Brussels, 19/06/2006 Under REACH, authorisations can be granted to use substances of very high concern like carcinogens. But the European Carcinogens Directive says employers must replace these substances by safer alternatives. Are we heading for a clash between these two sets of laws? This kind of issue on how REACH links up with Community health and safety at work legislation loomed large in the discussions between the 160-plus attendees, who included representatives from the European Parliament, Council, Commission, industry and NGOs.

Helsinki,8/09/2006 To be checked against delivery At a recent meeting with Eero Heinäluoma, I was asked by the Finnish Presidency to address today the questions of boosting Europe's investment in R&D and innovation. Finland has a good record, but outside a small number of countries and / or sectors, pre-eminently, pharmaceuticals, investment levels are worryingly low.

Helsinki, 08 September 2006 To be checked against delivery I should like first to thank our Finnish affiliates (SAK, AKAVA, STTK) for organising this important meeting, and for the opportunity to meet high Government representatives, as one has come to expect in this country, a home to social dialogue. The Asia-Europe Meetings process is now 10 years old. So this is a good opportunity to take stock, and to look to the future.

Brussels, 08/09/2006 Said John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC): “The Asia Europe Meetings process is now 10 years old, so it's a good moment to take stock and look to the future. At the ETUC, we have pressed for trade union involvement in this framework of relationships between Asia and Europe. The ETUC supports the EU in its efforts to promote sustainable economic and social development through ASEM.”

Brussels, 06/09/2006

Berlin, 30/08/2006 To be checked against delivery Chancellor, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends and colleagues, Mitbestimmung: a word that, translated into other languages, is producing misunderstandings and misinterpretations. The most evident example is the long-lasting tradition of the French to translate Mitbestimmung into “co-gestion”. If you transfer that term into English, Mitbestimmung becomes co-management.

Brussels, 03/08/2006

Brussels, 25/07/2006 The Doha Round should have been the development round, especially for the poorest countries. The breakdown in negotiations reveals a blind stubbornness, in particular on the part of the richest nations and now some emerging countries, which have tried to insist on acquiring competitive advantages in areas that are key to their own interests.

Brussels, 20/07/2006

Brussels, 18/07/2006 {However, the European Union is not playing as full a part as it could in working towards a peaceful solution. The EU is Israel's largest trade partner and shares a European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan with Israel with a high level of ambition.

07/07/2006 - Participants' presentations

Brussels, 07/07/2006 To be checked against delivery Hardly a day goes by without European workers being reminded of China's competitive strengths, by employers, governments - and, dare I say it, by the European Commissioner for Trade. China is presented as the inescapable face of globalisation. But, in this debate, globalisation sometimes becomes an argument that social Europe is no longer affordable and is a barrier to necessary reforms and to competitiveness.

Brussels, 06/07/2006 The first informal Council under the new Finnish EU Presidency has a wide ranging agenda covering changes in working life and Europe's response to globalisation. The ETUC will meet ministers from Finland, Germany and Portugal (the troika of current and future EU Presidencies). Responding to proposals for reform of the European Social Model, the ETUC will be pointing out that European workers are among the most productive in the world, thanks largely to strong social welfare policies.