The European Parliament and the Council finally failed to reach an agreement on the revision of the Working Time Directive. A group of countries within the Council considered the individual opt-out quite a fundamental right not to be given up. Considering that opt-outs are not designed to be the rule but a temporary exception this is not acceptable for the trade unionists and the majority of the European Parliament.

The European Commission is expected today to adopt a Recommendation on privacy, data protection and information security in RFID applications. ANEC calls for consumers to be properly protected from risks to their privacy and security through implementation of the ‘opt-in’ principle. Not all RFID applications raise concerns or even affect consumers. However, consumers should not be obliged to ask for the RFID tag to be deactivated at the point of sale in order to avoid risks of being tracked or profiled.

This should be done by default if consumers are to have trust in RFID.

High-level meeting sends strong backing for EU nature legislation, but disappoints on sectoral policy reform
European NGOs outline key asks for future policy framework and ask Barroso to turn words into action

As a key commitment to the “EU Alcohol & Health Forum”, the “Wine Information Council” aims at disseminating science based information on Health, Cultural and Social Aspects of Wine consumption, and on best practices to promote moderation and responsibility in the wine consumption across Europe.

The copper industry supported by recycling in Europe Brussels, 27 April 2009 – In 2007 copper has been used in increasing quantities around the world, according to the latest report by the International Copper Study Group (ICSG). Total usage reached 23.7 tonnes in 2007, up 5% on 2006. The copper recycling rate stayed above the average of the last few years with a particularly successful performance in Europe where 41% of copper usage was from recycling.