EU: the European Parliament’s Employment Committee hears Laszlo Andor, applicant Commissioner for Employment

At the rate of one minute per question, this exercise is like speed dating. These few seconds are enough if the ideas are clear, not enough to convince otherwise. With questions which mostly revolved around the EU’s strategy for 2020, employment and social policies, Laszlo Andor (see our dispatch No. 091090 for his description) sometimes seemed like his answers were theoretical, not concrete, and, on occasion, that he was making incantatory wishes. But this is simply the reflection of the European Commission’s troubles in articulating a true view to get out of the crisis. Mr. Andor nevertheless expressed his will to defend the idea of the transversality of employment issues in the 2020 strategy, which means including this problem into all policies, notably economic ones, and define general objectives including the employment issue. This is a significant novelty.
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

These few seconds are enough if the ideas are clear, not enough to convince otherwise. With questions which mostly revolved around the EU’s strategy for 2020, employment and social policies, Laszlo Andor (see our dispatch No. 091090 for his description) sometimes seemed like his answers were theoretical, not concrete, and, on occasion, that he was making incantatory wishes. But this is simply the reflection of the European Commission’s troubles in articulating a true view to get out of the cri

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
United-Kingdom: Day-one rights for unpaid paternity leave
From 6 April 2026, fathers and partners will no longer need to demonstrate six months of service to qualify for paternity leave. This entitlement becomes a day-one right within the company...
30 March 2026
France: CMA-CGM seeks to adapt professional equality to seafaring roles
The news. On 23 March 2026, the shipowner CMA-CGM (17,600 employees in France) and the CFDT, CFE-CGC, and FO unions signed a gender equality agreement for the 2026-2030 period, as identified by...
Germany: crisis and transformation wage agreement in the chemical sector
Following a two-day marathon negotiation in Bad Breisig (Western Germany), the social partners of the German chemical and pharmaceutical industries—the IG BCE trade union and the BAVC employers'...
27 March 2026
Malta: a draft amendment to better protect against workplace harassment
The news. On 23 February 2026, the Maltese government introduced a draft amendment to the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, seeking to expand the scope of protection against workplace...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Netherlands: new government seeks to “control” social costs
In his government policy statement to Parliament on 25 February, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced several measures designed to "control" social costs. Notably, he proposed raising the...
2
Germany: launch of the “WE-Fair” alliance for binational training of skilled foreign workers
Germany continues to expand and diversify its initiatives to attract skilled foreign labour from outside the EU. In mid-March 2026, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development...
3
Spain: a bill to regulate internships
On 3 March, the Council of Ministers approved the bill on the “Status for persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies”. The text limits the number of interns a company can...
4
Block to slash workforce by nearly half
The news. In his latest shareholder letter, Jack Dorsey, CEO of payment service provider Block (formerly Square), announced plans to slash the company’s workforce “by nearly half, from...