European Union News - September 2010

The European Commission has presented three complementary measures adopted in order to facilitate the roll out and take up of fast and ultra-fast broadband in the Union. The package adopted comprises a Commission Recommendation on regulated access to Next Generation Access (NGA), a proposal for a Decision to establish a Radio Spectrum Policy Programme and a Broadband Communication outlining how best to encourage public and private investment in high and ultra-high speed networks.

The Official Journal of the European Union published on 18 September 2010 EC Regulation Nº 821/2010 implementing Regulation Nº 808/2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society. This Regulation establishes the rules concerning a common framework for the systematic production of European statistics on the information society.

The fight against prejudice and hostile attitudes towards the Roma is at the heart of a draft Committee of the Regions (CoR) opinion proposing practical measures to improve the integration of the Roma population. Supporting the Commission's position on this matter, the EU's Assembly of Regional and Local Representatives calls on Member States, regions and local authorities to apply with vigour the fundamental rights enshrined in the European treaties and to combat all forms of discrimination directed against the Roma people.

The European Commission completed on 17 September the launch of the CO2 capture and storage (CCS) Project Network, the EU tool that supports early large-scale demonstration of technologies, which will accelerate learning and ensure that the Commission can assist CCS to safely fulfil its potential and become a commercially viable technology. The CCS is the world's first network of CCS demonstration projects to foster knowledge sharing and raise public understanding of the role of CCS in cutting CO2 emissions.

The European Commission adopted on 17 September a proposal to provide better rail services for passenger and freight users by increasing competition on the railway market, strengthening the power of national regulators and improving the framework for investment in rail.

Cooperation in science and technology is high on the European agenda, and this is particularly obvious under the COST programme, an intergovernmental framework that fosters networking in European research investments and strengthens the European Research Area's (ERA) foothold on the global market.

The Council of the European Union held 16 September, which was partly dominated by the debate about reactions following the expulsion of Roma people from France, was the occasion for an institutional debate about the development of EU external relations within the new framework given by the Treaty of Lisbon. European leaders also  took stock of progress achieved in the Task Force on economic governance.

EU-wide investigation involving 26 Member States, and Norway and Iceland, into misleading advertising and unfair practices on websites selling consumer electronic goods has already shown results. 84% of the websites selling electronics, checked for breach of EU consumer rules, now comply with EU law, compared to 55% last year. It now remains to achieve the same success in the case ticket sites, where 60% of checked sites were flagged for further investigation.

The European Commission adopted on 16 September a draft decision on a EU-Morocco bilateral trade agreement for agri-food and fisheries products. The agreement will reinforce the position of European exporters on the Moroccan market, particularly exporters of processed agricultural products, representing a major offensive interest for the EU.

Increasing young people's employability and access to the labour market is the main objective of 'Youth on the Move', EU's initiative launched on 15 September 2010. 'Youth on the Move' is a new flagship initiative part of the Europe 2020 strategy which proposes 28 key actions aimed at making education and training more relevant to young people's needs and encouraging more of them to take advantage of EU grants to study or train in another country.

Between 16 and 22 September 2010 hundreds of cities in Europe and outside celebrate European Mobility Week. This year, under the theme 'Travel Smarter, Live Better', the campaign recognises the detrimental effects that current urban transport trends have on citizens' health, and encourages local authorities to take action for sustainable urban transport.

European citizens continue to show resolute support to aid provided to developing countries according to a special Eurobarometer published. Two in three Europeans believe that the EU should honor, or even improve, on its promises to increase development aid to 0.7% of GNI by 2015, the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goal.