European Union News

On the 10th June 2008, the European Commission released notification of non-opposition to a concentration between ArcelorMittal and Borusan. Dating back to the 3rd June 2008 when the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare it compatible with the common market.

The European Commission has published a new Calls for Proposals for the new pilot project "Erasmus for Young  entrepreneurs" with an allotted 2.85 million euros. The objective of the call is to facilitate exchange of experiences, learning and networking for nascent EU entrepreneurs through periods spent at companies of experienced entrepreneurs in
other EU Member States. The specific objective of the pilot action is to contribute to enhancing entrepreneurship, internationalisation and competitiveness of potential start-up entrepreneurs in the EU and newly established micro and small enterprises.

On the occasion of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is pleased to invite you to its second literary summer, a series of lunch time meetings with European authors who will introduce us to their latest novel.

On 16th June 2008 the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will host in Brussels the launching conference of the research project “MOVE TOGETHER", financed under the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme for RTD. Co-organised with the Institute of Studies for the Integration of Systems (ISIS, Italy), leader of the project consortium, the conference will establish a dialogue between citizens from the 27 EU member states representing the different cultures and urban settings of Europe and experienced stakeholders and decision-makers in the urban transport sector.

Joe Borg, EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, will attend tomorrow an international conference in Portorož, Slovenia, to open a debate on the maritime-related challenges and opportunities for the Mediterranean Sea basin. The discussions will focus on cooperation and governance in a variety of maritime sectors and activities such as environment, sea transport, surveillance and research.

The Lisbon Strategy's implications for education, training and social inclusion were the focus of a seminar organised by the Committee of the Regions' Commission for Economic and Social Policy (ECOS), in Logroño, Spain, today, 6 June. The event, held at the invitation of Pedro Sanz Alonso, President of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, highlighted the importance of providing young people with the skills needed for an increasingly competitive labour market.

The 18th meeting of the EC-US Task Force on Biotechnology was hosted on 5th-6th June 2008 by the JRC Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP). The meeting has been preceded by a workshop on "Current status and potential developments of nanobiotechnology research" on 3rd-4th June in Ispra.

At the Heiligendamm Summit in June 2007, the G-8 acknowledged an EU proposal for an international initiative on energy efficiency tabled in March 2007, and agreed to explore, together with the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency internationally. A year later, on 8 June 2008, the G8 countries, China, India, South Korea and the European Community decided to establish the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, at the Energy Ministerial meeting hosted by Japan in the frame of the 2008 G8 Presidency, in Aomori.

This year’s EU-US Summit will take place in Brdo, Slovenia on Tuesday 10 June. The Summit will cover the full gamut of global and regional issues where the EU and the US seek to act in partnership. Issues for discussion will include assisting the development of Kosovo, following up on the Middle East peace initiative launched last year at Annapolis, shaping a comprehensive and binding post-2012 global agreement on tackling climate change, and working together to promote energy efficiency as well as energy security through the diversification of supply sources and the development of sustainable new forms of energy. Strengthening of the economic and regulatory cooperation and the deburdening of enterprises on both sides of the Atlantic will also be discussed, following the cooperation in this field in the framework of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC). The EU will also be asking the US for an update on progress towards its commitment to bring further EU Member States into the US Visa Waiver Programme.

On the 9th June 2008, the European Commission published Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1857/2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State
aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agricultural products and amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001. One of the aid schemes concerned has been a lotted to the entire Member state of Ireland which aims to identify and source the supply of Irish tested superior genetics to the beef and dairy farmers and to build a knowledge base with the information.

The European Commission published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) on the 7th June 2008, a new call for porposals related to the application of acctions from the wider Culture Programme (2007- 2013). The call for Proposals has a total budget of  45,3 millon euros for 2009.

On the 7th June 2008, the European Commission released information from European institutions and bodies  concerning the Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty Cases where the Commission raises no objections. One of the aids schemes granted was for the United Kingdom forestry sector due to start on the 31st July 2008 lasting until the 31st of July 2013.