European Union News

These awards, launched by the European Commission in 2000 and 2005 respectively, promote the reduction of energy consumption by public and private organisations on a voluntary basis. These initiatives count over 700 participants all over Europe, who save approximately 545 GWh each year. This is equivalent to the energy used by two mid-size European cities over the same period.

The Directorate General for Regional Policy of the European Commission has published several studies that assess how the ERDF has boosted transport networks and environmental initiatives in Europe.

Maintaining the EU's status as the world's leading tourist destination is the aim of the Informal Meeting of Tourism Ministers, which is being held this Thursday in Madrid. The meeting will be preceded by the Conference of European tourism chiefs, which will discuss strategies for making the sector more competitive.

Under the slogan "We bring talent together, we create future", the four day event aims to launch the message of Europe as a space for Innovation. It takes over from the 2009 European Creativity and Innovation European Year.

The Official Journal of the European Union has published on the 13 April the Decision that approves the acquisition of Black & Decker by Stanley Works.

The European Commission has launched a €35 million call for eco-innovation projects that turn environmental challenges into business opportunities to be funded under the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme. Under the 2010 CIP Eco-innovation call for proposals, funds are available for new projects in the area of materials recycling, sustainable building products, the food and drink sector and green business practices.

The DG Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission has launched a public debate on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the European Union.

The European Commission plans to monitor the actual results of foreign aid operations financed by the European Union according to a tender published on April 13, 2010.

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is organising a Forum on Macro-Regions with regional representatives, experts and other stakeholders from existing and emerging 'macro-regions' at the CoR headquarters in Brussels. Baltic Sea, Danube and North Sea-English Channel are the major figures of this event.

Under the banner of the 2010 European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion, the European Commission has today launched a competition for journalists reporting on issues related to the Year's themes. The European Year Journalist Award is open to print, online and audiovisual journalists and prizes will be awarded at national level and at European level for the most original and newsworthy reports.

For 33 regions, the future of the European shipbuilding industry is top priority for the economic development in the coming decades. Speaking on behalf of more than  60 million people, regional experts discussed on April 8th the sector's economic outlook and handed over a petition to Gerhard Stahl, the CoR's Secretary General, and other high-level EU representatives.

The European Commission has published a Eurobarometer survey which shows that many Europeans do not understand what is meant by biodiversity and do not feel well informed about biodiversity loss. The Commission has at the same time launched a campaign aimed at informing the public about the loss of biodiversity in the EU.