European Union News

Members of the EP Women's Rights Committee are proposing that maternity leave be extended to 20 weeks. They also say a new EU directive on these matters should require 100% of salary to be paid for six weeks after birth, at least 85% of salary for the rest of the leave period and the introduction of paternity leave.

The Official Journal of the European Union, OJEU, has publishes on April 17th 2009, the Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 11th 2009, on mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund, in accordance with the Interinstitutional Agreement of May 17th 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management.

Following the steps of the selection committee of the cities that hold the European Capital of Culture, the Commission has forwarded a recommendation to the Council to ratify the Portuguese city of Guimaraes, and Maribor, in Slovenia, as European Capitals of Culture 2012.
 

The European Commission has approved, under EC Treaty state aid rules, the prolongation of the Credit Guarantee and Recapitalisation Schemes, which form part of the UK's support measures to the banking industry during the current financial crisis. The Commission's investigation found that the circumstances on the financial markets justify the extension which aims at underpinning lending to the UK real economy.

An opinion poll on interest in the 4-7 June European elections and on EU policy issues reports that 34% of possible voters surveyed across the EU say they are already certain that they will go and vote in June, while 19% of respondents said they were already certain that they would not vote.

The Commission has opened an infringement proceeding against the United Kingdom after a series of complaints by UK internet users, and extensive communication of the Commission with UK authorities, about the use of a behavioural advertising technology known as ‘Phorm' by internet service providers.

The European Commission decided to send reasoned opinions – the last step before lodging a case to the Court of Justice – to Poland and Spain for failure to respect EU legislation on port state control of shipping.

In a video posted on her website, Viviane Reding, the European Union's Commissioner for Information Society and Media, said that Europeans must have the right to control how their personal information is used, and said that the Commission would take action wherever EU Member States failed to ensure that new technologies such as behavioural advertising, RFID 'smart chips' or online social networking respected this right.

EuropeAid published last April 11tb a bid to improve hydrologic practices in the Mediterranean water.

The European Commission has adopted an initiative introducing new and tougher targets for the payment of EU funds which it manages directly. The proposals aim to step up ongoing efforts and speed up cash flow to beneficiaries, and will apply to €15 billion of funds that have specific payment times covering areas like research, education and youth, energy and transport.

The seventh annual OPEN DAYS - European Week of Regions and Cities, which this year takes place on 5-8 October in Brussels, is set to be the biggest yet. This year, the event will feature more than 100 seminars, workshops, debates, exhibitions and meetings with 7,000 participants, expected in Brussels alone, most of them experts in regional and urban development from ministries and other bodies. In addition, another 300 local events in countries all over Europe will reach out to a wider public increasing the number of potential visitors to more than 30,000.

Three resolutions on water, trade and climate change, and the financial crisis have been adopted at the third plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly Euro (EuroLat) meeting in Madrid between 6 and April 8, in addition to endorsing the "Euro Charter for Peace and Security".