European Union News - January 2010

DG for Education and Training of the European Commisssion has issued a statistical overview of mobility with the Erasmus programme, including detailed analysis of student and staff mobility, Erasmus Intensive Language Courses and Intensive Programmes in the academic year 2007/08.

The telecoms regulators of the 27 EU countries have met for the first time in Brussels as members of the new Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).Assisted by an office with expert staff, the new European telecoms regulatory body will in particular help ensure fair competition in the single telecoms market. In 2008, Europe's telecoms sector revenues accounted for €351 billion.

On 1 and 2 February 2010, a first stakeholder event will take place in Ulm (Germany) marking the launch of the consultation process to draw up the first EU Strategy for the Danube Region. Members of the Commission, heads of state of the Danube countries, ministers and other authorities of the Danube countries will attend the meeting.

The European Union has formalised its support for the Copenhagen Accord on climate change and presented its commitments for emission reduction targets. In a joint letter with the Spanish Presidency of the Council, the European Commission has formally notified the EU's willingness to be associated with the Accord and submitted for information the EU's established greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2020.

Micro-companies could be exempted from having to draw up annual accounts under an amendment to EU accounting rules approved by the Legal Affairs Committee on Thursday. However, these exemptions would have to be granted by EU Member States, and the companies would still have to keep records of their business transactions and financial situation. Parliament is to vote on the amendment in February.

Vice-President Margot Wallström and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen have hosted a high-level conference on women, peace and security in the European Commission premises. This conference saw the participation of Spanish First Vice-President Maria Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright alongside civil society representatives, military officials, high-level policy-makers and witnesses.

Twenty member countries are facing EU deadlines to get their budgets back in shape - deemed crucial to economic stability and growth as the EU claws back from recession. A review of the situation in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta shows all four countries have taken adequate steps to narrow their deficits.

The European Commission has given its green light for the public financing from France and Spain to the Fres Mos project. It will link the French port of Nantes-Saint Nazaire with the Spanish port of Gijon, and will be operated by GLD Atlantique. This Motorways of the Sea project will also receive an EU grant in the framework of the 2009 Marco Polo II call for proposals

The European Commission is organising a conference on 4 February in Brussels to mark 20 years of EU support for urban development. This will provide an opportunity to review the experience acquired since the launch of the URBAN initiative’s first pilot projects in 1989. The cohesion policy will invest a total of €10 billion in the period 2007-2013 in urban development throughout Europe.

The new European Directive on organ donation and transplants and the promotion of "e-Health" will be two of the strategic topics of the Spanish Presidency of the EU, according to the presentation by the Minister of Health and Social Policy, Trinidad Jiménez, before the Health Commission of the European Parliament.

The European Commission has published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 27 January 2010 the prior notification of concentration between Microsoft and Yahoo Search Business

The Official Journal publishes on January 26th 2010 the guidelines for the management of the Community Rapid Information System, RAPEX, laid down by Commission Decision of December 16th 2009. These guidelines aim at facilitating the operation of RAPEX and the notification procedure under the General Product Safety Directive, Directive 2001/95/EC.