In a move that echoes one made on this side of the Atlantic, the European Commission plans to review – and possibly eliminate -- regulations that it says are hindering business growth and job creation. In a reaction that echoes some heard on this side of the Atlantic, labor and workers’ rights advocates are not happy about the plan.

The European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament have reached agreement on a new Directive that addresses the risks of major accidents from offshore oil and gas operations in EU waters.

The European Commission has announced plans to amend five health and safety at work Directives, in order to align them with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), but critics charge that the changes won’t make workers any safer.

What a rollercoaster ride! It has been five years since I moved to New York to open our US office. My arrival here coincided with the worst financial crash since the Depression, a time when you were unsure whether there would be any cash in the ATM, let alone a market for sustainability advice.

Despite widespread concern about work-related stress and workplace violence, most European companies still don’t have procedures in place for managing psychosocial risks, according to two new reports from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).

REACH, the European chemical regulation has been under implementation since June 2007. Five years later, the ETUI chemical hazards expert Tony Musu takes stock of this ambitious reform.

The European Union (EU) has reached an informal agreement on the review of legislation to limit worker exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) – although it does not take into consideration demands from trade unions to look at the long-term effects on human health of exposure to these fields.

A nanomaterial review meant to quell concerns raised by European legislators fails to propose a strategy for protecting nanotechnology workers, says the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).

Representatives from the oil and gas industry, government inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), consultants and educational institutes met in Brussels, Belgium last month for a Biofuels sustainability standards and regulations workshop.