It is a question of social justice wanting to ensure that employees get equal pay for equal work being employed by the same company, said President Juncker this week in his State of the Union address in the EU Parliament. The report of the EU Parliament on social dumping in the EU, which was adopted by a large majority on Wednesday, aims in the same direction. This should now be seen as a unique opportunity to put a stop to social dumping in the EU and to develop a clear initiative against unfair competition. The AK has been supporting this motion for years in Brussels.

In his State of the Union address, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposes to increase the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) to EUR 500 billion and to extend it until 2020. However, a closer look shows that the amount may not be as impressive as it appeared at first glance and that once again profits might be privatised and losses socialised.

Due to the austerity policy, Europe has been suffering for years from too few investments, in particular in long-term important sectors, such as infrastructure or research and development.

Progress is becoming apparent in the case of Barroso and Goldman Sachs. In the meantime, the struggle for more transparency in the European Parliament is going into the next round.

 

Jetzt wird es noch einmal ernst: Zwar ist das Handelsabkommen CETA zwischen Kanada und der EU schon seit 2014 fertig verhandelt, doch jetzt soll es beschlossen werden. Auf EU-Ebene entscheiden der Rat und das Parlament – auf nationaler Ebene sollen nun doch die Parlamente mit einbezogen werden.Wir haben gemeinsam mit der Gewerkschaft GPA-djp die Argumente der BefürworterInnen von CETA genau durchleuchtet. Es zeigt sich: Ihre Behauptungen sind auf Sand gebaut.

AK and ÖGB had a full house on Wednesday evening, when they presented a study and hosted a discussion around a hotly debated topic: The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement CETA and its potential benefit for EU citizens. A high-profile panel discussed the AK Study on the economic effects and the political implications of the agreement. Minor economic effects were confronted with massive concerns on the side of the trade unions.

Once again, the revolving door effect in Brussels is hitting the headlines. Since the former EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso has moved to join the board of Goldman Sachs International, civil society has been positioned itself to crackdown on this favouritism of major companies. The call for a prolonged cooling off period and for an independent Ethics Commission to protect public interests is getting louder.

The revolving door effect means the (rapid) change of people between political offices and profitable jobs to the private economy.

AK, ÖGB and DGB have published four new brochures on the trade and investment agreement between EU and Canada.Each folder deals with one of the following subjects:

CETA – NO PRIVILIGED RIGHTS TO SUE STATES FOR CORPORATIONS
Main criticism of many new trade agreements, which the EU is currently negotiating, is the privileged rights for corporations to sue states.

The European Commission informed at the beginning of this week that it will present the Comprehensive and Economic Agreement between the EU and Canada as a Mixed Agreement. According to the Commission this was a purely political decision and a concession to the European Council and the national parliaments to enable a speedy adoption. Hence, the massive protests by the civil population, labour representatives and NGOs have paid off.

This week, the EU Parliament adopted a resolution, which demands to grant refugees and asylum seekers access to housing, healthcare, education, social protection and to the labour market. However, the creation of special labour markets for refugees has been rejected. The implementation of the requested measures needs speedy action and investments. Hence, for example the demand to increase the minimum share of the European Social Fund (ESF) to 25 percent of the Cohesion Fund has been agreed.

Following the revelations concerning “Lux-Leaks” and the “Panama Papers” and the establish-ment of an enquiry committee, the European Parliament adopted a report on the work of the Second Special Committee on Tax Rulings (“tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect “), which specifies findings, progress and demands in the fight against tax avoidance practices. At the same time, the Commission presented a review of the Anti-Money Laundering Di-rective.

Report on the work of the special committee