The EU’s employment and social affairs ministers met on May 3 and 4 to talk about how ageing populations and labour market changes impact social security systems. Participants included EU Commissioners, members of the European Parliament, ministers from EFTA nations, representatives of the social partners, and members of civil society in addition to EU employment […]
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Four-day working week: What does the science say?
What the latest research says about a four-day working week or a three-day weekend. More and more countries are trialling 4-day workweeks. If the United Kingdom’s 4-day workweek pilot, one of the largest in the world, is any indication, more businesses will be embracing the long weekend. Published in February 2023, the report shows that […]
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The EU expects to create 1.3 million jobs through its cohesion policy
Cohesion Policy funding in 2021-2027 is expected to support the creation of 1.3 million jobs, and to increase the EU’s GDP by 0.5% on average by the end of the decade, and up to 4% in some Member States. It will also help deliver many common public goods, providing tangible and concrete benefits to European citizens, regions and cities. These […]
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World Press Freedom Day: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. Laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 75 years ago, the protection of freedom of expression remains a […]
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According to the latest Eurobarometer, traineeships help young people find their first job
A recently published Eurobarometer survey shows that traineeships are an important help for young people to enter the labour market. Four out of five young people surveyed (78%) completed at least one traineeship and for one in five (19%), their first work experience was a traineeship. The data showed that seven out of ten (68 […]
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Commission takes action to promote work-life balance in Spain and other EU countries
To safeguard the right to work-life balance across Member States, the European Commission decided to continue infringement procedures against Belgium Czechia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, and Slovenia by sending them a reasoned opinion for failing to notify national measures fully transposing EU rules establishing rights on work-life balance for parents and […]
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303 workers made redundant from Alu Ibérica in Galicia receive 1.2 million euros in aid
303 former employees of aluminium producer Alu Ibérica in the Galicia region in Spain should receive €1.2 million in EU aid after the company declared bankruptcy. On Monday, the Committee on Budgets approved Spain’s request for support from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF). MEPs acknowledged that “the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war […]
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According to Eurostat, the population of the European Union will decrease by 6% by 2100
According to Eurostat’s most recent population forecasts, there would be 27.3 million fewer people living in the EU between 1 January 2022 and 1 January 2100, a 6% decline. The population of the EU began to recover in 2022, following a decline brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. As a […]
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Demographic challenges of Member States and political responses to address them
The European Commission has published an interactive mapping, developed jointly with national authorities, showing the current national demographic challenges in the Member States and the policy responses adopted to address them. In particular, the mapping shows, based on data from a 2022 survey conducted by the Commission and the Social Protection Committee (SPC), that most […]
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