European Union News - Social Affairs

According to a report published by the European Commission, unemployment is closely related to low skills, and nearly one third of Europe's population have no - or low - formal qualifications. The report suggests to apply mutual experience and policy learning as important tools in the fight against precarity and unemployment.

The European Commission announce that 48 countries worldwide will join forces since 5 December to increase international cooperation for the fight against child sexual abuse online. During the launching meeting that will take place on 5 December, the participating countries will make political commitments to pursue a number of goals for making this fight more effective.

The European Commission announced that the Access City Award 2013 to the city of Berlin. The prize, which aims to encourage cities to share their experience and to improve accessibility for the benefit of all, has been awarded in recognition of Berlin's comprehensive and strategic approach to creating an accessible city for all.

The European Commission's proposal for a Directive on the accessibility of public sector bodies' websites that would introduce mandatory EU standardised accessibility features, from the end of 2015, for 12 types of websites, was presented on the International Day of People with Disability.

The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.7% in October 2012, up from 11.6% in September. The EU unemployment rate in October 2012 was 10.7%, higher than September. In October 2012, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands, and the highest in Spain and Greece.