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: