Brussels, 02/10/2008 With the economy already in recession and with the financial sector balancing on the edge of a cliff, this is defying logic. With short-term interest rates higher than long-term interest rates, an already cracking financial system is being stressed even further. Says John Monks, General Secretary of ETUC, ‘The ECB is still fighting the inflation of the past. It is time for them to wake up to reality and see the urgency of the situation, even if this means admitting that the June rate hike was a mistake’.

Brussels, 01/10/2008

Brussels, 29 September 2008 With their ‘London Declaration’, European trade union leaders analyse the financial crisis and call for justice and tough action.

Brussels, 26 September 2008 The EPAs are a new trade arrangement between Europe and the ACP countries which aim at putting their trade relationships in conformity with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. However, there is concern that EPAs could require ACP countries to open their economies unsustainably beyond their world-level commitments.

Brussels, 25 September 2008 Professor Brian Bercusson passed away at the age of 60 years suddenly but peacefully on 17 August 2008 at his home in Tuscany. He was born in 1947 in Montreal, Canada, and came to the United Kingdom to study law at the London School of Economics in 1967. Professor Bercusson obtained his PhD from the University of Cambridge and was appointed as a Research Fellow at Christ’s College in 1974.

Brussels, 25 September 2008 Georges Debunne has without a doubt left a lasting impact on several generations of trade unionists.

Brussels, 16 September 2008 The convening of this summit reflects a new awareness of the social exclusion and discrimination against Roma in Europe. The European trade union movement has always spoken out forcefully against all discrimination.

Zaragoza, 11/09/2009 I am very pleased to be able to address this important conference which is held very much on the initiative of the Spanish trade union movement. It shows the determination of the CC.OO and UGT-E to be in the vanguard of those who want to put climate change and sustainable development at the heart of European and Spanish strategy in the years ahead.

Brussels, 10 September 2008 ETUC’s Smart Growth and Investment Initiative is based on two key principles:

Brussels, 05/09/2008

Brussels, 02/09/2008 In order to realise the revision of the Directive in 2008 or early in 2009, the European social partners call on the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to take their joint amendments into consideration in the adoption process. The European social partners will inform their members about the extended possibilities offered by the revised Directive

Brussels, 01/09/2008

Brussels, 12/08/2008 The UN's High Commission on Refugees estimates that more than 100,000 persons are refugees, with some 42,000 South Ossetians having been displaced into Russia or within South Ossetia and around 56,000 inhabitants of the city of Gori having been displaced to elsewhere in Georgia. A complete cessation of fighting opens the possibility for dialogue to bring an end to the dispute, and the international community must do all it can to help create the conditions for this dialogue.