In October 2002, this highly topical issue was the subject of an ETUC conference held in Brussels and attended by some 60 trade unionists from central and eastern Europe and the Balkan region, as well as Mediterranean countries, under the title 'The community social acquis in labour law in the CEECs and beyond: fighting deregulation', in Brussels.

The purpose of this gathering was to examine this worrying trend of labour law deregulation by focusing on three subjects: collective labour rights; fixed-term employment; and enforcement of labour law and labour inspectorates. Considerable time was set aside for discussion in order to inform participants of the problems, solutions and experiences encountered in other countries; participants took this opportunity to give an overview of the legal situation in their countries and to air their views on trade union cooperation in the region.

This conference report does not contain the speakers' contributions alone but affords an insight into the interesting debates and conclusions. It is supplemented by an Annex consisting of a set of comparative documents prepared specially for the conference and supplying comparative information on labour codes, collective rights and fixed-term work in the CEECs and some Balkan states.

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