Mercosur seeks to strengthen Latin America unity
Following the steps taken by the European Union years ago, the leaders of South American political and economic bloc MERCOSUR has now decided that the time has come for a higher level of ...
By: PressTV News Videos
Read this article:
Mercosur seeks to strengthen Latin America unity - Video
EU commissioner warns Greek non-payment of bailout debts would be suicide | Flash News
Against a background of political turmoil the European Union #39;s Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici arrived in Athens on a two-day visit. Moscovici has a carrot and stick mission:...
By: Edward Tate
See original here:
EU commissioner warns Greek non-payment of bailout debts would be suicide | Flash News - Video
BRUSSELS: The European Union's foreign policy chief urged President Vladimir Putin to adopt a "radical change in attitude" and begin cooperating as EU leaders gathered to map out a long-term strategy for dealing with an economically wounded Russia.
Federica Mogherini said the financial crisis hitting Moscow as a result of falling oil prices and Western sanctions was "not good news" and was adding to dangerous global instability. She spoke as she arrived on Thursday at an EU summit in Brussels.
"President Putin and the Russian leadership should reflect seriously about the need for introducing a radical change in attitude towards the rest of the world and to switch to a cooperative mode," she said after Putin defended the actions in Ukraine this year that some fear presage a new Cold War.
"The world has never been as dangerous and unstable as it is now," said Mogherini, who will brief leaders on her discussions in Kiev this week with the Ukrainian leadership. "It would be only good news if we managed to build a constructive relationship."
At a three-hour end-of-year news conference in Moscow, Putin accused the West of building a "virtual" Berlin Wall to contain Russia and assured voters the Russian economy would recover.
Summit host Donald Tusk, the new president of the leaders' European Council, said it was vital for stability on the bloc's eastern borders to discuss relations with Moscow.
"The situation is really dramatic and very dynamic and of course ... demands immediate reactions," said Tusk, who was until earlier this year prime minister of Poland and a strong supporter of Ukraine in its confrontation with Moscow.
He noted the tightening of economic sanctions earlier in the day against investments in Ukraine's Russian-annexed Crimea - measures Moscow described as "unacceptable".
"We will not find a long-term solution for Ukraine without an adequate and consistent, both tough and responsible, strategy towards Russia," Tusk told reporters as he arrived to chair his first EU summit
"NO NEW SANCTIONS"
See the original post:
European Union to Vladimir Putin: 'Change attitude'
Obesity can be considered a disability if it hinders job performance, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday in a case with broad implications for employers across the 28-nation European Union.
Although no EU law specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of weight, obesity could be considered a physical disability in need of accommodation by the employer if it "hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers," the Luxembourg-based high court ruled.
The case was brought by a Danish child-care worker, Karsten Kaltoft, who weighed more than 350 pounds during his 15 years of employment with the city of Billund. He filed suit against the local government alleging he was discriminated against because of his size, although the child-care agency said his dismissal was necessary because of a drop in the number of children enrolled in its program.
By classifying obesity as a disability in certain conditions, the court whose rulings are binding for all European Union countries raised the prospect of employers being obligated to make available larger desks, wider doorways and closer parking spaces to accommodate those whose weight limits their mobility and comfortable work environment, labor law experts told European media.
"This has opened a can of worms for all employers in this country," Tam Fry, spokesman for Britain's National Obesity Forum, a healthcare group, told the Daily Mail.
He said it would require furniture and facilities adjustments to accommodate obese workers and could lead to "friction in the workplace between obese people and other workers."
World Health Organizations figures suggest about 20% of European men and 23% of women are obese, posing a considerable burden on employers to invest in disability accommodations.
The ruling was expected to be challenged by some European Union member states.
Follow @cjwilliamslat for the latest international news 24/7
Read more here:
European court rules obesity can be considered a disability
LUXEMBOURG, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Obese individuals in the European Union are now able to sue their employers if their weight contributed to discipline or firing, as the E.U.'s highest court issued a binding ruling Wednesday classifying obesity as a disability.
"[Obesity] falls within the concept of disability where, under particular conditions, it hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers," ruled the E.U. Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Wednesday.
The ruling was issued in regard to the case of Karsten Kaltoft. Kaltoft sued the town of Billund, Denmark, claiming the 2010 decision to fire him from his public sector job was made because he is fat. Weighing no less than 353 pounds for the duration of his employment and with BMI of 54, Kaltoft is medically obese.
Kaltof sued his former employer in Danish court, who in turn asked the EJC to clarify the E.U.'s legal position on obesity. A ruling in Katlof's specific case has not been issued.
For his part, Katlof does not feel he is disabled, rather he wants justice for his allegedly undeserved firing.
"I don't see myself as disabled," Katolf told BBC News.
"It's not OK just to fire a person because they're fat, if they're doing their job properly."
2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.
View post:
European Union's highest court rules obesity is a disability