EU

The situation facing working women, their changing patterns of work and the hardships and disadvantages they face have a profound potential to reshape the world we live in. This report seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities facing Europe’s working women, particularly those in precarious and low-paid work.

EU plans for ‘controlled centers’ for asylum seekers mean more innocent people – including children – will be forced to live in de-facto detention centers, Oxfam said today.

The EU's plans for 'controlled centers' for refugees and other migrants on European soil, as well as their proposed disembarkation arrangements in countries outside the EU for migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, are a recipe for failure.

Today, EU member states have proposed a spending increase of 10 percent in 2019 for the EU’s external policies compared to this year’s budget. However, governments are focusing on the wrong issues, Oxfam, Save the Children, DSW and IPPF EN say. The organizations argue a strong focus on human development is needed to counter increasing inequalities and make sure no one is left behind.

European leaders at the EU summit in Brussels have failed to agree on reforms to the common European asylum system. Instead, they try to respond to internal rows by reducing the space for asylum seekers even further, and want to offload their responsibilities to countries outside the EU. Oxfam argues that European agreements on migration are welcome, but they should not have a negative impact on the lives of refugees and migrants.

It’s good to see the Commission continue their crackdown on tax avoidance by Europe’s largest companies, but actual reforms towards more tax transparency are needed, Oxfam said in reaction to a decision by the European Commission that declared illegal a tax deal of Luxembourg with the French company Engie.

Children as young as 12 are being abused, detained and illegally returned to Italy by French border guards, according to a new report by Oxfam.

The European Commission has published details of its planned foreign affairs spending for 2021-2027. While there are some positive points which we welcome, there is a risk that aid money can now be used for inward-looking policies on migration and security, rather than long-term sustainable development.