European Union News - 04 February 2009

This Agreements are the result of the conversations held during the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to the European Commission. The visit has been instrumental in giving a high-level impulse to bilateral cooperation within the EU-China strategic partnership which the Commission intends to continue to develop and enhance based on mutual interest.

The Official Journal of the European Union, OJEU, published on February, 4th 2009, the Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Community, of the Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean. This Protocol aims at implementing coastal management as to ensure sustainable development and integrating all the related economic activities, respecting the ecosystems and landscapes as well as Mediterranean cultural heritage.

The European Parliament adopted in its Plenary Session on January 3rd, a report in which MEPs call call for mandatory emergency action plans in case of gas supply shortages, more grid interconnections among Member States, a specific road map for investments in nuclear energy, and new climate targets to be achieved by 2050, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80%. These wide-ranging recommendations would make up the EU's future energy policy.