This week, new rules on economic and budgetary coordination and supervision were not only discussed by the heads of state and government but also in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament. The package consisting of six legislative proposals aims at extending the budgetary supervision and coordination of economic policies, proceedings in case of excessive deficit, the avoidance and correction of macroeconomic imbalances as well as implementing measures.

The approach of the Commission in matters of consumer protection has been difficult to comprehend for quite some time. Following the publication of a draft Directive on Consumer Rights, the Commission is now intending to also legislate a segment of the Contract Law, which has great significance for consumers. Today, as with the Consumer Rights Directive before, the Commission sees many benefits for both consumers and small to medium-sized enterprises.

If the European Commission had its way, a new Directive on Consumer Rights would be introduced, which would put the high consumer protection standards of many Member States at risk. Both the Council and the European Parliament have significantly toned down this proposal in their current negotiations.

This week, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) presented their jointly prepared Benchmarking Working Europe Report 2011. The Benchmarking Report is published on an annual basis as a contribution to the Spring Summit of the European Union. This year, the new Europe 2020 Strategy is carefully examined and the question is explored whether the promises of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth are not just empty words.

Koos Richelle, the new Director General of the EU Commission, responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, for the first time appeared before the European Parliament's Employment Committee. He focused on the first European Semester, the future EU's multi-year financial framework and the EU 2020 strategy and of course did not fail to mention the Working Time and Posting of Workers Directive.

On Wednesday, the Commission presented its proposal on a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base. In future, companies operating in several Member States shall be able to choose whether they use the tax systems of the respective countries or a 28th EU system to calculate the corporate tax base. However, the Commission does not provide for a minimum corporate tax rate.

Following the experiences in the wake of the financial and economic crisis, statistics are currently very popular with politicians: with Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Commissioner Janez Potočnik and Commissioner Olli Rehn attending, three Commission members spoke at the event organised by the Statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, on the subject of “Statistics for policymaking”.

The plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg saw a much-noticed showdown this week. The MEPs voted on whether the EU should play a pioneering role with regard to introducing the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). What lies behind this is the stubborn resistance of important international economic partners of the EU and the European Commission against the introduction of such a tax on speculations. This in turn served the opponents of FTT as a welcome excuse to put the project on the shelf.

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.