Job-related stress is a concern for the large majority of the European workforce, concludes the 2nd European Opinion Poll on Occupational Safety and Health. The survey, conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), measured the opinions of over 35,000 members of the general public in 36 European countries on contemporary workplace issues including job-related stress, and the importance of occupational safety and health for economic competitiveness and in the context of longer working lives.

Eight in ten of the working population across Europe think that the number of people suffering from job-related stress over the next five years will increase (80%), with as many as 52% expecting this to ‘increase a lot’. This echoes the findings of EU-OSHA’s ESENER survey on new and emerging workplace risks which found that 79% of managers think that stress is an issue in their companies, making stress at work as important as workplace accidents for companies.

Work-related stress is one of the biggest health and safety challenges faced in Europe, representing a huge cost in terms of human distress and economic performance. The poll additionally found that the large majority of Europeans (86%) agree that following good occupational safety and health practices is necessary for a country’s economic competitiveness, with 56% strongly agreeing. Views are similar among workers and those who do not work (86% and 85% agree respectively)

Do you think the number of people suffering from job-related stress in your country over the next 5 years will.....?

Base: All worker (19,502)

52% Increase a lot, 28% Increase a little, 12% Stay around the same, 4% Decrease a little, 3% Decrease a lot, 1% Don't know

“The financial crisis and the changing world of work is making increased demands on workers, therefore it is unsurprising that work-related stress is at the forefront of people’s minds,” says Dr Christa Sedlatschek, Director of EU-OSHA. “Regardless of age, gender and organisation size an overwhelming majority of people believe that work-related stress will rise. Nonetheless there are interesting national variations in those who expect job-related stress to ‘increase a lot’, with Norwegians least worried (16%), for instance, and Greeks most worried about rising stress (83% ‘increase a lot’). Tackling psychosocial risks is a major focus of EU-OSHA’s work to improve the lives of workers across Europe.”

Finally, in the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, the poll found that 87% of the general public across Europe believe that good occupational health and safety practices are important to help people work for longer before they retire (including 56% who say they are ‘very important’). A recent Eurobarometer survey shows that many Europeans are ready for active ageing but their current occupational safety and health conditions might not allow them to continue working to an older age. Although the typical pensionable age is 65 years across Europe, the average exit age from the labour force in 2009 was about 61.5 years according to Eurostat. In the Eurobarometer survey, four in ten (42%) Europeans believe that they will be capable of doing the work they are currently doing until the age of 65 or beyond, while 17% expect that they will not be able to carry on in their current job past the age of 59. EU-OSHA is actively involved in the promotion of the European Year for Active Ageing 2012 to reinforce the need for good occupational safety and health at all stages of working life.

 

A Dutch-Hungarian girl, Lisa Viktória Kraaijvanger won the Hungarian Galileo Drawing Contest announced by the European Commission.

The award ceremony took place at the European Commission Representation in Hungary on 24^th January 2012. During the Hungarian competition 781 drawings were submitted making the work of the jury members – Attila Czene, Etelka Barsiné Pataky, Bertalan Farkas, and Gergő Süveges – extremely hard. They wanted to choose a drawing, which represents the space, but what is also people – oriented, since Galileo program is also about people.

Lisa is 11 years old and student of Fillér Elementary School in Budapest.

Danish specialities in Európa Pont

Danish children’s day, photo exhibition, fashion show, Tales of Joy and Woe concert, LEGO corner – Only some of the programmes that Prime Time Communication with Subjective Values Foundation is organising together. In January the focus will be on the Danish EU Presidency and Danish green culture.

The programmes are starting with the Cycling Copenha gen evening where Mr. Tamas Szűcs, director of Európa Pont and Hanne Tornoe, director of the Danish Cultural Institute. The evening is closed by Winter biking and fashion show by Cycle Chic Budapest.

On the 20th January the host of the Lumiére Filmklub will be Ms. Dorka Gyárfás, during the evening the “Five Obstructions” by Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth and Susanne Bier’s Oscar winning film In a Better World.

On the 27^th, the evening is about the Danish and Hungarians Folk High Schools, and the Grundtvig programme, than the concert of Tales of Joy and Woe Danish band is closing the night.

On the 28^th, on the Danish children’s day LEGO corner, eco-workshop and Musical Intsruments presentation are waiting for the kids.

 

Magyar Posta Zrt. organised its Advent Gala Evening on 2. December 2011 at the Budapest Congress and Trade Centre.

The most beautiful Christmas messages and good wishes are delivered by Magyar Posta, the Hungarian Post Services in this period of time.

This Christmas Magyar Posta wanted to give its partners something as a gift in person: a beautiful gala evening, where Havasi Balázs fascinated the audience with his world-famous Symphonic Concert Show.

The event was attended by nearly 200 guests.

