Seville, 23/05/2007 "This is good news for unions and for Europe. Union rights to take action to compel a company from another member state to observe collective agreements have been upheld. The Advocates General have also upheld trade union action to dissuade a company from relocating to another country. We will study the details carefully but these are important landmark and positive opinions for all European trade unions and for Europe".

Brussels, 16/05/2007 The ETUC reiterates its support for the Constitution as already ratified by 18 EU Member States, and emphasises that any new proposal must be a step forward for Social Europe as well. Above all, the ETUC opposes removing or weakening Part 2 of the Constitution, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which represents the most significant advance for European citizens and must be made legally binding at the earliest opportunity.

Brussels, 16/05/2007 The ETUC would like to highlight in particular: the importance of regional integration in the six ACP regions concerned, a pre-requisite for fair trade with Europe; - confirmation of the EU's commitment to partnership agreements that support sustainable development and reduce poverty; - support for the integration of social and environmental provisions in the partnership agreements, with a view to reducing poverty, improving living conditions and promoting sustainable development.

Brussels, 16/05/2007 The four-yearly Congress, which takes place next week in Seville, Spain, is the moment for the entire movement across Europe to unite, to review the political situation, and to agree on its policies and strategies for the coming years.

Sofia, 11/05/2007 To be checked against delivery

Stockholm, 8/05/2007 To be checked against delivery My first Congress after my election as General Secretary of the ETUC was the TCO Congress in 2003 and four years later, I am pleased to be back. I am pleased too to see the progress made by Swedish trade unionism in the past 4 years but not so pleased to have to share your apprehension about the harmful changes being made by the current Swedish Government.

Brussels, 09/05/2007 An own-initiative report on health services was reviewed by the European Parliament's Internal Market Committee this week. The vote resulted in a challenge to the compromise on the Services Directive. The report will be forwarded to the European Parliament plenary session and put to the vote on 24 May.

Brussels, 09/05/2007 At the Congress, the European trade union movement will be going 'On the Offensive' in support of Social Europe, Solidarity and Sustainable Development. The Executive Committee's main task will be to approve a proposal for a 'Seville Manifesto': a summary of the ETUC's Strategy and Action Plan, setting out the main areas for trade union action from now until 2011. The manifesto, to be debated at Congress, will outline key political, economic, environmental and social objectives.

Brussels, 07/05/2007

Brussels, 07/05/2007 The ETUC report identifies three main risks to growth: - Overambitious monetary tightening: If the European Central Bank (ECB) continues to hike interest rates, it will repeat the mistake it already made in 2000, and strangle growth. To avoid this danger, the ETUC is calling for a moratorium on further interest rate hikes over 4%.

Brussels, 04/05/2007 The trade union delegation, led by the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will urge G8 ministers to prioritise the social dimension of globalisation, focusing in particular on more and better employment, stronger social protection in developing and emerging countries, and the social responsibility of businesses.

Brussels, 03/05/2007 To be checked against delivery I bring the greetings of the ETUC to the Congress of FERPA. I bring the thanks of the ETUC to Luigina de Santis who finishes as your secretary at this Congress. Luigina has been a friendly and effective force for good in the ETUC family. We will miss her and we wish her well in her return to her native country of Italy. I bring the congratulations of the ETUC to your new secretary Bruno COSTANTINI.

Brussels, 02/05/2007 "It is unacceptable for the police to arrest peacefully demonstrating trade unionists and to scatter hundreds of other demonstrators by using tear gas", declared ETUC General Secretary John Monks. "Apparently the press was also prevented from covering the event by the police." The ETUC's members include Turkish trade unions and the organisation is concerned about the turn political events seem to be taking in Turkey at the present time.

Brussels, 30/04/2007 ETUC General Secretary John Monks stated: “Public services fulfil a social cohesion function. Through the petition we have launched, workers are demanding that account be taken of the collective needs that are vital to us all, such as health, social services, housing, water supply and so on.”

Brussels, 27/04/2007 Drawing attention to the entry of China, India and the former Soviet Union into the global economy, ETUC General Secretary John Monks and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney note that this has doubled the size of the globally integrated workforce over the last 20 years.

Brussels, 27/04/2007 According to statistics from the International Labour Organization (ILO), every year over 150,000 people in the European Union die as a result of accidents at work or diseases linked to the workplace.

Brussels, 26/04/2007 With this agreement, the European social partners firmly condemn harassment and violence in all their forms and recognise that harassment and violence can potentially affect any workplace and any worker; even if in practice some groups and sectors can be more at risk. Amongst other, the agreement provides a method to prevent, identify and manage problems of harassment and violence at work, which

Brussels, 23/04/2007 In its response to the Commission's Green Paper on 'Modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st century', the ETUC welcomed the recognition that urgent action needs to be taken to increase protection of the most vulnerable groups of workers in the EU.

Athens, 23/04/2007 To be checked against delivery Chairman, delegates, I am privileged to bring the greetings of the ETUC to this Congress. UNI-Europa, and UNI generally, have gone from strength to strength and play an essential part in European and world trade unionism. The mergers have gone smoothly to my outside but still close eye.

Brussels, 20/04/2007

Brussels, 20/04/2007 Flexicurity is supposed to be about combining a flexible workforce with high levels of employment and social protection. The European Commission is due to present proposals to the December 2007 European Council.

Brussels, 20/04/2007 To be checked against delivery Is it a coincidence that the European countries which are most in line with fulfilling the Lisbon targets - and are also currently among the leaders of the world's economies on OECD statistics - are precisely those with the highest proportion of trade union members and the most extensive collective bargaining systems with good pay and working conditions?

Brussels, 19/04/2007 European Works Councillors, together with ETUC and the European Industry Federations, will demand an effective system of information, consultation and participation rights and the definition of a legal framework for transnational collective bargaining, in order to foster a sustainable European integration process based on a strong social dimension.

Brussels, 17/04/2007 On 4 April, the Commission announced that the "EU offers full market access to Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions as part of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations". Indeed, the negotiations that will lead to the conclusion of EPAs entered into their final phase in 2007. The Cotonou Agreement, the framework for negotiation of the EPAs, calls on the trade union organisations from the ACP and European countries alike to participate actively in their development (principle of active participation).

Brussels, 12/04/2007 This decision follows from a collective complaint submitted in 2005 jointly by ETUC, Podkrepa and CITUB after the refusal of the Bulgarian government to broaden the right to strike of civil servants in general as well as to repeal the absolute ban of strikes by workers in the communications and health sector. The ECSR's decision, which was now made public, concludes that the currently applicable Bulgarian laws providing for: