European Union News - 11 January 2012

The European Medicines Agency launches a public consultation aimed at evaluating the revised guideline which provide advices and information on all stages of clinical drug development for the treatment of malignancies, including drug resistance modifiers or normal tissue protective compounds.

The European Commission presented an action plan aimed at doubling the volume of e-commerce in Europe by 2015. In particular, the Communication presents 16 targeted initiatives for doubling the share of e-commerce in retail sales (currently 3.4%) and that of the Internet sector in European GDP (currently less than 3%) by 2015.

The European Commission takes the Council to the Court of Justice for failing to adopt the Council Regulation on the annual adjustment to the remuneration and pensions of EU staff as anticipated in the Staff Regulations. The main problem is the adjustment on salaries and pensions of EU officials. Both follow an increase or decrease regarding the national civil servants salaries and pensions.

MEPs at the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee agreed that the proposed new legislation to strengthen budgetary oversight of Eurozone countries should allow as much economic governance as possible to take place within the normal EU system, rather than outside it through international agreements.

After a moderate labour market recovery which lasted until the middle of 2011, European employment is down again in December 2011, according the statistics published by the Commission. In addition, there are rising social concerns across Europe. The Commission also reminds the results of a recent study which shows that on-going fiscal consolidation measures may aggravate further the situation of the most vulnerable.