European Union News

Spain has set up a pilot project that will help travellers move faster through border crossing points within the European Union, through the use of an automated identification and document verification system, overseen by police officers.

The EESC asks the Members States and the Commission for prompt measures to realise the "Single European Sky" and for developing a more modern and integrated vision of the air transport sector.

The annual European Neighbourhood Policy reports demonstrate the clear benefits that the European Union has developed in areas like transport, energy, environment and climate change, research, health and education.

According to an EC report released on May 12th, Europe's Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector, leads the way in private research and development (R&D) in the EU. Accounting for just 4.8% of GDP, ICT represented 25% of total investment and 32% of researchers working in the private sector in 2007. However, both public and private EU ICT R&D still has to bridge the gap with global competitors, as one of the main issues to be tackled by forthcoming European Digital Agenda.

The European Commission has issued its 2010 Converge Report. It assesses progress with convergence in countries with derogation from euro area membership. The nine Member States with a so-called 'derogation' have made uneven progress on the road to the single currency, and eight of them do not yet meet all the conditions for euro adoption. However, Estonia stands out from the group, fulfilling the criteria cleary, as a result of determined and efficient efforts by the Estonian government and Estonian people. Therefore, the Commission concluded that Estonia meets the criteria for adopting the euro and made a proposal to the Council to this effect.

Twenty films funded by EU's MEDIA Programme will be screened during the next days at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival, including six films in competition for the Palme d'Or Award, the highest prize of the Festival.

"European CNC Network - Train for Europe", a German project that brought together 24 vocational schools to build a small-gauge locomotive and wagons, won first prize at the Charlemagne Youth Prize 2010 award event on 11 May in Aachen. Second and third prizes went to "You are here", a book project (Ireland) and "BEST Engineering Competition BEC" (Bulgaria) respectively.

All the EU education ministers except the British minister whose country is in the process of forming government, backed on Tuesday the Spanish Presidency proposal to reduce the average school drop-out rate to 10 per cent by 2020 (currently, the average rate is 15 per cent) and increase to  40 per cent the number of university graduates or those with higher-level vocation training.

The 'European Charlemagne Youth Prize' aims to encourage the development of European consciousness among young people, as well as their participation in European integration projects.

The Seventh Framework Programme has funded a project that aims to reinforce equity and effectiveness of sanitary services in sub-Saharan Africa. Problems related to reproductive health have a special incidence in teenagers.

Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and chair of the Foreign Affairs Council, presented to foreign affairs ministers the latest Human Rights Report in their meeting on 10 May. The report gives an overview of the wide range of EU activities to promote human rights worldwide, covering the period from July 2008 to December 2009.

European cultural and scientific heritage will be accessible to all the EU citizens with the aim of making 10 million objects available, including movies, books, newspapers, photographs, paintings and maps through the website Europeana.