Not all is well when it comes to the agreement between European Parliament and Council in matters of the EU budget for the period 2014 to 2020: only this week - three months after the agreement on the EU budget volume in the Council - has the first round of negotiations between the two institutions taken place. Reason for the delay: the EU Finance Ministers hesitated to provide the necessary funds to implement the current EU programmes. This, however, was the basis requirement of the EU Parliament before negotiations on the new EU Financial Framework could start.

The EU Commission recently presented its annual report on equality between women and men to the general public. Its results clearly confirm the large social and economic potential of an equal participation of women in the labour market. However, to achieve this it is necessary that more is done for example for the reconciliation between work and family life. An important component is the expansion of childcare facilities, something, which has time and again been demanded by the Chamber of Labour.

The EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro, Olli Rehn, recently presented the new European Economic Forecast for 2013 and 2014. Whilst the Commission itself - similar to economic forecasts of recent years - believes it has seen the light at the end of the tunnel, current figures provide little hope for the European economy and the 26 million people who are unemployed: the Commission projects that in 2013 the economy will shrink more than originally expected.

This week, the Commission has published a new proposal, which according to EU Commissioner Michel Barnier shall at last give EU citizens the right to open their own bank account. Apart from that, legal regulations are in the planning, which shall make it easier to compare bank charges as well as measures to facilitate switching to another bank account.

According to recent information, about 58 million consumers in the European Union who are older than 15, do not have their own bank account. This has many disadvantages for those who are affected.

What impact does starting a poultry farm have on the environment? Is setting up a waste landfill or a production plant ecopolitically justifiable? These are questions, which are clarified by means of an Environmental Impact Assessment. The current legal framework has already been in existence for 28 years and is now to undergo a fundamental overhaul.

This week in Brussels, the Fourth Demography Forum organised by the EU Commission took place in front of ca. 300 scientists, policy makers, as well as non-governmental organisations. The main focus hereby was on the demographic aspects of the Social Investment Package (SIP) adopted in February, which shall help Member States to tackle problems related to poverty and social exclusion through investments in human capital and participation in the labour market.

The cost of “doing nothing” is higher than investing sensibly

To date issues of low-wage and social dumping by posting workers from low-wage countries to Austria have been discussed primarily from the perspective of the construction industry.

A recent annual report by Eurostat and EU Commission compares the various tax rates in the Member States. In doing so, trends are revealed as to how individual countries adjust their tax screws in the course of the financial and economic crisis. With regard to Austria, this report contains already known accounts on the tax structure: compared with other European countries, taxation of capital is low, whilst that of wage labour is high.

The adequate fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and tax havens is currently at the centre of the political debate at European level. This debate does not only concern fair taxation and the drainage of a swamp, which on occasions looks like being structured in Mafioso style, it also concerns a lot of money: these partly still legal, partly illegal practices mean that the European Member States miss out on an income of ca.

In the Transport Committee of the European Parliament this week, EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas presented the highly charged legislative proposal on the maximum permissible dimensions and weights not only for heavy goods vehicles but also for busses. The proposal had been preceded by fierce criticism of Kallas, who intended to permit the cross-border use of so-called mega trucks – HGVs weighing up to 60 tons and being up to 25.25 metres long – single-handedly and quasi overnight.