Ei-iE

With the United States presidential elections a little over a year away, EI’s largest U.S. affiliate, the National Education Association (NEA), has set out proposals for a strategy to invest $60 million into a campaign to re-elect President Barack Obama.

Teacher unionists are deeply involved in the make or break talks being held this week in Geneva, Switzerland, in what many see as the last attempt to rescue the troubled Doha Round of international trade negotiations.

The G20 Summit held in Seoul, Korea, on 11-12 November was marked by growing tensions between the world’s two biggest economies – the United States and China – and a failure to address fundamental issues required for sustainable growth and prosperity – including investment in education.

Talks aimed at liberalizing the global trade in goods, agricultural products and services are once again in trouble as negotiators have been unable to bridge their differences despite an intensive week-long push to reach a solution.

While overall negotiations remain stalled, officials cited some progress in other aspects of the Doha Round, including controversial talks aimed at developing new legally-binding disciplines for domestic regulations that may affect trade.

While acknowledging that the end of year deadline to conclude the talks is extremely tight, Mexican Ambassador de Mateo was somewhat optimistic that a conclusion this year would be possible.

A survey of British parents conducted by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), an EI affiliate, has found that a majority of new ‘free schools’ being opened in England are not wanted or needed.

What’s been described as a near final draft of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was released in October amidst confusion over whether a deal had in fact been reached.

The launch of negotiations follows an impasse in talks between the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that began in 2007.

In an apparent about-turn, South African officials now say they are prepared to conclude an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and the five-nation South African Customs Union (SACU) by the year’s end.

A report released the end of August cautions a comprehensive free trade deal between Canada and the European Union could lead to rising greenhouse gas emissions, privatization of water services, and disruptions to "First Nations" communities.

Opposition to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in the developing world is mounting, with India and China formally raising complaints last month at the World Trade Organization.

The declaration issued by the leaders of the 20 largest economies meeting in Toronto, Canada in June repeated the group’s commitments to oppose protectionism and support open markets, but notably omitted a prior promise to conclude the World Trade Organization’s Doha round of trade talks by the end of this...

Representatives from eight Pacific-rim nations met in San Francisco last month for the second round of negotiations aimed at establishing a new regional free trade zone.

Ahead of the informal meeting of the vice Finance Ministers and deputy Central Bankers of the Group of 20 nations convening today in Berlin, trade unionists and other activists around the world launched the "Make Finance Pay Week" on Monday calling for the implementation of a global tax on financial...

Recently recognised as an official observer at the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the global federation representing educators worldwide issues a statement on the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day on 26 Apr, calling for "fair and balanced copyright rules".

The latest attempt to kick-start stalled global trade talks ended on a sour note in March as European trade officials openly accused the United States of foot-dragging.

The European Parliament threatened on 10 March to petition the European Court of Justice in an effort to force the European Commission to make public the draft text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).