European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) 1
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) 1 : Established in 1973, the ETUC is the major umbrella organization for European Union (EU) Member States' national trade union confederations. Based in Brussels, it is represented on several European Community (EC) committees and organizations, and has been particularly active in supporting EC initiatives on workers' rights, in particular the Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers. Under the Treaty on European Union (as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam), the ETUC is recognized as one of the three "social partners", alongside industry associations such as the Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe (UNICE), with which the European Commission negotiates draft social and economic legislation. It also maintains close liaison with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). In 2004, the ETUC comprised 76 national trade union confederations from 34 countries in Europe, and 11 federations representing European industry, a total membership of some 60 million people. The Social Protocol of the Maastricht Treaty (1992) gave the European social partners the right to negotiate. Two European framework agreements on parental leave and part-time work have been signed by the ETUC and the UNICE/CEEP (European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest). See: Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers; European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest; International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU); Unions of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE). European Training Foundation (EFT): This agency was created by the European Union (EU), following a Regulation of 7 May 1990, and has been operating since 1995. It supports the reform of vocational and partner countries, and translates EU policy into training and labour market instruments for third countries. From 1994 Central and Eastern Europe were targeted, but activity has increased in Bulgaria and Romania, and is being stepped up in Turkey, within the TEMPUS (later PHARE) and MEDA programmes. See: Closer cooperation in the European Union
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