Council reaches a general agreement on EU Work-Life Balance Directive: are we moving forward?
On June 21st of June the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council reached a general approach on the Work-Life Balance Directive, proposed more than one year ago by the European Commission. The proposal will be vote in July: it will be the time in which European citizens will see if it will be possible or not for the European Union to make a real step forward towards a more social Europe.
Social Innovation: AID:Tech, digital services for refugees
During the High-Level Conference on Opening up to an era of Social Innovation that took place last year in Lisbon, Gianluca Misuraca, Senior Scientist at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS), announced the Winners of the IESI Award. AID: Tech won the first prize in the category "Most Promising Solution".
Is the European Pillar of Social Rights moving forward?
In 2016 the European Commission presented the first outline of the European Pillar of Social Rights and started a public consultation in order to assess the existing rights, reflect the new work patterns and indicate the particulars needs of the EU. The Social Pillar was officially launched on the 26th of April 2017. But which are the future possibilities for this instrument?
First Concrete Initiative of the European Commission on Work-Life Balance
On Wednesday 26th of April 2017 in addition to proposing the European Pillar of Social Rights, the European Commission also put forward several legislative and non-legislative initiatives related to work-life balance. The proposal for a Directive of The European Parliament and of The Council on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers and Repealing Council Directive 2010/18 is an essential part of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
The European Commission cuts down on gender budgeting
The EU institutions have recognized that gender equality is a crucial factor in achieving growth, employment, and social inclusion. Gender issues have been tackled in a number of directives and the European Commission Strategic Engagement plan for Gender Equality 2016-2019 highlights the importance of allocating resources for this matter. Unfortunately the commitment of the EU to gender equality is still not adequately dealt with in its budget (and not only).
Maternity, paternity and parental leave in the European Union
Parental leave systems differ from country to country, and they do not always fit into classifications suitable for international comparison. For this reason, the harmonization of parental leave policy in the EU is likely to be a long and complex process due to various traditions across the member states and because of the fact that social policy falls under competence of member states. What is the EU doing on this front?
European Parliament promotes work-life balance
On September 13th the Members of the European Parliament voted in favour of the resolution “Creating labour market conditions favourable for work-life balance”, a clear political commitment of the European Parliament to strengthen work-life balance opportunities for European women and men. According to the Lithuanian co-rapporteur Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, by passing a resolution, the Parliament sends a clear message to the Commission.
La risoluzione del Parlamento UE per promuovere l’equilibrio tra vita e lavoro
I parlamentari europei hanno approvato la risoluzione "Creazione di condizioni del mercato del lavoro favorevoli all'equilibrio tra vita privata e vita professionale", un chiaro impegno politico del Parlamento europeo per rafforzare le opportunità di conciliazione tra vita familiare e vita lavorativa per le donne e gli uomini del Vecchio Continente. Bianca Luna Fabris ci spiega il contesto di applicazione e le prospettive di questa decisione.
Female Poverty Trap: Gender Pension Gap in the European Union
For 25% of the European population, pensions are the primary source of income. Furthermore, the number of pensioners is expected to double in the next 40 years. In this situation is crucial, now more than ever, to find a way to keep the pensions both adequate and sustainable. Adequate for the need not only to avoid poverty but also to ensure acceptable life standards. And this is particularly challenging when it comes to women.
