Latest news with #RoxanaMînzatu
Euronews
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Brussels ask EU citizens to put together a 72-hour emergency kit to face crises
ADVERTISEMENT The EU wants every member state to develop a 72-hour survival kit for citizens to face any new crisis that might emerge as part of its Preparedness Union Strategy which also calls for more stockpiling of essential supplies and for improved civilian-military cooperation. The strategy unveiled on Wednesday by the European Commission includes a list of 30 concrete actions it says EU member states need to take to boost their preparedness against potential future crises ranging from natural disasters and industrial accidents to attacks by malicious actors in the cyber or military domains. "In the EU we must think different, because the threats are different, we must think bigger because the threats are bigger too," Hadja Lahbib, the Commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, told reporters. Roxana Mînzatu, the Commission for preparedness, speaking alongside her, added that the bloc is "not starting from scratch". "The COVID pandemic has shown that the added value of acting together in solidarity in coordination, in the European Union framework is absolutely crucial, This is what makes us more efficient, makes us stronger," she said. One of the key areas identified is the need to enhance population preparedness with the Commission urging member states to ensure citizens have an emergency kit that allows them to be self-sufficient for a minimum of 72 hours in the event they are cut off from essential supplies. Several member states already have such guidelines with varying timeframes. France, for instance, calls for a 72-hour survival kit that includes food, water, medicines, a portable radio, a flashlight, spare batteries, chargers, cash, copies of important documents including medical prescriptions, spare keys, warm clothes and basic tools such as utility knives. The Commission's plan aims to harmonise guidelines across the 27 member states in order to make sure that "everyone, at different levels have, to put it this way, a manual of what to do when the sirens go off," said a senior EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The level of preparedness across the Union, across different member states is very different. Preparedness is definitely understood in different ways across member states," the same official added. Increased stockpiles Another key focus of the strategy is to increase stockpiling of essential equipment and supplies, medical countermeasures such as vaccines, medicines and medical equipment, critical raw materials so industrial production or strategic equipment can continue, and energy equipment. Brussels has already put forward over the past few weeks proposals to boost the stockpiling of critical medicines and essential minerals , a competence that lies with member states. The Preparedness strategy aims to "bring this together and to identify how the stockpiles interact, what are the common experiences to learn from each other," another senior EU official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said. This could entail developing more stockpiles at the EU level for civil protection that would add to existing stocks from the RescEU mechanism. But "some of these could be at national level, some of them are virtual, basically agreements with the private sector, some of them are physical". "That's a discussion we need to have: what's the best possible configuration to guarantee the ultimate objective of continuation of these vital societal functions under all circumstances," the official added. Addressing 'blind spots' in responding to crises Improving cooperation between civilian and military authorities in the event of a crisis is also identified as a key priority. The Commission said it will establish a civil-military preparedness framework with clear roles and responsibilities and has called for regular exercises to be carried out to test best practices. ADVERTISEMENT "We have plenty of examples, unfortunately, in real life, of what kind of threat we need to be prepared (for)," one of the officials quoted above said, including acts of sabotage, disinformation campaigns, and cyberattacks. Identifying the roles of the civilian and military authorities is a process that has already started, the official added, citing sabotage acts in the Baltic Sea. "We are now analysing how we are reacting and where are the blind spots, where we could be more efficient, where we could be swifter, what else we could do," they added. All of this work will be underpinned by a new EU crisis coordination hub, and by a risks and threats assessment, the first of which is to be released in late 2026. ADVERTISEMENT Quizzed on why the EU executive needs over a year to produce this document, one of the officials said that that it's a "complex" process with "lots of contributions from member states feeding" into it and other sectorial analyses released on different timeframes. "To bring this together, to analyse this, and to produce a document that is digestible and provides added value, it needs a bit of time. That's why we wouldn't want to do this in a number of weeks, because there's a risk that something is overlooked (...) and some pieces of analysis and information is missing," they said. The Commission will in the meantime release ad-hoc early warnings and will set up this year a crisis dashboard to keep member states updated about the risks ahead and gather data to prepare.
Euronews
14-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
How can the EU respond to its skilled labour shortage?