Europe is building its own satellite navigation system, called Galileo programme. It is a joint initiative between ESA and the European Commission. When fully deployed, the Galileo will be the first civilian positioning system to offer global coverage. It will provide a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control.  The satellite navigation system will secure Europe’s independence from other navigation systems (for example the US GPS-system) and its leadership in space technology.

The European Commission announces the Galileo Drawing Contest in order to promote this strategically very important system.

In each EU Member State, children aged 9-11 may participate in the contest by drawing a picture related to the overall issue of space and aeronautics. The winning child in each of the countries will have his or her name given to one of the satellites of the Galileo programme.

The Hungarian competition will be launched at the beginning of September 2011 and will close at the end of November 2011. The winners will be selected in December and announced to the press in January 2012.

You can read more about the programme on its official website:  http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/satnav/galileo/index_en.htm

The 5^th edition of the European Enterprise Awards recognised and awarded Europe’s best initiatives at a prestigious ceremony hosted by Commissioner Antonio Tajani in Budapest on 24 May 2011.

Grand Jury’s Prize

Barcelona Activa - With its mission to transform entrepreneurship and business growth in Barcelona, the entrepreneurship centre set up by the Barcelona City Council acts as a reference point and hub for entrepreneurs. Using an innovative model of online and on-site services it trains and coaches hundreds of thousands of potential entrepreneurs and has helped create more than 6,000 new companies, Spain

Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Together we can do more! Beekeeping, Honey Production, Forest and Sustainable Development - Capitalising on the discovery of a unique bee race by training disadvantaged groups in beekeeping to improve the local economic and social situation, Düzce University, Turkey

Investing in Skills

Centre for Amsterdam Schools for Entrepreneurship (CASE) - Multidisciplinary entrepreneurship education through real-life practice in all faculties and all levels of study for local university students, Amsterdam Centre for Entrepreneurship, the Netherlands

Improving the Business Environment

E-factory - Stimulating rural entrepreneurship through e-trade and innovative micro-investment system, The Uppsala Regional Council, Sweden

Supporting the Internationalisation of Business

Rethinking the Product - Internationalising local businesses by stimulating product experimentation to create prototypes which are presented at international events and fairs, Chamber of Commerce of Prato, Italy

Responsible and Inclusive Entrepreneurship

The Hotel Panda - in Budapest uses a unique training and employment model to integrate disabled people into the business world, Hungary

At the 10th European Good Practice Awards, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) recognised and rewarded the outstanding contribution to safe maintenance made by eight organisations and companies from across Europe.

Entries were received from organisations of all sizes, and from a wide variety of industrial sectors, keen to demonstrate and share their good practice examples.

“The winning companies and organisations have really made exceptional contributions to promoting safe maintenance good practice,” said László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. “These good practices are in line with our Community Strategy on Health and Safety at Work (2007–2012) which - as well as targeting occupational ill health - aims to cut work-related accidents by a quarter across the EU.”

The event was an official accompanying event to the Hungarian EU presidency, and more than 200 high-level guests  - ambassadors, diplomats ,CEOs of leading companies in Hungary and outsatnding representatives of the public sector– participated in it.

Special guest of the evening was  Mr. Zoltán Cséfalvay, State Secretary, Ministry for National Economy, who opened the event with his keynote speech. Afterwards Mr. Zoltán Cséfalvay, Mr. Christopher Mattheisen, CEO of Magyar Telekom, Mr. Batara Sianturi, CEO of Citibank Hungary, Mr. Jacques de Jager, CEO of Grafton / SpenglerFox Hungary, Mr. János Takács, CEO of Electrolux Central Eastern Europe and Mr. Zoltán Pogátsa, EU-expert took part in the panel discussion and shared their thought-provoking viewpoints with us.

You can read about the Forum in more detail here: http://www.bbj.hu/business/multinationals-and-government-debate-conflicts-and-the-eu_57331

On the occassion of celebrating the Chinese New Year and mutual respect, China-Hungary-Europe Cultural Gala Evening took place on 26. February 2011 in Budapest.

The First Patron of the Gala was Her Excellency, Mrs. Gao Jian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Hungary. The Guest of Honour was His Excellency, Mr. Pál Schmitt, President of the Republic of Hungary, and Sándor Kenyeres, founder of  Talentis Goup was the host of this evening.

The Gala started with a performance by the Yunnan Province Arts Group offering of the thousands-of-years-old Chinese culture. Afterwards the HaVaSi Symphonic Concert Show was presented. The speciality of the evening was a first.

More than 200 high level guests – such as the distinguished leaders of major Chinese businesses, leaders of the Hungarian public sector, diplomats, and the European and Hungarian business elite -  participated in this extraordinary event

The intention of the organisers was to create a cultural bridge between China and Europe and to begin a tradition.

