European Union News - April 2012

The European Commission published new guidelines which call for smarter spatial planning and using more permeable materials to preserve our soil. The guidelines have been published bearing in mind that soil sealing – the covering of the ground by an impermeable material – is one of the main causes of soil degradation in the EU.

A new EU research led by Professor Rebecca Cassidy who an ERC Starting Grant proposes a new approach to gambling focusing on its social and cultural aspects rather than on its pathological implications. The research team focuses on four case studies representing some of the most important features of gambling in Europe. Gambling in Europe is estimated to be worth €89 billion.

According to an Eurobarometer survey, nine out of ten EU citizens want the EU to help people in developing countries to gain access to energy. 82% also think that the percentage of EU development aid that is spent on improving energy access should be higher than its current level of 2%.

The European Commission wants to ensure the respect of the rights of individuals, and also to unleash the potential economic and societal benefits of the "Internet of Things" (IoT). For this reason, it launched a public consultation to gather views on rules for wirelessly connected devices - the "Internet of Things".

According to Eurostat, the industrial production grew 0.5% in the euro area and 0.2% in the EU in February 2012. Compared with February 2011, industrial production dropped by 1.8% in both the euro area and the EU.

The European Commission warns of possible humanitarian disaster in Mali unless there is rapid progress in the coming days to open the humanitarian space and allow in supplies of food and medicines specially in the north of the country. The Commission has thus decided to give €9 million to respond to these new humanitarian needs.

The European Commission is targeting the 'Generation 1992', i. e. young adults born in 1992, with a creativity competition aimed at tapping into the view, experiences, insights and expectations of what the single market means to young Europeans today. The competition is one of the number of events organised across the EU to mark the 20th anniversary of the European single market.

According to a Commission's report, although the existing legislative framework appears to work well and that no fundamental shortcomings have been identified which would require substantial changes, some modifications are necessary to adapt to the evolving threats on money laundering.

The European Medicines Agency echoes the publication of the results of clinical trials of authorised medicines: 'Open clinical trial data for all? A view from regulators' in the journal PloS Medicine, which examines the reasons for and against the open access of these data. It is a from European regulators to another article which calls for open access to all clinical-trial data so that independent re-analysis of medicines' benefits and risks can be conducted.

The ABSTRESS project will work during five year in revolutionising the way in which new plant varieties are produced with the aim to create crops which resist droughts and/or infection with a type of soil fungus called Fusarium. In particular, the information obtained from studying the model plants will then be applied to the breeding of new pea varieties.

Karel De Gucht, EU Trade Commissioner and Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States Michael Froman adopted a blueprint for open and stable investment climates. The principles included in this action plan cover the elements which the EU and the US believe are necessary to attract long-term sustainable investment.

The President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Mercedes Bresso, welcomed the progress made in the accession negotiations and reiterated the CoR's willingness in fully supporting Iceland's accession process at the 4th EU-Icelandic Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting which was celebrated on 4 of April.