In closing, to make recommendations, I believe that all families would benefit from having a year-long maternity leave, family leave, and that if adoptive families had an adoption leave instead of maternity leave, it would allow us to take the full year.

This Directive is without prejudice to, and in no way affects, the level of protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data under the provisions of Community and national law and, in particular, does not alter Member States' obligations with regard to the processing of personal data, as laid down by Directive 95/46/EC, or the obligations incumbent upon Community institutions and bodies under Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 with regard to the processing of personal data by them in the ...[+++]course of their duties.

An increasing trend toward part-time and contract jobs means many parents, particularly lone mothers, end up working two or three contract jobs, often at relatively low wages and usually without the sick leave and child care benefits that are more often associated with full-time work.

Social dialogue and worker involvement: progress has been made as regards lifelong learning collective agreements (Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy and Portugal), equal opportunities aiming at reducing gender pay inequalities (Belgium, Finland, Netherlands and Ireland), at combating race discrimination (France, Denmark and Ireland), at increasing employment of disabled persons (Belgium Italy and Ireland) and at preventing age discrimination (Demark and Austria); health and safety at work collective agreements on the prevention and treatment of stress (Belgium), on well-being and psychological work environment (Denmark) and against the e ...[+++]xcessive workload (the Netherlands); flexibility and work-life balance collective agreements on parental leave (Sweden), on family leave and family-linked working time patterns (Belgium, Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands), on sabbaticals (Finland), on childcare arrangements (Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands), on flexitime and teleworking (Italy, Austria, and Denmark) and on temporary agency workers (Italy and Germany).

The moves approved in this decision do not exclude other changes at Director General or Deputy Director General level which are made on the request of the Commissioner in charge and/or as a result of retirement, application of article 50 of the Staff Regulations, resignation or absence on unpaid leave.

In a related set of decisions adopted in October, the Commission proposed upgrading of the provisions pertaining tofor maternity, paternity, parental and personal leave, as well as facilitating more flexible working arrangements, such as to part-time work, in appropriate circumstances.