European Union News

The European Commission has adopted on 4 November the decision to grant 1.5 million Euro in humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people affected by droughts in the Bolivian Chaco. European aid will be focused on measures to fight against the consequences of droughts as well as to improve the communities' resilience to future events.

Strengthening the rights of citizens and protect their personal data while enhancing the single market dimension and facilitate the exchange of data between Member States are some of the goals set forth by the Commission in its data protection strategy presented on 4 November. The Commission intends to address the review of the current legislative framework and has launched a public consultation open until 15 January 2011.

According to the data released by Eurostat, in September the industrial producer price index rose by 0.3% in the euro area, compared to the previous month. In the European Union as a whole, this indicator shows a slightly smaller increase, with figures of 0,2% increase.

On 4 November 2010 EU security experts tried to counter simulated attempts by hackers to paralyse critical online services in several EU Member States. This security drill called "Cyber Europe 2010" will be followed by more complex scenarios ultimately going from European to global level.

Between 6 and 7 October 2010 Heads of State and Government from Europe, Africa and rest of the world; high-level representatives of governments, international organisations as well as development practitioners, NGOs, media and civil society will be in Brussels for the Fifth European Development Days. Registration will be opened until 15 November.

The European Commission has put forward on 3 November a proposal for Council Directive including safety standards for disposing spent fuel and radioactive waste from nuclear power plants as well as from medicine or research. With this Directive internationally agreed safety standards become legally binding and enforceable in the European Union.

European Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) contribute 50 billion Euro to the EU economy, according to a new study published on October 27. The report, put together by European research organisation the Technopolis Group, reveals that in addition to boosting economic growth, RTOs help tackle key challenges facing Europe, such as the need to develop innovative renewable energy supplies.

European Commissioner Michel Barnier for the Internal Market and Services met United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler, during his official visit to the United States. During this visit Commissioner Barnier also had the opportunity to meet some of the most relevant economic authorities in the country such as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Mr. Ben Bernanke, the US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, or the President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Mr. Bill Dudley.

According to preliminary data published by the European Commission, only three Member states have exceeded their milk quotas in the 2009/2010 quota year. For that reason the superlevy fines have dropped to 19 million Euro, comparing to 99 million in the previous campaign. This reduction is due in a great part to the increase in quotas agreed in 2008.

Further to the Commission Decision to create a Plan to to provide fruit and vegetables to school children as one of the ways to tackle children obesity, a call has now been launched in order to set up the group of experts for technical advice on the School Fruit Scheme. Candidates may submit their proposals by 29 November.

Time consuming and expensive cervical cancer screening will become a thing of the past thanks to breakthrough technology developed by EU-funded researchers. Their discovery will allow large-range screening by non-medical personnel with almost immediate results and at a much lower cost than is possible with existing technology.

The European Commission is marking the tenth anniversary of GÉANT, the EU-funded high-speed research network. GÉANT has made it possible for scientists both across Europe and globally to work together in real time on ground-breaking research. This communication network has enabled scientists from across Europe and the world to work together in real time in pioneering research projects, improving the chances of outcomes in research projects in many different research fields.