European Union News

The heads of state and government of the 27 member states of the EU will look at ways of reactivating the process of climate change talks, after the failure of negotiations in Copenhagen summit last December.

The European Commission has presented the second EU health prize for journalists in print and on-line articles, which aims to stimulate qualified journalism and to underlight the importance of health, safety and prevention.

EU guidelines saying that border patrols have a moral duty to rescue migrants in distress at sea passed through the European Parliament on its last plenary session. Although a majority of MEPs voted to reject the non-binding guidelines in favour of binding legislation, they failed to muster the absolute majority of MEPs required.

The sixteen leaders of the euro area countries, also known as "Eurogroup" have given their support to the financial aid mechanism for Greece; this involves the participation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and of the euro area countries through bilateral loans.

The swedish city of Gävle has won the 2009 European Mobility Week Award. The Swedish coastal city was judged by an independent panel of experts to have done the most to promote clean mobility initiatives during European Mobility Week 2009. Leon in Spain and the Croatian city of Ivanic-Grad were runners-up. The awards were presented by Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik at a ceremony in Brussels tonight.

EU Member States must not only deliver on their international aid pledges, but also bring in a financial transactions tax and consider a possible temporary debt moratorium, to help developing countries to cope with the effects of the global financial and economic crisis, say MEPs in a resolution. At least 25% of the EU's CO2 emission trading revenue should be allocated to the fight against climate change in developing countries, they add.

Only one in 10 board members of Europe's biggest listed companies is a woman and all central bank governors in the EU are male. The economy would benefit by having full representation of both men and women in top positions, says a new report presented by the European Commission.

The brain's immune cells may be behind the loss of neurons associated with Alzheimer's disease, new EU-funded research suggests. The findings, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, could lead to the development of new treatments for the neurodegenerative disease.

The European Commission has requested the views of workers' and employers' representatives on the options for reviewing EU rules on working time. The first stage consultation asks the European social partners at whether action is needed at EU level on the Working Time Directive and what scope it should take.

The Commission has adopted a draft mandate for negotiating bank data transfers with the United States government under the Terrorist Financing Tracking Programme (TFTP). The Commission wants to complete an agreement this summer to limit gaps in security.

The European Commission has proposed a law that will allow couples to choose which country's laws apply to their divorce. The proposed EU Regulation will help couples of different nationalities, couples living apart in different countries or living together in a country other than their home country.

The Heads of State or Government of the EU-27 will make their first formal decisions in the process to develop the "Europe 2020" strategy that aims to achieve sustainable economic growth, job creation as well as recognition for the European social model.