European Union News

Small firms have been hard hit by the economic crisis, and so must be given incentives and support, including easier access to credit, help with innovation, tax breaks and less red tape, MEPs on Parliament's Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis (CRIS), and experts agreed at a workshop on Monday.

Ministers and top-level political representatives from the EU will be taking part in the European “Women in Power” summit in Cádiz on 3 February, which will be opened by the First Vice-president of the Spanish Government, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the Minister of Equality, Bibiana Aído, and the United Kingdom's Minister for Women and Leader of the House of Commons, Harriet Harman.

A European Commission study published today recommends setting up a dedicated European body to oversee the implementation and enforcement of EU waste law. The study is part of a series of steps being taken by the Commission to improve waste management and ensure it meets the standards set by EU legislation to protect citizens and the environment. A second report published today reveals that almost one fifth of waste shipments inspected as part of recent enforcement actions in Member States were illegal.

The exhibition entitled "20 suits for Europe. Designers converse with literature" is the creative result of twenty designers from Spain, Belgium and Hungary being inspired by the works of other Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian writers and poets. The first destination of the itinerant exhibition will be Brussels, where it will be open to the public in the Hotel de Ville, the headquarters of the city council in the Belgian capital, from 3 February to 4 April. It will then go to Budapest and Madrid.

Barcelona will host the European Summit of Local Governments 22-24 February 2010, bringing together representatives from local groups, governments, European institutions and the private sector. The question at the heart of the summit is how local governments need to go about strengthening the cohesion of cities and Europe in general.

The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of German internet provider Hansenet Telekommunikation GmbH of Germany by Telefónica Deutschland GmbH, also of Germany and an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of Telefónica S.A. of Spain.

DG for Education and Training of the European Commisssion has issued a statistical overview of mobility with the Erasmus programme, including detailed analysis of student and staff mobility, Erasmus Intensive Language Courses and Intensive Programmes in the academic year 2007/08.

The telecoms regulators of the 27 EU countries have met for the first time in Brussels as members of the new Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).Assisted by an office with expert staff, the new European telecoms regulatory body will in particular help ensure fair competition in the single telecoms market. In 2008, Europe's telecoms sector revenues accounted for €351 billion.

On 1 and 2 February 2010, a first stakeholder event will take place in Ulm (Germany) marking the launch of the consultation process to draw up the first EU Strategy for the Danube Region. Members of the Commission, heads of state of the Danube countries, ministers and other authorities of the Danube countries will attend the meeting.

The European Union has formalised its support for the Copenhagen Accord on climate change and presented its commitments for emission reduction targets. In a joint letter with the Spanish Presidency of the Council, the European Commission has formally notified the EU's willingness to be associated with the Accord and submitted for information the EU's established greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2020.

Micro-companies could be exempted from having to draw up annual accounts under an amendment to EU accounting rules approved by the Legal Affairs Committee on Thursday. However, these exemptions would have to be granted by EU Member States, and the companies would still have to keep records of their business transactions and financial situation. Parliament is to vote on the amendment in February.

Vice-President Margot Wallström and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen have hosted a high-level conference on women, peace and security in the European Commission premises. This conference saw the participation of Spanish First Vice-President Maria Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright alongside civil society representatives, military officials, high-level policy-makers and witnesses.