European & International News

International news globe All the latest news from the European Union, its member states, and beyond.

European & International News
European Parliament Women’s Rights Committee: Sexual and reproductive health and rights are human rights

Posted on 18 September 2013 |

(Brussels, 18 September 2013) Today, the Women’s Rights Committee of the European Parliament (FEMM Committee) voted on a report on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) warmly welcomes the positive outcome of the negotiation and voting process. The issue had not been debated since 2002, because of regular attacks on women’s basic right to reproductive and sexual health. In a context of growing conservatism throughout Europe, the adoption today of (...) Read more
European & International News
4th International Roma Women’s Conference to be held in Helsinki

Posted on 13 September 2013 |

(Brussels 13 September) Roma women to meet in Helsinki for international conference
More than 150 Roma women from across Europe will meet in Helsinki from 16-17 September to discuss ways of improving the situation for themselves, their families and their communities. Among the main aims of the 4th International Roma Women’s Conference are drawing up a strategy, underlining the importance of involving women in policy implementation, and improving networking between Roma women and other (...) Read more
European & International News
Euro-Med Non-Governmental Platform regret missed opportunities

Backpedalling on women’s rights

Posted on 12 September 2013 |

(Paris 12 September) The Euro-Med Non-Governmental Platform, Tel. + 32 488 08 00 41 Read more
European & International News
European Endowment for Democracy: Supporting the Unsuported

Posted on 12 September 2013 |

(Brussels 12 September) European and independent
The European Endowment for Democracy has been created to promote the European values of freedom and democracy. A joint effort of the Member States and European Union institutions, the [European Endowment for Democracy ->http://democracyendowment.eu remains an independent private law foundation with its seat in Brussels. Conceived in the framework of the renewed [European Neighbourhood Policy->http://eeas.europa.eu/enp
Fostering - not (...) Read more
European & International News
Joint LIBE/FEMM hearing on "The EU framework for national Roma integration strategies"

Posted on 11 September 2013 |

(Brussels, 11 September 2013) The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs jointly with the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament is organising a public hearing on "The EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies".
The programme includes two discussion panels, one on the lessons of the first stage of the European Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies and the other one focusing on the particular situation of Roma (...) Read more
European & International News
Game Over? Maybe for Commissioner Rehn but not for the vast majority of European women and men

Posted on 11 September 2013 |

(Brussels, 11 September, 2013) Commissioner Rehn’s proposal for wage erosion in Spain to emulate the Irish and Latvian “success stories” comes as an incendiary statement that flies in the face of the lived hardship experienced by Latvian and Irish women and men, having lost 20 and 15% of all jobs!
This proposal, initially called for by the IMF, backed up by the Commissioner, concerns a “social agreement” between business and trade unions accepting a 10 % wage cut over two years to reduce (...) Read more
European & International News
254 Days away from the European Parliament Elections

European Parliament launches public information campaign in Strasbourg

Posted on 10 September 2013 |

(Brussels 10 September) The May 2014 elections are focusing attention and energies of political parties around Europe. Today, in Strasbourg, the media and public information campaign that the European Parliament will carry out to get voters across Europe to turn out and vote was unveiled by Anni Podimata (S&D, Greece) and Othmar Karas (PPE, Austria). The Parliament is proud of its status as the ’democractic institution’ of the European Institutions. However, turnout for the elections (...) Read more
European & International News
International Labour Organisation treaty for Domestic Workers comes into force

Convention 189 gives domestic workers the same rights as other workers

Posted on 10 September 2013 |

(Brussels 10 September) Convention 189 for domestic workers has entered into force, as of the 5th of September, granting basic labour rights to domestic workers across the globe. This sector is predominantly female (83%) - and there are currently at least 53 million domestic workers worldwide, a figure that excludes child domestic workers.
“The new Convention becomes binding international law as of 5 September. It needed ratification by two ILO member States. To date, eight ILO member (...) Read more
European & International News
European Parliament reopens, debates equal pay for women and the gender pay gap

Posted on 9 September 2013 |

(Brussels 09 September) The European Parliament will resume sitting this afternoon at five o’clock in Strasbourg after the summer recess. This afternoons debate will see an oral question submitted by Mikael Gustafsson, Chair of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee about equal work for equal pay, and the steps that the European Commission is taking to ensure the proper implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of (...) Read more
European & International News
Sixty years of the European Court of Human Rights

Posted on 9 September 2013 |

(Brussels 09 September) On the 3rd of September, 1953, something known as the European Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe, which also enabled the establishment the European Court of Human Rights came into force. In the passing sixty years, the court has delivered approximately 16,500 judgments, and has dealt with over 500,000 applications for judgements.
The Convention protects the right to: life, freedom and (...) Read more