To remain competitive, the European Union needs a skilled workforce. A shortage of this is therefore a problem, and the Commission and the European Parliament have recently renewed efforts to tackle it. "Four in five businesses struggle to find the workers that they need with the right skill set. There are more than 40 occupations with EU wide shortages, especially in important sectors like construction, trades, transport and some healthcare professions", Roxana Mînzatu, European Commission Vice-President responsible for social rights, skills and quality employment, told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This shortage of skilled labour is due to problems of supply and demand and a mismatch between the qualifications of workers and the needs of employers, as Ilias Livanos, an expert on skills and the labour market at the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), told Euronews: "There could be pressures because of the demand. And clearly for the ICT professions, given that they keep developing so rapidly, we don't really know what the demand will be in 5 or 10 years. So how we can prepare for this specific knowledge ? And clearly the systems, education systems are not prepared for this." This shortage is likely to get worse because of demographic factors and the digital and ecological transitions. "Firstly, demographics. The EU is going to lose 1 million workers every year until 2050," Peter Bosch, senior research associate at the Egmont Institute, told Euronews. "Secondly, there is a rapid change in the type of skills that will be needed because of robotisation, because of artificial intelligence, because of what is happening in different sectors," he explained, adding: "The third reason is Europe's economic recovery, with many Member States and the European Union making large amounts of money available." The European rearmament plan proposed by the European Commission, which contains a €800 billion budget, and the massive investment plan in defence and infrastructure presented by the likely future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will require recruitment in many sectors, according to Peter Bosch. The education system, but also companies, have important roles to play here, as, after all: "The skill system has no single owner". While the formal education system has an important part to play in developing skills, continuing training is also "the responsibility of individuals and employers," according to Livanos. The EU's new roadmap has set the course: On 5 March, the European executive launched a new initiative - the Skills Union - to boost training and therefore European competitiveness. This approach is based on four pillars. It recommends investing in education and training, promoting professional retraining, encouraging the mobility of students and workers, and making the EU more attractive to foreign workers. In concrete terms, the Commission wants to launch "skills guarantees", for example, to "help companies hire or train people at risk of losing their jobs", Roxana Mînzatu expained. Another flagship project called "Choose Europe" aims to attract skilled workers from third countries to the EU. The European executive also wants to support visas for foreign students, strengthen the skills pact to support the upgrading and retraining of workers, and make the 'Erasmus+' exchange programme more accessible. But the EU is not the only one in the race, warns Peter Bosch. "The European Union is going to need people, but so will China and India and Arab countries, and Arab countries are offering huge salaries for people to come to work in their countries," says the researcher. The European Union is waking up, but it needs to do so very quickly. The Trump administration has threatened to permanently end federal funding to Columbia University, unless the New York institution hands over control of one of its international studies departments. The ultimatum comes a week after the US government announced that it was pulling $400m (€367m) in federal funding from the university — and reviewing $5bn (€4.6bn) in additional grants — over its perceived failure to root out antisemitism on campus. In a letter sent by the federal authorities on Thursday night, Columbia was warned that talks on its financial future would only take place if it places its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under 'academic receivership for a minimum of five years'. Before any 'formal negotiations' can be held, the Ivy League institution must also take other actions, including adopting 'a new definition of antisemitism' and reforming its admissions process, it added. 'We expect your immediate compliance with these critical next steps,' officials from the Department of Education, General Services Administration and Department of Health and Human Services wrote. The development is a dramatic escalation in US President Donald Trump's attempts to reshape how universities across the country operate. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has targeted Columbia over the pro-Palestinian student protests that took place there last year. Over the weekend, Mahmoud Khalil, who graduated from the university in December with a Master's in international studies, was arrested in New York over his role as a student spokesperson during the protests. He is currently being held at a detention centre in Louisiana. Khalil's lawyers argue that it is unconstitutional for the US government to deport activists, something Trump and his officials have vowed to do. Responding to the government's actions against Columbia, Joseph Howley, a classics professor at the institution, said: 'Half of this stuff you can't just do and the other half is insane.' 'If the federal government can show up and demand a university department be shut down or restructured, then we don't have universities in this country,' he added. On Thursday, Columbia announced that it had sanctioned students over the pro-Palestinian protests, which involved the occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring. It said in a statement that punishments included 'multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions'. In a separate development, the Education Department said it was investigating more than 50 US universities over alleged racial discrimination.
Euronews
14-02-2025
- Business
- Euronews
EU Parliament plans AI and workplace initiative for next year
The European Parliament will begin negotiations on an own-initiative legislative proposal to tackle issues around artificial intelligence and the workplace in the first quarter of this year, with the aim to adopt a report in early 2026, sources from within the institution told Euronews. Last year, the bloc's AI Act – stringent rules which regulate AI systems according to the risk they pose to society – entered into force, and the Parliament has been vocal about the need for additional rules to cover workplace changes arising as a result of AI technology. Lawmaker Brando Benifei (Italy/S&D), the MEP in charge of determining the Parliament's position on the AI Act, repeatedly sai d that possible AI and workplace rules could cover issues such as obligations to involve social partners in bargaining, as well as safety and training elements. The AI Act already bans specific practices to protect workers, such as social scoring or real-time remote biometric identification. In addition, the EU institutions reached an agreement on platform work last year, with the aim to protect and improve the working conditions of people working in the gig economy. Possible legislation The issue was flagged in the mission letter of Roxana Mînzatu, the EU Commissioner in charge of Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness. 'I would also like you to focus on the impact of digitalisation in the world of work. This should notably be done through an initiative on algorithmic management and through possible legislation on AI in the workplace, following consultation with social partners. You will also propose to introduce a right to disconnect,' the mission letter, drafted by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said. The European Commission did not comment on when such a proposal could be presented. A survey published on Thursday by the EU executive found that most Europeans support the use of AI in the workplace. More than 60% of Europeans view robots and AI in the workplace positively and more than 70% believe that they improve productivity, the survey suggested. 'While a majority supports the use of robots and AI to make decisions at work, 84% of Europeans believe that AI needs to be carefully managed to protect privacy and ensure transparency in the workplace,' it said. 'Artificial intelligence is now an integral part of modern workplaces. We need to use it in a way that supports and protects workers. We have a solid foundation of rules, with our General Data Protection Regulation, the AI Act and the Platform Work Directive. We will review how these rules are applied to address the impact of AI across the labour market,' Mînzatu said.
