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 29-11-2005 | Diversity is fully in line with business
Reflecting demographic changes the European business sphere turns towards workforce diversity. Tangible evidence was produced at the UK Presidency Conference "Business Case for Diversity" held in Brussels today. Addressing this gathering of the European business sector high-level representatives Commissioner Vladimir Spidla pointed out that diversity should be understood in all its aspects, including gender, ethnicity, age, disability, religion etc. "It is a failure on part of employers if they do not make use of the potential offered by a diverse workforce." Experiences proved that such an approach makes fully commercial sense.
28-11-2005 | 83% of European companies with 'diversity in the workplace' policies see business benefits - Commission report Diversity policies make good business sense say 83% of the companies who have adopted them, a new European Commission survey reveals. The main business benefits include being able to recruit from a wider selection of people, being able to keep better workers longer, improved community relations and an enhanced company image. Yet nearly half of all companies responding to the survey still have to implement a diversity policy. While companies in the north and west of the EU have wider use of and experience in diversity policies, those in southern Europe and the new EU Member States stressed their need for more information on how to develop them. The new report focuses on diversity policies promoting non-discrimination on grounds of ethnic or racial origin, disability, religion or belief, age and sexual orientation in the workplace.
24-11-2005 | Helping economically inactive people back to work Employment may be a viable option even for people inactive due to ill health or disability. Focusing on practical steps at both European and nation levels in this field the conference "Economic Inactivity and Ill Health - Challenges and Solutions" was held in Cardiff. Being one of the key speakers at this two days forum, Commissioner Vladimir Spidla pointed out that this is one of the key aspects in the EU effort to accomplish much greater social cohesion.
22-11-2005 | One year of press activities of Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Together with the Barroso Commission, Vladimir Spidla completed his first year as Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities today. On this occasion, Commissioner Spidla met the press at an informal reception in Brussels and presented both his achievements so far and plans for 2006. "It is not much about looking back, but about having ambitious plans for the future. Much has been done, but there is much more to be done."
22-11-2005 | ESF Projects Forum In 2000-2006, the federal share of the European Social Fund comes up to some 72 million Euro in Belgium (9%). Today, a special Forum was held in Brussels to present the results of the country programming within this period, including an exhibition introducing all 26 federal ESF projects.
18-11-2005 | The European Commission starts the first "Plan D" mission to meet EU citizens in the Czech Republic The European Commission starts the first "Plan D" mission to meet EU citizens in the Czech Republic. President Barroso, vice-resident Margot Wallstrom and Czech Commissioner Vladimir Spidla come together with Czech representatives and citizens in Prague, Pardubice and Most. The visit is part of the "Plan D" project initiated by the Commission to promote the dialog between institutions and citizens of the EU as a follow-up of the referenda on the EU Constitutional Treaty in France and Netherlands.
14-11-2005 | Inter-parliamentary Conference on "Transitional Arrangements for Free Movement of Workers" Commissioner Vladimir Spidla participated in the Inter-parliamentary Conference on "Transitional Arrangements for Free Movement of Workers" held in Prague. As a keynote speaker Commissioner Spidla presented the overall situation within the EU25 and the European Commission role in this area. He said:"The substance of the European integration is the Union of people not objects. Europe where people can not move freely for job remains to be an unfinished business."
20-10-2005 | Under a new European Commission Directive, European citizen can from now on move jobs and country without losing work pension benefits Workers switching jobs or countries will no longer have to worry about substantial loss of work pension benefits under the 'portability of pensions' Directive, proposed by the European Commission today. At present, changing job or country can mean losing occupational pension benefits in some Member States. But today's proposal would mean avoiding major losses and in many cases allowing benefits to transfer with the worker across sectors and countries in the EU. The Directive will help the growing numbers of EU workers who are switching jobs. In the EU15, one worker in three changes jobs every five years and 9% employees change employer each year.
19-10-2005 | New EU report shows active labour policy can increase employment rate despite low growth Economic growth on its own does not increase employment. The right mix of employment and active labour market policies is critical to increase employment rates. The Employment in Europe report published today shows that despite low economic growth the EU's employment rate doubled to 0.6% and its unemployment rate stabilised at around 9% in 2004 on the back of key employment reforms introduced under the European Employment Strategy. Active labour policies are about getting people back into the labour force - they include policies such as lifelong learning, investing in skills and training and personal career coaching.
