Council express concerns over GMO cultivation Communication compliance with internal market and WTO rules
Ministers meeting at the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels on 28 September raised a series of questions relating Commission's communication on the freedom for Member States to decide on the cultivation of genetically modified crops and its compliance with internal market and WTO rules. Among other questions, Ministers also discussed over a proposal for a regulation on distribution of food products for the most deprived persons and specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union.
Read more …Stopping foreign labour exploitation with single permit Directive
The European Parliament backed on 28 September a proposal for Directive on single work and residence permit, which will introduce a simplified administrative procedure and equal treatment with national workers on pay, working conditions and social security. This new regulations, drafted in 2007, will complement the blue card provisions.
Read more …One step closer towards new EU rules for investigation and prevention of air accidents
The European Parliament's vote supporting a new regulation on investigation and prevention of accidents in civil aviation which paves the way to a first reading agreement between Parliament and Council. The new legislation will strengthen the independence and effectiveness of air accident investigations in the EU, promote cooperation between the accident investigation authorities, and ensure better follow-up of safety recommendations.
Read more …Twenty five 'European Destination of Excellence in Aquatic Tourism'
Twenty five tourist destinations from across Europe were awarded the title of ‘2010 European Destination of Excellence in Aquatic Tourism’ at a Gala Awards ceremony held in Brussels on the European and International Tourism Day.
Read more …European experts debate on Governmental Linked Data at the ICT 2010
The networking session on Governmental Linked Data held on 28 September at the “ICT 2010: Digitally Driven” event in Brussels, gathered around 150 European experts from administrations, industry, academia and civil society organizations in order to discuss how public access to government data can be improved, as a key issue for an open and transparent society.
Read more …A new data transmission system improves optical communication networks
EU-funded researchers led by the University of Southampton in the UK have developed a new data transmission system that could significantly improve the transmission capacity and energy efficiency of the world's optical communication networks.
Read more …Historic EU call for proposals to boost strategic ICT research
The European Commission launched on 28 September 2010 one of the biggest calls for proposals ever for information and communications technology (ICT) research. The launch of this call, with a contribution of almost 780 million Euro, was made during the celebration in Brussels of the event ICT 2010-Digitally Driven.
Read more …Cultural routes on focus at the European Tourism Day
Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, the European Union has the new role to promote the competitiveness of its tourism sector, its sustainable and quality-based development and the visibility of Europe as an outstanding tourist destination. These objectives, as highlighted by the Commission at the European Tourism Day, have key elements to be achieved by the promotion of “Cultural routes”.
Read more …Concrete measures to avoid mixing of GM and conventional maize
A report presented at the Agriculture Council on 27 September, concludes that specific measures relating to storing and the application of isolation distances can help limit or avoid the co-mingling of genetically modified (GM) maize with conventional and organic maize. These conclusions are applicable within the Recommendations issued by the Commission in July 2010.
Read more …Apple iPhone to meet EU competition rules
European consumers purchasing an Appel iPhone will no longer face difficulties when needing repair services for their iPhone purchased in a Member State other than their country of residence. Appel's announcement to relax restrictions both to these services and for the development tools for iPhone apps, has driven the Commission to announce its intention to close investigations over Apple for those cases.
Read more …EP calls for a new strategy for mountain and island regions
The European Parliament has called for a strategy adapted to the special needs of islands and mountainous regions in Europe, in order to meet the Lisbon Treaty mandate and help them to overcome their inherent disadvantages and exploit their resources better. Although sparsely populated these regions represent around 10% of the population of the European Union.
Read more …A new twist on electron beams research for better nanoparticles management
A team of EU-funded scientists has come up with a way of generating rotating electron beams. The technique, described in the journal Nature, could be used to probe the magnetic properties of materials and could even be applied to manipulate minute particles and set them in motion.
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