Quality traineeships can help young people gain practical work experience, learn new skills and eventually find a good quality job. For employers, they are an opportunity to attract, train and retain talent. A quality traineeship requires fair and transparent working conditions and an adequate learning content. The EU’s 2014 Quality Framework for Traineeships set out […]
Read MoreInternational Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination commemorates the victims of the Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960, in which peaceful demonstrators against apartheid were senselessly killed. While this tragic event marked a turning point and ultimately ushered in the transition to democracy and equality in South Africa, the fight against racism continues […]
Read MoreCouncil gives final approval to new EU rules on short-term accommodation rentals
The Council has adopted a regulation on data collection and sharing for short-term accommodation rental services. This legislative act will enhance transparency in the field of short-term accommodation rentals and will help public authorities regulate this increasingly important part of the tourism sector. This is the last step in the decision-making procedure. Transparency and data […]
Read MoreThe Community of Madrid is the EU region with the highest life expectancy at birth
In 2022, the life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.6 years, up by 0.5 years from 2021. Over two decades, since 2002, the highest value was recorded in 2019 when life expectancy at birth reached 81.3 years (up 3.7 years compared with 2002). However, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, this indicator declined to 80.4 in […]
Read MorePlatform workers: Council confirms agreement on new rules to improve their working conditions
EU employment and social affairs ministers confirmed the provisional agreement reached on 8 February 2024 between the Council’s presidency and the European Parliament’s negotiators on the platform work directive. This EU legal act aims to improve working conditions and regulate the use of algorithms by digital labour platforms. The directive will make the use of […]
Read MoreSpain, with one third of female STEM graduates, is below the European average
In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the representation of women in STEM education fields: natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, information and communication technologies, engineering, manufacturing and construction. Women are largely underrepresented in these fields. In 2021, in the EU, women tertiary education graduates (International Standard Classification of Education – ISCED levels 5-8), in STEM […]
Read MoreEurostat: Spain had the second lowest fertility rate in the European Union in 2022
In 2022, 3.88 million babies were born in the EU, a slight decrease from 4.09 million in 2021. The number of children born in the EU has been declining since 2008, when 4.68 million children were born. The total fertility rate in 2022 was 1.46 live births per woman in the EU, which is another decline, after the small increase […]
Read MoreStatement by Commission and the High Representative on International Women’s Day
To mark International Women’s Day, the European Commission and the High Representative/Vice-President make the following statement: “Today, the percentage of women in politics is still far from being representative of our diverse societies. The overall proportion of female members in single or lower houses of parliament currently stands on average at 33% in EU Member States and […]
Read MoreEIGE: How will you contribute to the future of gender equality?
In the run-up to International Women’s Day, on March 8, Director Carlien Scheele of the European Institute for Gender Equality set out a vision of what gender equality could look like in 2030—one where women and men, girls and boys have the same opportunities to a sustainable future. “Change is in your hands,” Carlien told […]
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