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.