European Union News - September 2009

The Commission has adopted a package of measures aimed at authorising law enforcement authorities to consult the EURODAC database of fingerprints for the purpose of fighting terrorism and serious crime, such as trafficking in human beings and in drugs. The measures also aim at integrating the suggestions of the European Parliament and the Council on the EURODAC Regulation for making the EURODAC database more efficient.

The European Commission has submitted to the Council a proposal for an agreement with Switzerland to allow Swiss universities, schools, students and other young people to participate in the EU's programmes 'Youth in Action' and 'Lifelong Learning Programme'.

GDP has been since the Great Depression the indicator that reflects the value of all goods and services produced or provided a country in a  year, but does not accurately reflect the general welfare. Therefore, the EU looks for other ways to measure the economic capacity of countries and assess their economic progress.

The Official Journal of the European Union has issued a call for proposals for the appointment of a new Ombudsman for the term 2009-2014. Diamandourus Nikiforos, the current ombudsman, could renew their charge.

DG Health and Consumers has issued today the results of an EU-wide investigation involving 26 Member States and Norway and Iceland into misleading advertising and unfair practices on websites selling consumer electronic goods.

The European Commission has published a call for proposals aimed at increasing knowledge of the common agricultural policy through measures aimed at strengthening information aspects of this area in the European population.

The panel responsible for selecting the European Capital of Culture for 2014 recommended yesterday in Stockholm that the title be awarded to Umeå. The other Swedish city in contention was Lund. The formal nomination of Umeå by the Council of Ministers of the EU will probably be in May 2010.

An international conference gathering some 100 researchers and analysts worldwide will discuss apprenticeship and work-based learning are being re-energised as valuable routes of vocational education and training in a number of countries across the globe and the role of apprenticeship in contributing to successful school-to-work transitions.

Europe's mobile phone industry will sign the eCall Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), giving its full backing to eCall. Europe's in-car automatic emergency call system has life-saving potential as it automatically dials 112, Europe's single emergency number, when a car has a serious accident and sends its location to the nearest emergency service – even when the passengers do not know or cannot say where they are.

The Europe Direct Centre of Luis Vives Foundation will organize in Madrid between 21 and 25 September the week "Connect to Social Europe", with a range of activities that reveal how to act and how to take part in the decision proccess of the European Union.

A political dispute over the borders in Western Sahara prevented Spain and Morocco from ratifying the Cooperation Agreement for the Protection of the Coasts and Waters of the North-East Atlantic against Pollution (Lisbon Agreement), which was signed on October 1990. Once the dispute over the concerned articles of the Agreement has been settled, and after Spanish ratification, it is appropriate for the Community to conclude the Additional Protocol to the Lisbon Agreement. The Lisbon Agreement creates a mechanism to ensure the cooperation between the Contracting Parties in case of pollution accidents.

To coordinate EU’s position in view of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Swedish Prime Minister and European Council President Fredrik Reinfeldt today called for an extra informal European Council meeting to take place in Brussels on Thursday the 17th of September.