Military Trade Unionism in Europe
EUROMIL, together with the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) organised a lunch debate on “Military Trade Unionism in Europe” on 21 March 2018. Peter Scherrer, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Deputy General Secretary, opened the debate by stating that the right of workers to have their voices heard, the right …
PESCO: Relaunching the SAFE Concept
On 20 March 2018, the Kangaroo Group organised, in cooperation with the European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL), a lunchtime debate entitled “PESCO: Relaunching the SAFE Concept” at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event addressed the launch of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the opportunity to revive the …
Increasing European Collaboration in PTSD Research
On 6 March 2018, EUROMIL organised a debate on “Increasing European Collaboration in PTSD Research” in the European Parliament with the kind support of the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) Ivo Belet and Clare Moody. Opening the debate, Clare Moody (MEP, UK, S&D) emphasized that governments have a duty …
A Step in the Right Direction for the Implementation of the Working Time Directive
On 21 February 2018 the Court of Justice of the European Union published a judgment (C-518/15) on the stand-by time of a worker who is obliged to respond to calls from the employer within a short time. The Court decided that this stand-by time must be regarded as working time. …
Diversity and Inclusion in Security
On 18 February 2018, the President of EUROMIL opened the “Diversity and Inclusion in Security” event which was organised by the association Deutscher.Soldat and partly sponsored by the DBwV, in the margins of the Munich Security Conference in Munich. President Jacob explained that EUROMIL continuously advocates human rights including equal …
Trade Union Rights Recognized for Military Personnel by the European Committee of Social Rights
The European Social Charter should be interpreted as recognizing trade unions for military personnel. This is an important step towards the full recognition of the right to freedom of association for members of the armed forces. In September 2017, the European Committee on Social Rights (ECSR) decided on the complaint …
Associations and Trade Unions of Gendarmerie Personnel in Europe Join Efforts
Following-up on their meeting on 13 July 2017, several associations and trade unions of gendarmerie personnel from three European countries met on 25 January 2018 in Amsterdam. On the invitation of the Dutch MARVER (Marechaussee Military Union), representatives of the Spanish AUGC (Asociación Unificada de Guardias Civiles), the Portuguese APG …
Shrinking Space for Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders: A Problem Within the EU
On 18 January 2018, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) released a report on “Challenges facing civil society organisations working on human rights in the EU”. The shrinking space for civil society and human rights defenders in Europe endangers democracy in the European Union. As emphasised at regional …
Social Dialogue in the Armed Forces of Montenegro
EUROMIL was informed on several occasions in the past year by its Montenegrin member association SOVCG about different problems regarding social dialogue and a worsened relationship between the Minister of Defence and SOVCG. On 17 January 2018, EUROMIL’s President Emmanuel Jacob met with the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Defence, …
The Eagle Took Off
Ten years ago, on 13 December 2007, the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union signed the Lisbon Treaty. They agreed amongst others “on the progressive framing of a common defence policy that might lead to common defence”. It needed however several years before …