The EU Alliance for Investing in Children welcomes the European Commission’s proposal for a European Pillar of Social Rights, and its aspiration to achieve a “social triple-A rating” by re-balancing the EU’s existing prioritisation of financial and economic concerns with social issues. We recognise that this new social rights initiative has the potential to help…
A broad group of civil society and consumer organisations as well as trade unions call on the EU’s trade ministers to reject the signature of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada [1]. The trade ministers are gathering in Bratislava today and tomorrow to discuss the ratification of the CETA agreement. The agreement…
On 20 September, the European Semester Alliance held a capacity building session for its members. It was hosted by the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI), with the participation of 18 Alliance members from a wide range of social, environmental NGOs and trade unions. The aim was to bring members up to speed on the…
Refugee and migrant families risk being split up during the journey to the EU. Over a third of new arrivals in the past year were children, who often arrive unaccompanied as they become separated from their family. The latest Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) summary report on migration-related fundamental rights throws the spotlight on how the…
The State of the Union speech was made this morning by the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. It will give important pointers for the priorities of the Commission so benefits from careful reading. There is one section about protecting the European way of life. One of the distinctive contributions of Europe is our…
1 September 2016, an exchange of views on a European Pillar of Social Rights was organised in the European Parliament. It was planned in the framework of the preparation of the draft European Parliament report. Diverse representatives participated: the European Commission, International Labour Organisation (ILO), European Trade Unions Confederation (ETUC), BusinessEurope, University of Amsterdam and SOLIDAR. Rapporteur…
CONCORD Europe, WWF, ETUC and the European Youth Forum drafted a common statement on the future of Europe, supported by EAPN among 177 European and national Civil Society Organisations and Trade Unions. Europe is at a crossroads, and the future of European cooperation and the benefits it brings are at stake. This is about the future of our…
“Armut und Gesundheit in Deutschland” is the association that Gabi Bischoff President of the Workers’ Group at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), proposed last year, and which won. Awarded annually and worth a total of EUR 50 000, the prize is intended to reward initiatives by civil society or private organisations that have made…
Following elections in Spain, in which the return of water into public hands was a big theme, the authorities have followed up, cancelled the water concession and created a public company. The reasons for remunicipalization are familiar: under-investment in infrastructure, high tariffs and lack of democratic control. People are disconnected when they have difficulty paying their…
FEANTSA announces their Summer 2016 edition of the Homeless in Europe Magazine – “Perspectives on Women’s Homelessness”. With the European Parliament recently calling twice for “research into female homelessness and its causes and drivers,” women’s homelessness is an issue which is often ignored in both research and in policy. We hope the innovative approaches described…
