European Union News

The European Parliament has issued a call for the planned EU diplomatic service to be part of the Commission administrative structure and be funded from the Commission budget. This set-up would make the service subject to democratic oversight by the Parliament.

The European Commission has awarded Chinese journalist Yee Chong Lee, for Now TV, for his report about Sichuan earthquake one year later. This prize aims to support committed journalists who contribute to the cause of development, democracy and human rights through the quality of their work.

MEPs demanded €1.5 billion in fresh money to finance the economic recovery plan and €300 million for a new dairy fund in a vote on Thursday. In general, they restored the Commission's preliminary draft budget after the Council's cuts.

At the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and end the division of Europe into two blocs, the Sakharov Prize 2009 has fallen on Memorial, an organization, whose first leader was himself Andrei Sakharov, dedicated to defend human rights in the states that formed part of the Soviet block

There are widespread problems with refusals of orders for EU consumers trying to purchase goods online in another Member state, according to a new European Commission report on cross border consumer e-commerce. The research found that 60% of cross border transactions could not be completed by consumers because the trader did not ship the product to their country or did not offer adequate means for cross border payment. The Communication presents a series of measures to be taken to reduce the complex regulatory environment which is acting as a disincentive for businesses to serve consumers in other Member States.

Despite signs of recovery, the EU finance ministers have decided that the time has not yet come to withdraw government support for the economy. Preparing a coordinated strategy for a timely exit from stimulus policies is, however, needed so that all member states can start to improve their public finances within the next two years.

The European Commission has  announced the first group of projects that will benefit from a total of €500 million worth of investment in vital transport infrastructure projects across the EU. The grants will be allocated under the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) programme, which helps to fund works to build missing transport links or remove bottlenecks in order to enable people and goods to circulate quickly and easily between Member States.

EU Member States have given a green light to new safety standards for children's sleeping items including duvets, baby sleeping bags and cot mattresses which should help to prevent many cot –related accidents. According to the European Injury Database, between 2005-2007, 17 000 accidents involving children from 0 to 4 years in the EU happened in the cot. The proposed new standards will reduce the risk of accidents from, for example, choking on loose parts, entrapment of an infant due to bad mattress design or asphyxiation accidents from cords or loops.

Reaching an ambitious international agreement at the Copenhagen climate change conference will require emission reduction targets for developed and developing countries, financing commitments and sanctions for non-compliance. This is the view of the EP Environment Committee, which has argued that future generations might not be able to control climate change if global action is further delayed.

Nikiforos Diamandouros (Greek), Vittorio Botoli (Italian) or Pierre-Yves Monet (Belgian) will outline their priorities in a hearing before the Petitions committeee on 30 November. They have been chosen by this committee among six applications received for the post of European Ombudsman.

Between 22 and October 24 around 4,000 people from 1,500 organizations are expected to participate in a conference that will  present the European Union's efforts to promote development, especially regarding the fight against climate change and recession.

The European Union has published in its Official Journal of October, 20th, new measures that allow 3G phones to use GSM frequencies. This follows the European Parliament and Council of Ministers' agreement to modernise European legislation – the GSM Directive – on the use of the radio spectrum needed for mobile services. The new EU measures will foster stronger competition on Europe's telecoms market and make it easier for operators to provide faster, pan-European services such as mobile internet alongside today's GSM services. They will also boost the roll-out of wireless broadband services, one of the drivers of the EU's economic recovery.