Communiqué, issue 4, 2004
Articles
- Towards the Lisbon objectives: The new four-year programme
- Occupational pension systems in Europe
- Quality of life in Germany and Poland
- Focusing on Europe’s working poor
- ERM records high levels of job losses
- Living to work, working to live
- Life satisfaction varies but Europeans are generally optimistic about the future
- Challenging times ahead
Previous issues of Communiqué
How to achieve a better balance of work–life commitments, while moving towards the full employment target of the Lisbon agenda, is the theme of the Foundation Forum 2004.
Policymakers across the 25 countries of the new European Union are increasingly faced with the challenge of creating more and better jobs, while dealing with the pressing issues of flexibility and work, pension reform, time management and labour market restructuring. The Foundation’s recent European Quality of Life survey reveals that an average of one in four EU citizens complains they are too tired to carry out household jobs when they come home from work. More worryingly, around one in six persons in the new Member States declares they have difficulties in fulfilling family responsibilities because they are required to spend too much time at work.
Tomorrow’s work-life balance
The second biennial Foundation Forum, entitled Living to work – working to live, focuses on how we will live and work in the coming decade. The 2004 Forum takes place in Dublin on 3-4 November next. High-level European representatives from the social partners, governments and civil society, as well as experts in the field, will provide an overview of the challenges and probe the most radical ideas on the key issues that lie ahead for the new Europe in dealing with the topic of work–life reconciliation. Speakers during the two days include Bertie Ahern, Ireland’s Prime Minister; Vlado Dimovski, Slovenian Minister for Labour, Family and Social Affairs; Katalin Levai, Hungarian MEP; and Lord Bill Brett.
The invitation-only event is supported, as in the past, by the Irish government.