European Union News

MEPs approved the so-called "EU patent package" (unitary patent, language regime and unified patent court). Moreover, Ministers endorsed the political agreement for the establishment of a unitary patent system valid across the EU. On the other hand, an Advocate General’s Opinion proposes that the Court of Justice of the European Union dismiss the actions brought by Spain and Italy against the Council’s decision authorising enhanced cooperation in the area of the unitary patent. The two regulations on the Unitary Patent and the translation arrangements should be formally adopted by the Council before the end of 2012.

A special report published by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) argues that the EU programmes for integration of third-country nationals are hampered by complex design and lack of coordination between funds. The Court therefore recommends simplification of programming arrangements and a comprehensive assessment of integration needs regardless of whether migrants have EU or third-country nationality.

According to a survey results, in January 2012, almost half of enterprises in the EU reported that they provided some type of portable device to at least some of their staff for business use. With regard to the type of mobile devices provided to staff, 40% of enterprises provided portable computers and 39% other mobile devices, such as smartphones or Personal Digital Assistants.

The Second Annual Convention of the Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion which took place on 5-7 December 2012 and gathered more than 650 participants from 40 countries, ended with the common call on Member States and the EU to invest in adequate, sustainable and effective social policies that strengthen human capital and social cohesion.

The Competitiveness Council meeting ended with the endorsement of the agreement reached by the Permanent Representatives Committee with regard to the unitary patent protection. The agreement on the unitary patent is one of the twelve priority measures included in the Single Market Act I package. Ministers also held debates on the rest of priorities included in the package such as the debate held on the modernisation of the public procurement policy.

The European Commission presented the EU Skills Panorama website that offers quantitative and qualitative information on short- and medium-term skills needs, skills supply and skills mismatches in the EU. The Panorama will highlight the fastest growing occupations as well as the top 'bottleneck' occupations with high numbers of unfilled vacancies.

The European Commission announced the allocation of €30 million to help people affected by the Syrian crisis, bringing its total contribution to over €126 million. The new financial contribution will cover health care for the wounded and others in need of emergency treatment, shelter, food, water, sanitation and household items.

With the final approval given by the Council, there will apply new rules for motorcycles and other light vehicles. Among the measures approved there are the fitting of advanced braking systems will now become obligatory for two-wheel motorcycles and automatic "switching-on" of headlamps will be mandatory for all light vehicles.

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) mostly welcomed the proposals presented by the European Commission to reform state aid procedures. The CoR adopted in November plenary session an opinion on EU State Aid Modernisation which called for the extension of the scope of the enabling regulation and for a clarification of the general block exemption regulation. The Commission proposals presented in December partly meets this demand.

The agreement reached at the Doha Climate Change Conference was welcomed by the European Union. In particular, the EU welcomed the workplan agreed for 2013 and beyond under the Durban Platform. The balanced Doha outcome enabled the EU to confirm its commitment to participate in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol starting on 1 January 2013.

The European Commission published the results of the Commission’s 2012 Consumer Markets Scoreboard which warn that EU consumers have once again expressed their dissatisfaction with the performance of some key services markets, such as banking, telecom and energy services.

The European Commission presents an Action Plan to address barriers to the full use of digital solutions in Europe's healthcare systems, and to increase the pace of change and improvement in healthcare. In addition, the Commission will publish in 2014 a mHealth (Mobile Health) Green Paper addressing quality and transparency issues.