The Council has approved the EU’s accession to the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). The Convention provides a binding legal framework The Convention creates a legal framework to protect women against violence. It covers a broad range of measures, from data collection and awareness raising to legal […]
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European Commission launches consultation process to improve EU visa suspension mechanism
The Commission adopted a Communication on the monitoring of the EU’s visa-free travel regimes setting out a consultation process. The Communication looks at the functioning of the EU’s visa-free regimes and identifies the main challenges in the areas of irregular migration and security. The Visa Suspension Mechanism is set out in Article 8 of the […]
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Ceuta, Melilla and Andalusia the European regions with the highest unemployment rates in the EU
In 2022, the unemployment rate of people aged 15-74 in the EU was 6.2%. However, the rate varied across the EU regions. The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Central Bohemia (1.2%), Prague (1.6%), South-East and South-West in Czechia as well as Central Transdanubia in Hungary (all 1.7%). At the opposite end of the scale, […]
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Number of NEETs in the EU falls by 1.4% in 2022
In 2022, more than one in ten (11.7%) young people aged 15 to 29 in the EU were neither in employment nor education or training (NEET), indicating a decrease of 1.4 percentage points (pp) compared with 2021. During the last decade, there was a significant decrease in the share of NEET young adults. In 2012, the EU recorded […]
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The number of ICT workers in the EU rose in 2022
In 2022, 9.4 million people in the EU worked as ICT specialists, representing 4.6% of the total EU workforce. The share of ICT specialists in the EU has been increasing over the last decade, rising by 1.4 percentage points (pp) since 2012. Among the EU countries, the share of ICT specialists was highest in Sweden (8.6%), followed by Luxembourg (7.7%) and […]
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Statements by Josep Borrell on behalf of the EU on the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
As we mark the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this year’s theme for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) – “Together Always: United in Diversity” – is a timely reminder that all human beings, regardless of who they are, whom they love, and how they see and define themselves, […]
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European Parliament adopts three resolutions on respect for human rights in Algeria, Belarus and Myanmar
Media freedom and freedom of expression in Algeria, the case of journalist Ihsane El-Kadi Parliament urges the Algerian authorities to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and charged for exercising their right to freedom of expression, including prominent journalist Ihsane El-Kadi, who was convicted in April to a five-year sentence and hefty fines on unfounded […]
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European Parliament gives green light to EU accession to Istanbul Convention
On Wednesday, Parliament approved the EU’s accession to the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women. Six years after the EU signed the Istanbul Convention – the first legally binding international instrument on preventing and combating violence against women and girls – it has still not been ratified because of the refusal of […]
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Immigration in the European Union: Figures for 2022
In 2022, 141 060 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU territory while 1.08 million were found to be illegally present in one of the EU countries. The number of non-EU citizens issued with an order to leave an EU Member State was 422 400. Following an order to leave, 96 795 non-EU citizens were […]
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