The EU Commission is currently working on guidelines, which would make direct awards in public transport significantly more difficult. To address this subject, AK EUROPA, together with ÖGB, vida and the European Transport Workers Federation ETF hosted a webinar, where speakers made it clear: Member States should still have the choice whether they want competitive tendering or directly award transport services.

As part of the European Semester, the EU Commission each year publishes Country Reports and country-specific recommendations with the objective to improve the coordination of Member States’ economic policy. From the AK’s point of view, the Country Report for Austria, which was submitted on 23 May 2022, comprises positive approaches in some areas.

Various forms of guaranteed minimum income schemes exist in EU Member States, which in most cases only provide insufficient protection against poverty. In order to support Member States in alleviating poverty and preventing social exclusion, the EU Commission has launched a Consultation concerning a planned Recommendation on minimum income schemes on 4 March 2022. The AK too contributed its expertise and positions.

According to the estimate of Eurostat, 21.9% of the EU population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2020. This worrying situation is contrasted with minimum income schemes in Member States that have enormous shortcomings – from coverage to adequacy of benefits to lack of evaluation mechanisms.

The Labour Market Monitor 2021 shows that some countries came through the crisis relatively unscathed, whereas others appear to be less resilient. Austria is falling behind top performers in some areas, but is mainly still above EU average. Only regarding the exclusion risks on the labour market, Austria is behind other EU countries.

On 27 April 2022, the Vice President of the EU Commission, Věra Jourová, presented a Directive proposal to protect journalists and human rights defenders against abusive intimidation lawsuits, so-called “SLAPPs“.

This open letter from AK President Renate Anderl and ÖGB President Wolfgang Katzian is addressed to the members of the EU Parliament, as key decision-makers in the negotiations on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act. It is important that AI as a technology is regulated at the European level. However, the AI law must allow member states to maintain existing labor (constitutional) law provisions and to experiment with national regulations (collective agreements) on AI in the workplace. Clarification before a decision is made in the law is absolutely necessary.

The political persuasion efforts have paid off: on 5 April 2022 despite Conservative resistance, the European Parliament’s negotiating mandate on the European Pay Transparency Directive was confirmed. From the AK’s point of view, the rapid implementation of the Directive is necessary to be able to close the pay gap between men and women as quickly as possible. Hence, the forthcoming trilogue negotiations between EU Parliament, Council and Commission have to be carried out swiftly.

The EU has been blocking the global waiver of production rights for vaccines and medicines against Covid-19 for more than 17 months now. A document of the negations in the World Trade Organisation has now been leaked, which shows the EU’s continued reluctance to change its position. AK EUROPA as well as civil society organisations are again urging the EU to waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19-relevant vaccines, medicines, and health technologies.