Remunicipalisation, Trade

The European Commission should have concluded an updated sustainability impact assessment (SIA) before the EU-Mercosur trade deal was agreed, an inquiry by European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has found.

The EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement is a new development in a long relationship between the UK, the EU and other European countries.

Civil society groups and trade unions have jointly called upon the G20 countries to agree the waiver of intellectual property rights.

Europe’s union leaders met to discuss the many developments in the EU and Europe.

The EU-Ukraine summit took place in Brussels 11 February.

(Press release - 4 February) Today the WTO TRIPS Council is set to discuss patent protections in place for COVID-19 related vaccines and medical supplies.

The European and Mercosur trade unions reject the agreement in its current form.

This was the clear message from the joint PSI EPSU webinar on organised on 25 January.

The ink is hardly dry on the EU – UK trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) that was agreed end December and already the UK Government is indicating that hard-won workers rights are going to be diluted.

In the framework of the Right to Energy Forum (more information below), EPSU will organise a workshop on “Going public: the way forward to end energy poverty? The failure of energy market liberalisation”

After the remunicipalisation of water services in Mafra in 2016 (Portugal), another Portuguese town has announced now that is going public.

The Amazon is burning – more than ever. Indigenous peoples and small farmers are being repressed, precious ecosystems are set on fire, and monocrops and pesticides dominate the new fields.

UK public service union UNISON has launched a campaign to bring all outsourced workers at four hospitals in Liverpool back in-house.

In an open letter, which has received the support of 600 organisations from more than 90 countries plus European and international organisations, EPSU calls on governments and the EU to take action to prevent the wave of ISDS cases that put at risk an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 30 representatives from 14 countries met online last week (18 June) to debate how to bring public services back in-house. The meeting was part of a project involving EPSU and being coordinated by the trade union-backed Syndex consultancy.