European Social Policy articles from May 2008

European Social Policy archives from May 2008

VIDEO GAMES : BANS MUST REMAIN RARE, SAYS COMMISSION.(European Commission )
May 14, 2008... The Pan-European Games Information (PEGI) age rating system for interactive games, created by the industry with the support of the EU, constitutes the best protection for minors against certain violent video and online games. It deserves to be...

INFORMAL HEALTH COUNCIL : CANCER, CROSS-BORDER CARE, ALCOHOL AND ANTIBIOTICS ON AGENDA.
May 14, 2008... The EU's health ministers will meet in Brdo, Slovenia, on 17 and 18 April, for an informal meeting focused on the fight against cancer. The Slovenian EU Presidency aims to launch common actions at European and national level to "bring the...

FRANCO FRATTINI EXTENDS HIS LEAVE.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, accepted, on 15 April, the request for unpaid leave by the Vice-President responsible for justice, freedom and security, Franco Frattini. The latter had requested an initial leave,...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : PRESIDENCY AND PARLIAMENT CLINCH DEAL ON RETURN DIRECTIVE.
May 14, 2008... After nearly three years of wrangling, the EU institutions have clinched a deal on the controversial proposal on the treatment of illegal migrants. The agreement on the directive on common standards and procedures for returning illegally...

REASONED OPINION TO BELGIUM OVER SICKNESS FUNDS.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Belgium, on 6 May, asking it to amend its national rules so that the private sickness funds (mutualites/ziekenfondsen) comply with the EU insurance directives when they offer complementary...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION : TAJANI STEPS IN AS TRANSPORT COMMISSIONER.
May 14, 2008... The new Italian Transport Commissioner, Antonio Tajani, will begin work this week. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso avoided controversy by giving the sensitive justice, liberty and security portfolio to Jacques Barrot. On...

TRAINING AID FOR VAUXHALL MOTORS APPROVED.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The Vauxhall car plant at Ellesmere Port (Merseyside, UK) will be allowed to benefit from a subsidy of 11 million from the UK government for a training programme for its personnel. The European Commission announced, on 16 April, that it had...

TRIALOGUE ON RETURN DIRECTIVE STILL INCONCLUSIVE.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The latest round of political trialogue on the Directive on common standards and procedures for returning illegally staying third-country nationals (Return Directive), held on 9 April, did not bring about an agreement between the European...

78 COMMITMENTS AGAINST ALCOHOL ABUSE.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... Seventy-eight commitments: this is the first result of the European Alcohol and Health Forum, launched by the European Commission in June 2007, which today unites 46 members (companies, NGOs, associations, advertisers, etc). Presented on 16...

AID FROM GLOBALISATION FUND.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The EU Council adopted without debate, on 7 April, a decision allocating 3.1 million in support from the EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund following requests from Malta and Portugal. In the case of Malta, 681,207 of aid is planned for a support...

IMMIGRATION/ASYLUM : BARROT PRESSES MEPS TO AGREE ON MIGRATION PROPOSALS.
May 14, 2008... EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, wearing the justice commissioner's hat while Franco Frattini campaigns in the Italian elections, has made an attempt to convince MEPs to speed up the adoption of several legislative proposals in the...

EUROPEAN WORKS COUNCILS : BUSINESSEUROPE SPELLS OUT STANCE.(Interview)(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... Philippe de Buck, secretary-general of BusinessEurope, was at the European Parliament on 7 May to meet certain MEPs prior to the debate on European Works Councils. He confided to Europolitics Social the frame of mind of the employers'...

SOCIAL AGENDA : COMMISSION'S SOCIAL PACKAGE DUE OUT BEFORE SUMMER.
May 14, 2008... The revised future social agenda was at the centre of discussion at a seminar between the EU commissioners, on 29 April. The objective, as described by Johannes Laitenberger, spokesperson for the European Commission, was to promote "enabling...

CONSULTATION ON INSURANCE GUARANTEE SCHEMES.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... As part of its public consultation on insurance guarantee schemes, the European Commission issued, on 7 May, a consultation paper seeking the views of the widest possible range of interested parties on the need for, design and operation of...

