European Union News

Ten years on from the introduction of the single currency, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) decided to take stock of the benefits brought by the euro for individuals and businesses: not so much the economic and monetary benefits — for there are economists, politicians and media commentators to do that — but rather from the point of view of users. In other words, a decade of experience has shown that the euro has proved its worth and that the introduction of this prestigious, stable currency has enabled Europe to hold its own internationally, but how do users see the single currency?

According to the most recent data released by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat), the seasonally-adjusted unemployment  rate stood at 7.3% in July 2008 for the Euro area. This rate has also remained stable for the EU27 as a whole, showing a value of 6.8% for this same period.

The European Commission cleared on June 20th the proposed merger between Kenwood Corporation of Japan and Victor Company of Japan (“JVC”), both providers of electronics equipment. After examining the operation, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.

Most Human resources employed in science and technology occupations (HRSTO) were technicians, being a sector where gender parity was achieved, as 51% of the human resources employed in an S&T occupation were female. These data show that in 2006, HRSTO accounted for almost one third of the total employed population.

On August 30th, it will become cheaper to make or receive calls while travelling in the EU. The price ceiling for roaming calls (the Eurotariff) introduced by the EU in 2007, will fall from €0.49 to €0.46 per minute (excluding VAT) for making a call, and from €0.24 to €0.22 per minute (excluding VAT) for receiving a call while in another EU country.

On August 28th, the Official Journal of the European Union published the Recommendation nº1/2007 of the EU-Egypt Association Council of March 6th 2007 on the implementation of the EU-Egypt Action Plan. With this Action Plan, the European Communities and their Member States, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, intend to strengthen the objectives set out within the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement scope.

The Commission published on August 26th a Communication to the Council and the European Parliament, COM(2008) 526 final, with the recommendations on the Methodology and Terms of Reference to be used for the Review to be carried out by independent experts concerning the European Research Council Structures and Mechanisms. The Commission’s responsibility for implementing the Specific Programme “Ideas” is combined with a duty to assure the ERC’s full autonomy and integrity. It is in this context that the Commission proposes the methodology and terms of reference to be used for the review of ERC structures and mechanisms.

The EU will provide nearly 2 M€ of funding for 18 projects, which will include joint training of film professionals, reciprocal promotion of films and cooperation between cinema networks. The selected projects will involve partners from Canada, Latin America, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Morocco, Bosnia, Turkey and Georgia.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 60 million for implementation of the water and sanitation projects of municipalities and cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This will help to improve the quality of life of the country’s citizens and meet Bosnia and Herzegovina’s needs regarding future compliance with EU environmental legislation.

This report presents the findings from a research study that set out to review the range of career guidance provision that supports workforce development across the EU-25 Member States and to identify innovative or ‘best practice’ provision. The report includes 35 case studies and these provide accounts of practice by employers, trade unions and the public sector as well as other intermediary organisations, such as outplacement consultancies, professional associations and industry sector bodies.

The EU27 population is projected to increase from 495 million on 1 January 2008 to 521 million in 2035, and thereafter gradually decline to 506 million in 2060. The annual number of births is projected to fall over the period 2008-2060, while at the same time the annual number of deaths is projected to continue rising. From 2015 onwards deaths would outnumber births, and hence population growth due to natural increase would cease. From this point onwards, positive net migration would be the only population growth factor. However, from 2035 this positive net migration would no longer counterbalance the negative natural change, and the population is projected to begin to fall.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will participate in the investigation of the Spanair plane crash JK 5022 in Madrid (20/08/2008) as it has been invited to participate as experts.