European Union News - 2012

According to the data released by Eurostat, in December 2011 the Euro area inflation and the EU annual inflation were down in comparison with November. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in December 2011 for both, the Euro area and the EU

Following several exchanges with the Hungarian authorities on the drafts of the new legislation, the European Commission launched accelerated infringement proceedings against Hungary regarding he independence of its central bank and data protection authorities as well as over measures affecting the judiciary. Therefore, the Commission initiated the first stage in the EU's infringement procedure against Hungary.

The public consultation launched by the European Commission intends to identify successful practices and policies in the field of restructuring and adapting to change. The aim is to include the results into the upcoming employment package and to improve further cooperation between workers and employers' representatives, government, local and regional authorities and the EU institutions.

The European Parliament has chosen Martin Schulz (S&D, Germany) as its new President. MEPs elected Martin Schulz with 387 votes in favour out of 670 cast, thus, with absolute majority. He replaces the outgoing President Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland). 

The P.ICT.URISM (Platform for ICT in Tourism), that will run for 30 months, is expected to ease connectivity and encourage collaboration between small hospitality, tourism and leisure service providers and larger travel agents, tour operators and distributors. It will be carried out by a consortium and will be based on strong participation and representation of the tourism industry.

Kristalina Georgieva, the European Union's Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, is in Niger in order to evaluate humanitarian needs and the European Commission's current response to the crisis in Africa's Sahel region as well as identifying the potential needs for further assistance.

EU-funded researchers have developed a robot able to help neurosurgeons in performing keyhole brain surgery. The robot has already been tested for its accurate performance during keyhole surgery tests on dummies. The researchers believe this robot can be used to help physicians treat their patients for epilepsy, Tourette's syndrome and Parkinson's disease.

Jean-Claud Juncker, current Prime Minister of Luxembourg and the President of the Eurogroup highlighted in a statement that although the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) continues to be assigned the best possible credit rating by Moody’s (Aaa) and Fitch (AAA), it is need to investigate the Standard and Poor's to downgrade its credit rating from AAA to AA+.

The European Defence Agency presented the European Defence Standards Reference system (EDSTAR) portal which replaces the European Handbook for Defence Procurement (EHDP). The new portal contains references to “Best practice” standards and "standard-like" specifications. EDSTAR is to be used by governmental organisations and defence industry for the procurement of defence materiel (including development and production).

The Eurobarometer presented by the European Parliament shows that 49% of Europeans interviewed felt that Parliament should focus first on the fight against poverty and social inclusion. The survey also found that 40% of Europeans would like to receive more information from the European Parliament on possible ways to tackle the crisis.

According to a study published by Science and co-authored by the Joint Research Centre, a limited number of air quality measures can substantially mitigate global warming and have significant benefits for human health and agriculture. In particular, the scientists identified 14 emission control measures that, according to the study, can best help to limit global warming and improve health and food security in the coming decades.

According to the results of a Commission's study, 85% of net new jobs1 in the EU between 2002 and 2010 were created by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Overall, the employment growth for SMEs (with 1% annually) was higher than for large enterprises with 0.5%. A clear exception is the trade sector, in which employment in SMEs increased by 0.7% annually, compared to 2.2% in large enterprises.