29-09-2005 | 20 years of European Social Dialogue: Social Partners provide input to the debate on the future of Europe EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso said at today's social dialogue summit in Brussels: "Without solidarity there would not be a European Union. Faced with rapid globalisation, we must work hard, together with our social partners, to renew and strengthen Europe's economic and social models." Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal opportunities, Vladimir Spidla emphasised that the social partners' role has become even more important due to the economic and social challenges facing the EU, such as industrial restructuring and an ageing population. The meeting was an opportunity for the social partners to provide input to the debate on the future of the European social model, which will be discussed at next month's informal EU heads of state summit in the UK.
16-09-2005 | Commissioner Spidla kicks off run-in to free labour movement decisions for next three years The process of deciding whether to maintain restrictions on the free movement of workers in the EU for a further three years will begin with a meeting in Brussels today.
14-09-2005 | Directive on optical radiation EU Commissioner for Employment, Social affairs and Equal opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, announced yesterday that he is willing to remove the reference to sunlight from the Directive on optical radiation. The Directive would thus regulate the health and safety of workers only regarding artificial radiation.
05-09-2005 | Commissioner Vladimir Spidla signs EU-China agreement EU Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Commissioner Vladimir Spidla signed the first employment oriented EU-China Memorandum
of Understanding with Tian Chengping, the Chinese minister for Labour
and Social Security on 5 September.
02-09-2005 | The European Commission strengthens dialogue with China on employment and social affairs The EU and China will hold regular meetings and exchanges of information on employment and social affairs issues under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be signed on Monday, 5 September 2005 at the EU-China summit. The MoU, between the European Commission and the Chinese government, will provide the framework for dialogue on areas such as social protection, social cohesion, labour legislation, employment, labour relations and social dialogue. Each side will visit the other at least once a year in Brussels and Beijing alternately.
11-07-2005 | A better work/family life balance in the EU: either we all help out or we lose out To balance work and family life better, the European Social Model needs to be modernized and the EU's economy needs to pick up. Europe's demographic changes means it needs more children, a higher percentage of working women and care for the increasing number of elderly. The EU can tackle this 'magic triangle' if everyone helps share the burden, through new ways of balancing work/family life. But failure to do so would directly hit Europe's future economic growth, as well as putting a potentially unbearable burden on women's shoulders. President Barroso and Commissioner Spidla will be talking about possible new ways at the Brussels conference 'Confronting demographic changes: a new solidarity between generations', which started today.
06-07-2005 | The European Commission presents the new Community Strategic Guidelines for cohesion, growth and jobs Danuta Hübner, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, together with Vladimír Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, yesterday presented a Communication on the Community Strategic Guidelines on economic, social and territorial cohesion. The new Guidelines will establish priorities for the next generation of cohesion policy programmes, helping Member States to focus on key areas for growth and employment. The Commission will propose the Guidelines for formal adoption by Council and European Parliament, once the legal regulations underpinning the new cohesion policy have been adopted. Meanwhile, a public consultation will help to shape the final version.
30-06-2005 | 2006 - the European Year of Workers' mobility The European Commission has named 2006 the European Year for mobility of workers. The year aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of the benefits of both working abroad and in a new occupation. It is the first European year which combines the issues of mobility and workers.
23-06-2005 | Forum on restructuring - Examples of the EU Structural Funds helping people and regions across Europe through the restructuring process. Examples of the EU Structural Funds helping people and regions across Europe through the restructuring process.
20-06-2005 | Signature of the Joint Memorandum on Social Inclusion with Romania Vladimír Špidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, and the Romanian Minister for Labour, Social Solidarity and the Family, Mr Gheorghe Barbu, today signed the Joint Memorandum on Social Inclusion, the objective of which is to prepare Romania for participation in the European Social Inclusion Strategy. The Memorandum analyses the key political challenges in the social field and makes recommendations for the next steps in the struggle against poverty and social exclusion.
14-06-2005 | Commission listens to key actors on a future EU approach to the admission of economic migrants Today the Commission hosts a public hearing on economic migration which will be opened jointly by Vice-President Frattini and Commissioner Spidla. The hearing is a direct follow-up to the Green Paper on an EU approach to managing economic migration which the Commission presented in January this year. The hearing is based on a bottom-up rather than top down approach, bringing together the main stakeholders in this debate, notably trade unions, employers organisations, governments, European Parliament and European Economic and Social Committee, non-governmental organisations, and interested third-countries.
01-06-2005 | 2007 to be "European Year of Equal Opportunities for All" The European Commission has designated 2007 as 'European Year of Equal Opportunities for All' as part of a concerted effort to promote equality and non-discrimination in the EU. The European Year is the centrepiece of a framework strategy designed to ensure that discrimination is effectively tackled, diversity is celebrated and equal opportunities for all are promoted. The strategy is set out in a Communication adopted by the European Commission today.
