European Union News - Social Affairs

Culture ministers and civil society representatives from the 39 members of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership are meeting in Athens on 29/30 May to exchange views on the cultural dimension of the partnership and to explore the substance and scope of a joint cultural strategy. They will be discussing the political processes and mechanisms that will lead to the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean Cultural Strategy.

In May, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) decreased further by 1.3 points to 96.7 in the EU and remained unchanged in the euro area at 97.1. In both regions, the ESI stands below its long-term average. Economic sentiment indicator (s.a.)

The EU Competitiveness Council is meeting in Brussels on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 May under the chairmanship of Mr Andrej Vizjak, Minister for Economy of Slovenia, Mr Gregor Virant, Minister of Public Administration, and Ms Mojca Kucler Dolinar, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Slovenia. The European Commission will be represented by, Vice President Gunter Verheugen, responsible for Enterprise and Industry, Commissioner Charlie McCreevy responsible for the Internal Market and Services, Commissioner Janez Potocnik for Science and Research, Danuta Hubner, Commissioner for Regional Policy and Jan Figel Commissioner for Education, training, culture and youth.

The European Commission has published an independent study on the ‘home-grown players’ rule adopted by UEFA. This rule requires clubs participating in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup to have a minimum number of ‘home-grown players’ in their squads. Compared with the '6+5' plan proposed by FIFA, which is incompatible with EU law, the Commission considers that UEFA has opted for an approach which seems to comply with the principle of free movement of workers while promoting the training of young European players. The Commission also notes that the measures are designed to support the promotion and protection of quality training for young footballers in the EU.

Europe has almost 22 million overweight children, and a further 1.3 million will be overweight or obese by 2010, says the Environment Committee in a report, adopted on Tuesday, that calls for an earlier start to measures to prevent obesity. Remedies include clearer food labelling, better food in schools and kindergartens, restrictions on advertising unhealthy food to children, and VAT reductions for fruit and vegetables.

On the 27th May 2008, the DG Economic and Financial Affairs published in the Official Journal of the European Union a Publication of a vacancy for a Director of Financial operations, programme management and liaison with the EIB group.

Millions of Europeans face an increased risk of social exclusion through lack of access to basic financial services, according to a new study presented by the European Commission on the 28th May 2008. The results of the study will be discussed at a high level conference in Brussels on the 28th. The conference will bring together over 400 participants from all over Europe and the world from the financial sector, consumer groups, public authorities and NGOs to propose a series of potential policy responses. The initiative follows the Single Market Review of November 2007, where the Commission announced its intention to ensure that, by a certain date, nobody is denied access to a basic bank account.

Lifelong learning works as a catalyst to competitiveness, prosperity and social cohesion and yet no country has attempted to measure lifelong learning within its population. The Canadian Council on Learning have developed a way to sudy how thier population is "lerning" which come to the attention of European authorities.

The EP Environment Committee voted on Tuesday 27th May 2008, to reintroduce most of the Parliament's first-reading amendments (previously rejected by the Council) to a proposal to include airline traffic in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The two institutions have been battling  to have thier proposals put forward this week.

During its Plenary Session on 28 and 29 May 2008, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will adopt an exploratory opinion on the mobility of young people in Europe. In this opinion, prepared at the request of the future French presidency, the EESC calls for increase the number of people benefiting from mobility programmes and to enhance their quality.