European Union News - 30 December 2011

Thanks to the MARINET 'Marine renewables infrastructure network' initiative, companies from countries FP7 countries will access to test facilities in specialist marine renewable energy centres across Europe. This initiative funded with €9 million Euro, will help remove some of the financial barriers that sometimes stand in the way of access to world-class European testing facilities.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has published a framework document for the interaction between the Agency and healthcare professionals. This document describes the objectives and the terms of reference for the Agency’s interaction with healthcare professionals in relation to medicines for human use.

In the Second Evaluation Report on EU Pilot, the European Commission considers that this initiative is no longer a project in its early and experimental phase. According to the results of the report, the projects has now become a well-established working method which is delivering results for the Commission, as well as for the participating Member States and citizens. Therefore, the Commission is exploring the possibility to extend the EU Pilot as an instrument for problem-solving and prevention.

Among the aspects included in the thirteenth annual report presented according to the common position on common rules for control of exports of military technology and equipment, the Council highlights as one key priority for the European Union and Member States to achieve a robust and legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The report describes the main activities undertaken in this regard during 2010 and 2011.