European Pillar of Social Rights: Speeches at the high-level conference
On the 15 and 16 April, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is organising a high-level…
EU Pillar of Social Rights: President von der Leyen and Commissioner Schmit to attend High-level Conference
The goal of the conference is to bring together policymakers, social partners, civil society and other experts to discuss the…
EU Commission concludes 3rd policy dialogue with Japan
Both sides agreed on the benefits of promoting student and academic staff mobility between the EU and Japan. International mobility…
European Works Councils: EP Committee sees need for more effective enforcement
European Works Councils (EWCs) are bodies representing European employees of a multinational company that ensure that employees are involved in…
EU-China conclude the 6th High-Level People-to-People Dialogue
The theme of this 6th edition of the HLPPD was “working together for a greener and more sustainable future”, and…
EU-China conclude the 6th HLPPD on education, culture, youth and sport
The theme of this 6th edition of the HLPPD was “working together for a greener and more sustainable future”, and…
Finland: Talks between social partners on Finnish labour market model
On 22 March 2024, Minister of Employment Arto Satonen invited Katarina Murto, Chair of the Trade Union of Education (OAJ)…
EIOPA: bridging the gender gap in insurance and pensions
Approximately 17 million Europeans are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Women, however, are bearing a heavier burden, as…
9th Cohesion Report: EU Regions and states closing gaps
Cohesion Policy is an important driver of sustainable development and economic growth. In the long run, it is expected that each…
EU Commission rolls out plans for a European degree
Today, the Commission is presenting three initiatives to advance transnational cooperation between higher education institutions, with the ultimate goal of creating a…
Technical Support Instrument: EU Commission updates approach with Q&A
The reforms will cover a wide range of areas impacting citizens’ lives in the EU, ranging from the application of Artificial Intelligence…
Combatting violence and harassment in the workplace: EU Council invites EU countries to ratify ILO convention
EU Council has adopted a decision inviting member states to ratify the International Labour Organization’s convention on violence and harassment…
Eurobarometer: Positive perceptions about the economy and the quality of life in the EU regions
The Commission published today a Flash Eurobarometer conducted at the regional level, showing that EU citizens look positively at the economic situation…
Finland: Residence permit processing time reduced by half
The development measures of the employment and economic development services (TE services), the Finnish Immigration Service and the Ministry of…
Share of health and social work at 7.4% of all EU businesses in 2021
In 2021, the number of businesses in the EU’s health and social work sector amounted to 2.3 million, representing 7.4%…
Sweden invests in sustainable growth and mobilises new capital for green and digital transition
Sweden is a leading donor of development assistance, but meeting the funding needs for a green and digital transition requires…
2024 Day of European Authors promotes reading among young people
To mark this occasion, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, is attending a conference on reading promotion (25-26 March…
New survey shows Pact for Skills helped train 3.5m workers
These results highlight the importance of skills development, in line with the European Year of Skills. They come in the same…
Main messages from the Tripartite Social Summit
In 2023, European enterprises continued to seek to drive the EU's green and digital transitions, and their task was made…
EU Commission takes action to improve the quality of traineeships in the EU
The EU's 2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships set out 21 quality principles to ensure high-quality learning and working conditions. In…
EU Commission sets out actions to tackle labour and skills shortages
Today, the Commission has presented an action plan to tackle labour and skills shortages and proposes to work together with…
Africa: Team Europe and African partners launch four TEIs to strengthen health systems and social protection
Three health Team Europe Initiatives (TEIs) were launched today during the high-level event on the European Union (EU) – African…
ECDC issues recommendations for strengthening emergency and pandemic preparedness planning
PHSMs refer to non-pharmaceutical measures implemented in community settings to abate the spread of infectious disease. These constituted the primary…
Norway donates NOK70m to refugees and migrants
During the meeting, the foreign minister and Pope signed an agreement for NOK 30 million over two years for IOM's…
Norway: New white paper highlights Sámi perspectives in public health work
The white paper on public health and living conditions in the Sámi population builds on the white paper on Public Health…
The EU and Switzerland launch negotiations to deepen bilateral relations
