European Union News

The Commission has launched a fifth Quantitative Impact Study (QIS5) that will be run by the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) from August to November 2010. The European Commission strongly encourages insurance and reinsurance companies across the EU to participate in this exercise.

The European Parliament and the Council have adopted a decision on the mobilisation an amount of 1,844,700 EUR of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Galicia in response to the request made by Spain on February 2010.

Last 15th July 2010 the merger of the two Dutch meat producers was notified and now the Commission has approved it.

The European Council had published a decision on support for activities of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) in order to strengthen its monitoring and verification capabilities and in the framework of the implementation of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The EC has reiterated the potential of existing EU-rules on mediation in cross-border legal disputes, reminding Member States that these measures can only be effective if put in place by Member States at national level.

The "Back to School" project sends EU civil servants back to school for a day , if possible to a school where they were once a student, to talk about what the EU does.

A Report confirms new procedures of EU funding in education, youth and culture are quicker and more efficient.

The European Commission’s Humanitarian and Civil Protection department (ECHO) with "Don't shoot, I'm a humanitarian worker!" campaign advocates for the security of humanitarian aid workerstakes. The European Commission bears a key responsibility in ensuring that its staff and partners work in the safest possible environment to be able to fulfil their tasks.

The Commission adopted a series of recommendations for Greece to correct the excessive budget deficit, improve competitiveness through structural reforms and provide reliable statistics.

According to first estimates by Eurostat, the construction sector increased by 2.7% in the euro area and by 3.5% in the EU27 in June 2010, compared with the previous month, because the production in May fell by 0.7% and 0.1% respectively. Compared with June 2009, output in June 2010 increased by 3.1% in the euro area and 5.4% in the EU27. 

The Belgian EU presidency has intended to promote biodiversity through a series of acts and activities within the context of the UE.

The export certificates were agreed at a meeting between the European Commission and the Russian veterinary service in Moscow on April 27th-28th. They were initialled by the two sides in late May/ early June and entered into force on 15 August.