Social Policy in the EU

News and information about the European Union's social policies.

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EU "dismayed" by attack on gay rights rally in Georgia — 20 May 2013, 14:26 CET

The European Union on Monday condemned the violent disruption of a gay rights rally in Georgia by thousands of ultra-conservative Orthodox church supporters led by priests.

Gay marriage vote set to deliver Britain's Cameron more problems — 20 May 2013, 10:46 CET

British Prime Minister David Cameron faces further dissent from within the ranks of his Conservative Party as a bill to legalise gay marriage returns to Parliament Monday.

Afghans, Croatians charged with human trafficking — 13 May 2013, 17:52 CET

Prosecutors in Croatia on Monday pressed charges on three Afghans and seven Croatians for their alleged role in a human trafficking network that smuggled people into the European Union.

Charter of Fundamental Rights and on Progress in Gender Equality: EU report — 08 May 2013, 13:51 CET

Three years after it became legally binding, the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights is becoming a point of reference not only for the EU institutions when drawing up legislation but also for the European and national courts, making fundamental rights a reality for citizens in Europe. These are the findings of today's third annual report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, covering 2012, which illustrates with a wide range of fundamental rights related cases that the EU is continuing to build a more coherent system for protecting people's fundamental rights. Today's report is accompanied by a new progress report on equality between women and men during 2012 and it coincides with a series of new actions to reinforce citizens' rights that the Commission has put forward in its 2013 EU Citizenship Report.

EU pushes for universal bank account access — 07 May 2013, 10:57 CET

The Commission is to set out plans for universal access to current accounts with banks -- seeking to remedy an exclusion that Brussels calculates affects nearly 60 million adults across the European Union.

Five doctors jailed for Kosovo organ trafficking — 29 April 2013, 20:11 CET

An EU-led court in Kosovo on Monday jailed five doctors for organ trafficking at a Pristina clinic in the first such case in the breakaway territory which has already faced allegations of similar crimes during and after its 1998-99 war.

Unicef, EU call for further progress on Roma inclusion in Romania — 22 April 2013, 22:23 CET

Romania has made progress towards bringing its Roma citizens into mainstream society but more efforts are needed to improve their access to education and jobs, Unicef and EU representatives said Monday in Bucharest.

EU Anti-Trafficking Directive — 15 April 2013, 15:52 CET

Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA

Trafficking in human beings in the EU — 15 April 2013, 16:02 CET

23.632 people were identified or presumed victims of trafficking in the EU over the 2008-2010 period. This is the most striking figure emerging from the first report on trafficking in human beings in Europe, published today by the European Commission. The report also highlights that the number of people being trafficked in and to the EU increased by 18% from 2008 to 2010, but less traffickers end up behind bars, since convictions decreased by 13% over the same period. Despite this worrying background, to date, only 6 out of the 27 EU Member States have fully transposed the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive into their national legislation and three countries have only reported partial transposition of the directive, with the deadline having expired on 6 April 2013.

EU nations warned to act as human trafficking worsens — 15 April 2013, 18:54 CET

Brussels has warned EU Member States to get a move on with adopting tough new rules against human trafficking or face sanctions as a first report on the problem showed "modern-day slavery" worsening across the bloc.

Industrial relations report: social dialogue under strain in Europe — 11 April 2013, 16:14 CET

The on-going economic crisis poses a serious challenge to the dialogue between workers' and employers' representatives and governments according to a report published today by the European Commission. The report shows that recent government reforms have not always been accompanied by fully effective social dialogue, leading to increasingly conflictual industrial relations in Europe.

Defendant admits illegal organ harvesting in Kosovo hospital — 05 April 2013, 22:55 CET

A former top Kosovo health ministry official on trial for organ trafficking on Friday admitted that illegal kidney transplants were carried out at a Pristina clinic, but denied covering them up.

Hungary rejects UN criticism on homelessness — 04 April 2013, 13:33 CET

Hungary has rejected accusations by UN human rights experts that a recent constitutional amendment by the European Union member outlawed being homeless.

Risk of poverty lower in Germany than in EU, data show — 27 March 2013, 12:32 CET

The risk of poverty is lower in Germany than in the European Union as a whole, according to Europe-wide data released by national statistics office Destatis on Wednesday.

