European Union News

The Council adopted a decision at the General Affairs meeting approving Croatia's admission to the European Union. MEPs approved Croatia's accession as the 28th member of the EU 1 December. The next step will be to sign the accession treaty at the 8-9 December European Council meeting, after which it can be ratified by all 27 Member States and Croatia itself will hold a referendum. Croatia is expected to join the EU on 1 July 2013.

The first European Mobility Challenge, launched by the Commission's Vice-President Siim Kallas, has started with the public vote in order to find the best electronic journey planner. The main aim of this contest is to raise awareness about and stimulate development of all-in-one journey planners, going beyond national borders and offering alternative transport modes.

NoiseWatch is the application name that will map the noise levels across Europe in order to help the many millions of people exposed to damaging levels of noise. This application is part of the application package Eye on Earth, which already includes WaterWatch, displaying information on bathing water quality, and AirWatch, which shows near-real time information on air quality.

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group launched a new guarantee facility for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them access finance from banks. The new scheme, the so-called SME risk-sharing instrument (RSI), will be managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF).

The Council stressed at the Competitiveness meeting celebrated in Brussels the importance of supporting actions leading towards Europe 2020 goals by an effective industrial policy that facilitates access to knowledge and enhances resource efficiency. Member States also stated their support to the European SME Envoy network to promote the implementation of the SBA.

The European Commission has approved 20 programmes to promote agricultural products in third countries with a total budget of €30.1 million. The programmes will run for a period of three years and will focus in providing information or promoting agricultural products and food in third countries.

MEPs adopted the 2012 EU budget which was previously agreed with Member States. The European Parliament had focussed on growth, innovation, employment, border control, migration management, and support of democratic development in the Arab world. These priorities were all taken on board by the Member States in the final deal.

According to MEPs, the second-chance schools and compulsory schooling until the age of 18 throughout the EU, could help reduce the rate of school drop-out. Moreover, they ask in a resolution approved at the plenary to establish a varied curriculum, combining general instruction and vocational training (internships, visits to firms).

The new fund for the EU's maritime and fisheries policies for the period 2014-2020 was proposed by the European Commission. In particular, the Commission intends with this new fund to reach the ambitious objectives of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and help fishermen in the transition towards sustainable fishing.

The European Parliament adopted its new code of conduct that sets out rules and principles which MEPs will need to follow in their contacts with outside interests, so as to avoid conflict of interests. The new rules enter into force on 1 January 2012.

The European Parliament agreed on the Commission's proposal to provide supplementary EU co‑financing to countries facing particular difficulties in managing public debt/deficit and ensuring financial stability. It is still needed the green light by the Council in order to adopt the proposal. The Member States which will benefit of this proposal are Romania, Latvia, Hungary, Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

The Legal Affairs Committee and Council Presidency negotiators reached an agreement on plans for an EU unitary patent to cut costs for firms and boost the EU's competitiveness. The deal still needs to be approved by Parliament as a whole and by the Council.