Between 21^st June and 14^th July FirstClients and the Prime Time Marketing Ltd. conducted a research amongst enterprises located in Pest-county. Beside the measurement of the preferences on the office market the aim of the research was to survey the tenants’ openness to new office solutions. As an outcome of the survey it can be said that almost half of the Hungarian enterprises know about the instant office, and 90% of the respondents consider it as a real option.

The research was conducted with on-line queries available on the internet and with telephone data collection, with the participation of 100 enterprises from Pest-county. In the sample there were 78 Hungarian and 11 foreign companies while 11 were under nixed ownership. The distribution of the sample by size of the enterprises was following the Hungarian characteristics – the SME’s are dominant: 11 were individual entrepreneurs, 45 had 2-9, 18 had 10-19 employees, 13 had 20-49, 4 had 50-249 and 2 had more, than 250 employees.

 

In the survey we got information from the respondents in three different categories: about their problems in connection with the actual office situation, about their ideal office and preferences, and about the instant office which can be the solution to their problems.

Situation on the office market

By 53% of the surveyed decision makers the own office or seat is the most preferred form of an office, but the research pointed out too, that often the enterprises’ need different solutions during different stages of their life-cycles. From the data it can be seen, that while all the companies would like to have an office, 1 from every 5 does not have any.

By choosing an office, almost all of the decision makers (96%) count with the price per square meter, 90% count with the overhead costs, but most of them do not take into consideration expenses like costs of moving in and maintenance or the cost of a long term contract. Only 14% of the respondents count the whole monthly fee of an office-rental. On the ground of incorrect cost calculation the instant office often seems to be more expensive than other possibilities: the rental fee contains all the expenses not just some of them. For example the main problem of a meeting room is that by a normal renting construction it increases the number of square meters, and the rental fee. So the expenses of a not used meeting room are mainly unnecessary. Contrary to this, the on-demand usage of the meeting rooms in the instant office increases extraordinary the efficiency.

Preferences of the Hungarian enterprises

The enterprises often choose the services of office buildings, because they can create an office suitable for their demands: the representative environment contributes to the success of the company and increases its reputation. The parking possibilities, the central location and the existence of the IT and communication systems were the most important mentioned factors by choosing an office.

Openness to new office solutions

Measuring the recognition and the knowledge about the instant office it can be said that almost half of the respondents (45%) knew or heard about this new solution.

The service was evaluated partly and altogether. 50% of the respondents found the flexible size of the office for advantageous or particularly advantageous, 55% the additional secretary services included in the price, 65% the vacant possession and the furniture of high-standards and 71% appreciated the prestigious location.  

70% of the respondents – if they had to choose a new office – would weight this opportunity up, and 20% would decide at that specific situation. So 90% of the respondents is opened to the new solutions and consider the instant office as a real option.

Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) leads to better health, reduced absenteeism, enhanced motivation, and improved productivity: that is the message behind the Workplace Health Promotion project of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). Employers have an important role to play in encouraging workers to adopt healthy lifestyles. In addition to  the health benefits for workers, every Euro invested in WHP leads to a Return on Investment (ROI) of between 2,5 – 4,8 Euros due to reduced absenteeism costs.

According to EU-OSHA Director Jukka Takala, 'supporting a healthy lifestyle pays off for everyone. It benefits employees themselves and their employers, but it also helps the wider society, by reducing the burden on healthcare systems. And with an ageing working population, the importance of Workplace Health Promotion schemes is only going to increase – we need to help people stay healthier for longer, and to achieve this we need employers and employees to work together, to create a healthy working culture.'

Companies and associations from the private and public sector, including some of Europe’s most well known companies, have joined forces with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in the new Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010/11 on safe maintenance.

A wide range of pan-European and international organisations1 have come together for EU-OSHA’s Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010/2011 on safe maintenance in a bid to reduce work-related accidents. The campaign, which builds on the achievements of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2008/09 on risk assessment, aims to raise awareness of proper workplace maintenance. Good practices in safe maintenance will be promoted through a variety of campaign activities including conferences, seminars and training sessions for workers, employees and other stakeholders involved in maintenance work.

Tomorrow’s architects, engineers, health professionals and business administrators will all need to be aware of occupational safety and health (OSH) and incorporate risk management into their daily working lives, if they are to keep themselves (and those around them) safe while they are at work. But how do we ensure that OSH training is an integral part of university education, rather than something that young people encounter only when they enter the world of employment?
A new report looks at the challenges of ‘mainstreaming’ or integrating OSH into university courses, as well as providing examples of imaginative ways in which these challenges can be overcome.