20-05-2005 | Danuta Hübner and Vladimir Spidla discussed in Luxembourg today the Community priorities for cohesion policy after 2006 European Commissioner for Regional Policy,Mrs Danuta Hübner and European Commissioner, Mr Vladimir Spidla, presented at the Informal Ministerial meeting on Regional Policy and Territorial Cohesion in Luxembourg a reflection paper setting out ideas for future priorities based on the renewed Lisbon agenda for growth and jobs. Today's session covered the Strategic Guidelines for the next generation of regional cohesion programmes for 2007-2013. Tomorrow's session is devoted to territorial cohesion.
04-05-2005 | Austria fails to implement EU race anti-discrimination law The European Court of Justice (ECJ) today ruled that Austria had breached EU law by failing to transpose fully a European Directive prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin (Directive 2000/43/EC). The deadline for EU Member States to transpose this Directive was 19 July 2003 - except for the 10 new Member States, who had to ensure that their legislation complied with the Directives by their accession to the EU on 1 May 2004.
02-05-2005 | French journalists win first EU "For Diversity. Against Discrimination" Award The first prize of the EU Journalist "For Diversity. Against Discrimination" Award has been won by a group of four journalists from France. The winning article "Raciste, l'entreprise?" by the team Pascale-Marie Deschamps, Michel Derenbourg, Claire Aubé and Lionel Steinmann takes a frank look at racial discrimination in the workplace. The second and the third prizes were won by articles from Denmark and Hungary respectively. The three winners will be presented with their prizes of a trip to an EU country of their choice with a tailored journalistic programme by Vladimir Spidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.
28-04-2005 | Germany has failed to implement EU race anti-discrimination law The European Court of Justice (ECJ) today ruled that Germany had breached EU law by failing to transpose fully a European Directive prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin (Directive 2000/43/EC). The deadline for EU Member States to transpose this Directive was 19 July 2003 - except for the 10 new Member States, who had to ensure that their legislation complied with the Directives by their accession to the EU on 1 May 2004.
19-04-2005 | Commissioner Špidla hails launch of "Stop that Noise" Campaign Vladimir Spidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, today hailed the launch of the Europe-wide "Stop that Noise" campaign aimed at raising awareness of the risks of excessive noise at work. New EU rules will set a new, lower limit of 87 decibels for workers' daily exposure to noise from next year. More than 13 million workers, not only in heavy industry but also in sectors such as services, education and entertainment, are thought to have suffered impaired hearing at work.
11-04-2005 | Employment Week The 12th Employment week conference and exhibition in Brussels on April 12-14 will focus on the review of the EU's Lisbon jobs and growth strategy and the European Social Fund (ESF). Taking place at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, the event will provide a one stop shop on employment, economic development and training.
05-04-2005 | Equipping people for change: Commission proposes over 11bn euro to help EU workers and regions affected by restructuring The European Commission aims to allocate up to 11.3bn euro to people and regions affected by economic change. Faced with a future of intense global competition, the European Union needs effective policies in place to equip individuals to cope with change, promote new enterprise in areas affected by economic change and to anticipate restructuring. The Commission has put forward a proposal to strengthen social dialogue, streamline existing policies, increase funding and refocus existing funding.
04-04-2005 | Getting people into work: Commission reveals results from 5.5bn innovation programme at Warsaw EQUAL-Conference On February 25, the results of over 1,300 innovation partnerships were unveiled at the 'Free movement of good ideas' conference in Warsaw. The results were achieved under the EU's 5.5bn euro EQUAL programme, which aims to find new ways of getting people into work by challenging existing obstacles. The European Commission, which co-financed the projects, presented an analysis of the new successful innovations and lessons learned.
22-03-2005 | Social partners strongly support the Commission's Lisbon Strategy The European Commission today received strong support from the Social partners (UNICE/UEAPME and CEEP for the employers and ETUC/CEC/Eurocadres for the trade unions) for the review of its Lisbon strategy, which highlights the importance of jobs and growth in the EU. The European Tripartite Social Summit in Brussels was held together with representatives of the European Commission and of the present and future EU Presidencies.
17-03-2005 | Europe's population is getting older. How will this affect us and what should we do about it? The EU is facing unprecedented demographic changes that will have a major impact on the whole of society. Figures in the Green Paper on Demographic Change launched today by the Commission show that from now until 2030 the EU will lack 20.8 million (6.8 per cent) people (*) of working age. In 2030 roughly two active people (15-65) will have to take care of one inactive person (65+). And Europe will have 18 million children and young people fewer than today.
