European Union News

An international group of environmental experts is waving another red flag as new research from the Arctic region shows that the area is not getting any relief from climate change, which is impacting not only the ecosystems and the lives of creatures living there but also the weather patterns in the most populated parts of the northern Hemisphere. The findings are presented in the 'Arctic Report Card', an annual review of the conditions up north.

MEPs meeting within the Energy Committee adopted a report putting forward Parliament's priorities for the European Energy Strategy 2011-2020. In this resport, the Committee urged the European Commission to fully exploit existing EU energy legislation and projects and put energy efficiency as a key priority of Europe's energy strategy for 2011-2020.

The European Commission has adopted on 26 October a Communication aimed to improve the disaster response of the European Union and make it better, faster and more efficient. The Communication proposes the creation of the European Emergency Response Centre to coordinate actions, active both within and outside of its borders.

Greek Government requested on 24 October from Frontex the deployment of Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABITs) to assist Greece in controlling its external land border with Turkey. This is the first time since the creation of the Agency in 2005 that Frontex has deployed the RABIT teams, a group of specialised border guards made available by 27 EU countries to deal with emergency situations at the EU’s external borders.

The General Affairs Council, meeting in Luxembourg on 25 October, agreed to refer Serbia's application for membership of the EU to the Commission for an opinion. In its conclusions, Council put forward a set of conditions regarding the need for cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as well as the arrest of war criminals Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic.

According to a study published by the European Commission on 26 October, flexible working time arrangements benefit both employers and workers. This report which has been released within the celebration of an informal meeting of ministers for gender equality put forward a series of indicators comparing different policies and measures within EU member states as well as EEE-EFTA countries.

Foreign Affairs Ministers held an exchange of views over lunch, within the Foreign Affairs Council held in Luxembourg on 25 October, on recent political and economic developments in Cuba and on the options for the EU's policy towards Cuba.

The role of innovation is pivotal in tackling the economic, social and environmental challenges facing Europe, according to the recent Second European Innovation Summit held at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. But getting ideas to market is a road often hampered by administrative bottlenecks and red tape. The causality is European competiveness and research in the global economy.

The power of open access (OA) publishing to enhance the impacts of research is highlighted by a new study carried out by scientists in Canada and the UK and published in the journal PLoS ONE. The researchers hope their findings will encourage more universities, research institutions and research funders to adopt OA self-archiving mandates, in which all research published under their auspices is made freely available to other researchers.

Following on from other existing major "European Days", in 2003 the European Commission and the Council of Europe established a European Civil Justice Day to take place on 25 October each year, in order to bring civil justice to the attention of the European public.

One of the main objectives of the Digital Agenda is creating a safer environment for parents and their children in the Internet. Although recent studies show that on-line risks have fallen and children are more and more familiar with the net, they also highlight that many children are still nor aware about the best way in which they can protect themselves.

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has issued an opinion on the European Commission's communication on the transfer of Passenger Name Record data to third countries welcoming its support to stronger data protection, but highlighting that aspects such as the use of these data for risk assessment should be carefully considered.