European Union News - 2009

Events all over Europe will take place on September 25th night because of the Researchers' night, an initiative by the European Commission that offers the public a unique opportunity to discover the world of research during one evening. This is the fifth year that researchers celebrate it.

Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities has published data on language learning of students and perceived language skills of adults. In the EU in 2007, 60% of students in upper secondary education studied two or more foreign languages and one third studied one foreign language, while 6% did not study any foreign language. English is the most studied foreign language in upper secondary education and the most commonly spoken foreign language among adults aged 25 to 64 years, except for  Ireland and the United Kingdom , where French is most common.

The Council welcomed the Commission's recent communication on a joint EU resettlement programme and a related proposal amending a Council decision on the European Refugee Fund (ERF) for the period 2008 to 2013. Ministers broadly supported the idea of moving towards a joint EU resettlement programme.

 Building on the success of its pilot project launched in 2001, the European Commission has now decided to extend its environmental management system to all its activities and buildings in Brussels and Luxembourg. With this certification scheme the Commission implements a system that defines and evaluates environmental aspects of its activities, leading to continuous improvements in areas such as increased energy efficiency, optimal use of natural resources and reduction of CO 2 emissions.

The Section for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure of the EESC (European Economic and Social) has organized the event Save it! Energy Efficiency Days, held in Brussels between 22 and 25 September as a prelude to the "Overshoot Day", an international day established in 1987 to raise awareness about the problem of ecological deficit, and which marks the day when humanity starts using more natural resources than the planet can produce in a sustainable way every year.

There are widespread problems with the way banks inform and advise their customers according to a European Commission report on retail financial service published today. Specific problems include information which in many cases is difficult to understand, opaque bank fees, problems with advice and low levels of switching. The report describes the price structures of current accounts as "very opaque making it almost impossible for consumers to know how much they are paying and to compare different offers".

The European Union is ready for its citizens to work in any country, but it is a largely untapped right. Only the newest states have some restrictions but despite this and the benefits of the open labor market, Europeans reject the mobility and tend to work only in their own country.

Yesterday morning was held at the headquarters of the European Commission Representation in Spain the presentation of the book "Building Europe for Citizens" which was attended by the chairman of the Representation Francisco J. Fonseca, the chairman of the Luis Vives Foundation Board Oscar Alzaga and Carlos Carnero, Special Ambassador for Project within the Framework of the European Union.

The European Commission will present the first EU Ecolabel Communication Award at a ceremony in Brussels. The award recognises outstanding achievement in increasing public awareness of the EU Ecolabel – the European Union's label for environmentally-friendly products and services. The fast-growing label can now be found on almost 20,000 products and tourist accommodation services throughout the European Union and beyond

On 23 and 23 September will be held an informal meeting of Ministers of Education of the EU to discuss what can be done to improve the work situation and improve the skills of teachers. The meeting will be chaired by Swedish Minister for Education Jan Björklund.

The European Court of Auditors assesses the effectiveness of the European Commission’s management of the grants paid to LIFE-Nature projects in terms of the sustainability of their results. LIFE-Nature, a component of LIFE, co-finances projects in the Member States, mainly in relation to Natura 2000 sites, in favour of the conservation of species and habitats.

At an informal meeting in Brussels on 17 September, 27 Heads of State and Government established the EU's position for the G–20 summit in Pittsburgh on 24 and 25 September.