This week, the European Commission started a public consultation on corporate governance. The aim of the Commission is to gather opinions as to how corporate governance, whose weaknesses became particularly apparent during the crisis, could be improved within the EU. Key issues of the consultation are the function and composition of the boards of directors, the orientation of shareholders, which is too short-term and the problems associated with it as well as the improvement of monitoring and enforcement of corporate governance codes.

This week, the EU Commission presented its third Demography Report. The results were not really a surprise. That the Europeans are living longer and the EU population is shrinking, is already a well-known fact. However, the EU Commission is drawing far-reaching conclusions from the demographic development. It sees the danger of exploding social expenditure in the areas of pensions, health care and long-term care. The reform of social security systems shall now provide the solution.

There has been an ongoing discussion for years at EU level on introducing European rules for collective redress. The European Commission has invited all interested citizens, organisations and corporations to give their opinion within the scope of a Consultation on collective redress. Apart from this, the Commission invited to a public hearing this week. With 350 participants attending, the interest was huge; apart from consumer organisations and public authorities, in particular lawyers and business organisations were extremely strongly represented.

This year, the Brussels Tax Forum, which is an annual event organised by the European Commission, mainly focused on taxing the financial sector. The preference of the European Commission for a Financial Activities Tax, a mini variant of the Financial Transaction Tax, was evident for all to see. Hence, only two supporters of a Financial Transaction Tax, namely Stephan Schulmeister (Austrian Institute of Economic Research WIFO) and a representative of OXFAM had been invited to the one and a half day Conference. All other speakers came out in favour of a Financial Activities Tax.

On Monday, EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas presented the new Transport White Paper, in which the Commission outlines its transport strategy until 2050. Similar to the last Transport White Paper from 2001, the Commission is setting targets for reducing transport emissions. The intention is to achieve this by internalising external costs and implementing a shift to low-emission modes of transport. In spite of the lack of success it is planned to continue with liberalising rail transport.

This week, the Austrian Federal Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection Rudolf Hundstorfer and the chairman of the German services trade union ver.di, Frank Bsirske harshly criticised the ideas of the European Commission concerning a coordinated EU economic policy within the framework of a panel discussion, which had been organised by the Brussels Office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation and the Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour.

The hundredth anniversary of the International Women’s Day was celebrated on 8 March. There is cause to celebrate many successes - however, equality is still a long way off.

Four months after the official end of the consultation period on the Green Paper on Pensions, the EU Commission presented the results for the first time. It is a summary of the over 1,700 reactions received. Europe will not be able to rid itself quickly of the pension debate as the Commission plans to publish a “White Paper on Pensions” as early as the third quarter of this year. It will already contain the next measures to be taken.

The clock is ticking. In 4 days the European Parliament will vote in its plenary session on 8th March, whether the EU will go ahead internationally with the introduction of a tax on speculators or not.

Already in October of last year, the EP came out in favour of introducing a European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) with overwhelming majority.

This week, the chairman of the Union of Postal and Telecommunications Workers Helmut Köstinger has made his first official visit to the EU institutions in Brussels. Apart from meetings at the Commission, there was a Round Table with MEPs on the liberalisation of postal services, which had been organised by the Brussels office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation and the Chamber of Labour as well as by UNI Global Union.