RIGHT OF ASYLUM : COURT ANNULS LIST OF SAFE COUNTRIES.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The EU Court of Justice has annulled certain provisions of the Directive on procedures for granting and withdrawing refugee status of 1 December 2005. The Court's censure essentially concerns the lists of safe countries of origin and safe third...

COURT PROCEEDINGS OVER PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 6 May, to refer Portugal and the United Kingdom to the EU Court of Justice over their failure to inform the Commission of measures taken to implement Directive 2006/100/EC. This directive provides for...

DEBATE ON LISBON STRATEGY AFTER 2010.
May 14, 2008... The future French EU Presidency has just opened a debate regarding the future of the Lisbon strategy after 2010 (in compliance with the conclusions of the spring European Council). The French government released the content of a long report...

SOCIAL AGENDA : EAPN WANTS EU TO ADOPT "A DISTINCT SOCIAL PILLAR".(European Anti-Poverty Network, European Union)(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... In a letter sent to the College of Commissioners, the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) urges the EU executive to deliver "a dynamic social agenda responding to the social realities". "Commissioners, be ambitious," the organisation does not...

FIXED-TERM CONTRACTS : ECJ: PUBLIC EMPLOYER MUST AVOID ABUSIVE RENEWALS.(Court of Justice of the European Communities)
May 14, 2008... The Court of Justice of the European Communities has handed down a ruling on the repeated use by the public authorities of fixed-term contracts (FTC) in a context where the member state - Ireland in the case in point - took two years to...

EESC TURNS 50.(European Economic and Social Committee )(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary during a commemorative plenary session, on 28 May in Brussels. The President of the consultative body, Dimitris Dimitriadis, will open the meeting with an...

EMPLOYERS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... In spite of the (temporary) US recession, (ongoing) financial turmoil and the (historic) depreciation of the dollar against the euro, European employers are still expecting reasonable growth in 2008. The economic forecasts presented by...

HEALTH : EP URGES PROMOTION OF ALTRUISTIC ORGAN DONATIONS.(European Parliament)
May 14, 2008... Faced with the shortage of organ donors in the EU, the European Parliament recommends to member states measures such as the promotion of "altruistic donations" from living donors and establishing an effective identification system for people...

SOCIAL AGENDA 2008-2013 : EQUALITY, SOLIDARITY AND COHESION ARE PIDLA'S CORE VALUES.(Vladimir Spidla)
May 14, 2008... Addressing a conference on the EU's future social agenda 2008-2013, on 5 and 6 May, Vladimir pidla, the commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunity, reminded the 400 participants of the main theme that will guide the...

ETUC CAMPAIGNS ON EWC.(European Trade Union Confederation, European Works Councils)(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has launched a campaign for "stronger European Works Councils" (EWCs). The ETUC has long been calling for revision of the EWC Directive (a proposal which could figure in the social package to be...

EU/BRAZIL : EU AND BRAZIL LAUNCH DIALOGUE ON SOCIAL COHESION.
May 14, 2008... The European Commission initiated, on 16 April, a new structured policy dialogue with Brazil focused on social policies. The project is launched under a memorandum of understanding signed for the EU by Vladimir Spidla, commissioner for...

UNEMPLOYMENT : EU JOBLESS RATE STABLE AT 6.7%.(European Union)(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... In the eurozone, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 7.1% in March 2008, unchanged compared with February. It was 7.5% in March 2007. In the EU27, the unemployment rate was 6.7% in March 2008, also unchanged compared with...

INFLATION : EUROZONE ANNUAL RATE HITS NEW HIGH OF 3.6%.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... Annual inflation in the eurozone was 3.6% in March 2008, up from 3.3% in February. For the EU27, it reached 3.8% in March 2008, up from 3.5% in February. The figures, published on 16 April by Eurostat, therefore confirm an acceleration in the...

JUSTICE : FAMILY LAW A PRIORITY FOR FRENCH EU PRESIDENCY.(European Union)
May 14, 2008... The French EU Presidency (from 1 July 2008) intends to give new impetus to the construction of the European legal space in two fields: on the one hand, the joint training of judges to increase their knowledge of the different systems which...

FIGHT AGAINST PAEDOPHILIA ON THE INTERNET.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... A European coalition against the sexual exploitation of children for commercial ends on the internet was launched, on 6 May, with the support of the European Commission. The project is called Missing Children Europe and gathers law enforcement...

