European Union News - 12 February 2013

The China IPR Helpdesk, the EU SME Centre and the European Enterprise Network are established in China to help by bringing the risks – and rewards – of the Chinese market into focus. In particular, the EU SME Centre is a support service provider for European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facilitating market access in China, says the European Commission.

The European Commission published the report on the progress achieved by Kosovo in fulfilling the requirements of the visa liberalisation roadmap. The report shows that Kosovo has established a legal and institutional framework in certain areas, but also identifies two new pieces of legislation that Kosovo should adopt: a law on inter-agency cooperation in integrated border/boundary management and a law to combat trafficking in human beings.

The European Commission published the General Report on the Activities of the European Union 2012 which presents the actions taken to address all the challenges of the past year. The General Report is published every year by the European Commission and it gives an account of the EU's major initiatives and achievements throughout the year.

According to European Commission's report, risks from substances registered under REACH have significantly decreased. Companies have now registered 30,601 files with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) describing the uses and properties of 7,884 chemical substances manufactured or placed on the market.

The European Commission reported that the number of counterfeit euro coins removed from circulation increased by 17% from 157.000 in 2011 to 184.000 in 2012. The 2-euro denomination remains by far the most affected by this criminal activity, representing almost 2 out of every 3 counterfeit euro coins detected.