European Union News

The President of the Committee of the Regions, Mercedes Bresso, has called on all regional and national governments to form a "coalition" with the CoR to defend the subsidiarity principle. This proposal comes after the Committee opinion about the possible breach of  subsidiarity principle which could arise from the Commission's proposal to impose sanctions on countries with excessive deficits.

Around twenty senior representatives from the main religious confessions discussed effective ways of combating poverty and social exclusion as an imperative for European governance. Representatives from Christian, Jewish, Muslim religions as well as from the Sikh and Hindu communities met in Brussels on the invitation of President José Manuel Barroso in an event co-chaired by Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament and Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council.

The new Calls for Proposals on ESPON Projects for potential beneficiaries will be presented during an event which will take place in Brussels on 8th September 2010.

The Committee on Regional Development of the European Parliament has launched to study a more result and performance-based delivery system in cohesion policy.

European rail operators have a new tool available to allow them to reduce delays on trains and and handle disruptions, as they happen in real time, more effectively while maintaining the same level of safety. Thanks to ARRIVAL, a research project funded by the European Union, it will now be possible to ensure more effective use of rail networks, in terms of both timetabling and dealing with unforeseen disruptions.

The European Union has launched on July 16th, the European Internet portal e-Justice, an electronic one-stop-shop for access to justice throughout the EU. With this new website, the Union aims at solving the main questions related to legal issues and helping citizens, companies as well as law practitioners, by contributing to the creation of a single area of justice.

Delegates from all over the EU will come to Brussels to discuss the future of the Common Agriculture Policy after 2013. This Conference will debate and draw some form of conclusions on the post-2013 launched by the Commission, based on the four fundamental questions of: "Why do we need a CAP? What do citizens expect from agriculture?Why reform the CAP? What tools do we need for the CAP of tomorrow?"

In his first visit to the European Training Foundation (ETF), new Director of Lifelong Learning at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), Mr.  Pierre Mairesse, made a strong statement in favour of education as a key element for European future.

The Official Journal of the European Union publishes in its issue of July 16th 2010, Commission Decision of 15 July 2010 on the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concerning the EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform, EURDEP.

Council Regulation (EU, EURATOM) Nº 617/2010 of 24 June 2010 concerning the notification to the Commission of investment projects in energy infrastructure within the European Union, published in the OJEU on July 15th, aims at providing the Commission with an overall picture of the development of investment in energy infrastructure in the Union, in order to support decisions over European energy strategy.

In order to get a better understanding about the conditions under which victims of crime and violence are treated after going through such a traumatic experience, the European Commission has launched a public consultation on how victims are protected in different countries. The results will provide the basis for the development of standards and practical measures to be proposed in the first half of 2011.

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling the Commission to propose a strategy involving botgh legislative and non-legislative measures to encourage green jobs. MEPs consider in its resolution that crisis should be addressed as an opportunity for the creation of new formulas for  sustainable growth, and that training and education systems must be tailored to match these new types of work.