News
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10/10/2007
Seagoing workers invited on board the new maritime policy - reassessing exclusions from EU social laws
Should the current exclusion of seafaring workers from certain EU social laws be eliminated, making them shipshape for a modern maritime sector? Is there a need for specific regulations for the seafaring profession within EU social legislation? What is the best way to improve health and safety on board sea vessels? These are all questions being put to workers' and employers' representatives today to reassess whether EU laws adequately protect seagoing workers. This first-phase consultation aims to strengthen the social dimension of maritime policy and to make the sector more attractive without undermining its competitiveness. It is a follow up to last year's Green Paper on the future of Maritime policy and part of the new EU maritime package being adopted today.
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09/10/2007
Pension proposal on track to improve workers' mobility
The Commission adopted today an amended proposal to reduce obstacles to workers' mobility through improved access and better preservation of supplementary pension rights. The proposal takes on the majority of the European Parliament's amendments from last June. It focuses on the setting of minimum requirements for better access to pension rights, clearer rights of preservation so mobile workers' pensions are treated fairly, and improved access to useful and timely information. Its aim is to ensure that workers are not penalised because of mobility.
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08/10/2007
Celebrating 10 years of the European Employment Strategy: common objectives for more and better jobs
Today sees the tenth anniversary of the EU's main policy tool for creating improved work for all. The European Employment Strategy (EES) – which establishes common EU objectives and priorities, and ensures coordination of employment policies across the EU – has helped raise the EU employment rate from 60.7% to 64.3% since 1997 and cut long term unemployment from 5% to 3.6%. The anniversary is being marked by a major conference organised by the European Commission and the Portuguese EU Presidency, a follow-up to the successful event on Flexicurity last month.
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04/10/2007
ESF outcomes to feed Regional Policy
The 5th "OPEN DAYS - European Week of Regions and Cities" will be held between 8th and 11th October 2007 in Brussels. Around 5,000 people - including regional policy experts and practitioners - will participate. The Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities is an active partner in the event and will be organising several workshops related to ESF activities and results. This year, the event's theme is: "Making it happen: regions deliver growth and jobs". About 150 workshops and sessions will focus on the new generation of cohesion policy programmes.
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04/10/2007
EU approves close to €1.2 billion (2.4 billion Lev) to help Bulgaria
EU approves close to €1.2 billion (2.4 billion Lev) to help Bulgaria create more and better jobs and improve public services for its citizens.
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02/10/2007
The Commission approves the strategy chosen by Belgium to implement the 2007-2013 Cohesion Policy
The European Commission has just approved the strategy chosen by Belgium to implement the 2007-2013 Cohesion Policy. In their National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), the Belgian authorities have set out how they intend to invest the European funding totalling EUR 2.258 billion in line with the Lisbon Strategy for growth and employment.
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01/10/2007
EU approves close to €1 billion for Lithuania to promote social inclusion
EU approves close to €1 billion for Lithuania to promote social inclusion, to help its workers and companies adapt to change and to encourage lifelong learning.
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01/10/2007
EU approves €800 million for Dutch ESF programme to bring everyone in society on-board
The European Commission approved over three-quarters of a billion euros in co-financing for ESF projects in the Netherlands.
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27/09/2007
Globalisation Fund to help 4,000 workers in mobile phone sector
The European Commission today announced that it has approved two further applications for assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) – from Germany and Finland. These will now be put before the European Parliament and the Council for decision. They are the third and fourth applications for EGF support and concern redundancies in two companies in the mobile phone sector: BenQ in Germany and Perlos in Finland.
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27/09/2007
What regional policy for tomorrow? Cohesion Forum assesses the challenges
A major consultation on the shape of tomorrow's regional policy will be launched at the Cohesion Forum in Brussels on 27-28 September. The Forum, which takes place every three years, brings together high-level policy-makers from all over Europe. This major political event will open discussion on the shape of Cohesion Policy after 2013, at the start of a new budgetary period. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Commissioners Danuta Hübner (Regional Policy) and Vladimir Špidla (Employment and Social Affairs) will be at the launch of the Forum. They will be joined by Mr José Sócrates, Prime Minister of Portugal, which holds the EU Presidency. The debates will be based on the issues raised and conclusions reached in the Fourth Economic and Social Cohesion report adopted by the Commission last May.