European Union News

The European Commission presented on 7 October its Communication on Taxation of the Financial Sector, outlining the measures to be implemented and the contribution the financial sector should make towards public finances and the stability of public resources. Although at a global level Commission considers that a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) would be appropriate, at EU level it considers that a Financial Activities Tax (FAT) would be a better option to tax financial sector.

Vice-President of the European Parliament Diana Wallis and Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič presented on 6 October an update on the progress towards the establishment of a single register for all entities and organisations participating in European policy-making processes.

European Union initiative "Innovation Union" has been put forward with the aim to turn ideas into jobs, green growth and social progress. The strategy will tackle burdens faced by innovation in Europe in sectors such as lack of finance, fragmented research systems and markets, under-use of public procurement for innovation and slow standard setting.

The European Commission has announced during the celebration of the Frankfurt Book Fair the name of the eleven winners of the 2nd annual European Union Prize for Literature, which aims to draw attention to new talents and to promote the publication of their books in different countries.
 

The European Commission will allocate 4 million Euro to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and imports, to improve security of their energy supply in 13 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation (as observer), Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

A new commemorative 2-euro coin intended for circulation has been issued by Greece. 2,5 millions of coins.

The Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting in Brussels on 5 October, debated on how cutting red tape and make easier for citizens to table their initiatives seeking EU legislation. Introducing an early stage admissibility test based as well as certain and clear criteria were key points of the debate.

Food aid plans submitted by Member States for the 2011 Aid for the Needy Scheme were voted in the Single CMO Management Committee. Next year 20 Member States will use the scheme, with the Czech Republic participating for the first time. The allocated budget of 500 million Euros is the same as for the 2009 and 2010 plans. The scheme for 2011 is not related to the recent adapted proposal to adjust the scheme in future.

Technological advances are making it possible to derive energy from greener sources, but wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels, biomass plants or carbon capture and storage (CSS) are not free of controversy. How to gain public acceptance of these new technologies? That was the debate at the workshop “Public acceptance of new energy technologies. Not in my backyard?” held at the Open Days on 5 October.

The European Commission has published on the 5th october 2010 a prior notification of a concentration between Shell/Topaz/JV. The European Commission ask for observations for third parties interesed.

Experts meeting in this Open Days workshop "Building synergies from research and development to deployment" on 5 October examined how different EU policy and funding instruments such as the 7th Research Framework Programme, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) and European cohesion policy can be used for deployment. Finding the missing link between ideas and market is a process which has to be boosted and managed in order to create benefits for all stakeholders at all levels.

The Informal Ecofin meeting held in Brussels on 30 September and 1 October gave EU finance ministers the opportunity to discuss over the proposals put forward by the European Commission on economic governance and structural reforms. Although perspectives on economic recovery are improving, EU finance ministers acknowledged that uncertainty still remains and further efforts must still be done.