Athens, 23/04/2007 To be checked against delivery Chairman, delegates, I am privileged to bring the greetings of the ETUC to this Congress. UNI-Europa, and UNI generally, have gone from strength to strength and play an essential part in European and world trade unionism. The mergers have gone smoothly to my outside but still close eye.

2007

2007

Brussels, 12/04/2007 This decision follows from a collective complaint submitted in 2005 jointly by ETUC, Podkrepa and CITUB after the refusal of the Bulgarian government to broaden the right to strike of civil servants in general as well as to repeal the absolute ban of strikes by workers in the communications and health sector. The ECSR's decision, which was now made public, concludes that the currently applicable Bulgarian laws providing for:

Athens, 17/03/2007 President, friends, I'd like to thank the previous speakers for the warm-up or the windup. It is with great pleasure that I come to the 33rd Congress of the GSEE to bring greetings from the ETUC, to express our appreciation of the support from, and the work of, the GSEE and to pledge to work together in the future. As your slogan says - Trade Unions- Our Strength.

Brussels, 20/03/2007 The Executive Committee considers the Group's plan to close the plant in Cadiz Province, thereby turning its back on some 6,000 workers and their families, to be completely immoral; especially in view of the fact that the company has for years benefited from investments and aid from the public authorities of Andalusia and Spain. The closure would see the loss of 1,600 direct and some 4,000 indirect jobs.

Brussels, 16/03/2007 This Executive Committee will be the last one before the ETUC's 11th Congress in Seville in May. Some important issues are on the agenda such as the Commission's consultation on the Green Paper on labour law and the assessment of the Spring Summit.

Westminster, 12/03/2007 To be checked against delivery JM/cd Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to be invited to the All Party Group on the EU to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. This is an important anniversary which pro Europeans should use to celebrate the EU and its achievements, and also to make the case for Britain to be a more positive towards the development of the EU. Tonight I ask you to look forward with me at the next 50 years.

Brüssel,

Paris, 13/02/2007 To be checked against delivery President, Minister, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for the invitation to visit this lovely building in this always beautiful city and addressing a question that is highly relevant to the future of Europe and the future of France.

Vienna, 23/01/2007 To be checked against deliver President, friends, I bring the greetings of the ETUC to you and the trade unionists of Austria. You have come through a difficult period and I want to congratulate Rudolf and his colleagues for the way they have steered the organisation through the hard times. It cannot have been easy and in addition the ÖGB was able successfully to host the founding Congress of the new world body - the International TUC which met in Vienna last December.

Belgrade, 24/11/2006 To be checked against deliver Delegates, 15 years ¨C this is a long time in a man¡¯s life and a short one in the life of a trade union organisation. But that ¡°Nezavisnost¡± did survive since its founding in 1991 ¨C in the middle of the turbulences of the fall of Yougoslavia ¨C this is a remarkable event in the history of the trade union movement in this country. This is remarkable, mainly because of the following:

Brussels, 14/11/2006 The ETUC General Secretary first describes this new finance-based capitalism, mainly focused on quick returns, resulting in redundancies and increasing inequalities. The emphasis is put particularly on hedge funds which characterise this new capitalism very well, and present risks for economic stability, traditional industry and jobs.

London, 14/11/2006 Those of you who knew Aneurin Bevan can probably guess his likely reaction to my choice of the title tonight.

Vienna, 1-3 November 2006 To be checked against delivery I am honoured to bring the very best wishes of the European TUC to our new International Trade Union Confederation. As many speakers have already pointed out, this is an historic occasion. I am glad and proud that the European trade union Movement has played a part, both as a template and as a midwife - if I may mix the images - in its achievement.

Brussels, 17/10/2006 Trade union leaders will examine, among other items, proposals for safeguarding vital public services in Europe, following the European Parliament's call in September for a legal framework for services of general (economic) interest (SGIs and SGEIs).

Oslo, 10/10/2006 To be checked against delivery Thank you for the opportunity to attend and address this YS conference. Europe is not always top of a list of the people of Norway's favourite ideas. So an opportunity to talk about its significance and importance to working people in our continent and in Norway is welcome.

Milan, 01/10/2006 To be checked against delivery Cari compagni e compagne, è un grande piacere, per me, essere qui con voi per questa importante occasione : il centenario della CGIL. A century is an extraordinary occasion to appreciate the history of the most important Union in the World! I confess that I say that to all the girls, to all the unions especially those who have their 100th birthday. It is rare to find, in our world, a trade union not only of such an venerable age but also one with the rich history of CGIL.

Szczecin, 28/09/2006 To be checked against delivery President, friends, it is a great honour for me to come to the city of Szczecin, one of the birthplaces of the Solidarnosc and therefore of free, independent trade unionism. 26 years after the momentous events of 1980, I pay tribute today to the courageous, pioneer trade unionists of Szczecin to whom democracy owes so much. I am not of course forgetting what happened in Gdansk and other centres but no-one should forget either the contribution made by workers of this city.

Berlin, 30/08/2006 To be checked against delivery Chancellor, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends and colleagues, Mitbestimmung: a word that, translated into other languages, is producing misunderstandings and misinterpretations. The most evident example is the long-lasting tradition of the French to translate Mitbestimmung into “co-gestion”. If you transfer that term into English, Mitbestimmung becomes co-management.

Rome, 28/06/2006 To be checked against delivery President, delegates, fellow guests, thank you for this invitation to tell you about the ETUC's ambitions for a stronger Europe and for a strong ETUC. For us, Europe is essential to our collective futures. An ambitious, powerful ETUC must be a central ingredient.

Grenoble, 15/06/2006

Brussels, 08/06/2006 We condemn this dangerous populism, which attempts to scapegoat minority communities. We reaffirm: - our opposition to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; and - our support for the rights of all citizens, including Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) communities, to organise and to demonstrate publicly.

Brussels, 08/06/2006