No CV, in Italy job is got by playing futsal

Italian minister of Labour explained how it works in his country. Nothing new

Giuliano Poletti

by Emanuele Bonini

In order to get a job «is better to play five-a-side football than send a CV». For this sentence the Italian minister of Labour and Social Policies, Giuliano Poletti, was asked to step down amid harsh critics. No matter if it was a gaffe or a misunderstanding, the point is Poletti didn't nothing but say what Italy is about. There was no intention of offending anybody, since everybody's dignity has been already offended by the clientelism typical of Italy. The country is about that: personal connections. Poletti tried to express better the concept of the 5-a-side football, and the result was exactly that. «I did not belittle the value of the CV, but I stressed the importance of a relationship of trust that can develop outside the school context». This something completely true: connection is on the basis of meritocracy in Italy. Tell me who you know, and I'll tell what you'll become.

It is not the first time a minister of the Italian republic explains what is the country in reality. In 2001 the minister of Infrastructures of that time, Pietro Lunardi, said the country «has to live with mafia». Was the minister wrong? No, he wasn't. Unless the State wants to enter into a civil war, the only way to deal with organised-crime is the promotion of a cultural policy which of course takes time to give results. Meanwhile mafia is there and the everybody has to live with. So, there was nothing wrong in Lunardi's words. Exept for the fact he was a minister and given the role he had at that time he wasn't allowed to think and speak that way. Now it's Poletti's turn. He didn't do anything wrong. He just unveiled what Italy is about. Unfortunately he didn't mention he's supposed to be there to change the country.

Companies can proihibit the Islamic veil at work

At certain conditions the measure is not a discrimination, according to the ECJ

by Emanuele Bonini

The Islamic veil can be not allowed at work, according to the European Court of Justice in its verdict issued yesterday. The EU institution based in Luxembourg said companies can prohibit to wear political, philosophical and confessional dresses in name of the principle of neutrality, if explicit internal firm dispositions foresee it. The judgement was about two different cases involving the traditional female clothing typical of the Islamic culture, but in taking the decision a general principle was set by the European body.

On one hand the EU recognise freedom of religion, but on the other hand it is also recognised the right of neutrality for both public and private sector. In name of such principal, no political signs or cultural symbols can be exposed to public. The European Court of Justice thus admitted that a ban of Islamic veil doesn't constitute a form of preliminary discrimination. Of course, in order to don't generate discriminations such a ban can't be imposed only for a single person or a single category of groups, whatever they are (political, religious and so on). Furthermore, the ECJ clarified that in order to respect the right of neutrality, people are not allowed to show any peculiar signs in public, meaning that the Islamic veil can be kept for internal jobs and all those roles for which is not foreseen any relations with external people.

EU remedy to migration issue is children detention

The controversial proposal in the recommendation to the Member State, formally adopted today

"To migrate is a right. No jail for migrants"

by Emanuele Bonini

Children can be imprisoned as migrants, according to the latest proposal of the European Commission. The controversial rule is foreseen by the recommendation on making returns more effective when implementing the Directive on Returns. New dispositions have been adopted in principle last week, but formal adoption will take place when all language versions are available, which is expected to happen today, 8th of March. It means that from today the EU legislation can be applied in the tougher manner, and the Member States «should not preclude in their national legislation the possibility to place minors in detention, where this is strictly necessary to ensure the execution of a final return decision in sofar as Member States are not able to ensure less coercive measures than detention that  can be applied effectively in view of ensuring effective return».

In European Commission intentions, returns have to speeded up. In the meanwhile, irregular migrants have to be managed and kept on the EU territory until they are not sent back to their country of origin. It has written in the recommendation that «for the purpose of effectively ensuring removals of illegally staying third-country nationals, Member States should use detention as needed and appropriate, and in particular where there is a risk of absconding». A initial period of maximum six months of detention should be foreseen by national legislations, with the possibility of extent up to 18 months in case of need. In order to better deal with the phenomenon of irregular migrants - all those who are not entitled to apply for international protection - Member States are asked to put in place measures to effectively locate and apprehend third-country nationals staying illegally, wherever they are.

Time for low-cost medicines, said the EU Parliament

The Plenary passed a resolution calling for more affordable prices and full access to cure for all

by Emanuele Bonini

It is time to put and end to the high cost of medicines, said the European Parliament in a resolution approved in latest session of the Plenary by 568 votes to 30, with 52 abstentions. Pharmaceutical products have no-limits in price increase, making more and more difficult for people to get access to cures. The EU body thus decided to respond the needs of people by passing a text calling for measures to improve the traceability of R&D costs, public funding and marketing expenditure in name of transparency. Members of the Parliament adopted a non-legislative resolution, whose political message is however strong: medicines must be more affordable.

Barriers to medicines access. The resolution denounced how «in many cases the prices of new medicines have increased during the past few decades to the point of being unaffordable to many European citizens». All this happened despite ensuring patient access to essential medicines be one of the core objectives of the EU and the WHO. However the possibility of medicines depends on their timely availability and their affordability for everyone, without any geographical discrimination. Such conditions are not met, the MEPs complained. «Certain essential medicines are not available in many Member States, which can lead to problems with regard to patient care». This lack of basic pharmaceutical product is supposed to be due to «illegitimate business strategies, such as "pay for delay" in the pharmaceutical sector, or political, manufacturing or distribution issues, or parallel trade».