure from the European Structural Funds. Scolded by a report from the EU Court of Auditors in late 2007, which put forward an error...

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AGENCY : MEPS BACK DANISH CANDIDATE FOR DIRECTOR.(Morten Kjarum's nomination to be the director of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency)
March 5, 2008... Members of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee have decided to back Morten Kjaerum for the post of the first director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), following a public hearing on 11 February. A long-delayed...

COHESION POLICY : MEPS CRITICAL OF EARMARKING' OF FUNDS.(Members of the European Parliament)
March 5, 2008... The European Parliament, which will be involved in shaping the EU's next Cohesion Policy under the co-decision procedure (thanks to the Treaty of Lisbon), is asking serious questions about what is known as the earmarking' of European...

COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS : MEPS DEBATE IMPACT OF LAVAL AND VIKING CASES.(Members of the European Parliament)
March 5, 2008... Members of the European Parliament's Employment Committee debated, on 26 February, with experts and representatives of trade unions and employers' associations the EU Court of Justice's rulings on the Laval and Viking cases. In December 2007,...

COHESION POLICY : MEPS WANT INDICATORS AND ACTION PLANS.
March 5, 2008... The European Parliament has proposed that an integrated approach to territorial development be an obligatory requirement in the programming and choice of projects co-financed by the European Structural Fund. This is one of the points that it...

ROAD TRANSPORT : MEPS WARN AGAINST COSTS AND RED TAPE.(Members of the European Parliament)
March 5, 2008... The European Parliament's Transport Committee is likely to try to lighten the obligations that would be imposed on transport companies by the draft regulation on conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport...

SOCIAL INCLUSION : MINISTERS ADOPT RESOLUTION ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.(European Union Council of Ministers)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The EU Council of Ministers adopted, on 29 February, a resolution on the situation of people with disabilities in the European Union in conjunction with the action plan presented by the European Commission in December. The Commission has...

LISBON STRATEGY : MINISTERS DEBATE UNION'S EMPLOYMENT STRATEGY.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The 29 February session of the Council of employment and social policy ministers was principally dedicated to the preparation of the spring EU summit (13-14 March). THREE QUESTIONSThe discussion will be centred on three series of questions...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL : MINISTERS DELAY SIS II ONCE AGAIN.(Schengen Information System)
March 5, 2008... The EU's interior ministers, at the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 28 February, confirmed another delay of the entry into force of the second-generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), and agree on a new timetable. The...

LISBON STRATEGY/EMPLOYMENT : NEW GUIDELINES FOR 2008-2010.
March 5, 2008... The EU Council of Ministers adopted, on 29 February, employment guidelines for 2008-2010. This is the third part of the integrated guidelines. Member states should continue to make every effort to address the priority areas of: 1....

EDUCATION : NEW REGISTER TO CRACK DOWN ON BOGUS QUALITY ASSURANCE AGENCIES.(European Quality Assurance Register in Higher Education)
March 5, 2008... Seventeen million students across Europe should receive an important tool to identify reliable quality assurance agencies which give stamps of approval to higher education institutions. A new European Quality Assurance Register in Higher...

LISBON STRATEGY : PARLIAMENT APPROVES NEW TRIENNIAL CYCLE.(European Parliament)
March 5, 2008... MEPs adopted, on 20 February in Strasbourg, a two-fold report for a specific resolution validating the new triennial cycle of the Lisbon Strategy for the 2008-2010 period. This contribution by MEPs to the next European summit supports, in its...

PARLIAMENT CORRECTS DIRECTIVE.(recognition of professional qualifications)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The European Parliament has approved a correction to Directive 2005/36/EC of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications. Several "obvious substantive errors" had slipped into all versions of the directive, which needed...

LISBON STRATEGY/SOCIAL COHESION : PENSIONS, POVERTY AND HEALTH CARE ARE PRIORITIES FOR ACTION.
March 5, 2008... Employment among older persons, the viability of pension schemes, the poverty that threatens 16% of citizens and health care are the main concerns outlined in the European Commission's 2008 Joint report on social protection and social...

