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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
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Annual Meeting of Working Group 5 held in Brussels on 19 February 2014The annual meeting of Working Group 5 dealing with social problems and social and labour dialogue, took place in Brussels on 19 February 2014, bringing together over thirty participants from six Eastern Partnership countries and the EU. Daiva Kvedaraite (Lithuania), the WG’s EU Coordinator, presented the agenda of the meeting, consisting of presentations by external speakers, election of a coordinator from the EaP countries, exchange of experiences in the area of social dialogue and discussion of the group’s strategy for 2014-2015. The presentations session included presentations by Alain Pelce, Senior Specialist on International Labour Standards at the IOM’s Moscow office, Madlen Serban, Director of the European Training Foundation and Kristina Krupaviciene, Secretary General of the Lithuanian Trade Union "Solidarumas”. The meeting also provided space for exchanging views on the status of the social policies, corporate social responsibility as well as issues of social inclusion in the Eastern Partnership countries. A separate discussion focused on the role of trade unions in the Eastern Partnership countries. Vivian Konnari, Eastern Partnership Desk Officer at European External Action Service, and Monica Bucurenciu, Programme Manager in charge of Regional Programmes for the Neighbourhood East at the European Commission, provided an update on the EU’s policy approach to the Eastern Partnership countries in the changing geopolitical circumstances and presented the available EU instruments for financing civil society activities in the area of social dialogue, both regional and global. The session on the strategy discussion highlighted the need to monitor and review legislation in the area of social policy in the Eastern Partnership countries. The participants also provided recommendations on approximation with the European and international norms and standards as defined by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Social Charter and the International Labour Organisation. |
Project funded by the European Union
