European Union News - February 2012

A report published by the European Commission shows that EU research funding reaches 15% target for SMEs. The last months of 2011 saw a significant increase in the budget share allocated to SMEs. The goal set by the European Parliament and European Council for FP7 has been surpassed according to the report. The Commission also highlighted that Horizon 2020, will continue to support the competitiveness of SMEs.

A winner for each EU country was selected to the EU Young Translators' Contest. According to the European Commission, the winners demonstrate that a knowledge of languages can take you further and open your mind to new possibilities.

The European Cruise Council commits to pursue a high level of safety on board al their vessels and to support ongoing legislative review at EU and IMO. The Commission announced its strongly support to a passenger ship safety review at IMO (International Maritime Organisation) to ensure that European citizens can expect state of the art safety measures in place - no matter where they board a passenger ship.

The EU competition "Hands off my Design" has announced its winners for this edition. The competition is organised in order to draw attention on the cost that piracy has for the creative industry that estimates in €10 billion and more than 185,000 jobs in 2008 alone. The awards has been granted at an Award Ceremony held in the European Parliament.

Scientists concluded on the safety of silicone products manufactured by the Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) Company that data available was insufficient to lead to firm conclusions regarding the health risk for women with PIP silicone breast implants. However the Commission will discuss with the Member States a series of immediate measures to strengthen the existing surveillance and safety controls on medical devices already on the market.

The European Parliament approved a resolution on the newly-agreed governance treaty which insists that the treaty was unnecessary and economic recovery requires specific measures to promote solidarity, employment and growth. The resolution welcomes that the risk of a two speed EU was lessened and that there will be more parliamentary oversight than initially envisioned.

According to a resolution approved by the European Parliament, the next Daphne programme should be at least funded such as it has been funded so far in order to protect women and children against violence. MEPs also reiterates that the programme needs sufficient funding to tackle real needs, maintain current measures and introduce new ones.

The European Parliament approved a resolution in which calls on the EU to identify and eliminate all obstacles likely to prevent girls and women from doing sports. The Parliament also asks that supporters who are known to be violent or to engage in discriminatory behaviour be banned from all European stadiums. Furthermore, the regulation also asks for regulation the profession of sports agent.

Siim Kallas, the EU Transport Commissioner, stressed in a conference that investments in transport are critical for creating employment and a return to economic growth. In his speech, Kallas focused on the key issue of transport financing and set out four major deliverables for 2012-2013, to get the conditions for transport financing right.

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, stressed at the European Competition Forum that the European competition policy has a key role in order to combat monopolies and protectionism, especially in the context of the currently economic crisis. He also underlined that Europe's future growth prospects depend on a rules-based Single Market that fosters openness and innovation.

According to a European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) special report, the pre-accession assistance managed by the European Commission has made an important contribution to building up Croatia’s capacity for managing post-accession funding. Even so, ECA also reports that the intended results of some projects still need to be safeguarded.

The European Commission has announced the European journalists awarded for the best articles on health issues. In particular, the top articles were on antimicrobial resistance, the importance of exercise in helping tackle depression, breast cancer, and the harmful effects of smoking.