European Union

Greece's unemployment rate, the highest in the European Union, has dropped below 20% for the first time in seven years, statistics bureau Elstat reported on 9 August.

Northern Ireland will later this month have been without a government for longer than Belgium, which currently holds the record of 541 days. But Belfast is set to miss out on the dubious accolade due to a technicality.

Canada is discretely appealing for support from allies, including Germany and Sweden, in its row with Saudi Arabia, government sources confirmed Thursday to AFP. Riyadh expelled Canada's ambassador on Monday and froze all new trade and investments because Ottawa denounced a crackdown on rights activists. Similar criticism of treatment of women and the public flogging of imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi lead to a diplomatic crisis with Sweden in 2015.

With migrant arrivals to Spain's southern shores on the rise, a lot of them are heading north to the border town of Irun, some sleeping rough as they wait to cross into neighbouring France, locals and officials said.

Germany has seen a sharp rise - 10 percent since the end of 2017 - in the number of children outside the country receiving benefit payments. "In June 2018, child benefits were paid for 268,336 children living outside of Germany," a finance ministry spokesman told DPA agency. In particular more Polish, Czech and Romanian children, whose parents work in Germany, have benefitted.

Plans to forge a new treaty for EU and Switzerland relations ahead of Brexit appear to be stranded, after pro-EU Social Democrats joined the rightwing Swiss People's Party (SVP) in resisting a deal which the Swiss SGB labour union federation said might undermine wages and working conditions. Relations between the EU and Switzerland are governed by some 100 bilateral agreements which Brussels want to replace with one single treaty.

The European Union on Thursday (9 August) called for a "comprehensive and transparent investigation" into a drone "assassination" bid on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.

European Central Bank concerns are growing over EU banks' exposure to the slide of the Turkish lira, reports the Financial Times. The lira has lost more than 30 percent against the dollar in 2018, and hit a new all-time low with a four percent fall on Thursday. The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) for the European banking system has begun monitoring, in particular Spain's BBVA, Italy's UniCredit and France's BNP Paribas.

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for teleworkers.

If you work from home, you are among the 17 % of EU employees engaged in telework or mobile work. This type of work can be good for your work-life balance, reducing commuting time and boosting productivity; but it also brings the risk of longer working hours and work-home interference.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

© Jelena / Fotolia

The 2002 European Framework Agreement on Telework improved the protection of teleworkers and laid down rules to ensure they enjoy the same rights as their counterparts working on the employer’s premises. The guidelines cover data protection, privacy, work organisation, health and safety, training, and career prospects. They have been implemented in accordance with each country’s national procedures, via changes to legislation or collective agreements.

Further protection for teleworkers is offered by EU rules on working time and health and safety. The Working Time Directive sets standards for maximum working hours, daily and weekly rest periods, annual leave, and night and shift work. The Health and Safety at Work Directive, and additional rules on the use of work equipment, display screens and workplace requirements, helps to make sure working environments are safe, also covering the use of ICT equipment and ergonomics. The European Pillar of Social Rights puts a strong emphasis on fair working conditions and equal opportunities for workers in atypical working conditions, such as teleworkers.

The EU also publishes research on telework. Eurofound and Eurostat prepare statistics, surveys and reports on the extent of telework, sectors and types of jobs, and the effects on people and firms.

Further information

• EPRS publication on ‘Smart workplace: Relativity of space and time’, 2016, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2016/579107/EPRS_ATA(2016)579107_EN.pdf
• Eurofound-ILO, report ‘Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work’, 2017, https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2017/working-anytime-anywhere-the-effects-on-the-world-of-work
• Eurofound, 2015 European Working Conditions Survey, https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/surveys/european-working-conditions-surveys/sixth-european-working-conditions-survey-2015
• EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service: www.epthinktank.eu

National governments secured a one-year extension for publishing plans to make radio frequencies available for mobile communications - but some were nevertheless unable to meet the deadline.

After the cabin crew strikes Ryanair pilots in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Ireland now plan to strike on Friday. The budget airline has announced that the flights of 55,000 customers across Europe will be cancelled. Journalists back the employees and praise the collective struggle for better conditions of employment.

Italy's government has passed a series of laws that partially repeal the previous government's labour market reform. For example, measures easing protection against dismissal have been rescinded and the relocation of production abroad is subject to fines. Italy's press lambastes this first major legislative package put forward by the Lega Nord-Cinque Stella coalition.

Tesla boss Elon Musk announced in a tweet that he was considering taking his company off the stock market. As a result Tesla's share price rose rapidly and the US Security and Exchange Commission began making inquiries about whether the message was based on fact and why it was made via Twitter. Europe's commentary columns are also puzzling over the tweet.