International

The amount of attention given to climate change has grown hugely. Quite rightly, as it is a problem of which almost everyone has experience. It is remarkable that air travel, as a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, remains invariably out of the picture when measures to combat climate change are taken. This sector is responsible for over 10 per cent of the total climate impact of the Netherlands, and without intervention this share is set to double.

Today the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its ruling in the so-called Vaxholm case. The case concerned a Latvian building form operating in Sweden. The firm refused to respect the nationally-negotiated agreement which, under Sweden's usual system of labour relations, determines pay and conditions in the industry. The unions reacted by taking various forms of industrial action, including strikes. The ruling, which went against the unions, came as no surprise to SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard: "That giving firms the freedom to provide services within the internal EU market would provide an opportunity for social dumping always seemed to us unavoidable. The Court has today made this the norm in Europe. I'm not surprised, just angry.”