European Union News - August 2010

On 1st September 2010 a new agreement governing the wine trade between Australia and the European Union enters into force. This agreement replaces the one signed in 1994.

Water-borne disease is spreading quickly among Pakistan flood survivors, posing a threat of epidemics, the EU aid commissioner warns on her return from the country. In that way, EU foreign ministers are set to discuss a response strategy in they next meet.

After the surge in July 2010, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) continued to improve in both the EU and the euro area, albeit at a slower pace. It rose to 102.7 in the EU and to 101.8 in the euro area. In both the EU and the euro area the ESI is above its long-term average.

Next 2nd and 3rd December in Brussels it was given the award for the 2011 Accessibility Award Access City that promotes improving accessibility for people with disabilities in the European scene.

A team of EU-funded researchers from Denmark and the UK after discovering that two heads are indeed better but only when both partners are equally competent and could agree after discussing the problem soundly.

European Union and European Investment Bank have funded water and sanitation project to benefit a million Malawians.

New research shows how using biosynthetic corneas can help regenerate and repair damaged eye tissue, and give human vision a significant boost. Presented in the journal Science Translational Medicine and funded in part by an EU Marie Curie International Fellowship, the study finds that the optimisation of these implants could provide an effective and safe alternative to donated corneas for patients who need treatment.

Commission's consultation on the Green Paper "Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries" has had more than 350 contributions submitted. They will help the Commission better respond to the needs of cultural and creative industries in Europe.

Researchers in the UK and Canada have discovered that vitamin D deficiency is linked to autoimmune diseases and cancer. The findings have important implications for public health, in particular prenatal care.

Research under the Census of Marine Life initiative, funded in part by the EU, has resulted in the discovery of at least 1,200 new species, and generated more than 2,600 publications. The latest in a long list of achievements is a species inventory of distribution and diversity in 25 key ocean areas. The inventory is part of a collection of articles published in PLoS (Public Library of Science) ONE.

An international team of scientists working from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile has discovered a neighbouring planetary system that shares many features with our Solar System. The findings, published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, are an outcome of a large-scale survey being conducted with the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, or HARPS spectrograph.

75% of Europeans think that stronger coordination of economic and financial policies among EU Member States would be effective in fighting the economic crisis, according to the Spring 2010 Eurobarometer. 72% of Europeans support a stronger supervision by the EU of the activities of the most important international financial groups. Europeans’ main areas of concern in the crisis were the current economic situation, unemployment and rising prices.