RIGHT OF ASYLUM : GERMANY FAILS TO EASE EU ASYLUM RULES FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS.(European Union )(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The Slovenian Presidency of the Council has rejected Germany's call that the European Union should adopt specific measures to help Christian refugees from Iraq. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble raised the point at the Justice and Home...

RIGHT OF ASYLUM : GREECE DEFENDS ITS TREATMENT OF REFUGEES.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... Greece has stepped up its defence against accusations that it routinely violates the rights of asylum seekers. At the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, on 18 April, Greek Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos told his...

WAGES : IN LJUBLJANA, UNIONS RALLY FOR HIGHER PAY.
May 14, 2008... Responding to a call by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), demonstrators marched, on 5 April in Ljubljana, in a good-natured event and under a brilliant blue sky, with two demands: higher pay and purchasing power and fairer sharing...

EDUCATION : INTEREST REMAINS STRONG IN ERASMUS GRANTS.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The European Union's main student and teacher mobility programme, Erasmus, continues to grow. According to the latest statistics released by the European Commission, on 13 May, up to 160,000 students and 26,000 university teachers from 31...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : MEMBER STATES SPLIT OVER RETURN DIRECTIVE.
May 14, 2008... In the latest twist in a three-year-old saga, European Union member states have refused to seal an interinstitutional deal on common rules for the treatment of illegal migrants. Ambassadors from over ten member states voiced their opposition to...

EDUCATION/YOUTH : MEP DECLARATION AIMS TO EMPOWER EUROPEAN YOUTH.(member of European parlimanet)
May 14, 2008... A group of MEPs is raising the pressure on the European Union's institutions to pay more attention to youth when drafting, processing and implementing policies. Five lawmakers launched, on 22 April in Strasbourg, a written declaration (33/2008)...

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT : MEPS' ASSISTANTS IN EMBARRASSING SOCIAL AND FISCAL SITUATION.(members of European parliament)
May 14, 2008... A survey carried out in February 2008 by the European Parliament Assistants Association (EPAA) reveals serious problems concerning the social, legal and tax condition of MEPs' assistants, who still do not have a statute. EPAA approached 248...

EMPLOYMENT : MEPS CALL FOR REVISION OF GUIDELINES.(Membersof the European Parliament)
May 14, 2008... Tax-benefit structures should not discriminate against women, and workers should be encouraged to prolong their working lives, says the Employment Committee's report on the EU's guidelines for employment policies, adopted on 6 May. MEPs also...

SOCIAL POLICY : MEPS CHALLENGE FRENCH EU PRESIDENCY'S PRIORITIES.(members of European parliament)(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... For French Socialist MEPs, their country's future EU Presidency that will begin on 1 July has left out two absolutely essential priorities: the social sphere and the supervision of financial markets. They presented a memorandum, on 23 April in...

COMBATING EXCLUSION : MEPS DISCUSS WAYS TO PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION.(Member of the European Parliament)
May 14, 2008... Wage levels, discrimination and inefficient judicial systems were among the MEPs' main concerns discussed by the European Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee on a coordinated EU approach to the fight against poverty, in a...

EUROPEAN WORKS COUNCILS : MEPS DIVIDED ON DIRECTIVE'S REVISION.(Member of the European Parliament)
May 14, 2008... The need for Community action to improve the European Works Council Directive was highlighted by Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla during the European Parliament's plenary debate held on the issue, on 7 May. Assessing the European...

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING : NEW CREDIT TRANSFER SYSTEM TO BOOST MOBILITY.
May 14, 2008... Knowledge and skills acquired in a learner's home country may soon be more easily recognised in another EU member state thanks to a proposal for a European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET), presented by the European...

COMBATING EXCLUSION : NGO REVIEWS MINIMUM INCOME IN ENLARGED UNION.(nongovernmental organization)
May 14, 2008... While most EU member states have guaranteed minimum income (GMI) schemes in place, the income provided through GMI and social assistance "is not even sufficient to avoid situations of severe poverty, which is normally the minimal aim of these...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : PARENTS OF MISSING CHILD LOBBY FOR EU ABDUCTION ALERT.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... Kate and Gerry McCann, whose four-year-old daughter Madeleine disappeared nearly a year ago in Portugal, have asked the European Parliament to push for the setting up of an EU-wide child abduction alert system. The British couple, who continue...

