About: social security Archives

Climate change is likely to cause complex legal, foreign policy and security issues, claims Cleo Paskal in a paper for Chatham House published in June 2007. Adapting international law is only addressing part of the problem, he believes.

The Court of Justice has ruled that unemployed workers, who receive benefits, must meet  conditions on residence before they are allowed to become fully mobile within the EU.

As Germany and France are struggling with the implications of labour reforms that Germany has already implemented and France is still deciding upon, the question arises of whether reforms should be based on successful Nordic models. 

At their 19-20 January 2006 informal summit, employment and social affairs ministers debated the benefits of the Nordic model of flexicurity, which brings together flexibility of the labour force with a high degree of social security.

David Blunkett, the UK work and pensions secretary, argues that more important lessons are to be learnt for EU member states from successful European social models than from those of the US and Asia.

In an exclusive interview for EURACTIV, Hans Skov Christensen, director general of the Federation of Danish Industry, speaks out on the benefits that the model of flexicurity has from an employer's point of view.

The Danish concept of 'flexicurity'  - a combination of easy hiring and firing, high benefits for the unemployed and a pro-active labour market policy - is the talk of the town when labour market issues are being discussed in Brussels presently. Hans Skov Christensen, Director General of Dansk Industri, the association of Danish Industry, speaks out on the model's benefits from an employer's point of view.

The model of flexicurity - a combination of easy hiring and firing, high benefits for the unemployed and a pro-active labour market policy - could solve many of Europe's unemployment problems, experts at a conference agreed.

At the end of 2002, a high-level panel of social and labour experts was asked to find a way forward for social policy in an enlarging European Union. Their report demonstrates how the European social model can maintain its central place in a functioning market economy.

Europe has to face enormous economic challenges (pensions, health care systems) due to its ageing population and shrinking workforce. At the same time, population ageing also poses social problems. The social context is gradually changing (more women at work, dispersed families) and old people are often left to face social exclusion. Differences in financing structures result in health inequalities among European countries, which diversity will further increase with upcoming rounds of EU enlargement.

At the Employment and Social Affairs Council meeting ministers presented a familiar yet vague catalogue of policy priorities designed to improve the EU's employment situation.

This report from the French Economic Mission for Enlargement offers a comparative study of health care systems in the different CEECs, including a summary with facts and figures for each accession country.

In their meeting on 1 December, the Employment and Social Affairs Council reached political agreement on reforming the regulation on social security co-ordination.

Britain, France and Germany have agreed plans to reinforce the EU's military capabilities. However, the deal is likely to raise US concerns about competition with NATO.

In the context of an ageing European society more attention needs to be drawn to the importance of adequate healthcare, volunteer work, social care, and the need to increase the participation of older persons in the labour force.

The special focus of this year's European Social Situation Report is the social dimension of health, including comparative indicators for the new Member States and candidate countries.

The Court of Justice ruled on 9 September that the time hospital doctors perform "on-call" should be considered in full as "working time" and be remunerated accordingly.

The Court of Justice ruled on 13 May that Member States cannot restrict the right of patients to seek medical attention in other countries.

The EU's Employment and Social Affairs Ministers agreed on 3 December to modernise and coordinate the Member States' social security systems for migrant workers. They adopted a set of 12 parameters defining the options to modernise regulation (EEC) No 1408/71. This modernisation will allow legal non-EU nationals to move more freely within the EU without losing their social security rights.

Ministers of Employment and Social Affairs held an open debate on the future of European pensions systems on Tuesday 6 March

Europe's looming pensions crisis focus of attention of conference organised by Friends of Europe