European Union News

The European Commission has allocated an additional €5 million to reduce acute malnutrition and mortality in West Africa's Sahel region. The aid targets the most vulnerable – in particular an estimated 1.3 million acutely malnourished under-five as well as five million pregnant and breast-feeding women. The countries covered are Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger as well as the Sahel regions in the north of Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Nigeria and Togo. The €5 million is in addition to the €25 million already made available in June last year and the extra €5 million allocated for further food aid in the Sahel this year. The recent massive global increase in food prices has further intensified the pressure on the most vulnerable groups in a region chronically prone to crisis.

Accordning to the lastest figures published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Industrial producer prices up by 0.8% in euro area Up by 0.9% in EU27 (compared with March 2008.

The European Commission has stepped up its efforts to promote the use of the charge-free European emergency number 112 in the EU. This February, the Commission asked national authorities to improve public awareness of 112, after a survey showed that only 22% of EU citizens know they can call 112 throughout Europe in an emergency.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) was officially opened today by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Vice-President Günter Verheugen together with Gérard Onesta, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Finnish Prime Matti Vanhanen. Located in Helsinki, ECHA is responsible for managing the implementation of the REACH requirements in relation to the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction processes of chemical substances. ECHA formally began its activities a year ago and its work has been devoted to intensive preparations, including staff recruitment and establishing support structures and procedures.

Intercultural Dialogue in the workplace will be in the spotlight on Wednesday 4 June in the fourth Brussels Debate of the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The debate entitled “Couscous Culture: is that what Intercultural Dialogue in the workplace is all about?" is organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Network Against Racism. It will take place at 18:30h in the Residence Palace and will be opened by EU Commissioner Vladimír Špidla.

This year's Green Week, the biggest annual conference devoted to European environment policy, will take place from 3 to 6 June at the Charlemagne Building in Brussels. Under the slogan "Only One Earth – Don’t waste it!" Green Week 2008 will focus on the need for Europe and the rest of the world to make its use of resources more sustainable. In addition to 38 conference sessions, there will be an extensive side-events programme, including a ceremony on 3 June at which Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas will announce the winners of the European Business Awards for the Environment 2008. Eleven companies from seven Member States have been nominated.

Euro area (EA15) and EU27 GDP grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2008, compared with the previous quarter, according to first estimates released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In the fourth quarter of 2007, growth rates were +0.3% in the euro area and +0.5% in the EU27.

Compared with the first quarter of 2007, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 2.2% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the EU27, after +2.1% and +2.5% respectively for the previous quarter.

On 27 May 2008, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration by which the undertaking Nordic Capital (‘Nordic Capital’, Jersey) acquires control of the whole of the undertaking ConvaTec (‘ConvaTec’, USA), a wholly owned business unit of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (‘BMS’, USA), by way of purchase of shares and assets.

On the 3rd of June 2008, the European Commission released notification for State aid C 14/08 (ex NN 1/08) — Restructuring aid to Northern Rock in the united kingdom.

On 29th May 2008 the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion "Advantages and benefits of the euro: time for assessment" commemorating the 10th anniversary of the European Economic and Monetary Union. The Rapporteur Mr. Burani (Group I, Employers, Italy) considers that after eight years in the hands of more than 300 million Europeans the euro is "an unqualified success". The opinion tries to understand why the Euro is still criticised by parts the public, search for the reasons and, where possible, propose solutions.

The European Economic and Social Committee and the City of Wroclaw are organising a joint European Citizens' Forum entitled "Towards a Europe of Solidarity", which will take place on 19-20 June 2008 in Wroclaw (Poland). The Forum is intended to be both a meeting with interested citizens and a celebration of the European Idea with the general public. The conference will be opened by Mr Lech Wałęsa, former President of Poland and a representative of the EU Presidency, Ms Marjeta Cotman, Slovenian Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, Mrs Jillian van Turnhout, EESC vice-President, as well as Mr Rafał Dutkiewicz, Mayor of Wrocław.

The European Qualifications Framework was recently adopted formally by the European Parliament and the Council as a Recommendation. Now, stakeholders from across the EU are set to discuss how to best implement this new scheme, which aims to enhance mobility by facilitating the transparency of qualifications across the EU. The first EQF implementation conference will gather some 230 representatives of national authorities, social partners, industry sectors and stakeholders' organisations in Brussels on 3-4 June 2008.