European Union News - 2009

The Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry has issued a  tender by which it intends to conduct an analytical study of the competitiveness and climate change-related aspects of industry, technology and trade.

The aim of Decision Nº 633/2009/EC published in the OJEU on July 22nd granting a Community guarantee to the EIB against losses under loans and loan guarantees for projects outside the Community is focused on supporting the Community’s external action without affecting the Bank's credit standing.

The meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs with Swedish Minister for this area worked on the imminent accession of Iceland and external relations with Honduras and Iran, and security priorities.

Following a conference on intergenerational solidarity in April 2008 under the Slovenian Presidency, there have been calls to organise a European Year for Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity.

Environmentalists are taking a bite out of pollution thanks to one of the largest monitoring campaigns ever launched in Europe. A total of 20 research teams from across Europe have set up sites in Île-de-France, a region containing the Paris metropolitan area,to investigate sources of particulate pollution in the urban environment. Their objective is to quantify and describe these sources using diverse methods such as ground-based observations at permanent sites or from mobile platforms.

The European Commission and CERN signed on July 17th 2009 a Memorandum of Understanding  which aims to enhance the long-standing partnership between the two organizations. The MoU will provide a structured framework for cooperation across a broad range of issues of common interest, with emphasis on consolidating and further developing the European Research Area and facilitating the implementation of the European Strategy for Particle Physics, as defined by the CERN Council.

The Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF), a key instrument of the intensified European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), will benefit in 2009 from a €70 million contribution by the European Commission. These resources will allow neighbouring partner countries to leverage increased funding for major investment projects in areas such as energy, transport and environment, and also SME development and the social sector.

The five-time winner of Tour de France and twice of Giro Miguel Indurain, showed his support for the contest organized by the European Commission to set the EU organic logo by joinning the competition’s jury to choose the best logo submissions for the pan-European event.

The Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry has published a tender for a study on the interplay between standards and intellectual property rights (IPRs)

In Strasbourg the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Jan Fischer, has reported to MEPs on his country's six-month presidency of the European Union, in which the main challenges had been "the three Es": economy, energy policy and the EU's role in the world.

The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) –an important tool in the EU efforts to ensure food safety– turns 30 this year. Figures indicate that now it is more efficient than it has ever been.

The Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, will replace his compatriot Louis Michel at the helm of the area of Development and Humanitarian Aid of the European Commission.