Brussels, 22/11/2007 Once more a major company, active in 22 European Member States as well as Norway and Switzerland, and with more than 60,000 employees, is making an explicit commitment to management at European level, coupled with fair representation for workers on the company’s managerial bodies.

Brussels, 21/11/2007 When the ETUC accepted the internal market as the EU's pivotal project, the Commission promised and delivered a strong social dimension: an ambitious social policy agenda, several legislative initiatives on health and safety at work and gender equality, as well as promotion of social dialogue. The internal market strategy did not concern competition alone, but was a balanced approach.

Brussels, 21/11/2007 The ETUC is also pleased that European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, in the European Parliament debate on the legislative work programme 2008 on Tuesday 13 November, confirmed his intention to submit a proposal to amend the European Works Councils Directive, to allow EWCs to anticipate and accompany restructuring.

Brussels, 20/11/2007 Nonetheless the ETUC campaign has contributed to one step forward – the inclusion of a protocol in the EU Reform Treaty which recognises the primacy of services of general interest. This was achieved primarily by the Dutch Government but it lines up with the ETUC campaign which has been strongly supported by mayors of capital cities and many in civil society.

Brussels, 20/11/2007 The ETUC Steering Committee discussed an assessment, made by Professor Brian Bercusson of Kings College UK for ETUC, of the various ways in which the Court may decide. [[Full assessment available on ETUC website: http://www.etuc.org/a/4295]]

Brussels, 19/11/2007 This new report is a further step to make the numerous initiatives of social partners on gender equality more visible and to encourage the exchange of good practices across Europe. It follows on and complements a first report issued in January 2007 evaluating the first year of implementation of the Framework of Actions, which was presented at the occasion of the launch of the European Year for Equal Opportunities 2007.

Bruxelles, 16/11/2007 En outre, elles demandent d'étendre les préférences commerciales de l'Accord de Cotonou jusqu'au moment où les pays d'Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP) seront en mesure de conclure des APE – si, et uniquement si, ils décident de le faire.

Brussels, 16/11/2007 Reacting to indications that the Commission is poised to reject proposals for a directive on services of general interest (public services), the ETUC Steering Committee on 15 November warned the Commission that it must give a proper place to public services in the EU single market and not subject them to the same tests as the market sector.

Brussels, 13/11/2007 The trend fall in the share of wages in gross domestic product is substantial (see graph). With policies of wage moderation being the root cause for this trend, it is not consistent for European policy actors to regret on the one hand the falling share of wages while on the other hand calling for wage moderation to continue.

Brussels, 09/11/2007

Brussels, 08/11/2007 He drew attention to trade union concerns about the European Commission's proposals for reform of the TDIs, outlined last year in a Green Paper. And he warned of the danger of environmental and social dumping if standards are lowered, in the absence of a global competition law.

Brussels, 08/11/2007 It is an honour for me to present the concluding remarks of this seminar on the European Union's Trade Defence Instruments.

Brussels, 08/11/2007 The argument the ETUC puts to the ECB in support of an interest rate cut is based on the common but crucial understanding that monetary policy must be forward-looking. If the ECB does not put itself at the front of the economic curve, it risks entrenching negative growth expectations and repeating the dismal growth performance of the first half of this decade.

Brussels, 05/11/2007 Media quality is under threat because of a failure of investment and resources. Urgent action is needed to improve staffing levels, workloads, resources and budgets, to enable journalists and all who work with them to continue producing high quality output. The Stand up for Journalism campaign highlights a social and professional crisis in modern journalism.

Budva, 30/10/2007 To be checked against delivery Thank you for the opportunity to express a trade union perspective on all this. Let me start by expressing the appreciation of the ETUC to those who have made all this possible. To the Belgian and Swiss Governments whose commitment and far sighted support has been crucial; and to our hosts, the Republic of Montenegro.

Copenhagen, 29/10/2007 To be checked against delivery President, delegates, fellow guests: It is a pleasure to return to Denmark, the country which has given the world Hans Christian Andersen, Peter Schmeical and flexicurity. All these have played a significant part in my life at one time or other! Last week at a meeting in Lisbon, the ETUC agreed with Europe’s employers a joint analysis of Europe’s labour markets including flexicurity.

Brussels, 26/10/2007 The ETUC hopes that the EU-Africa Summit in December will pursue this structured strategic partnership. The main concern of trade union organisations is to ensure that trade, development, social and foreign policies go hand in hand and do not contradict each other. “This the reason why we have been particularly attentive to the inclusion of sustainable development chapters in every EU trade agreement. And sustainable development naturally includes social as well as environmental factors”, declared Maria Helena André”.

Brussels, 26/10/2007 Many trade union leaders from both Africa and Europe are concerned by the minimal attention that the Joint Strategy devotes to labour issues and decent work. This lack of interest from EU and AU leaders is hard to understand as the creation of more and better jobs is a common aspiration of peoples from both Europe and Africa.

Lisbon, 26-27/10/2007 To be checked against delivery I would like, first, to thank the Portuguese Presidency for having initiated this conference, and also the Commission and our affiliates in Portugal, UGTP and CGTP-IN, for their help and support. We hope that this meeting sets a precedent and that if, as we hope, the EU-Africa Summit in December decides to pursue an ambitious and well-structured Strategic Partnership, then such trade union meetings will become a regular part of it.

Brussels, 23/10/2007 The ETUC is in favour of a comprehensive policy at EU level on migration, integration and development, offering legal channels for migration at all skills levels, while at the same time rigorously applying and enforcing labour standards and guaranteeing equal treatment with local workers.

London, 23/10/2007 Chairman, ladies and gentleman, few words can cause so much alarm in the hearts and minds of many trade unionists as 'globalisation'. It conveys a range of meanings, mostly negative. The first meaning is of jobs emigrating to cheap locations.

Brussels, 23/10/2007 “Few words can cause so much alarm in the hearts and minds of many trade unionists as globalisation,” he admitted. Its impacts include relocation of jobs to cheaper locations, large-scale migration of workers, and the rising power of financial capitalism. Together, these contribute to a growing disillusionment with politics – seen as powerless in the face of the global market.

Brussels, 22/10/2007 The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) continues to be concerned about the process used to conclude the agreement which largely excluded the social partners and many others. We continue too to be concerned about the reduced status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (compared to the old draft constitutional treaty) and continuing doubts about its degree of legal enforceability on Member States. We also deplore the opt-out by the UK (the new Polish Government appear to be withdrawing its opt-out).

Brussels, 19/10/2007 - To complement job protection systems with employment security measures, thereby recognising that employment security can only be negotiated and secured if there is robust job protection. - To tackle precarious work by improving job protection for vulnerable workers, not by making all contracts insecure. - To review the design of labour law with a view to promoting stable employment contracts and relationships and sustainable labour market practice, instead of reducing the level of protection.

Brussels, 18/10/2007 1. The ETUC regrets the unambitious nature of much of the EU Reform Treaty. There was a real opportunity to revive social Europe by extending qualified majority voting and by extending the competences of the Union to control the dark side of globalisation and rampant financial capitalism. What we have instead is a series of modest adjustments to the EU’s framework of rules, which will have only a limited impact on the process of deepening Europe’s capacity to act decisively in the world.