Published on International Women's Day 2013, this survey presents the views of European citizens on gender equality and the empowerment of women in developing countries. It also tests how people believe to what extent certain problems affect men and women in these countries.

The Employment Equality Directive (Directive 2000/78) requires all EU Member States to provide for protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in employment and occupation. The present report describes the scope of protection provided by the Directive and its normative...

This report provides a general overview of the ways in which EU gender equality law has been implemented in the domestic laws of the 28 Member States of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (the EEA countries) and four candidate countries (the Former Yugoslav Republic...

This is the National Report on German Law regarding property relations in social unions, like marriage, other legally acknowledged unions, and de-facto unions. It covers heterosexual and same-sex unions. Although the special focus of the report is on international relations (international...

The legal basis of collective bargaining in Austria is laid down by the Labour Constitution Act (ArbVG). According to the ArbVG, collective agreements can be concluded only between collective organisations of employers and employees. Therefore, the Austrian labour law systematically benefits...

The Belgian collective bargaining system is highly institutionalised and coordinated. Over 90% of employees are covered by a collective agreement, placing Belgium among the countries with the highest coverage in Europe. Also, the Belgian trade unions have a relatively high level of membership...

The right to collective bargaining and the binding character of collective agreements is enshrined in the Spanish Constitution (Section 37.1). The system of collective bargaining is thoroughly regulated in Title III of the Workers’ Statute. In particular, Section 82.3 establishes the legally...

This background paper from the European Foundation has been drafted to coincide with the European Parliament's hearing on 12 September 2007 in Brussels on the "Role of the minimum wage/minimum income for social inclusion in the EU". The focus of the paper is on minimum wage provisions in Europe;...