European Union News

The celebration of the third European Road Safety Days, between 13 and 14 October has been the occasion to evaluate the results of the main policies put in place in this matter. During these two days Brussels has hosted a Conference where the main aspects related to the fight against road accidents, the existing risks as well as the role of infrastructures have been at stake.

On the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, on 13 October, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection has reiterated the commitment of the European Commission to include measures for reducing disaster risks.

In its report on the application of the Schengen Border Code concerning the internal borders, the Commission points to three specific issues of concern: difficulties linked to alleged regular and systematic checks in certain internal border zones; maintenance of obstacles to fluid traffic flow at road crossing-points at internal borders; and delays in the notification of planned reintroduction of internal borders controls.

The Council held on 12 October a policy debate in public deliberation about the draft regulation aimed at establishing translation arrangements for a future EU patent system. The political orientation highlights that a European patent will be an important instrument for European business whose innovation capacity depends on the existence of a reliable and accessible system of patent protection throughout the internal market.

The European Commission has opened on 13 October a public consultation about the  role of statutory audit as well the wider environment within which audits are conducted. The aim of this consultation is to learn from the experience of the crisis and try to reduce to the maximum financial risks in the future. All interested parties may submit their opinions by 8 December 2010.

The third annual conference of the European Enterprise Network, held in Antwerp 13 and 15 October has been the perfect forum to the presentation of the new fifteen EEN contact points in China and South Korea. These new contact points will be one precious tool for SME's internationalisation in these attractive markets.

Ministers meeting at the Competitiveness Council held in Luxembourg on 12 October exchaged views about the Communication put forward by the European Commission proposing twenty-one new measures in support of tourism. In its conclusions, Council endorses Commission's proposals for actions to promote the tourism industry, a very promising sector in terms of turnover and employment potential.

The European Commission has put forward a Communication on the safety of oil and gas activities, which includes criteria for granting drilling permits, controls of the rigs and safety control mechanisms.

The European Parliament's III Annual Prize for Excellence in Journalism was awarded on 13 October by President Jerzy Buzek to Polish, Swedish, Hungarian and British journalists in four categories: written press, radio, TV and the Internet. The four winners were selected by the jury from a list of 76 national finalists.

The European Union earmarked on 12 October more than 250 million Euro to further strengthen the protection of human and animal health and support programmes to eradicate, control and monitor animal diseases in 2011. More than half of the total sum will be used to finance programmes to eradicate 8 important animal diseases.

The Competitiveness Council, held in Luxembourg on 12 October addressed a series of questions regarding the attractiveness of EU Research and Innovation programmes and the challenge involved in their simplification. Ministers agreed that simplification of the research and innovation programmes is a crucial and urgent necessity to overcome the current complexity of funding.

Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta chaired on 12 October the first meeting of the new Tax Policy Group, which brings together personal representatives of EU Finance Ministers to discuss key tax policy issues. The Group was established in 1996 as a high-level group for strategic discussion on tax policy issues at a European level and played an important role in the success of the "Tax Package" in the late 90s.