European Union News - Social Affairs

The report, based on an external evaluation, concludes that the Europass initiative is achieving its objectives as a mobility tool for citizens and is relevant to their needs, helping them to make their competences and qualifications easier to understand and more acceptable in both learning contexts and the labour market.

The French Presidency presented a draft European pact on immigration and asylum to its partners at the informal meeting in Cannes on 7 July 2008. It also made a series of proposals aimed at strengthening operational cooperation between police forces and civil protection capabilities.

Launched in 2005, Europass provides a coordinated portfolio of documents helping people to describe what they know and can do in a way that is clearly and easily understood throughout Europe.

15% of Europeans suffer from some form of disability, and many face barriers such as reading a website's small text or even knowing how to access websites and online services. Despite repeated calls by the EU and government leaders to improve this situation, progress remains limited: by far the majority of websites fail to use universally accepted user-friendly solutions. On July 2nd the European Commission launched a public consultation on further measures to make websites in Europe accessible, starting with those of public administrations, and invites stakeholders to give their views. It also addresses other technologies like digital television. The consultation is open until 27 August 2008.

The Commission adopted on July 2nd, a proposal for a directive which provides for protection from discrimination on grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief beyond the workplace. This new directive would ensure equal treatment in the areas of social protection, including social security and health care, education and access to and supply of goods and services which are commercially available to the public, including housing.

Following Slovenia in the first half of the year, France takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2008.

Today is the anniversary of the EU Roaming Regulation, which entered into force on 30th June 2007. Since then, the introduction of the Eurotariff has led to savings of up to 60% for consumers using their mobile phone to make and receive calls abroad within the EU (roaming). They will benefit from further reductions by 30 August as prices will be capped at €0.46 for making calls and €0.22 for receiving calls for the coming year. The European Commission is now assessing whether there have been satisfactory developments in the prices of data roaming (including SMS and MMS) before deciding on whether the Regulation needs to be extended to also cover these services. A deadline set by Commissioner Reding in February to the mobile industry for voluntary reductions of roaming prices for text messages and mobile data services expires today, close of business.

The Commission has today sent reasoned opinions to the Czech Republic, Greece and Poland for non-transposition of EU rules prohibiting discrimination in the access to and supply of goods and services (Directive 2004/113/EC). Member States have two months to respond. If they fail to reply or if the response is unsatisfactory, the Commission can decide to bring the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The European Commission has decided to refer nine Member States to the European Court of Justice for failing to transpose the EU directive on liability for damage to the environment into their domestic law. The deadline was 30 April 2007. The nine are Austria, Belgium (concerning the Brussels region only), Greece, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.

Ten years of Economic and Monetary Union have been a major success, but improving growth rates is largely up to national governments implementing economic reform, MEPs were told at an Economics Committee hearing on Tuesday. Strengthening the international representation of the eurozone was also a key goal.

The Foreign Affairs Committee reiterates its “firm commitment to all candidate countries and to those which have been given clear membership prospects,” but also notes that "future enlargements will require more stable democratic support from the EU’s population," in a report it approved on Tuesday. It also says that more substantive policies are needed to bridge the gap between the Union’s neighbourhood and enlargement policies.

To help enhance the quality of university teaching and attract the best foreign students and academics to Europe, MEPs are fine-tuning phase two of the EU's Erasmus Mundus university co-operation and student mobility programme (2009-13). A report adopted by the Education and Culture Committee on Tuesday says it should be made easier for Erasmus students from third countries to obtain visas, and that tuition fees should not be imposed in countries that do not currently charge them. In the previous programme, 4,424 scholarships were granted from 2004-2008 to students from third countries and 323 universities took part, 265 of them in Europe.