Brussels, 18/03/2008

Rome, 08/03/2008 To be checked against delivery Care amiche, cari amici, é per me oggi un gran privilegio poter festeggiare insieme a voi, in questa splendida cornice, il centenario dell'8 (otto) marzo. Giornata internazionale della donna. Mi felicito per l'iniziativa. La vostra presenza, il vostro coinvolgimento, é già un successo.

Brussels, 13/03/2008 The climate change and energy package put forward by the European Commission is a major step towards an international solution to address the threat of climate change.

Brussels, 13/03/2008 To be checked against delivery Presidents, ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to be at this tripartite social summit this morning. These events are an important reminder of the need for Europe to have an effective social dimension. It is vitally important that Europe is successfully economically and environmentally but it must also be successful socially.

Brussels, 13/03/2008 The social dimension has been becalmed in the past decade. The broad picture is of limited activity, with the growing impression that social Europe has somehow come to a standstill. John Monks, ETUC General Secretary declared: “In our view, social Europe is in retreat and it will be no surprise when the voices calling for protectionism become more strident. Support for the single market is dependent on support for Social Europe. That is the deal – and it is not working for us at the moment.”

Brussels, 12/03/2008 The European Commission claims that 6.5 million new jobs have been created in the last two years. However, trade unions in the Member States testify that they leave much to be desired in terms of quality. - The number of workers on fixed-term contracts has increased by 10 million since 1997. - Many of the new jobs are part-time, with almost one-fifth of EU workers now employed on this basis – at least 20% of them because they cannot get a full time job.

Brussels, 07/03/2008

Brussels, 06/03/2008 The aim of this survey is to assess progress in reducing the gender representation gap in trade unions and to highlight successful gender-mainstreaming activities within ETUC-affiliated organisations.

Brussels, 06/03/2008 The euro exchange rate has recently breached the 1.50$ barrier. The euro’s continuing appreciation is becoming alarming. An excessively expensive euro will cost European jobs, coming as it does on top of other setbacks to growth (the sub-prime financial crisis and credit squeeze, the US recession, and the end of the construction boom in several EU countries).

Brussels, 05/03/2008 The Executive Committee condemned the disproportionate use of force by the Israeli military in Gaza in recent days that has caused the deaths of over one hundred Palestinians – many of them civilians, women and children among them. It is a collective punishment of the population of Gaza which violates international law.

Brussels, 04/03/2008 European workers are facing common problems: a drop in purchasing power, coupled with wage moderation and inequality. In response, European trade unions are mobilising on 5 April, the date of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting in Slovenia, to demand better wages, greater purchasing power and equal pay. All the ETUC's affiliated trade union organisations will be sending delegations to Ljubljana. Practical information on the route, the timing and the activities will be sent to you in the coming weeks.

Brussels, 04/03/2008 A top priority for debate is the trade union reaction to the recent Viking and Laval rulings in the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The meeting will also firm up arrangements for the European demonstration for better pay in Ljubljana on 5 April.

Brussels, 03/03/2008 Fighting climate change and energy security are political priorities for Europe. The ETUC, EEB and Social Platform call on the European Council to respect the key principles of the EU 2006 strategy for sustainable development and in particular social equity and social cohesion, the precautionary principle and involvement of citizens, businesses and workers' organisations (see editor’s note).

Glasgow, 29/02/2008 To be checked against delivery President, delegates, this is an important conference on an important topic. I don’t just mean the Lisbon Treaty. I mean the place of Britain and Scotland in the European Union because that is the context that must shape the debate on the Treaty.

Brussels, 29/02/2008 The ETUC calls on European employment ministers and leaders at the forthcoming Spring Council meeting to move from lip service to action on job quality by:

Brussels, 26/02/2008

Brussels, 26/02/2008 To be checked against delivery 1. Chairman, thank you for this invitation to present the views of the ETUC on these two cases. We are grateful that you have moved swiftly to deal with them. They are of massive importance to the European trade union world, and not just to our colleagues directly affected in Sweden/Latvia and Finland/Estonia. It is deeply ironic that the Swedish and Danish models – the widely respected home of flexicurity - are under particular pressure from these cases.

Brussels, 20/02/2008 “We strongly support the opinion of the Commission that EWCs must be in a position to play their full part with regard to development in undertakings, anticipating and accompanying change, and fostering genuine transnational social dialogue in a rapidly changing economic and social context,” says Reiner Hoffmann, Deputy General Secretary of the ETUC.

Brussels, 20/02/2008 Real salaries in Europe are on a downward spiral. The share of wages as a proportion of national income (Gross Domestic Product – GDP), continues to fall. By contrast, companies' profits have been rising. Wealth exists, but it is more and more unequally shared. The European Trade Union Confederation says “stop” to the repeated calls for wage moderation aimed at ordinary workers alone but not at board rooms, and “stop” to governments and employers who too freely resort to lower wages as the only means of adjustment.

Brussels, 20/02/2008 The restrictive measures, first introduced in February 2002, consist of a ban on entry into the EU and a freeze on financial assets for individuals who engage in activities that seriously undermine democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe. An embargo on the supply of arms and equipment intended for military operations is also in force.

Ljubljana, 05/04/2008 The European trade unions will demonstrate on 5 April to demand increased pay. This is the date of the European finance ministers' meeting (ECOFIN) in Slovenia. - <strong>Photo Gallery</strong> - Circular - Programme of the demonstration - Trade union leaders participating in the demonstration - Order of the demonstration

Brussels, 07/02/2008 At the current time:

Brussels, 06/02/2008 Trade unions welcome the UN Commission's decision to focus on 'full and productive employment and decent work' as its 2007-2008 priority. Alarming trends in unemployment in the wake of the current global market turmoil and the threat of recession - revealed in the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) new Global Employment Report 2008 - mean urgent action is needed.

Brussels, 05/02/2008

Brussels, 31/01/2008 The meeting takes place at a time of serious concern about the future health of the European economies. In this context, the ETUC will be emphasising its opposition to current excessive wage moderation, and stressing the need to protect workers' spending power and promote good jobs and adequate social protection in efforts to counter recessionary risks. The ETUC will deliver two strong messages in advance of the informal meeting of employment and social affairs ministers taking place on 31 January to 2 February: