European Union News

According to the Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, in June 2011, the volume of retail trade up by 0,9% in euro area and by 0,7% in the EU compared with May. Compared with the same month last year, the retail sales index decreased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU.

An EU-funded study is working to analyse whether robots and computers have the capacity to do the same thing and then, to develop sophisticated computer vision systems capable of recognising facial expressions. Progressing on recognising facial expressions by computers will serve to develop the next generation of life-changing software and robots and there will be the opportunity to create socially aware companion robots and graphical characters.

The European Commission has made available the results of the public consultation on a possible successor instrument to the EU programme for employment and social solidarity (Progress 2007-2013). The results reveal strong support for the continuation of Progress activities. This feed into a legislative proposal for a successor instrument which will be presented by the Commission in October 2011.

The European Commission has proposed in its website some interesting festival in which to have fun this summer. With this initiative, it wants to show how Europe is rich in different cultural offers.

Fusion for Energy (F4E) and COMSA EMTE, a Spanish company with a proven track record in the field of construction have signed a contract for building the ITER platform which aims to become one of Europe’s biggest engineering sites. The objective of the contract, which is expected to run for at least one year and with a budget of approximately €11 millions to make the necessary adaptations on the ITER site, deliver the required amenities for a workforce of 3,000 people.

The European Commission wants to encourage the participation of women in innovative enterprises. With the EU Prize for Women Innovators, three women innovators will be rewarded for their hard work and success on Europe's research scene, developing, managing and commercialising the results. The condition to apply is that at some point during their careers women were or have been beneficiaries of EU funding for projects under the RTD Framework Programme (FP) or the Competitive and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).

The European Commission approved under the simplified merger review procedure the acquisition of Popular Gestión, a Spanish asset management company, by Banco Popular Español S.A. ("BPE", Spain) and Allianz SE ("Allianz", Germany).

According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, in June 2011 compared with May 2011, prices in total industry excluding the energy sector increased by 0.1% in both the euro area and the EU. However, prices in the energy sector fell by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.

Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Commission Vice President announced the extension of restrictive measures against Syrian individuals responsible for and associated with repression. On the 2 of August, the decision has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

In 2010, the European Commission helped Pakistan with €150 million in humanitarian assistance. A further €76 million has been committed by the EU to cover continuing acute needs in the affected areas such as shelter, water and sanitation, food, livelihood recovery and healthcare. Furthermore, the Commission assured it is prepared to assist again if the upcoming monsoon season proves to be as destructive as in 2010.

New research shows that the Foxp2 gene, which is known for its involvement in speech and language in humans, helps control the brain's neural wiring. The findings help elucidate how the gene directs particular features of the development of the nervous system, helping bridge the gap between genes and complex aspects of brain function. The current study provides the most thorough characterisation of Foxp2 target pathways to date. It offers a number of compelling new candidate genes that could be investigated in people with language problems.

The European Commission agreed to measures that should make a significant contribution to getting some of the EU's most troubled economies back on track. Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Latvia and Hungary would be asked to contribute less to projects that they currently co-finance with the European Union.