ESBG regrets the announcement by the European Central Bank and the European Commission that a default interchange fee for direct debit transactions will not be permissible “after a short transition period”.

Standards promote  the safety and  interoperability of goods and services. In the area of the interoperability and functionality of space navigation and telecommunications  equipment,  it  is  vitally  important.  The  upcoming meeting  to  launch Phase  II of  the CEN Working Group  ‘Space’  is open  to all interested participants.
 

Responding to the Commission and Council statements on the proposed "Social Package" in the European Parliament this morning, Gabi Zimmer (GUE/NGL Germany) asked the French presidency how 2008 would see a revival of social Europe when the French government had refused to include social issues on the agenda for its term of office. She also contested the Commission's claim that the Social Package was in line with the expectations of Europe's citizens.

On 29 August, in a joint letter, BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC
agreed to take the Commission’s 2 July proposal for a directive on European works
councils (recast) as the basis for the revision of the 1994 directive.

In order to realise the revision of the Directive in 2008 or early in 2009, the European
social partners call on the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to take
their joint amendments into consideration in the adoption process.