European Union News - Social Affairs

The Commission has sent reasoned opinions to Estonia and Finland to fully implement EU rules prohibiting discrimination in employment and occupation on the grounds of sex (2002/73/EC). The countries have two months to respond. If they fail to reply or if the response is unsatisfactory, the Commission can decide to take them to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

On the 5th June 2008 the European Commission published a recommendation dating back from the 10th April 2008 on the management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities and Code of Practice for universities and other public research organisations.

The last Environment Council under the Slovenian presidency will take place in Luxembourg on 5th June 2008 on World Environment Day. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas will represent the European Commission. The Council will hold policy debates on the Climate and Energy package presented by the Commission in January and the proposed regulation to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars. There will be an exchange of views on genetically modified organisms and a decision is expected for be taken on a common position on whaling.

The public awareness raising campaign on climate change launched by the European Commission in May 2006 moves into a final stage tomorrow that will focus on five Member States – Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. Launched on World Environment Day, this third phase of the “You control climate change” campaign aims to initiate pro-active dialogue on climate change in these five countries, where national campaigns have not yet been implemented. This stage of the campaign is centred around television advertising and a competition for young people that seeks to create a virtual community of ‘Changers’ committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by adapting their daily habits.

On the 4th-5th June 2008, beginning at 9am, the second Western Balkans Civil Society Forum will take place organised by the  EESC and Western Balkans civil society acting to promote dialogue and consultation. The forum will take place in Gospodarsko Razstavišče, Dunajska cesta 18, 1000 Ljubljana.

There is a "considerable risk" that the private media's pursuit of profit could compromise its ability to act as a watchdog for democracy, warns a report adopted by the Culture and Education Committee on Tuesday. MEPs advocate "editorial charters" to prevent owners, shareholders or governments from interfering with editorial content, and ombudsmen to protect media freedom. They also want status of weblogs clarified, and suggest introducing fees for commercial use of user-generated content.

The 7th biennial Baltic Sea States Summit will be held on 3 and 4 June in Riga, Latvia. Reform of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will both feature on the Summit agenda. The European Union firmly believes that the Summit will result in a more effective CBSS and looks forward to working with it as an important actor in the region.

The European Commission has stepped up its efforts to promote the use of the charge-free European emergency number 112 in the EU. This February, the Commission asked national authorities to improve public awareness of 112, after a survey showed that only 22% of EU citizens know they can call 112 throughout Europe in an emergency.

Intercultural Dialogue in the workplace will be in the spotlight on Wednesday 4 June in the fourth Brussels Debate of the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The debate entitled “Couscous Culture: is that what Intercultural Dialogue in the workplace is all about?" is organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Network Against Racism. It will take place at 18:30h in the Residence Palace and will be opened by EU Commissioner Vladimír Špidla.

This year's Green Week, the biggest annual conference devoted to European environment policy, will take place from 3 to 6 June at the Charlemagne Building in Brussels. Under the slogan "Only One Earth – Don’t waste it!" Green Week 2008 will focus on the need for Europe and the rest of the world to make its use of resources more sustainable. In addition to 38 conference sessions, there will be an extensive side-events programme, including a ceremony on 3 June at which Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas will announce the winners of the European Business Awards for the Environment 2008. Eleven companies from seven Member States have been nominated.

On 29th May 2008 the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion "Advantages and benefits of the euro: time for assessment" commemorating the 10th anniversary of the European Economic and Monetary Union. The Rapporteur Mr. Burani (Group I, Employers, Italy) considers that after eight years in the hands of more than 300 million Europeans the euro is "an unqualified success". The opinion tries to understand why the Euro is still criticised by parts the public, search for the reasons and, where possible, propose solutions.

The European Economic and Social Committee and the City of Wroclaw are organising a joint European Citizens' Forum entitled "Towards a Europe of Solidarity", which will take place on 19-20 June 2008 in Wroclaw (Poland). The Forum is intended to be both a meeting with interested citizens and a celebration of the European Idea with the general public. The conference will be opened by Mr Lech Wałęsa, former President of Poland and a representative of the EU Presidency, Ms Marjeta Cotman, Slovenian Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, Mrs Jillian van Turnhout, EESC vice-President, as well as Mr Rafał Dutkiewicz, Mayor of Wrocław.