Gender equality a fundamental right – EUbusiness Week newsletter 777 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 777 top stories: Tusk re-elected EU president despite Polish objection; Gender pay gap persists, women earn 16.3% less than men; Defence ministers agree joint military HQ; EU green light for Paks II nuclear power plant in Hungary; Brussels fines six car suppliers EUR 155m over cartels; Europe needs to close digital gap: report

Publisher’s Note

International Women’s Day was an occasion for the EU to reaffirm its commitment to gender equality enshrined in the EU treaties. Yet women are still paid less, receive lower pensions and are less represented in top corporate posts.

Intolerance may also be on the rise, with some Member States moving in the wrong direction, encouraged by the Brexit and Trump votes. But as EC chief Jean-Claude Juncker put it, “if intolerance and chauvinism start to proliferate inside or outside our borders we have to push back twice as hard with a simple and thoroughly European message: gender equality is not an aspirational goal, it is a fundamental right.”
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. Tusk re-elected EU president despite Polish objection

European leaders at a summit in Brussels Thursday re-elected Donald Tusk as European Council president, despite angry objection from the eurosceptic right-wing government of his home country Poland.
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2. Gender pay gap persists, women earn 16.3% less than men

A report on gender equality to mark International Women’s Day on Wednesday shows that despite women’s employment rate reaching an all-time high, women still earn 16.3% less than men across Europe.
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3. Defence ministers agree joint military HQ

EU foreign affairs and defence ministers agreed Monday to establish joint military headquarters for the planning and conduct of non-executive military missions initially in Somalia, Central Africa and Mali.
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4. EU green light for Paks II nuclear power plant in Hungary

Amid criticism from environmental groups, the Commission gave its green light Monday to state subsidies for the construction by a Russian company of two new nuclear reactors in Paks (Paks II) in Hungary.
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5. Brussels fines six car suppliers EUR 155m over cartels

The Commission has fined six car suppliers a total of EUR 155m for taking part in cartels supplying air conditioning and engine cooling components to manufacturers in Europe.
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6. Europe needs to close digital gap: report

The gap between top digital players and lower-performing countries is still too wide, according to the 2017 Digital Economy and Society Index.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Right to be forgotten: there is no right to be forgotten in respect of personal data in the companies register, although restricted access is possible after a company’s dissolution, the EU’s top court ruled on Thursday.
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Gina Miller threatens 2nd court case against UK government
Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU law firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

EU Global Strategy in the area of Security and Defence – EU-Chile agreement on trade in organic products – EU guidelines for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child – Climate and energy diplomacy guidance on strengthening synergies
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Commission Watch

2017 Prize for Women Innovators – European Solidarity Corps – Gender Equality – Commission fines air conditioning cartel – Births and fertility stats – EUR 42.5m humanitarian aid for Iraq – raids in kraft paper and industrial paper sacks sector – European Globalisation Adjustment Fund – GDP stats – Space: Copernicus launch to improve services for farmers, fishermen – green light for Paks II HUngary nuclear power plant
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Parliament Watch

Palm oil: the high cost of cultivating the cheap vegetable oil – Gender balance: five areas for improvement – Fair and sustainable: reforming the EU’s asylum system
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EU diary

13-16 Mar: European Parliament Plenary Session
15 Mar: management of spent nuclear fuel and waste JRC-EASAC report
15 Mar: Launch event study: Smart specialisation in Latin America
15-17 Mar: Maritime spatial planning
16-17 Mar: Protection of critical infrastructures
17 Mar: Challenges in measuring productivity, growth and intangibles
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary