European Union News

Constitutional Affairs Committee MEPs meeting on 15 March, called for European-level political parties and foundations to have a legal personality based directly on EU law. Greater flexibility in funding, a higher ceiling for donations and a right for European parties to take part in referendum campaigns are among other suggestions made by Committee.

Policy makers and industry representatives meeting at the coordination meeting convened by the Commissioner Günther Oettinger to analyze the situation caused in Fukushima nuclear power plant after the earthquake and tsunami which affected Japan in the previous days, agreed to hold stress tests in all nuclear power plants of the European Union. The European Commission will determine the timing and common standards for such tests which will assess preparedness and resilience of these facilities in view of an eventual incident.

The Council agreed within the Economic and Financial Affairs Council held on 15 March, a general approach on a package of measures aimed at strengthening economic governance in the euro area, as part of the EU's response to the challenges highlighted by recent turmoil on sovereign debt markets. The agreement will enable the presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament, with the aim of reaching an overall agreement in June.

Celebrating the World Consumer Rights Day on 15 March, the global federation of consumer groups Consumers International has decided to focus this year's campaign in calling for fairer financial services. The European Commission, which fully supports this objective, is acting on all fronts to give EU consumers a fairer deal in financial services.

Ministers meeting at the Environment Council held in Brussels on 14 March, reached a political agreement on its first-reading position on revised EU rules concerning waste electronic and electrical equipment. During this meeting, ministers also exchanged views on possible justifications to allow member states to restrict the cultivation of genetically modified organisms in their territory, and adopted conclusions on the review of the Community strategy concerning mercury as well as conclusions on the follow-up to the UN climate conference in Cancún in December 2010.

The Portuguese city of Almada was judged by an independent panel of mobility experts to have done the most to promote alternatives to the car, and to highlight the positive impact of other means of transport on public health and the environment during European Mobility Week 2010. With Almada, Murcia in Spain and the Latvian capital Riga were runners-up in this year's contest.

In order to promote European security industry, the Commission has launched on 14 March a public consultation to invite all interested parties to share their views on the best policy measures to be taken to make Europe’s security industry a world leader. This consultation aims to gather opinions on how to deal with the fragmented internal market and the weak industrial base this industry is facing. Interested parties may submit their opinion until 13 May.

In order to attract the very best talent to work at the EU Institutions, the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) will accept for the first time in this annual recruitment drive applications from candidates who are still in their final year of undergraduate study, allowing the EU to compete with top recruiters from across the public and private sectors. This process launched on 16 March, sees the opening of the second annual EU Careers 'Administrator' recruitment drive, for candidates in fields such as law, economics and policy development.

European Commissioner for Education and Culture Androulla Vassiliou and the Hungarian Minister of State for Culture, Géza Szöcs participated in a conference on the contribution of culture to the Europe 2020 Growth Strategy. The conference highlighted the economic impact of the cultural and creative industries and the link between culture, creativity and innovation.

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), has released a study focused on local employment initiatives involving the cooperation of various public and private stakeholders. The report, entitled “Joint public-private local partnerships for employment to cope with the recession” examines how such local partnerships have been and are being used across the EU and Norway to prevent or counteract the effects of the economic crisis on labour markets, concluding that in many European countries LPPPs still represent untapped potential.

The spring Consumer Scoreboard published by the European Commission shows a clear recovery in consumer conditions in nearly all EU countries after the steep decline in 2009. The annual index of consumer conditions is measured e.g. by consumer trust in authorities, NGOs and retailers and the effectiveness of handling disputes.

Immediately after the earthquake and tsunami which devastated Japan on March 2011, President Barroso and President Van Rompuy expressed the European Union's solidarity and condolences to the people and government of Japan, and to the families of the victims at this difficult time. Further to it, and given the worrying situation caused by damages in Japan's nuclear plants, the Commission established contacts with Japanese sources, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the established emergency networks in Europe, like ECURIE.