Brussels, 20/12/2013 The June 2012 growth pact will not relaunch growth and employment. After 18 months in operation, unemployment remains at over 12%, and youth unemployment is rocketing as high as 60% in some member states. The EIB's lending capacity should be multiplied by 4 and invested in European projects for sustainable development, particularly in countries in difficulty. There must be democratic control over the attribution and use of these funds.

Brussels, 03-04/12/2013

Brussels, 18/12/2013 As EU leaders prepare to gather in Brussels for their end of year summit, they continue to undermine the European project by prolonging the financial and social crisis and alienating millions of people across the union. Speaking ahead of the summit on 18 December, ETUC Secretary General, Bernadette Ségol, announced that a European trade union demonstration will take place in Brussels on 4 April 2014, as the European Parliament prepares to elect new members.

17 December 2013 Joint Answer by the ETUC and industriAll Europe to the European Commission / Directorate-General for Competition

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Speech given by Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Check against delivery President and friends, It gives me great pleasure to be with you today. It really does.

Brussels, 03/12/2013 The Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) today considered worrying developments in Ukraine and condemned the violent repression of demonstrators in Kiev. They expressed regret that the conditions were not right for the partnership agreement with the EU to be concluded in Vilnius on 29 November 2013.

Stockholm, 15/11/2013 Check against delivery President, Friends, Thank you for giving me the floor. I bring you the greetings of the European Trade Union Confederation. I would like to take this opportunity to talk to you about our main concerns, our main issues, our main priorities. You will not be surprised if I start by a few words about the crisis we have and are still going through.

Brussels, 07/11/2013 Annexes available in the PDF version Introduction

Brussels, 18/11/2013 Against the background of months of growing public discontent at political mismanagement, the Bulgarian parliament has been discussing the budget law for 2014. The parliament’s budget and finance committee will consider this in second reading on 20 November. Constructive trade union proposals advanced in the National Council for Tripartite Co-operation, aimed at dealing with escalating poverty, unemployment, the degradation of public services, corruption and the fight against monopolies have fallen on deaf ears.

Lisbon, 28/10/2013 [Check against delivery] Caras e Caros Colegas, Em nome da Confederação europeia de sindicatos (CES) , eu gostaria de dizer aqui uma palavrinha em portugês, para agradecer a UGT assim que o seu Secretario geral e amigo Carlos Silva, por me ter convidado a comerorar, convosco os 35 anos da UGT. I like to introduce the European Trade Union Confederation as the European Trade Union because this designation immediately shows what we are, what we do and for whom, and why we do it.

Brussels, 07/11/2013 The plan, A New Path For Europe: ETUC plan for investment, Sustainable Growth and Quality Jobs, outlines how Europe can lift itself out of crisis by investing in sustainable growth and jobs through a bold recovery strategy based on investing an additional 2% of GDP per year over a 10-year period in a new industrial base and creating quality employment and educational opportunities. The new stimulus plan will create up to 11 million new jobs in Europe and aid sustainable economic and social recovery over the next decade.

Brussels, 22-23/10/2013    Key messages •    Europe’s major challenge is to transform what could be the end of a recession into a robust process of self-sustained growth, with mutually strengthening investment, demand and job creation adding to growth dynamics •    To achieve this, the strategy of austerity and structural deregulation needs major change

Helsinki, 31/10/2013 [Check against delivery] Mrs Minister, Dear Mikko, dear Ninna, Dear colleagues and friends,

Brussels, 25/10/2013 By rapidly implementing the REFIT programme, the Council is rubber stamping Barroso’s intention to ditch the social partners’ agreement on the protection of occupational health and safety in the hairdressing sector. Instead of attacking workers’ rights, the Commission should focus its efforts on ensuring that EU legislation is correctly applied throughout Europe and identify regulatory gaps.

Bruxelles, 24/10/2013 Check against delivery President(s), partners The European Trade Union Confederation was waiting with anticipation for the Commission Communication on strengthening the social dimension of Economic and Monetary Union, together with the role of social dialogue. But its adoption on 2 October left us profoundly dissatisfied. I would like to make a few brief remarks regarding this proposal and also on the general situation we are in.

Brussels, 24/10/2013 At the meeting the ETUC will demand that: - the Council change course, and launch a bold European recovery plan with a target of investing additional 2% GDP per year over the next decade drawing on national and European resources. The aim is to relaunch the economy leading to sustainable growth, to re-industrialise Europe and to create decent jobs, particularly in countries most affected by the crisis.

Brussels, 23/10/2013 The current multi-faceted crisis exploded five years ago essentially in the financial sector; it triggered an economic and then a sovereign debt crisis. To combat this crisis EU leaders have adopted and implemented policies through brutal austerity measures and internal devaluation. This exacerbated the crisis, destroyed functioning economic structures, reduced consumption, increased inequalities and poverty, attacked wage levels, dramatically raised unemployment, jeopardised social cohesion and the support to the EU project.

Brussels, 22-23/10/2013 For quality jobs, equality and democracy in Europe! From 22 to 25 May 2014, elections will be organised in each Member State of the European Union (EU) to elect the MEPs who will sit in the next European Parliament (EP). In particular, the European Parliament has the power to approve or reject European laws, decide on the European budget and choose the President of the European Commission.

Brussels, 02/10/2013 The communication from the European Commission proposes five key indicators to prevent social imbalances in the EMU, which are supposed to serve as a “scoreboard” within the European semester system. The ETUC shares the objective of better coordination in the field of social and employment policies within the EMU, but deplores that the benchmark indicators – as they are proposed – would not result in a binding sanction mechanism similar to the ones existing for excessive imbalances macroeconomic procedure.

Malta 03/10/2013 Check against delivery Mr Prime Minister, Dear President, Dear Tony, Dear Friends, Thank you for inviting me, on behalf of the European Trade Union Confederation, to address you on this historic occasion – the Seventieth Anniversary of the GWU.

Brussels, 27/09/2013 Bernadette Ségol (ETUC) General Secretary said: “We protest against this clear and irresponsible interference by EU institutions in national wage setting systems. The limits of EU rights in the field of wages must be respected. The EU has no competence to intervene in wages (article 153-5); its competence to issue wage recommendations through broad economic guidelines is limited to just that, recommendations. There should be no pressure whatsoever on national wage setting systems and more particularly on minimum wages”.

Brussels, 11/09/2013

Brussels, 29/08/2013 In its open letter, the ETUC stresses that Latvia and Ireland, having shed 20 and 15% of all jobs, can hardly be seen as an example to follow. The only lesson to learn from Latvia is that action to restore growth must come first! Europe should delay applying a 3% deficit limit until economies return to health and a strong recovery is secured– probably around 2016-2017. The ETUC’s open letter also denounces the race to the bottom that the Commission’s wage competition is provoking in many Member States

Brussels, 29/07/2013