European Union News

As a mode of transport, flying is one of the safest. To make it even safer, any accident must be investigated thoroughly and independently. New EU rules for the investigation of civil aviation accidents were approved by transport ministers meeting at the Council on 11 March.

The EU Solidarity Fund must be mobilised "in the most urgent and flexible way and to the greatest possible extent" to help the areas hit by severe storms in February, as soon as the national governments have submitted their aid requests, said MEPs in Strasbourg on Thursday morning.

Brussels has hosted the first meeting of the Standing Committee on Internal Security of the European Union, an organism which aims to coordinate the actions of member States in the field of internal security

Following its approval in December 2010, the Official Journal of the European Union of March 12 has released the final version of the budget for 2010.

As part of its contribution to 2010, the European Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion, DG Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth (EAC) is organising a conference and exhibition to discuss how EU programmes help the Roma minority.

On 16 th March, the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) will launch a modernised and streamlined selection procedure for EU officials, with its first competition for Administrators under the new arrangements. The new system will be better by establishing annual competitions for the most common job profiles, thus allowing candidates to plan their applications more effectively and helping strategic human resource planning by the EU institutions. It will be faster and more efficient, involving fewer steps than the current set-up

ESPON has revamped its website navigation and layout to make it more user-friendly and easier to find information on territorial development in Europe. The new website features one-click navigation that provides easy access to 7 main themes reflecting user needs: programme, projects, how to apply, events, scientific tools, publications and press. A number of additional features are under development such as video clips.

While supporting efforts to protect intellectual property rights through an international anti-counterfeiting agreement, MEPs insist that the European Parliament must be kept abreast of the negotiations and that data protection and privacy rights of citizens must be safeguarded.

Very small companies could be exempted from having to draw up annual accounts, after MEPs approved changes to EU accounting rules in its plenary session. It would be up to each Member State to grant such exemptions, depending on the impact the directive would have in that country. Companies would in any case still have to keep records of their business transactions and financial situation.

The Commission has launched an initiative which aims to enhance European awareness among citizens. This record places of historical interest with a pan-European significance, those who symbolize the integration, ideals and European history

The Committee of the Regions welcomes the objectives and the form of governance outlined in the Europe 2020 Strategy but stresses that its effectiveness will be limited if local and regional authorities only play an implementing role downstream of the decision-making process.

A non-EU national staying in one of the Member States on a long-stay visa will be allowed to travel to most other Member States for three months in any six-month period under the same conditions as the holder of a residence permit, under a new regulation approved on Tuesday by Parliament.