Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Opinion

Gaza is also a war on women: where are European feminists?

Despite last month's provisional ruling by the International Court of Justice instructing Israel to stop a "plausible genocide" in Gaza, references to the terrible plight of women and girls in Gaza have been few and far between, writes Shada Islam.

Opinion

The six-hour U-turn that saw the EU vote for austerity

The EU's own analysis has made it clear this is economic self-sabotage, and it's politically foolish three months from European elections where the far-right are predicted to increase support, writes the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation.

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'Outdated' rules bar MEP from entering plenary with child

During a plenary session in Strasbourg, an MEP was denied access to the chamber because he was carrying his young child, due to unforeseen circumstances. The episode shows parliament's rules need to be updated, several MEPs told EUobserver.

EU agrees rules to ban products made with forced labour

The new rules will allow authorities to ban a product from the single market if it is found to have been made using forced labour, regardless of whether it is imported into the EU or manufactured within the bloc.

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Analysis

Five years of EU gender policy — hits and misses

On International Women's Day, EUobserver took a closer look at the last five years of gender policy — has the EU been ambitious enough in achieving equality? What were the main hits and misses? And where needs more work?

Opinion

The farming lobby vs Europe's wolves

Over the past few years, farming and hunting organisations have waged an unrelenting vendetta against the wolf, culminating in the European Commission's 180-degree policy U-turn, writes the director of the Humane Society International for Europe.

Opinion

Why are the banking lobby afraid of a digital euro?

Europeans deserve a digital euro that transcends the narrow interests of the banking lobby and embodies the promise of a fairer and more competitive monetary and financial landscape.

EU supply chain law fails, with 14 states failing to back it

Member states failed on Wednesday to agree to the EU's long-awaited Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive, after 13 EU ambassadors declared abstention and one, Sweden, expressed opposition (there was no formal vote), EUobserver has learned.

Opinion

For Ukraine's sake, pass the EU due diligence directive

The EU Commission's 2022 CSDDD proposal did not include provisions incorporating "conflict due diligence", they were added, after the Russian invasion, by the European Parliament and Council into the final directive text — for Ukraine's sake, vote for it.

How Amazon lobbyists could be banned from EU Parliament

Amazon is one step closer to being banned from the European Parliament after the employment committee complained of a lack of cooperation in recent years — what is the process, and when can a final decision be expected?

Opinion

EU plan to let 17-year olds drive trucks is crazy

It's an astonishing proposition rooted in political interest rather than facts, with potentially dire consequences for all road users — especially for people who walk and cycle, warns the European Cycling Federation.

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EU deal on new gig-workers rules unlikely before June elections

Another provisional agreement on improving working conditions for platform workers fall apart on Friday, as four member states decided not to support it — making the chances of a directive before the June European elections unlikely.

Opinion

Why is abortion still illegal in Malta in 2024?

Malta is one of the few European countries where abortion remains illegal in almost all circumstances, including rape and incest, making it one of the strictest in the world. Consequently, Maltese women are forced to seek unsafe procedures abroad.

Opinion

Why EU should take action against Agri-oligopoly

Recent farmer's protests have put food production on the political agenda. Yet until now, policy-makers and regulators have largely ignored the forces that direct global food trade: Big Agri and their monopolies.

Opinion

Why are EU travel firms offering holidays to Uyghur region?

Chinese state media cannot get enough of tourism from Europe. But crime against humanity targeted at Uyghurs and other Turkic people are ongoing — so why do EU travel companies make themselves complicit in cleansing these atrocities?

EU agrees less ambitious rules on platform work

A new provisional agreement on the platform workers directive has been reached — but what has changed from the previous deal, and how will it affect the expected reclassification of 5.5 million platform workers as "employees"?

EU's first gender-based violence law a 'big disappointment'

The EU has adopted a provisional agreement on a directive to combat violence against women, the first-ever EU rules to fight gender based violence. But it does not include rape as 'sex without consent', or a ban on forced sterilisation.

EU internships still a 'Wild West' for young workers

In the last decade, young Europeans have taken up more and more traineeships in the EU — but their quality still remains a challenge, and trade unions and youth organisations are now calling for a ban on unpaid internships.

Opinion

The MEPs' vote on new GMOs that's a gift to corporations

On Wednesday MEPs will vote on a proposal that would scrap any safety checks for GMOs, as well as labelling and traceability requirements. Many of these MEPs, I suspect, will scratch their heads about the implications of this deregulation proposal.

MEP: Slave-labour burden of proof should be on companies

The EU is drafting new rules to investigate, ban and ultimately remove a product from the single market if forced labour is used. However, the three institutions remain far apart on redress for victims, who investigates, and slave-labour by states.

Opinion

Now's time for EU directive to let home workers 'disconnect'

We can't continue with a situation in which people regularly working from home are six times more likely to work in their free time or are having their privacy routinely violated, writes general secretary of the European Trade Unions Confederation.

EU's green renovation wave lacks plan to deal with asbestos

By 2030, 35 million buildings in the EU will be either renovated or demolished under the Green Deal — yet there is still no directive to determine the extent of asbestos contamination in Europe, the leading cause of workplace fatalities.

As EU birth-rates plummet, nativist family politics ascend

At 1.5 children-per-woman, the EU cannot ensure a sufficient population replacement rate — which threatens welfare models and care of an ageing population. So ahead of the European elections, far-right candidates are offering Orbán-style nativist family policies.

Interview

New French Renew boss at odds with Macron on gender-violence

Leading MEPs have confirmed that the member states cannot agree on incluing rape in the directive to combat violence against women. About 15 countries are in favour, but with Germany and France against it, there is no qualified majority.

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