Brussels, 01/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - EU employment and social affairs ministers meeting in Council on 1 December decided by unanimity that the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, would host the Institute for Gender Equality, whose creation had been suggested by the Commission in March 2005. With an allocation of €52.5 million for the period 2007-2013, the Institute will above all aim to collect data that will serve to develop gender equality policies. Ms Tuula Haatainen, Finnish Social Affairs and Health Minister who co-chaired the meeting with her colleague, Tarja Filatov, Minister for Labour, specified that initially 15 persons would be assigned to the Institute but that around 30 persons would be employed there by 2013.
The Council also held an exchange of views on the Commission's Green Paper devoted to modernisation of labour law in the context of globalisation. On this point, and concerning flexicurity in particular, Ms Filatov said in substance that there was consensus on the need to ensure workers have “minimum security whatever their contracts”. Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, said he was very pleased that all the ministers had accepted the Commission's approach, and that all their ideas would be taken into account for the work by the Commission on flexicurity. At the end of the afternoon, the Council was still to hold an exchange of views on the proposal relating to the portability of complementary pension rights. (ol)