Tag: social policy

Minimum wages increasingly appear as proper tools to fight cross-border social dumping, argues Klaus Heeger, despite objections that the EU has little or no competence on pay.

Dismayed by the lack of a social dimension to the European Commission's draft '2020 Strategy', centre-left MEPs and trade unions told EurActiv that the Spanish EU Presidency was their best hope of securing a genuine social commitment in Europe's next ten-year economic plan.

Squeezed by the economic crisis, Europe's labour markets can find new dynamism through social innovation, said Vladimir Špidla, EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, in an exclusive interview with EurActiv.

A proposed EU microfinance fund, set up earlier this year to stimulate job creation in recession-ridden Europe, has provoked sharp disagreements. Two experts, one from a social NGO and one from a European chamber of commerce, spoke to EurActiv about the scheme's chances.

"Finding the right mixture of European and national decision-making is key to a fair and efficient social policy for the twenty-first century," write Andrej Stuchlík and Christian Kellermann, researchers at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), a German think tank, in a January paper.

The Commission's long-awaited social package aimed at tackling discrimination and strengthening workers' rights, which was unveiled yesterday (2 July), was warmly welcomed by MEPs but business federations and civil society groups were dismissive, saying it falls short.

Despite general consensus over the need to protect and empower women, they remain under-represented in politics and marginalised in decision-making throughout the world, write EU Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Margot Wallström ahead of International Women's Day on 8 March.

Climate change represents a major challenge for employment policies both in terms of gains and losses, according to a February 2007 study conducted by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the Social Development Agency (SDA) for the European Commission. Even the most optimistic climate-change scenario will have a major impact on economic activities and employment, the report states.

Although they were somewhat overshadowed by decisions that the Council made on climate change and better regulation, a large part of trade-union and social-NGO demands found their way into the Conclusions of the 8-9 March Spring Summit in Brussels. 

The Parliament adopted, with a broad majority, its own-initiative report on a European Social Model for the future.

The Nordic model, combining flexible 'hire and fire' rules with generous social protection benefits, seems to have influenced French PM Dominique de Villepin's new measures to boost employment.

At two important events, leaders of the EU and its member states will discuss the European model, focusing on whether successful models such as the Nordic one can be transferred to countries in distress.

This paper by the Growth Task Force of the European Policy Centre presents a comprehensive analysis on how to achieve long-term sustainable growth in Europe. The paper argues that economic growth is not an end in itself. Rather, economic growth is there to serve a greater ambition: the creation and maintenance of a vibrant, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable European society.

The Dutch "failed to anchor issues such as the fight against poverty, non-discrimination and social inclusion to a clear human rights agenda", claim NGOs.