European Union News - Social Affairs

The European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) quarterly has been launched by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). It provides an overview of restructuring activities in Europe in the first quarter of 2011. According this edition, EU has announced job losses and job gains almost level.

First impressions play a critical role in our expectations of people, and first impressions are hard to change, according to scientists at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Research on Collective Goods in Germany. They have also discovered that people will help their fellow man based on how altruistic others are.

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted an opinion on the Commission's proposal aimed at revising the financial rules applicable to the annual budget of the European Union ("EU Financial Regulation"). The EDPS believes, among other conclusions, that the proposal does not meet the requirements of data protection law.

The conclusion of Europol's 2010 review of terrorism is that it continues to pose a high threat to the security of the the EU and its citizens and has become more diverse in its methods and impact.

The EU Hungarian Presidency held the high-level conference “New Challenges in the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020” on 20 April. One of the conclusions was that the education is essential in order to involve disabled people into the labour market.

Justice and Home affairs Council meeting held on 11 and 12 April, mainly focused on migration and border related issues concerning the situation in the Southern neighbourhood region -among many other topics- and adopted conclusions on the subject. In addition, ministers discussed the recent Commission communication on the EU Framework on National Roma Integration Strategies.

The European Parliament has strongly condemned sexual assaults on women in Libya and Egypt as well as the forced virginity tests that have taken place in Egypt. In a resolution adopted MEPs stressed that women’s rights must be respected in the new democratic and legal structures of these societies.

The Hague Maintenance Convention sets up a worldwide system for recovering child support and other family maintenance payments. It creates a common legal framework between the EU and non-EU countries, thus that authorities cooperate in enforcing maintenance claims and debtors can no longer escape by leaving the EU. It also provides for free legal assistance in international child support cases.

In order to help the guiding of national Roma policies and mobilise funds available at EU level to support inclusion efforts, the European Commission presented on 5 April 2011 the European Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies. According to this Framework, which focuses in access to education, jobs, healthcare and housing, Member States should set individual national Roma integration goals in proportion to the population on their territory and depending on their starting point.

The signature of the Operating Plan for the deployment of EU Asylum Support Teams in Greece will assist the Greek authorities in setting up a modern and efficient asylum and reception system. This is the first time that Asylum Support Teams are being deployed by the European Asylum Support Office. It is a very important step towards the reform of the Greek asylum system.

Europe's ambitious goal of taking 20 million people out of poverty will only succeed if local and regional authorities play a key role in developing national programmes and if Europe is prepared to back national, regional and local authorities in their efforts, starting with sufficient funding through the European Social Fund. This was the key message in the Committee of the Regions' (CoR) opinion on the European Platform against poverty and social exclusion, adopted today at its plenary session in Brussels.