Women spend seven weeks working for nothing every year in Ireland because they are paid a sixth less than men on average annually.

Up to a half million Irish people living in the EU should be able to vote in Dáil elections, and are being deprived of their rights at the moment, according to the European Commission.

Data has become the new currency whose value will triple to €1tn a year in the EU by 2020, but the US surveillance scandal has damaged trust and will cost the US cloud industry up to €24bn over the next three years.

One in six of Ireland’s teens has admitted to using them — the highest proportion in the EU — while one person a week died in Britain as a result of these drugs last year.

The Obama administration faced a breakdown in confidence yesterday from key foreign allies over secret surveillance programmes that reportedly installed covert listening devices in EU offices.

European leaders have told the US government that the rights of EU citizens subjected to surveillance were “not negotiable”.

The Attorney general of the United States has warned the whistleblower who leaked details on the country’s internet spying tactics that he will be caught.

The former CIA employee who leaked top-secret information about US surveillance programmes said in an interview in Hong Kong he is not attempting to hide from justice but hopes to use the city as a base to reveal wrongdoing.

It is only through professionalisation that childcare quality and standards will be progressed, says Marian Quinn

Hopes for a US-style class action rule in the EU have been dashed with a very watered-down set of recommendations expected from the European Commission today.

The high cost of childcare is the reason why three quarters of stay-at-home mothers do not work outside the home or have part-time jobs.

Call for citizens based abroad to vote

The length of time a person can live in another EU state and claim unemployment benefit from home should be doubled, according to the European Commission.

Austerity is here to stay was the grim message from the ECB, and especially for countries with high debt.

During Iceland’s economic collapse, Audur Capital was the only bank to survive.

Musical chairs in European Parliament

A reform of the EU’s data protection rules, which date back to pre-internet times, is on the way, write Viviane Reding and Alan Shatter

Ireland is one of only three EU countries where the number of women on boards of public companies has not increased over the past year.

Commissioner Viviane Reding is grappling with making the theory of a diverse but united EU a reality, according to Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill

Desperately seeking solidarity

Presidency preparations at fever pitch

The EU wants to make manipulating key global interest rates a criminal offence.

Euro 2012 was supposed to bring east and west together, but boycotts and claims of racism threaten to overshadow the football.

Your personal data is available all over the internet to the scrupulous and not-so scrupulous, writes Conor Ryan

IN one area of Irish life, the public sector knocks hell out of its private sector equivalent — the make-up of boards of directors.

Irish people have lost patience with men dominating boards and they want to see more women directors.

The EU has said it is ready to legislate to get more women into boardrooms.

Workers get a lesson in how money talks

An EU report has revealed that Irish women still earn 17% less than Irish men.

People will have the right to remove and change information on the internet as part of a complete overhaul of data protection and privacy rules.

IRISH people are not feeling positive about the economic future although the outlook here is not as gloomy as in Greece or Portugal, according to a new survey.

Ireland’s downgrading to junk status has sparked anger and frustration, prompting use of the phrase ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ from some quarters. But some say ratings agencies are more than just messengers, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

IRELAND’S young people remain the biggest users of “legal highs” in the EU as the number of synthetic drugs coming on the market increases at an alarming rate, a report has stated.

PRISONS are overcrowded in more than half the EU, including Ireland, while a quarter of prisoners are awaiting trial and more than half in some countries are foreign nationals.

EU citizens arrested in another member state must have access to a lawyer, be able to contact a friend or family member and their consulate under new proposals.

IRELAND was one of a minority of EU countries that did not have a freephone hotline for missing children in place by yesterday’s deadline.

THE pleas of a mother for greater help for victims of crime across the EU has received a positive response in Brussels.

The EU's Justice Commissioner is warning countries not to over-use European arrest warrants.

COUPLES of different nationalities will have greater clarity on how to deal with property and financial issues following the break-up of their marriage or following a death, under new European Union laws.

THE insurance industry has predicted insurance costs will rise for female motorists and male pension policies following a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice that setting insurance prices on the basis of gender is discriminatory.

THE cost of life, car and health insurance could rise for women but drop for men following a ruling by the European Court of Justice.

JUST one in every 100 people in Ireland believe the Government has taken effective action to tackle the economic crisis while the EU and the IMF, despite insisting on tough austerity measures, are more trusted.

The Government was warned tonight it is on its last chance to adopt a Europe-wide hotline for missing children.

An ecstasy-style drug linked to 37 deaths in Ireland and Britain should be banned across the EU, the European Commission said today.