As a mode of transport, flying is one of the safest. To make it even safer, any accident must be investigated thoroughly and independently. New EU rules for the investigation of civil aviation accidents were approved by transport ministers meeting at the Council on 11 March.

The EU Solidarity Fund must be mobilised "in the most urgent and flexible way and to the greatest possible extent" to help the areas hit by severe storms in February, as soon as the national governments have submitted their aid requests, said MEPs in Strasbourg on Thursday morning.

Brussels has hosted the first meeting of the Standing Committee on Internal Security of the European Union, an organism which aims to coordinate the actions of member States in the field of internal security

Following its approval in December 2010, the Official Journal of the European Union of March 12 has released the final version of the budget for 2010.

As part of its contribution to 2010, the European Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion, DG Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth (EAC) is organising a conference and exhibition to discuss how EU programmes help the Roma minority.

ESPON has revamped its website navigation and layout to make it more user-friendly and easier to find information on territorial development in Europe. The new website features one-click navigation that provides easy access to 7 main themes reflecting user needs: programme, projects, how to apply, events, scientific tools, publications and press. A number of additional features are under development such as video clips.

On 16 th March, the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) will launch a modernised and streamlined selection procedure for EU officials, with its first competition for Administrators under the new arrangements. The new system will be better by establishing annual competitions for the most common job profiles, thus allowing candidates to plan their applications more effectively and helping strategic human resource planning by the EU institutions. It will be faster and more efficient, involving fewer steps than the current set-up