European Union News

Twenty member countries are facing EU deadlines to get their budgets back in shape - deemed crucial to economic stability and growth as the EU claws back from recession. A review of the situation in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta shows all four countries have taken adequate steps to narrow their deficits.

The European Commission has given its green light for the public financing from France and Spain to the Fres Mos project. It will link the French port of Nantes-Saint Nazaire with the Spanish port of Gijon, and will be operated by GLD Atlantique. This Motorways of the Sea project will also receive an EU grant in the framework of the 2009 Marco Polo II call for proposals

The European Commission is organising a conference on 4 February in Brussels to mark 20 years of EU support for urban development. This will provide an opportunity to review the experience acquired since the launch of the URBAN initiative’s first pilot projects in 1989. The cohesion policy will invest a total of €10 billion in the period 2007-2013 in urban development throughout Europe.

The new European Directive on organ donation and transplants and the promotion of "e-Health" will be two of the strategic topics of the Spanish Presidency of the EU, according to the presentation by the Minister of Health and Social Policy, Trinidad Jiménez, before the Health Commission of the European Parliament.

The European Commission has published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 27 January 2010 the prior notification of concentration between Microsoft and Yahoo Search Business

The Official Journal publishes on January 26th 2010 the guidelines for the management of the Community Rapid Information System, RAPEX, laid down by Commission Decision of December 16th 2009. These guidelines aim at facilitating the operation of RAPEX and the notification procedure under the General Product Safety Directive, Directive 2001/95/EC.

The Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), chaired by the High Representative, Catherine Ashton, January 25th 2009, discussed the coordination of the Union's overall response to the earthquake in Haiti as well as issues related to Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Somalia which were in the agenda for discussion. The Council agreed that Member States would provide a collective EU contribution of at least 300 police personnel as a temporary reinforcement of the police capability of the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the German cable network operator Unitymedia GmbH by Liberty Global Europe Holding B.V. (LGE) of The Netherlands. The Commission concluded that the concentration would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.

Since March 2008, the European Commission has been organizing a series of events with the aim of offering small and medium enterprises sollutions to tackle the crisis and showing entrepreneurs where they can seek advice and benefit from a wide range of easily accessible business support services. The last of these events will take place in February in The Hague (Netherlands).

The Institute for European Environmental Policy has published a report which is a first ever attempt to identify the full range of environmental public goods provided by farmers across Europe and sets out the arguments for paying for their delivery via the public purse.

After Rumiana Jeleva's withdrawal from her candidature as Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner, Bulgaria has proposed Kristalina Georgieva to replace her. The ne hearing is set for 3 February, to be followed by parliament vote on the new commission on 9 February.

According to a report the Managing Authority of Structural Instruments in Romania, the Balkan country has absorbed only 10% of funds allocated by the EU in the three years that have elapsed since his accession.