European Union News

Payment card fraud has become an increasing criminal phenomenon in Europe. This serious international crime, which can only be tackled successfully by close cooperation between the relevant law enforcement authorities and by coordination and centralisation of all information at European level, has focused the International Conference on Payment Card Fraud held in  Szczytno (Poland).

The 9th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is hosted by Vietnam on May 25th to 26th. Ministers will meet in Hanoi to build on discussions on the successful 7th ASEM Summit in Beijing last year and  look into enhancing Asia-Europe cooperation in addressing the global economic slowdown, taking forward the elements of the Beijing Declaration on Sustainable Development and working on preparations for the 8th ASEM Summit in October 2010 in Brussels. Topics will include global challenges like climate change but also the further development of the ASEM process into a fully fledged partnership.

On 25 May 2009, to mark Africa Day, the European Commission reconfirms its commitment to Africa in order to address common challenges

The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe will give the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award 2009, to the architects behind the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, Oslo, Norway:  Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Tarald Lundevall, Craig Dykers, of Snøhetta,on May 28th.

Six months prior to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, the World Business Summit on Climate Change will bring together in Copenhagen between May 24th and 25th, CEOs, government representatives, scientists and leading thinkers to put forward recommendations for the next global treaty on climate change.

Europe's maritime regions have the potential to help the EU out of the economic doldrums and to meet the Lisbon strategy goals of more and better jobs, according to Luc Van den Brande, president of the Committee of the Regions, the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. Speaking at European Maritime Day in Rome, President Van den Brande said it was time to "boost the 'blue potential' of the green economy", but warned that this would not be possible without a significant increase in European funding.

By this Call for Expressions of Interest (CEI) the Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Management Support Unit, will made up the list of service providers which will be used for the conclusion of public contracts on certain services to be provided to the Institute. The object of this call for expression of interest is the provision of services in the field of nanotechnology — safety assessment of products and substances.

President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner and the Commissioner for Trade, Baroness Catherine Ashton, will represent the European Commission at the EU-Russia Summit, held in Khabarovsk, Russia between May 21st and 22nd 2009. The Summit is an opportunity for the EU and Russia to discuss how best to coordinate responses to the financial and economic crisis, as well as issues on climate change and energy security. Efforts to promote greater stability in the common neighbourhood and in Europe more generally will also be in the agenda.

The European Commission has put forward a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on aviation security charges, setting the common principles for the levying of security charges at Community airports.

As part of the process of formal recognition of the European co-operation for accreditation (EA) as the body providing the support infrastructure to the new European accreditation framework, the signing of the general Guidelines for cooperation between the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) and the European Commission, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the competent national authorities took place in Brussels on April 1st 2009. These Guidelines have now been published in the OJEU on May 21st 2009.

One fifth of Europe’s reptiles and nearly a quarter of its amphibians are threatened, according to new studies commissioned by the European Commission and carried out by IUCN which will be presented on World Biodiversity Day. Most of the pressure on these declining species comes from mankind's destruction of their natural habitats, combined with climate change, pollution and the presence of invasive species.

 The Polish youth project "YOUrope needs YOU" was awarded the first prize in the European Charlemagne Youth Prize (ECYP) competition on 19 May in Aachen. Through a series of high school workshops run by university students, this project uses informal methods to convey to teenagers interesting facts about Europe. The second and the third prize went to the "European Festival of university theatre of Albi" (France) and to "Gumboot Diplomacy" (Germany) respectively.