Quarterly Review analyses deepening social crisis — 27 March 2013, 11:08 CET

The employment and social situation in the EU remained critical in the fourth quarter of 2012 with employment receding overall and unemployment rising further, while households' financial situation remained serious according to the European Commission's latest Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review. The adverse effects of public budget cuts and tax increases on employment and living standards are increasingly apparent in certain Member States. The Review also notes that net immigration from outside the EU has slowed down and that the crisis has adversely affected fertility.

Children born outside marriage in Europe rise to 40 per cent of total — 27 March 2013, 00:11 CET

The number of children born outside marriage in Europe has doubled over two decades to 40 per cent, with Estonia, Slovenia and France registering almost three out of every five births out of wedlock.

Klitschko urges Western sanctions on Ukraine officials — 15 March 2013, 19:17 CET

Vitaly Klitschko, Ukraine's world boxing champion turned opposition leader, has met top US and EU diplomats to call on the West to introduce sanctions against Ukrainian officials, his party said on Friday.

Child sex abuse victim says Ireland did not protect her — 06 March 2013, 19:09 CET

Children who suffered sexual abuse in Ireland's Catholic schools during the 1970s failed to receive sufficient protection from the state, one of the victims told the European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday.

German school pays EUR 500 bonus for new pupils: report — 25 February 2013, 15:11 CET

A struggling western German secondary school is paying 500 euros to parents to enrol their children, according to a newspaper, as Germany struggles with one of Europe's lowest birthrates.

The Social Investment Package — 20 February 2013, 21:42 CET

The European Commission has called on EU Member States to prioritise social investment and to modernise their welfare states. This means better performing active inclusion strategies and a more efficient and more effective use of social budgets. The call features in a Communication on Social Investment for Growth and Cohesion just adopted by the Commission. The Communication also offers guidance to Member States on how best to use EU financial support, notably from the European Social Fund, to implement the outlined objectives. The Commission says it will closely monitor the performance of individual Member States' social protection systems through the European Semester and formulate, where necessary, Country Specific Recommendations.

EU drug markets report: key findings — 31 January 2013, 17:56 CET

Europe is entering an important new era in the supply and demand for illicit drugs -- a development which is challenging current policies and responses. This is according to the first joint EU drug markets report from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol released today in Brussels. The two EU agencies have joined forces to provide the first strategic analysis of the European illicit drug market in its entirety. In the report, they describe a market which is increasingly dynamic, innovative and quick to react to challenges and one which requires an equally dynamic, innovative and agile response across Europe. The report unveils the ‘changing face of organised crime in Europe’: while, historically, the EU drug market has focused on specific drugs trafficked by specialised operators along well-defined routes, the contemporary market is more ‘fluid’, with new routes and multi-substance consignments becoming more common.

Calls to modernise EU anti-drugs strategy — 31 January 2013, 18:07 CET

Governments need to update their approach to choking mainstream supply routes for the distribution of hard drugs, but not leap into any formal de-criminalisation of cannabis sale, EU and law enforcement agencies said Thursday.

Women take more boardroom seats in 2012: EU — 25 January 2013, 21:01 CET

Female representation in company boardrooms took an appreciable step forward in 2012, according to new figures published by the European Commission on Friday.

EU, US in 'global alliance' to hit web child sex — 05 December 2012, 18:55 CET

The European Union, the United States and a score of other countries have launched a "global alliance" to stamp out trade in online images and videos of child sexual abuse.

Database: women & men in decision making — 25 January 2013, 20:54 CET

The European Commission established a database monitoring the numbers of men and women in key decision-making positions in order to provide reliable statistics that can be used to monitor the current situation and trends through time. The database covers positions of power and influence in politics, public administration, the judiciary, and various other key areas of the economy. Data on political decision-making at European and national level are updated quarterly Choose translations of the previous link, whilst all other data are updated annually, though updates to political data at regional level are included in quarterly updates in case of elections. Figures are available for decision-makers at European, national and regional level (politics only) and currently cover 34 countries – the 27 EU Member States, one acceding country (Croatia), three candidate countries (Iceland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey), one of the potential candidate countries (Serbia) and the remaining EEA countries (Liechtenstein and Norway).