La Direttiva 2008/104/CE relativa al lavoro tramite agenzia interinale: aspetti problematici e modelli di implementazione = Directive 2008/104/EC relating to temporary agency work: problematic aspects and implementation models. WP C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo D’Antona”.INT – 101/2013

The problematic gestation of the Directive on temporary agency work shows the presence of several criticalities that there are also in the national transposition in relation to the principle of equal treatment and to the mechanisms for preventing abuse during successive assignments. From a first analysis it can be said that in some EU Member States only the derogations have been implemented and not the general principle of equal treatment. At the same time, the obligation of the Member States, contained in the Directive on temporary agency work, to establish mechanisms for preventing abuse during successive assignments is crucial, especially in the light of the recent case law of the EU Court of Justice in which the Court does not apply to the temporary agency workers the protective rules of the Directive on fixed-term contracts (see C-290/12 , Della Rocca).

Abolishing Oil Indexation in Gas Contracts: Is it the cure-all? CEPS Commentaries, 3 March 2014

Recently, the EU energy debate has been dominated by the discussion on energy prices and the competitiveness of the European industry. According to the latest estimates of the International Energy Agency, gas prices in the US are one-quarter of those in Europe. Moreover, prices of imported gas vary across the EU member states. Some EU policy-makers hope that the completion of the internal energy market and the transition to hub-based pricing will solve these discrepancies. Julian Wieczorkiewicz asks in this Commentary whether the abolition of oil-indexation will constitute a cure-all for the above-mentioned problems.