MEDICINES : PATIENTS DIVIDED ON LIBERALISING INFORMATION.
May 14, 2008... Associations of patients do not see eye to eye on the reform of EU rules on patient information. Unlike health care professionals, who are vehemently opposed, certain patient organisations are receptive to the European Commission's proposals to...

SOCIAL PROTECTION : REPORT HIGHLIGHTS GROWING NEED FOR LONG-TERM CARE.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... According to a report presented, on 28 April, by the European Commission - and debated at a conference of experts on intergenerational solidarity, organised by the Slovenian EU Presidency - demand for and the costs of long-term care will "rise...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL : ROME I REGULATION ON PATH TO ADOPTION.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... Solutions to cross-border disputes resulting from a breach of contract in the European Union will have to be found according to new rules. The EU's ministers put a final, formal seal of approval to a new regulation on the law applicable to...

OPEN FORUM : SELF-FULFILMENT AT WORK: NEW RIGHTS TO BE NEGOTIATED.
May 14, 2008... The acceleration of economic, financial and technological changes is gradually taking human beings out of the centre of attention. With the corporate world's race for ever higher profits and, though on a vastly different scale, workers' race to...

SHOULD OPEN METHOD OF COORDINATION BE THROWN OUT THE WINDOW?
May 14, 2008... The discussion of a new social agenda for 2008-2013 brings back into the limelight the question of the best method for social Europe. In spite of the timid reintroduction of a few legislative proposals, the European Commission's policy is still...

SIMON BUSUTTIL/EP.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... MEP Simon Busuttil (Malta) has been appointed EPP-ED spokesperson on the EU's external borders management agency Frontex. He will be responsible for coordinating the position of the largest political group in the European Parliament, the...

HEALTH COUNCIL : SLOVENIA DEFENDS GLOBAL STRATEGY AGAINST CANCER.
May 14, 2008... During their informal meting, on 17 and 18 April in Brdo (Slovenia), the EU's health ministers moved forward with their plans to fight against cancer, alcohol abuse and antimicrobial resistance and to promote European cooperation, knowing that...

WORKING TIME FOR COACH DRIVERS : SOCIAL PARTNERS WORKING ON A SOLUTION.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... Aasolution could be within reach on the problem of working time limits for coach drivers. The International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) - the social partners in this sector - have at least...

STALEMATE ON WORKS COUNCILS.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The negotiation by the social partners of new rules for works councils appears to be stillborn. Shortly after being announced, it ran up against the misgivings of the unions. After intensive contacts with Business-Europe and the European...

STATE AID CLEARED FOR POSTE ITALIANE.(Poste Italiane S.p.A.)(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 30 April, not to raise objections to a 1.1 billion compensation package that Italy granted to Poste Italiane from 2006 to 2008 to meet the costs of fulfilling its universal postal service obligations. The...

HEALTH : STUDY ENCOURAGES WIDER USE OF ICT BY DOCTORS.
May 14, 2008... Despite notable differences between countries, a very large majority of European doctors use computers and the internet for professional purposes but they could make better use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in areas where...

SOCIAL POLICY : STUDY: INVEST IN HUMAN RESOURCES TO MEET GLOBALISATION CHALLENGE.
May 14, 2008... European social policy should, to a certain extent, be adjusted but, above all, it is necessary to invest in human resources in order for the EU to make best use of globalisation's opportunities. This is the general conclusion of a study on the...

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING : TOOL FOR EU-WIDE RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS BECOMES REALITY.(European Union's European Qualifications Framework)
May 14, 2008... A voluntary tool that will enable a quick and easy comparison of qualifications awarded in different EU member states is becoming reality. The head of the European Council, Slovenian President Danilo Turk, and the European Parliament's...

YOUTH IN EU POLICIES.(Brief article)
May 14, 2008... On the initiative of the European Youth Forum, a written declaration calling on the European Commission and EU member states to dedicate more attention to youth in the creation of EU policies was launched, on 22 April, in Strasbourg. The text...