European Union News - 12 January 2011

The European Commission has launched on 12 January a public consultation to prompt the views of other European institutions, the Member States and private stakeholders on the findings reflected in the report on the application of the Directive and the technical paper attached to it. Interested parties can submit their opinions by 31 March 2011.

The president of the European Commission presented on 12 January the first release of the Annual Growth Survey, which focuses on the coordinated efforts to be made by Members states and institutions and identifies the priorities to develop Europe's comprehensive plan to respond to the crisis and to speed up economic growth. This first Annual Growth Survey is the start of the first "European Semester" which changes the way governments shape their economic and fiscal policies.

The European Parliament Delegation for relations with Maghreb countries called in a formal declaration on 10 January for an independent inquiry to be set up into the death of street protesters in Tunisia. This request followed the formal statement made by High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Füle, who also expressed EU's concern about the situation in Tunisia.

The European Commission has put forward the mid-term external evaluation on the implementation of the Culture Programme which analyses the results of the actions undertaken so far. The report, which makes an overview about the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the application of the Programme, concludes that although some aspects could have been improved during the implementation, the overall results have been satisfactory.