EU: After the pain - what prospects for gain?
Eurostat, the European statistical office, has reported that the EU economy contracted by 4.4 percent over the year to Q1 2008. This compares with a 2.6 percent contraction in the US economy over the same period.

Nevertheless, the latest OECD economic prediction figures indicate that a recovery is now in prospect for some EU countries. Composite leading indicators for France and Italy are in their third successive month of improvement, whilst the UK has achieved a positive trend for two consecutive months. This would suggest that Italy could lead the way out of the current recession with a slight improvement in GDP this summer. However, although the pace of decline in the predictive indicator for the German economy has slowed in recent months, it could be early next year before German GDP trends are likely to reverse.

EU: Draft agreement on parental leave
A draft agreement on parental leave drawn up by the EU umbrella group Business Europe and the European Trade Union Congress (ETUC) increases the minimum leave period from three to four months and extends the maximum age of a child for which parental leave may be taken from eight to nine years.

The agreement requires employees to give a minimum notice period before starting leave and to specify in advance when they would be returning to work. Each parent would be required to take at least one month of leave and employers would be obliged to 'consider and respond to' requests from returning parents to changes in their working hours. The agreement contains no facility for payment during leave and this would remain an issue for individual EU member states to resolve.

The draft is currently being circulated amongst member organisations at a national level. If approved, it will become the basis for a revised EU parental leave directive to replace Council Directive 96/34/EC of 3 June 1996.

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