EU News - 2008

Hydrogen energy could reduce oil consumption

A scientific project funded by the EU's research programme has found that introducing hydrogen into the energy system would reduce the total oil consumption by the road transport sector by 40% between now and 2050. By taking a leading position in the worldwide market for hydrogen technologies, Europe can open new economic opportunities and strengthen its competitiveness. But the analysis also states that transition won't happen automatically. Substantial barriers have first to be overcome, ranging from economic and technological to institutional barriers, and actions must be taken as soon as possible. The HyWays project brings together industry, research institutes and government agencies from ten European countries. Following a series of more than 50 workshops the project has produced a Roadmap to analyse the potential impacts on the EU economy, society and environment of the large-scale introduction of hydrogen in the short- and long- term, as well as an action plan detailing what needs to be done for this to take place. The report is published as the Member States are due to give their approval of a new €940m public/private research partnership for the development of hydrogen and fuel cells.

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EU-funded film "The Counterfeiters" wins Oscar

Yet another triumph for European Cinema: At last night's Oscars, the Oscar for the best foreign language film went to the Austrian-German co-production "The Counterfeiters" (Die Fälscher), a film co-funded by the EU's MEDIA programme and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky from Austria. This is the third time in a row that European cinema is successful in Hollywood.

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EU invest 3 billion euro for research in nanoelectronics

An unprecedented € 3 billion will be invested in nanoelectronics, with the launch, on the 22nd February 2008, of a major Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) endorsed by the Council of Ministers and by the European Parliament at the end of 2007. This initiative, called ENIAC, is a new public-private partnership which targets nanoelectronics, the technology that enables increasingly high levels of miniaturisation in the myriad of applications and high-tech products which are emerging today. The Governing Boards of this ENIAC – where public and private stakeholders take decisions jointly – met for the first time in Brussels on the 22nd February 2008 .

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Stability programme of Italy, 2007-2011

On 12 February 2008, the Council examined the updated stability programme of Italy, which covers the period 2007 to 2011. Real GDP growth in Italy has been below the euro area average since the 1990s and potential growth is estimated to have fallen from above 2 % in the early 1990s to around 1,5 % over the last 15 years. On the positive side, Italy has enjoyed robust employment growth since the turn of the century and its unemployment rate has fallen substantially, also reflecting the impact of labour market reforms. While there remains a long way to go before Italy catches up with the EU average in terms of employment rates, the combination of dynamic employment growth and sluggish GDP growth highlights Italy's productivity problem. Notwithstanding the recent recovery, medium-term prospects for the Italian economy remain challenging under the strain of major structural weaknesses.

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Europe speeds up industrial research in Micro-Computers

The European Commission launched on the 22nd February 2008 in Brussels, a major Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) called ARTEMIS. With an unprecedented investment of € 2.5 billion, this initiative, that has been endorsed by the Council of Ministers and by the European Parliament at the end of 2007, addresses embedded computer systems that – while running almost unnoticed by users – improve the performance of all kinds of machines: from cars, planes and phones, to factories, washing machines and televisions. The Governing Boards of ARTEMIS – where public and private stakeholders take decisions jointly – met for the first time in Brussels on the 22nd February 2008.

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Contracts for standby oil-spill recovery vessel(s)

The European Maritime Safety Agency want to launch and decelop a service for a/many standby oil-spill recovery vessel(s). In accordance with EMSA's 'Action plan for oil pollution preparedness and response of 2004' identified how to implement this task with regard to pollution caused by oil spills at sea. The action plan, as updated by subsequent EMSA work programmes, highlighted the necessity for a network of oil-recovery vessels. Consequently, contracts have been established for at-sea oil-recovery services in the Baltic Sea, along the Atlantic Coast and in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Entrepreneurship for the JRC

The Joint Research Centre (European Commission) wants to improve the entreprenerurship spririt between its staff by organising three entrepreneurship training seminars to be carried out in liaison with relevant JRC staff and the Turku School of Economics. As the JRC has seven scientific institutes, located at five different sites in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, the training will take place in any of those places.

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EC Association Agreement with Central America

The European Commission, negotiating on behalf of the EU, and the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama (observer),  met in Brussels from 25 to 29 February 2008 for a second round of negotiations in view of an Association Agreement, including a free trade area between the EU and Central America.

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Eurofound open competition for a Deputy Director

The aim of the Foundation is to contribute to the planning and establishment of better living and working conditions through action designed to increase and disseminate knowledge likely to assist in this development. Its tasks are to develop and pursue ideas on the medium and long-term improvement of living and working conditions in the light of practical experience and to identify factors leading to change. The Foundation is required to take the relevant Community policies into account when carrying out its tasks. It advises the Community Institutions on foreseeable objectives and guidelines by forwarding in particular scientific information and technical data. The social partners are associated in the actions it undertakes.

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Boosting growth and jobs by meeting climate change

The European Commission  agreed on a far-reaching package of proposals on the 23 January 2008, that will deliver the European Council's commitments to fight climate change and promote renewable energy. The proposals demonstrate that the targets agreed last year are technologically and economically possible and provide a unique business opportunity for thousands of European companies. These measures will dramatically increase the use of renewable energy in each country and set legally enforceable targets for governments to achieve them.

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Cohesion policy and energy challenge: boosting results in EU regions

Danuta Hübner, Commissioner for Regional Policy, today explained how Cohesion policy for 2007-2013 will contribute to developing renewable energy and improving energy efficiency in the EU's regions. Nearly €9 billion will be invested in these sectors. The Commission will also act as facilitator by supporting Member States in making timely energy investments, and by promoting the sharing of know-how among regions. The European Commission's proposals on climate action, launched on 23 January, gives a high priority to renewable energy and the need for better energy efficiency.

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EC negotiates European Works Councils

The European Commission today invited trade unions' and employers' representatives to help improve the role of European Works Councils in consulting and informing employees. European Works Councils (EWCs) currently operate in 820 major companies across the EU, covering some 14.5 million employees. Today's second stage consultation gives social partners the opportunity to start negotiations on updating and improving the way the bodies operate, with a view to revising the existing legislation.

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