European Union News - 26 September 2011

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding met with the Europe's business schools to discuss how to improve the gender balance in company boardrooms by encouraging more young women to follow a career in business. On the other hand, business schools are helping women to prepare for professional careers through seminars, training programmes and providing networking opportunities.

The European Payments Council (EPC) is undertaking a standardisation process for payments over the internet ('e-payments'). The Commission decided to open an antitrust investigation with regard to this standardisation process to ensure that competition is not unduly restricted, for example through the exclusion of new entrants and payment providers who are not controlled by a bank.

New contact points of the Enterprise Europe Network have been established in Japan and doubling its presence in China. With its expansion, it is intended to see more European small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) profit from the fast growing markets in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the 2011 edition of the European Tourism Day will take place in Brussels on 27th September. On this occasion, it will be focus on the industrial heritage, differentiating the European tourism offer.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union Catherine Ashton, the Quartet reaffirmed its determination to actively and vigorously seek a comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, following the application submitted by President Abbas on 23rd September 2011 which is now before the Security Council.

The European Economic and Social Committee underlined that Rio+20 must rise to the challenge of paving the way for a new economic order, where sustainability and not just GDP will play a key role, during a debate with Janez Potočnik, the EU Commissioner for the Environment, and Ricardo Neiva Tavares, Head of the Mission of Brazil to the EU.