14-03-2005 | Commissioner Spidla and President Barroso meet with the European social partners The European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, and Commisioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimír Špidla, met with the European social partners (UNICE, CEEP, UEAPME for the employers and CES/ ETUC for the employees) today in Brussels.
08-03-2005 | Commission proposes Institute for Gender Equality Vladimír Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, today announced that a new European Institute for Gender Equality will be set up to support the EU institutions and the Member States in promoting equality between women and men and combating sex discrimination.
04-03-2005 | International Women's Day 2005: Is the role and perception of Woman in the European Union changing? For the sixth time the Commission will join in with NGOs, the European Parliament and other institutions around the world to celebrate the International Women's Day.
24-02-2005 | Getting people into work: Commission to reveal results from 5.5bn innovation programme The results of over 1,300 innovation partnerships will be unveiled at the 'Free movement of good ideas' conference in Warsaw tomorrow. The results were achieved under the EU's 5.5bn EQUAL euro programme, which aims to find new ways of getting people into work by challenging existing obstacles. The European Commission, which co-financed the projects, will be presenting an analysis of the new successful innovations and lessons learned.
24-02-2005 | Finland and Luxembourg are found guilty of failing to implement EU race anti-discrimination law The European Court of Justice (ECJ) today ruled that Finland and Luxembourg had breached EU law by failing to transpose fully an European Directive prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin (Directive 2000/43/EC). The deadline for EU Member States to transpose this Directive was 19 July 2003 - except for the 10 new Member States, who had to ensure that their legislation complied with the Directives by EU accession on 1 May 2004.
11-02-2005 | Rail transport sector: Vladimir Spidla puts forward proposal on working conditions for railway staff that cross borders Vladimir Spidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities, this week hailed a proposal for a directive laying down specific rules for working time, driving time and rest periods for railway staff who operate on the rail network of at least two Member States and cross borders during their working day. The directive enshrines an agreement reached last year by EU-level employers' and workers' representatives.
09-02-2005 | The new Social Agenda: an essential pillar of the new growth and jobs strategy The Commission today launched its new Social Agenda for modernising Europe's social model under the revamped Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs. The new agenda focuses on providing jobs and equal opportunities for all and ensuring that the benefits of the EU's growth and jobs drive reach everyone in society. By modernising labour markets and social protection systems, it will help people seize the opportunities created by international competition, technological advances and changing population patterns while protecting the most vulnerable in society.
03-02-2005 | Commissioner Spidla emphasises that the fight for gender equality must go on Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, today expressed his thanks to the Luxembourg Presidency for organising the Beijing+10 Conference with the support of the Commission.
27-01-2005 | Member States need to embrace reform more decisively to create more growth and jobs, Commission reports show - Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion Progress was made in the last few years to complete the European Union's single market and improve the conditions for business, but much more needs to be done to increase the bloc's competitiveness through sounder public finances, more active labour policies, more productive investment - including in knowledge - and more integrated markets, in order to step up economic growth and job creation whilst protecting our environment. These conclusions were drawn in key reports looking at the implementation of multi-annual targets for the economy as a whole and the internal market, employment and environment in particular. The reports or "Implementation Package", will feed into the forthcoming mid-term review of the EU's Lisbon strategy and the Commission's report to the Spring European Council in March.
27-01-2005 | Member States need to embrace reform more decisively to create more growth and jobs, Commission reports show - Joint Employment Report (JER) Progress was made in the last few years to complete the European Union's single market and improve the conditions for business, but much more needs to be done to increase the bloc's competitiveness through sounder public finances, more active labour policies, more productive investment - including in knowledge - and more integrated markets, in order to step up economic growth and job creation whilst protecting our environment. These conclusions were drawn in key reports looking at the implementation of multi-annual targets for the economy as a whole and the internal market, employment and environment in particular. The reports or "Implementation Package", will feed into the forthcoming mid-term review of the EU's Lisbon strategy and the Commission's report to the Spring European Council in March.
11-01-2005 | Brussels seminar to focus on EU contribution to UN social development debate The European Commission, in cooperation with the Luxemburg Presidency of the EU, is organising the 'Promoting social development for all' seminar in Brussels on 13 and 14 January. The event will help prepare the EU's contribution to the United Nations' forthcoming review of its Copenhagen Plan on social development initiated 10 years ago, which focused on alleviation of poverty, employment and social integration.
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