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Tag ‘Employment’

LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES

Thursday, December 1st, 2011
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The small-scale fisheries fleet in Fournoi, in the Nineties

When, not a long time ago, I met representatives of small-scale fishermen, the president of Glaros (seagull, in Greek), the association of small-scale fishermen form the island of Fournoi, handed me a picture of what once was a significant small-scale fleet based on the island. The fleet was then scrapped –he affirms– following the adoption of the latest reform of the EU common fisheries policy, in the Nineties.

I believe that small-scale fishermen greatly contribute to the economic progress and the preservation of distinctive social and cultural characteristics of European coastal communities. Read the full entry

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REFORM AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Monday, August 29th, 2011
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Reaching the end of August, a difficult summer is ending. Now we have to speed up.  The economic recession, deepening in some European countries, underlines the basic need: we have to promote concrete measures for enhancing the employment and the quality of life of young people. The basic danger is still there: our children will live in a way worse than our own. Hence, our proposals have to invest to future. “Sustainability” is now the important word, still it needs a concrete political translation.

At the beginning of the summer I presented the proposal for a fisheries policy for the future, now under discussion in the Ministers Council, the European and national parliaments. This proposal is exactly about sustainability: we try to ensure the survival of sea stocks, in order to have new employment opportunities in fisheries and aquaculture sector

There were already a lot of reactions, some of them very skeptical or negative. Is this approach realistic? Is this change too radical for the social situation of the fisheries sector? Is the environmental aspect overwhelming the social one? Read the full entry

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STRONGER FROM THE CRISIS

Friday, July 1st, 2011
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The Commission adopted on Wednesday its proposal for the EU budgetary framework for the 2014-2020 period.

It represents our chance to help Europe to emerge stronger from the crisis.

We will overcome present difficulties only if we stick together and we invest in our future. This is what we aim at when proposing large growth-enhancing investments to accelerate infrastructure development across Europe, through the so-called Connecting Europe Facility. Or when devising an ambitious framework for Research and Innovation.

To help EU countries boosting growth and employment –and benefit concretely to EU citizens– we need investments, not a budget of austerity. Read the full entry

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EUROPEAN MARITIME DAY: A MARITIME POLICY FOR THE CITIZENS

Friday, May 20th, 2011
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Yesterday, more than one thousand people, from different sectors and backgrounds met in Gdańsk, to celebrate the European Maritime Day.

This city is itself an example of the potential of emerging maritime sectors: despite the problems, a part of the Shipyard has diversified its production and offers wind turbine towers and wave energy plants. At the same time, the Gdynia Maritime Academy prepares young people to be the skilled professionals of tomorrow’s maritime industry.

The sea and oceans can bring us more jobs, higher standards of living and longer, healthier lives for our people. 

But we need to do more to unlock this potential and make sure that the maritime economy can benefit the 88 million Europeans who work in coastal regions, as well as any other. Read the full entry

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MEN THAT GO TO SEA

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
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A few weeks ago I had the honour of attending a ceremony organised by the International Maritime Organisation to honour all seafarers. On that occasion I remember thinking of Plato’s famous quote, that there “there are three types of men: those that live, those that die and those that go to sea “. This phrase captures fully the uniqueness of jobs at sea.

Still today, maritime jobs are by far among the most dangerous in the world. Their workplaces are often hard, noisy and without any comfort. People are sometimes separated from their relatives for long periods of time. The sailors are probably among the last Europeans that live and work every day in a very perilous natural environment that humankind has not yet mastered, despite the many progresses in shipbuilding, oceanography or meteorology. Ships sinking, disappearances at sea and accidents are, still too often, the reality of these professions.

Yet because of the particularities of their working environment, they have been left out of legislation that intended to protect all workers. Read the full entry

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