International conference was held in Brussels, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the creation of Transnational Trade Union Rights (TTUR) Network, a permanent expert network connected to the European Trade Union Institute, composed of leading experts in European labour law.
The conference theme “Enforcing EU Labour Law (and beyond),” linked to the publication of the newest volume of their series on labour law aspects of Council of Europe treaties and EU regulations, this time was focused on Effective Enforcement of EU Labour Law.
Csilla Kollonay-Lehoczky professor emerita of CEU, member of the group from beginning, gave presentation on: “Asymmetric situations – when enforcement by less force can be more efficient in the long run” – connected to her two chapters in the volume containing papers of conference participants. Chapter 6 on “Soft Methods of Enforcement of European Labour Standards” demonstrates that soft methods – social dialogue, codes of conduct, incentives, monitoring etc. - can achieve longer-term, wider-ranging and more stable results supplementing the traditional forms of enforcement, such as civil litigation, administrative or criminal sanctions. Chapter 10 on “Enforcing Non-Discrimination” presents the evolution of the European Union’s non-discrimination law as part and parcel of the progress from the Rome Treaty establishing an economic community where the prohibition of discrimination based on nationality and sex was present based on the right to free movement and fair competition, and human rights did not play a role, to a supranational constitutional system with a right to non-discrimination and equality as part of the enforceable fundamental rights’ system under the Amsterdam and Lisbon Treaties.