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News Release from: European Agency For Safety And Health At Work
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 21 February 2003
Agency prepares for European enlargement
Representatives of EU and candidate countries' government and social partners met in Bilbao to discuss health and safety in an enlarged Europe.
Representatives of EU and candidate countries' government and social partners met in Bilbao to discuss health and safety in an enlarged Europe The seminar, organised jointly by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the European Commission and the Greek presidency of the EU, was the first tripartite meeting where candidate countries met with their EU counterparts to debate the implications of enlargement for the new Community strategy on health and safety at work and for the activities of the European agency
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 6 Dec 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The purpose of the strategy, adopted by the commission in 2002, is to modernise EU health and safety policy and means to reflect the impact of the changing world of work.
The seminar gave key stakeholders the possibility to discuss whether the strategy sets out the right priorities and instruments regarding the situation and needs in the candidate countries.
According to recent research candidate countries suffer from higher levels of traditional safety and health risks at work compared to the EU-15.
40% of workers in candidate countries consider their safety and health are at risk because of their work, compared with 27% in the EU member states.
Commenting on the seminar, Anna Diamantopoulou said: "Enlargement brings a host of new challenges for workplace health and safety - particularly reducing the existing gap in occupational safety and health levels between the current and the new member states.
All the candidate countries have made enormous efforts to ensure that their administrations and legislation meet European standards.
If we continue our joint efforts, I am convinced that enlargement will help to improve the quality of working life in the new member states and that we will succeed to make Europe a safe and healthy place to work - for all".
The Director of the European Agency, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, said: "The seminar stressed the need for a continuous commitment of member states and European institutions to meet the challenges of enlargement.
The agency has a special obligation as it is well placed to ensure an efficient integration of the new member states and to devise practical safety and health solutions, geared to their special situation.
We have already taken a number of preparatory initiatives together with the candidate countries and look forward to an even stronger contribution in a future, enlarged Europe".
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