President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd launched today the negotiations on a broad package of…
New cohesion policy: MEPs assess previous period and identify new priorities
Lessons learned from cohesion implementation between 2014 and 2020 should be reflected in the new cohesion policy after the current…
Petteri Orpo: “We need a resilient, competitive and secure Europe”
In his “This is Europe” address to the European Parliament, Prime of Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo focussed on three…
EU countries should ratify Convention on Violence and Harassment at work
On Tuesday, Parliament gave its consent to the Council decision inviting member states to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s Violence…
EU Parliament wants to improve consumer protection against misleading claims
Parliament has adopted its position on establishing a verification and pre-approval system for environmental marketing claims to protect citizens from…
EIT launches a UK Hub to bridge EU and UK innovation sectors
Today, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), Europe's largest innovation ecosystem and a part of the EU research and innovation…
Main results of the EU Employment and Social Policy Council on 11 March 2024
Employment and social affairs ministers endorsed the agreement reached with the European Parliament on the platform work directive. This new law aims…
France: The right to abortion enshrined in the French Constitution
By enshrining women’s right to abortion in the French Constitution, which is a first in the world, France has sent…
Platform workers: EU Council confirms agreement on new rules to improve their working conditions
Today, EU employment and social affairs ministers confirmed the provisional agreement reached on 8 February 2024 between the Council’s presidency…
Celebrating International Women’s Day
Equality between women and men is a fundamental value of the European Union enshrined in the Treaties. A great deal…
Finland: New obligations proposed for providers of private employment services in maritime sector
On 7 March 2024, the Finnish Government submitted to Parliament a proposal concerning the implementation of the amendments made to…
Statement by EU Commission and the EU HR on International Women’s Day
The past four years were marked by several important legislative milestones advancing gender equality. Just one year after the adoption…
Switzerland seen from abroad in 2023: Media focus on Credit Suisse and the war in Ukraine
In 2023, Switzerland received enormous attention in the international media due to the collapse of Credit Suisse and its consequences.…
EU Council and Parliament strike a deal to ban products made with forced labour
The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal on the regulation prohibiting in the EU market products…
Sweden: Inter-agency initiative to attract and retain international expertise
There is currently no clear coordination of the government agencies’ different processes and efforts to attract and establish foreign labour,…
Finland report: Labor market performance of migrants
According to a report commissioned by the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the employment rate and average income…
Finland: Requirements for permanent residence permits to be tightened
In accordance with the Government Programme, the requirement for a six-year period of residence may be waived if the applicant…
EU and World Bank launch civil protection capacity facility
The Technical Assistance Financing Facility for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness supports projects, studies and trainings in disaster and climate resilience and promotes…
MEPs back plans for an EU-wide digital wallet
The new digital identity framework will provide EU citizens with cross border digital access to key public services. According to…
55th session of the UN Statistical Commission – Switzerland elected Chair of the UN Statistical Commission
The 55th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission opened on Monday 27 February 2024 with the election of its…
World NGO Day: Statement by the EU HRVP Josep Borrell
NGO workers, human rights defenders, and journalists are increasingly threatened and attacked, often with impunity. The work of civil society…
Finland’s Foreign Minister consults civil society for UN Human Rights Council
In accordance with established practice, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs invited civil society organisations (CSOs) to comment on Finland’s activities…
More than €425m in Cohesion Funds will ensure commuters in Warsaw a more efficient and frequent rail service
The project, funded under the 2014-2020 cohesion policy programming period, will involve the modernisation of railway tracks, overhead lines, telecommunications…
EIT Summit: Winners of EIT Awards and 2024 prize finalists revealed
Yesterday, the winners of this year's EIT Awards, as well as the ten finalists for the European Prize for Women Innovators were announced…
RRF: Delivering ambitious reforms
Unprecedented in its scale and ambition, the RRF was established in February 2021 and has the two-fold objective of helping…