As Jukka Takala, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), points out, the new report is just the latest in an ongoing EU-OSHA initiative to support the 'mainstreaming' of OSH into education at all levels. ‘Education is key if we are to develop a culture of risk prevention’, he says. ‘But it is not just about teaching children and young adults to live and work safely. If OSH is truly to become an integral part of business management and operations, all future managers and professionals need risk education about their role and responsibilities.’

FirstClients has opened its second instant office in Budapest two weeks ago int he Allee Corner. After the successfull expansion a press roundtable was held where also Kenneth Ohlendorff - CEO of FirstClients – participated.

The main message of the roundtable was that the instant office is a new, successfully running development which can be profitable also in recession. The benefits of this special renting possibility were also introduced and it was highlighted that this kind of solution provides success and could be profitable for the company (FirstClients) and for the tenants also by customizing the offers to the needs of enquirer.

New EU rules on organic food labelling including the requirement to display the new EU organic logo, enter into force on 1 July, 2010. The so-called “Euro-Leaf” will now be obligatory on pre-packaged organic food products that have been produced in any of EU Member States and meet the necessary standards. Other private, regional or national logos will continue to appear alongside the EU label. The logo stays optional for non-packed and imported organic products. In addition to the logo, the new labelling rules also include the compulsory indications of place of farming of the products' ingredients and code number of the body that had been in charge of the controls. Operators have a two-year transition period to comply with these new labeling rules. Another change is the introduction of EU rules for organic aquaculture for the first time.

“Our hope is that the new EU logo can develop into a widely recognised symbol of organic food production across the EU, providing consumers with confidence that the goods are produced entirely in-line with the strict EU organic farming regulations”, according to EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development Dacian Cioloş. “I hope that these changes will give a boost to the organic farming sector, but also further enhance consumer protection”.

The "Euro-leaf” design shows the EU stars in the shape of a leaf against a green background passing two clear messages for consumers: Nature and Europe. The design has been registered by the Commission as a collective trade mark. Designed by German student Dušan Milenković, the logo emerged as the clear winner of an on-line poll, following a competition aimed at EU art students. The winner and the runners-up in this competition will be honoured at an official award ceremony in Brussels on 19 July 2010, organised to coincide with the July 19/20 Conference on the future of the Common Agriculture Policy.

New Organic aquaculture conditions

The new rules also cover organic aquaculture production of fish, shellfish and seaweed. The rules set EU-wide conditions for the aquatic production environment, the separation of organic and non-organic units and specify animal welfare conditions including maximum stocking densities, a measurable indicator for welfare. The rules specify that biodiversity should be respected, and do not allow the use of induced spawning by artificial hormones. Organic feeds should be used supplemented by fish feeds derived from sustainably managed fisheries. Special provisions are made for bivalve mollusc production and for seaweed.

Commenting on the new rules, Fisheries & Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki said: "Europe-wide rules for organic aquaculture have become a reality. They will give consumers a better choice and are a boost for sound and environmentally acceptable production and a viable alternative to the more traditional intensive approach. The EU is the biggest market in the world for seafood and it is fitting that Europe should play a leading role in establishing comprehensive rules in this domain. Among the priorities for my term are sustainability and social cohesion for the fishing and aquaculture sectors. These new rules for organic aquaculture are a milestone by integrating these priorities into aquaculture".

In 2008 an estimated 123 certified organic aquaculture operations were in operation in Europe, out of a total of 225 such farms worldwide.  These accounted for almost half world production of 50,000 tonnes in 2008.  The top five Member States in production terms are the UK, Ireland, Hungary, Greece and France. The top species is salmon.

Further details on the new rules can be found and the EU organic logo can be downloaded on the EU Organic Farming website: www.organic-farming.europa.eu

For the Conference on the future of the Common Agriculture Policy see http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-post-2013/conference/index_en.htm

A radio interview on how traditional folk dancing has built a bridge between Belgium and Bulgaria, a glimpse at the impact of Poland’s EU accession on Europe’s labour market and a portrait of Kosovo* as an emerging European hub of culture were the  European Young Journalist Award 2010 reports that caught the European jury’s attention and took the award’s flagship Special Prizes.

After months of anticipation, the three winners of the Special Prizes in the 2010 competition were announced in Istanbul last night. Vladisav Velev from Bulgaria for the Most Original Report, Prune Antoine from France for Best Research, and Verena Ringler from Austria for Best Journalistic Style, were selected from among the 35 national winners.

Hungary was represented by Viktória Iván, the journalist of FigyelőNet (http://www.fn.hu/kultura/20100228/europa_tranzit/), who won the Hungarian National Award with her Europe Transit titled article.

On the 28th April, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has launched its new Healthy Workplaces Campaign for 2010/11, promoting safe maintenance across Europe. In some European countries as much as 20% of all workplace accidents are connected with maintenance and in a number of sectors over half of all accidents are maintenance-related.