European Union News - 19 July 2012

The European Commission published a report which shows that the EU budget fell by 35% in 2011, and this fall responds to stronger measures and better controls implemented for EU funding; there are also a number of technical explanations for the drop in fraud rate in 2011. In total, €295 million in EU funds were affected by fraud, or 0.2% of the budget.

The European Commission approved national performance plans to improve air traffic management under the period 2012-2014 of the Single European Sky Performance Scheme. The plans are accepted as broadly in line with legally established European Union-wide targets. However, the Commission also adopted recommendations to Member States for further improvements.

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) held a debate with the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Werner Hoyer in order to boost the partnership between these two institutions. Both institutions stressed that the cooperation with local and regional authorities should start at an early stage before the programming period 2014-2020 in order to grant the needed continuity in the programmes implementation and to raise the quality of funded projects.

The European Commission's announcement that it will review its "Early Warning System" (EWS) has been welcomed by the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros. The review covers changes aimed at ensuring that the operation of the EWS respects fundamental rights, such as the right to be heard.

The European Commission presented the measures to improve open access to scientific information produced in Europe. According to the Commission, broader and more rapid access to scientific papers and data will make it easier for researchers and businesses to build on the findings of public-funded research.