European Union News - September 2010

Researchers in Europe continue to fight the good fight against cancer. In so doing, projects such as the Seventh Framework Programme's funded MIRACLE are contributing to this end with an advanced LOC system for the detection and characterisation of circulating and disseminated tumour cells will lead to faster and cost-efficient diagnosis of cancer.

The European Parliament has successfully concluded negotiations with the European Commission and EU governments on the future shape of financial supervision in Europe. With the agreement reached on 2 September, the institutions agree on the setting of the new European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) for risks to the stability of the financial system and three European Supervision Authorities (ESAs).

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, Catherine Ashton, expressed in an statement Union's encouragement to the positive outcome of the launch of direct peace talks for the Middle east. She also took the opportunity to comment Commissioner De Gucht declarations confident that they were not intended to offence any of the parties.

The cases of mass deportations carried out by France over the past weeks, will be discussed by the European Parliament at its first plenary session after the summer. MEPs have already expressed their concern over these cases, a concern backed by the Commission and also expressed by the Economic and Social Council which called for coordinated action by Member States.

The European Commission approved the first financing decisions under the 264 million Euro 2010 allocation for the so-called Vulnerability FLEX mechanism to help the most vulnerable African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries cope with the impact of the global financial crisis and economic downturn.

An EU-funded team has created a software platform that enables the use of multi-core technology on mobile embedded computing devices by way of virtualisation techniques. The dual multi-core and virtualisation solution developed by the EMUCO ('Embedded multi-core processing for mobile communication systems') team allows for both higher processing capacity and low power consumption, with the added value of security and flexibility.

The European Commission has adopted a decision recognising the adequacy of the auditor oversight authorities of Australia and the United States of America. This adequacy refers to the ability of a third country authority to fulfil the requirements set out in the EU's Statutory Audit Directive (2006/43/EC) and, in particular, its capacity to enter into reciprocal working arrangements with the EU Member States on the exchange of audit working papers or other relevant documents between competent authorities.

According to new data released by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), GDP increased by 1.0% in both the Euro area and the EU27 during the second quarter of 2010 remains unchanged. In the first quarter of 2010, growth rates were +0.3% in both zones.

The competition ‘Juvenes Translatores’ (Latin for 'young translators’) launched by the European Commission is open to anyone born in 1993 and of any nationality, provided that they are enrolled at a school located in an EU Member State. Selected schools will be invited to enter up to five pupils, who will be free to translate from and into any of the EU’s 23 official languages.

The European Commission has adopted a Decision outlining the criteria necessary to achieve good environmental status for Europe's seas. This will help Member States to develop coordinated marine strategies within each regional sea, ensuring consistency and allowing progress to be compared between regions.

The Commission published on 30 August 2010 its Opinion (COM(2010) 457 final) on the amendments introduced by the European Parliament on the proposal for a Regulation concerning a European rail network for competitive freight. 

Scientists from China and the UK have discovered that a leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex octospinosus, uses a cocktail of antibiotics to keep its fungus gardens neat. Among these antibiotics, which are produced by bacteria living on the ants, is a novel compound that could be used to treat fungal infections. The study, published in the journal Biomed Central (BMC) Biology, is the first to demonstrate that a single ant colony uses multiple antibiotics.