European Union News - 04 September 2008

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to submit proposals prohibiting the cloning of animals for food supply purposes, as well as the  farming of cloned animals or their offspring and the placing on the market or importing of products derived from cloned animals. MEPs refer to the higher mortality problems of cloned animals and the harm that allowing cloning techniques could cause to the image of the European agricultural model which is based on product quality and the respect for stringent animal welfare conditions.

The European Commission launched on September 4th a public consultation in search of the best strategies to boost Europe's leadership in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) research and innovation in the next decade. The public consultation will be opened for contributions  until November 7th 2008.

The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) have encouraged the European Payments Council (EPC) to move ahead with the launch of the SEPA Direct Debit scheme. Under this scheme, bank customers would be able to arrange direct debits to pay companies with bank accounts in any of the 31 European countries participating in SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area).

MEPs have adopted a series of legislative reports concerning the classification, labelling and packing of substances and mixtures. The first-reading agreement concerns the implementation of the UN level agreed, GHS (Globally Harmonised System) on classification, labelling and packaging of hazardous substances into EU legislation.

The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) published on September 4th the Information communicated by the United Kingdom regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) Nº 70/2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises.