European Union News

On the basis of the positions of the Parties, the first meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at Ministerial level decided on 27 July the opening of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the Accession of Iceland to the European Union, following the decision of the European Council of 17 June that accession negotiations should be opened. Contacts between the Iceland and the EU side will be now pursued in order to define the date and the agenda for the first meeting of the Conference at Deputy level.

Akadimia Platonos, Die Fremde and Illégal have been the three films shortlisted on 27 July for the European Parliament's 2010 LUX film prize, during an event at the Venice International Film Festival. Like past LUX Prize contenders, these films speak to Europeans' hearts and identities, forcing them to ask themselves about cultural and family relations, and the rules by which they live.

The European Commission has adopted a 35 million euro funding decision to support humanitarian activities in Somalia. The decision adopted will address a wide range of relief interventions in sectors such as health, nutrition, food aid/food security, water and sanitation, as well as non-food shelter, disaster risk reduction, logistics, security, and the coordination of partner operations.

According to a report released by the European Working Conditions Observatory, average rates of absence across Europe are between 3% and 6% of working time and the cost is estimated to be about 2.5% of GDP. This study shows that while some countries are attempting to control costs, others put the emphasis on promoting health and well-being.

The General Affairs Council met on 26 July for the first time since the beginning of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. On the agenda: a presentation of the programme for the Presidency, followed by a series of discussions concerning a variety of subjects, among other things Iceland’s application for membership of the EU as well as the establishment of the European External Action Service.

The Council adopted on 26 July the decision establishing the European External Action Service (EEAS) and setting out its organisation and functioning. The Council therefore sets up EEAS as a functionally autonomous body of the Union under the authority of the High Representative as provided by the Treaty of Lisbon.

The European Union has published in the EU Official Journal of 24 July 2010 a notice addressed to intermediaries aiming to provide micro-credits or guarantees supporting micro-credits, about the implementation of the Guarantee Action under the European Progress Microfinance Facility. Among the 100 M€ channelled through Progress Facility, 25 M€ will be allocated to this Action Guarantee.

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission welcomed on 23 July the publication of the results of the EU-wide stress-testing exercise,  which was prepared and conducted by the CEBS and national supervisory authorities, in close cooperation with the ECB. Institutions were particularly supportive with the transparency under which the exercise was conducted, given the specific market circumstances under which banks currently operate.

The European Commission has extended until 31 December 2010 the Spanish recapitalisation measures in favour of the banking sector and the Portuguese bank guarantee and bank recapitalisation schemes.

Further to the launch of LIFE+ 2009 Call on May 2009, the European Commission has approved funding for 210 new projects. These projects, which represent a total investment 515 M€ of which the EU will provide 249.8 M€, will cover actions in the three fields targeted by the Call.

The Belgian Presidency of the EU Council has welcomed the extension of the 2008 Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation between the Financial Supervisory Authorities, Central Banks and Finance Ministries of the European Union on cross-border financial stability to the authorities of the non-EU EEA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The Official Journal of the European Union publishes in its issue on 23 July, the Council Recommendation of 13 July 2010 on broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union. With these guidelines Council follows Lisbon Treaty mandate for the adoption of both employment guidelines as well as broad economic policy guidelines to guide Member States’ policies.