European Union News

On 21 of July, new rules to ban heavy metals and other dangerous chemicals in electrical and electronic equipment in a wider range of products enters into force. The new Directive is now been extended to all electronic equipment, cables and spare parts in order to protect the consumers and the environment. Member States have now 18 months to transpose the new rules.

MEPs welcomed the allocation by the EU of €200 million to support the implementation of the Government of South Sudan's forthcoming "2011-13 Development Plan" for projects related to education, health, agriculture, food security and democratic governance.

The 'European Agenda for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals' adopted by the Commission seeks to enhance the economic, social and cultural benefits of migration in Europe. In addition, in a qualitative Europbarometer survey, it is important for Europeans and migrants the interaction at work and in schools and on the positive contribution of migrants to the local culture. The main obstacles for integration are the lack of language skills and the segregation of migrants in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

The proposal presented by the European Commission intends to change the behaviour of the 8,000 banks that operate in Europe. Its main goal is to strengthen the resilience of the EU banking sector while ensuring that banks continue to finance economic activity and growth. The proposal is based in three concrete objectives.

The European Commission has released €25 million in budgetary support for Niger after the EU resumed in full its cooperation with this country since the investiture of the new president, Mahamadou Issoufou, took place in April 2011. These funds will help Niger in its fight against poverty, in particular by concentrating on the social sectors such as education and health.

The European Commission encourages students to pursue scientific careers to meet its ambitions goal of being one of the most innovative regions of the planet throughout the ERA-NET scheme and the article 185 of the TFEU. Europe will need for reaching this objective at least 1 million new research jobs in the near future; this is the reason why the European Commission encourages and fosters an understanding of science among young Europeans, and in turn helps them follow related careers. Both the ERA-NET scheme and the Article 185 Initiative are helping drive this objective.

According to the European Commission the sustainability of biofuels needs to be checked by Member States or through voluntary schemes. The Commission recognised seven such voluntary schemes within the highest sustainability standards in the world. With these schemes, biofuels can represent an environmentally-friendly replacement of fossil fuels.

The European Commission published the grants for research and innovation which are the biggest ever such funding package. Its main goal is to promote research to tackle the biggest societal challenges facing Europe and the world. With these grants, the Commission is expected to create nearly 450,000 jobs and nearly €80 billion in GDP growth over 15 years.

The European Commission has launched a public tender for developing an open data portal. This aims to develop and administer a web portal to act as a single point of access to data sets produced and held by European Commission services. The reuse of public information is a key element of the Digital Agenda for Europe.

The European Commission has sent requests for information under EU infringement procedure to twenty EU Member States which have not yet notified measures to implement in full new EU telecoms rules into national law. If they fail to reply in two months, the Commission can send the Member States concerned a formal request to implement the legislation, and ultimately refer them to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The unintentional release of ENMs used in products, including facade coatings for buildings, could play havoc on both the environment and human health. The NANOHOUSE EU funded project suggest that a product design can affect the unintentional release of ENMs and their risk assessment criteria should be used to assess and minimise potential risks.

The European Commission approved funding for 183 new projects under the LIFE+ programme, the European Union's environment fund. The projects cover actions in the fields of nature conservation, climate change, clean technology, environmental policy and information and communication on environmental issues. In total, they represent an investment of some €530 million, of which the EU will provide €244 million.