European Union News - 2008

Over two-thirds of Europeans prefer policy decisions on the environment to be made at European Union level, according to a Eurobarometer survey published on 13th March 2008. The report also shows that Europeans are increasingly aware of the role played by the environment in their daily lives. More than 95% of European citizens feel that it is important to protect the environment. Some 80% also feel it influences their quality of life and consider that they have a role to play in protecting it. Climate change tops the list of Europeans' environmental concerns, followed by pollution and man-made disasters.

An international conference devoted to the training of professional translators – European Master's in Translation – takes place in Brussels on 14 March 2008. Representatives from universities of all EU Member States, as well as of Candidate and Third Countries, will discuss with potential employers and international institutions the core skills that the next generation of translators should have. The conference will also address the admission criteria for universities to join the network working under the common umbrella of the Master's.

The Italian researcher Luisa Corrado was among the researchers honoured at the European Science Awards Ceremony, for her work on whether wealth can bring happiness. Ms Corrado received one of five "Marie Curie Excellence Awards", which recognise excellent researchers who have participated in the EU's researcher exchange programme. Awards were also given recognising excellence in multinational research teams and in science communication. The winners were selected by three separate Grand Juries, one for each category, composed of leading figures from European and international science. They share an award fund of almost €2m.

The European Commission has cleared, under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed joint-venture between Münchmeyer Petersen & Co (MPC) of Germany, Grupo Villacero (Viga-Villacero) of Mexico and MAN AG of Germany. The proposed concentration would result in MPC, Viga-Villacero and MAN combining their worldwide activities in non-stockholding steel distribution. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a substantial part of it.

The European Commission today called for a new approach to looking at the role and governance of European agencies. In recent years, using agencies to implement key tasks has become an established part of the way the European Union does its business. The communication calls on the European Parliament and the Council to give a new momentum to the need to develop a clear and coherent vision on the place of agencies in European governance. The Commission calls for the establishment of an inter-institutional working group to allow the key issues facing agencies to be set out as ground rules to apply to all.

The European Commission has approved A Technical Specification for Interoperability (‘TSI’) relating to ‘persons with reduced mobility’. The TSI shall be fully applicable to the trans-European conventional rail system and the trans-European high-speed rail system. The official decision was publsihed in the Official Journal (OJ) of the Eropean Union on 7th March 2008.

On 7th March 2008, the EC published its official text of the Council decision of 28 February 2008 implementing Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 as regards the adoption of a Multi-annual Framework for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for 2007-2012.

Despite recent progress, women in Europe are still shut out of top posts in both politics and business, says a new European Commission report. Across the EU, 24% of parliamentarians are women – up from 16% a decade ago – with a similar proportion holding ministerial office. In the private sector, men still represent 9 out of 10 board members in top companies and two-thirds of company bosses. The report coincides with International Women's Day on 8 March and comes ahead of a new European network of women in power, to be launched later this year.

In January 2008  according to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the industrial producer price index rose by 0.8% in the euro area (EA15) and by 1.0% in the EU27. In December prices increased by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively, in comparison with December 2007.

Careers in information and communications technology (ICT) are often thought to be restricted to men. Such a common stereotype is far from the truth. Although the proportion of women graduating in engineering or computer science is still very low, young girls can expect a successful and rewarding career in the ICT sector. This topic is at the core of a conference organised today, ahead of International Women's day (8 March), in Brussels, where the European Commission will encourage young girls in Europe to "Move out of the shadow and seize the opportunITy".

In May 2007 the European Commission published the Fourth Cohesion Report which provided an extensive overview of how cohesive the EU actually is, what the convergence trends are, what challenges lie ahead and also what role cohesion policy has played in contributing towards strengthened cohesion among the EU regions and Member States. his was followed by the official launching of the debate on the future of cohesion policy at the Fourth Cohesion Forum organised in Brussels at the end of September 2007.

The European Commission has released individual service contract forecast. The successful service provider will have to design and implement training modules on EDF financial and contractual procedures.