Communiqué, issue 5, 2003
Articles
- Approaching enlargement
- Changes in Europe's financial services market
- Foundation seminar: living and working conditions in 2010
- EIRO expands to cover ten enlargement countries
- Promoting employee financial participation
- Enlargement: longer working hours in the acceding and candidate countries
- European Restructuring Monitor
- Observers from the acceding countries join the Administrative Board
Previous issues of Communiqué
Wide-ranging new data and analysis on living and working conditions in the current EU Member States and in the acceding and candidate countries (ACC) is being made available by the Foundation in the run-up to enlargement in May 2004.
Launching its comprehensive report on Working conditions in the acceding and candidate countries on 23 October, the Foundation provides a benchmark for working conditions in the 13 countries. Social dialogue and EMU in the acceding countries, published at the same time, focuses on the role of social dialogue in preparing for Economic and Monetary Union. A conference on social dialogue involving the 10 acceding countries will be held in March 2004. The presentation of the Foundation’s much-anticipated pan-European Quality of Life survey will take place in May 2004.
Benchmarking working conditions
According to the report, workers in the ACC work longer hours in less service-related industries than in the current EU Member States. They also suffer higher exposure to various physical risk factors such as dangerous substances, fumes and noise.
"The survey provides a first comprehensive overview of working conditions in the 13 acceding and candidate countries, using the same methodology as in the previous European working condition surveys carried out by the Foundation in 1990, 1995 and 2000," says Willy Buschak, the Foundation’s Acting Director. "The results provide a solid benchmark on the situation in these countries as ten of them move towards membership in May next year."
Living conditions and quality of life
Before enlargement, and in collaboration with Eurostat, the Foundation will also provide wide-ranging data and analysis on living conditions in the acceding and candidate countries. The living conditions survey will focus on quality of life and personal satisfaction, social exclusion, income, deprivation and economic strain, as well as work and quality of work, healthcare and access to services, family aspects, and fertility and migration trends. In May, the Foundation aims to publish its much-anticipated Quality of Life in Europe monitoring initiative. It will focus on employment, economic resources, family life, community life, health and education. In short, it measures the quality of life in the 15 Member States and 13 acceding and candidate countries.