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EU ministers reject maternity leave plan
16th of March 2011EU ministers have overwhelmingly rejected a move by Euro MPs to extend maternity leave to 20 weeks on full pay in the 27 nations. The social affairs ministers voiced concern about the cost of the 20-week minimum the European Parliament voted for in October.
Minimum maternity leave in the EU is currently 14 weeks - the European Commission has
Public procurement reform
16th of March 2011The European Commission is to overhaul the rules governing public procurement in order to improve SMEs' access to national tenders, reduce red tape and boost cross-border activity.
SMEs currently have access to around one-third of all public contracts but this share is still much lower than their economic and social importance.
Promoting
Must be multilingual?
16th of March 2011Multilingualism is crucial for SMEs to be able to thrive in Europe - according to participants in a debate hosted by the European Commission and organised by a French language association.
The EU institutions' translation and interpreting services account for 1.1 billion euros or one per cent of the EU budget per year, the equivalent of 2.50 euros
Estonia enters euro
16th of March 2011On January 1 Estonia became the 17th country to join the eurozone when it adopted the currency, the first former Soviet republic to do so. With GDP of 14 billion euros it is the second smallest euro economy after Malta.
The country is likely to be the last addition to the eurozone for several years. Lithuania and Latvia are next in line and aiming
Copycats - industry must take action
16th of March 2011
Senior figures from the cleaning industry gathered in Amsterdam recently to discuss the increasingly widespread problem of ‘copycat’ products entering the European market. The meeting was hosted by European Cleaning Journal and Amsterdam RAI.
The subject of intellectual property (IP) violation has been highlighted by a number of the
A challenge and an opportunity
25th of November 2010
For many European companies, exporting to, setting up a sales office or a subsidiary in the US can be a real headache, as well as a costly exercise. A number of different steps should be taken in order to make sure the investment will not result in a financial disaster, as Ruediger Schroeder at BBinc writes for ECJ.
Exporting, setting up a sales
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