European Union News - 08 May 2012

The Erasmus Programme registered an 8.5% increase in the 2010-11 academic year – a new record , compared to the previous year. In addition, the three most popular destinations for students in 2010-11 were Spain, France and the United Kingdom. Spain also sent the largest number of students abroad, followed by France and Germany.

The European Commission launched a call which is targeted particularly at SMEs that have developed an innovative green product, process or service, which is struggling to find its place in the market. Therefore, businesses and entrepreneurs from across Europe can apply for funding to help bring novel environmental projects to the market.

The European Commission asks to Spain to recover €265 million public funding granted by the Valencia Regional Government to the Ciudad de la Luz film studio. According to the Commission, no private investor would have accepted to invest on the same terms and that the public funding massively distorts competition between major European film studios.

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted an opinion that stressed the need for sustainable European agriculture and for the policy's implementation to be tailored as closely as possible to realities on the ground. The opinion also calls for a fairer and more ambitious CAP.

According to a expert report, Europeans will only be able to benefit from the affordable, less intrusive and more personalised healthcare which ICT can bring if agreement is reached on how to use health data. The report was presented during the celebrations of the eHealth Week 2012 in Copenhagen.