LISBON STRATEGY : PES WANTS A MINIMUM SALARY FOR ALL.(Political groups of the European Parliament)
March 5, 2008... "An inclusive Europe, a Europe for all." This is the philosophy of the European Parliament's Socialist (PES) group, which has just specified, in a memorandum, its position on social matters. The objective, explains the PES, is to influence, in...

EDUCATION, YOUTH AND CULTURE COUNCIL : POOR EDUCATION PERFORMANCE THREATENS LISBON STRATEGY.
March 5, 2008... The lacklustre performance of some member states in the field of education and training could jeopardise the success of the Lisbon Strategy, the EU's education and youth ministers have warned. Gathered at the Education, Youth and Culture (EYC)...

LISBON STRATEGY/EMPLOYMENT : RECENT TREND POSITIVE BUT GAPS REMAIN.
March 5, 2008... Youth unemployment and the lack of investment in the field of education and training are the two main negative aspects raised in the joint report on employment published by the European Commission on 22 February. But, for the rest, the solution...

LISBON STRATEGY : SIXTEEN COMMANDMENTS FOR THE UNION'S ECONOMY.
March 5, 2008... The revision of the mechanism for the coordination of the EU's economic policy (for the 2008-2010 period) is starting to take form. On 4 March, the Ecofin Council adopted two recommendations revising the broad economic policy guidelines...

STRUCTURAL FUNDS FOR INCLUSION.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... In response to the European Commission's consultation on the future of the EU's Cohesion Policy, the European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) has underlined the need for Structural Funds to be seen as an instrument dedicated to the fight against...

ROAD TRANSPORT : TENSION SURROUNDS COACH DRIVERS' WORKTIME RULES.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The working time of coach drivers is currently the subject of a power dispute between transport unions and representatives of the profession. The issue is whether or not to reintroduce a derogation which allows coach drivers to work for twelve...

SCHENGEN ENLARGEMENT : TOWNS IN SLOVENIA AND ITALY SQUABBLE OVER RULES.(Schengen Information System)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... Just two months ago, the mayors of the twin towns of Gorizia and Nova Gorica jointly celebrated the end of border controls between Italy and Slovenia. The expansion of the Schengen zone in this mountainous area had a hugely symbolic value - it...

EDUCATION : UK SCHOOLS ENJOY HIGHEST DEGREE OF AUTONOMY.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... Schools in the United Kingdom enjoy the highest degree of autonomy in Europe, followed by those in Slovenia, Belgium (in the French and German-speaking regions) and Ireland, according to a new report by Eurydice, the EU-funded information...

UNIONS TO DEMONSTRATE OVER PAY.(European trade unions)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The European trade unions are expected to organise a major demonstration in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 5 April to coincide with the meeting of the EU's economy and finance ministers. The aim is to call for better pay in Europe and to protest...

EU COURT OF JUSTICE : URGENT PRELIMINARY RULING PROCEDURE COMES INTO FORCE.(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... National courts across the European Union as well as the EU Court of Justice have been granted an important instrument to deal far more quickly with the most sensitive issues relating to the area of freedom, justice and security. As of 1 March,...

EMPLOYMENT FOR THE HOMELESS.(European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless' report)(Brief article)
March 5, 2008... The European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) has dedicated its 2007 annual report to the Inclusion into and through employment for people who are homeless'. Based on the national reports of 16 member...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : HUSTINX SLAMS FRATTINI'S BORDER MANAGEMENT PACKAGE.(European Data Protection Supervisor, Peter Hustinx and European Union Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini)
March 5, 2008... Too many far-reaching legislative proposals to monitor travellers and a lack of evidence for their need, an insufficient evaluation of existing systems and too heavy a reliance on biometric data. These are, according to the European Data...