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:

Athens, 17/03/2007 President, friends, I'd like to thank the previous speakers for the warm-up or the windup. It is with great pleasure that I come to the 33rd Congress of the GSEE to bring greetings from the ETUC, to express our appreciation of the support from, and the work of, the GSEE and to pledge to work together in the future. As your slogan says - Trade Unions- Our Strength.

Brussels, 28/03/2007 The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the reasons for the Airbus crisis, possible solutions and the role of the European institutions and the social partners in the development of the European aeronautics industry. The Parliamentary groups invited the EMF and ETUC, together with the trade unions involved in EADS, to an exchange of views on this issue.

Brussels, 27/03/2007

Berlin, 16/03/2007 The ETUC took the initiative to set up the Euromed Trade Union Forum in order to develop and to harmonize trade union policies in the context of the Barcelona process. It is clear to everybody that Barcelona is not a success story. One of the reasons for some failures is that the policies conducted focussed mainly on trade, market and economic reform and security. Social aspects especially, but also employment effects of the structural reforms had been neglected.

Brussels, 27/03/2007 ETUC Deputy General Secretary Maria Helena André and Maghreb Trade Union Confederation General Secretary Abdessalam Jrad underlined that this was the first tripartite conference on social issues to take place since the launch of the Barcelona process, thereby meeting a long-standing trade union demand.

27/03/2007

26/03/2007