| European Commission |
| Commissioner Johannsson meets police officers in Gran Canaria
The Home Affairs Commissioner travelled to the Canary Islands with the Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska this week to meet with national, regional and local authorities on migration management cooperation. The Commissioner visited the regional coordination centre of the Guardia Civil together with police officers seconded from partners in Africa.
The Commissioner acknowledged the efforts of law enforcement authorities, particularly during the pandemic. She emphasised that EU solidarity is necessary to ensure a workable approach to migration, following the publication of the New Pact for Migration in September. Her comments can be seen in full here (link).
Commission opens consultation on European Pillar of Social Rights The European Commission has opened a consultation on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, including suggestions for new policy action or legal initiatives needed at the EU, national, regional or local level (link). The Pillar sets out 20 principles, encompassing equal opportunities and access to the labour market, fair working conditions and social protection and inclusion. On health and safety issues, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has particularly noted that measuring the implementation of Principle 10 on the right to a high level of protection of health and safety at work currently lacks clear indicators (link). The consultation period closes on 30 November 2020.
Commission seeks feedback on minimum wage proposals The European Commission has opened a consultation on its proposal for a directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU, closing on 31 December 2020 (link). The proposal is part of the effort to complete the European Pillar of Social Rights and aims to ensure that workers in the EU are protected by adequate minimum wages wherever they work. The Directive also aims at promoting collective bargaining on wages in all Member State. For Member States with a statutory minimum wage, the Commission suggest criteria for adequacy and a governance framework providing for regular and timely updates as well as for effective involvement of the social partners. |
| European Parliament |
| EuroCOP meets with chair of Civil Liberties Committee
The EuroCOP President met with the Chair of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) on 5 November. The meeting was very constructive, and covered many issues currently on the Committee’s agenda, including migration, the revision of the Prüm framework, and debates on police brutality.
EuroCOP’s statement in response to recent Parliamentary debates on police brutality was shared with MEPs this week, and can be found here (link). |
| Council |
| Member States adopt measures to modernise judicial cooperation
The Council has adopted new rules that seek to improve the efficiency of cross-border judicial proceedings. Changes include the electronic service of documents, promoting the use of videoconferencing in the taking of evidence (link). |
| National updates |
| · Austria: 1000 police deployed in Vienna after terror attack (link)
· Bulgaria: Police to cover ambulance shortage (link) · Cyprus: Police launch new ‘visual identity’ (link) · Denmark: Police Union to carry out survey on sexism in the police (link) · France: MPs discuss ban on filming police officers (link) · Italy/Spain: Anti-lockdown protesters turn on the police (link – paywall) · Slovenia: Police use water cannons for the first time (link) · Sweden: Criticism of plans to train non-police to do policing work (link) · UK: Police working to rescue files of suspected criminals and missing people amid no-deal fears (link) |
| Other news |
| ETUC: Unions publish own equal pay directive
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has published its own directive on pay transparency, in protest over the delay to a proposal from the European Commission, promised within the first 100 days of President von der Leyen’s mandate (link). The “binding pay transparency measures”, are now not expected until at least the 15 December. ETUC’s own proposals set out measures to ban pay secrecy clauses, to require the release of information on job evaluation and to support trade unions in negotiations to address the pay gap. They also call on employers to produce pay information audits and annual action plans on pay equality.
Europol: first Europe-wide action day on stopping hate speech online Europol’s European Counter-Terrorism Centre coordinated a joint action day to target racist and xenophobic hate speech on the internet, with nine countries taking part. Law enforcement authorities raided almost 100 locations and carried out interrogations on issues relating to dissemination of racist and xenophobic hate speech, among others (link). |
| Look ahead |
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