European Union News - 15 December 2010

The key action lines regarding eGoverment put forward by the European Commission include forty specific measures to be implemented over the next five years to enable citizens and businesses to use online services for their interaction with administrations. This Action Plan highlights the benefits that promoting eGovernment can have in helping boost Europe's competitiveness and allow public authorities to offer improved services more cost-effectively at a time of budget constraints.

The European Parliament has adopted the 2011 EU budget at its Plenary Session in Strasbourg on 15 December. This final vote closes a process which was marked by the blockage of negotiations between the Parliament and the Council due to their differences over issues such as the future financial framework and own resources. This adoption avoids a “provisional twelfths” scenario and clarifies future funding for initiatives in areas such as lifelong learning, Daphne programme on violence against women and child, the ICP or the ITER initiative.

Traffickers in human beings are to face tougher penalties for their crime and victims will be entitled to better protection and assistance, under a new EU law approved by the European Parliament. The new rules will apply to trafficking in the sex industry or labour exploitation in, for example, construction work, farming or domestic service.

Following the debate held at the Plenary Session of the European Parliament on 14 December, MEPs rejected the draft Directive providing for the introduction of a single residence and work permit for legal immigrants. Commission must now decide whether to withdraw the proposal ans present a new one or to maintain it, in which case it would return to the Plenary in the coming months.

On the 3 November 2010 the European Commission organised in Luxembourg a technical workshop on the goals and requirements for a possible pan-European data portal. Experts with practical experience in their respective countries were invited to share their experiences and ideas and concluded that such a portal would add value to existing regional and national initiatives by improving transparency on issues of EU-wide interest.

The Committee of the Regions brought attention during the Plenary Session held at the beginning of December to the fact Europe's regions have a wealth of experience in developing and implementing health strategies that remains untapped at the European level. The Committee also highlighted that the failure to fully involve sub-national authorities as legitimate partners in the development of future initiatives will undermine the European Commission's efforts to improve the quality of healthcare and health services across the EU.