Brussels, 19/10/2004 From the Trade Union point of view, this is one of the main results of the Conference on “European Corporate Governance”, on 18th October 2004, held by the Dutch EU Presidency. Commissioner Frits Bolkenstein stressed that businesses with sound corporate governance perform better and can contribute to meet the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy.

Brussels, 08/10/2004 The trade union movement is aware that the legislation implemented on 8 October provides a European standard for information, consultation and participation of workers in European companies. The European trade union movement has already debated the modernization of company law and is convinced that information, consultation and participation of workers is an asset for modern corporate governance and will lead to economic advantages for companies.

Brussels, 06/10/2004 ETUC welcomes the judgement of the European Court of Justice on the Working Time Directive which was made public on October 5th, as a further step to effectively limit excessive working hours of ‘on-call' work

Brussels, 22/09/2004

Brussels, 10/09/2004 The European Trade Union Confederation joins with its Italian affiliates in expressing solidarity with the families of the four volunteers - two Italian women from the Organisation “A bridge to Baghdad” and two Iraqis, one of whom belongs to the INTERSOS organisation linked to the trade union movement - kidnapped earlier this week.

Brussels, 03/08/2004 In a bid to secure employment, trade unions have recently agreed to increase working time in a number of company-level agreements. Although the number of such cases remains limited, and the associated measures are company-specific, there are opportunistic employer and government 'rabble rousers' throughout Europe who are abusing these arrangements to stir up public opinion in favour of a general increase in working hours."

Brussels, 12/07/2004 The European Multi Stakeholder Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) took place on 29 June, with the ETUC as one of the participants. The Forum was set up as part of the European Commission's strategy for promoting Corporate Social Responsibility, outlined in its Communication of 2 July 2002, and for encouraging dialogue between employers, trade unions, civil society and other partners. The ETUC is pleased to see some progress, but believes more work remains to be done.

Brussels, 08/07/2004 What direction should Social Europe take? Such will be the main debate discussed at the Informal Employment and Social Policy Council Meeting which the social partners took part in (Maastricht on July the 8th)." Strong social partnerships, welfare states and public services are the key elements of the European social model”, declared John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) at the Employment and Social Policy Informal Council meeting, held in Maastricht on July the 8th.

Maastricht, 08/07/2004 Thanks. We in the ETUC are looking forward to this Dutch Presidency. Dutch Presidencies have traditionally been well regarded and of course our meeting here in Maastricht today is a powerful reminder of those previous talks 12 years ago which produced the Maastricht Treaty. Which direction for social Europe is the underlying question posed by the discussion paper. This is a big question and needs to be considered carefully.

Brussels, 30/06/2004 More than 100 young trade unionists met together in the framework of the Barcelona Culture Forum on 29-30 June 2004 to discuss a fundamental question: What trade union culture does the younger generation want? Their answer was clear: “The same values, but different methods!”Yes, for the young people of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), defending the interests of working people still has a meaning. And so does the pursuit of peace, justice and solidarity!

Brussels, 23/06/2004 The ECB is appealing through the media to social partners to avoid inflationary second-round effects from higher oil prices.' However it is not only wage formation but also monetary policy that needs to react appropriately ‘, says John Monks, General Secretary of the ETUC.

Brussels, 21/06/04 On 18th June 2004, the Heads of Government and State came finally to a difficult agreement on the European Constitution. This agreement is important given the new situation after the unification of Europe which has created more blocking capacities. This historical event should have been a prolonged moment of celebration for the ETUC but we regret that the agreement has reduced ambitions, compared to the draft of the European Convention.

Brussels, 10/06/2004 The European Council meeting on 17-18 June is set as the deadline for agreement on the Constitutional Treaty. The ETUC has grave concerns about some of the latest amendments proposed at the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). “ Europeans will become increasingly cynical about the European Union's ability to work in their interests if the social aspects of the new Constitution are further diluted”, says John Monks, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).