European Union News

On the 15th of May 2008, the European Commission published notification of State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production of agricultural products to various member states. One aid scheme included was to the United Kingdom with over two million Pounds of aid over forur years.

The European Commission announced in its Council Joint Action notification, published in the OJ on the 15th May 2008, a series of workshops in accordance with the EU strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The action 2008/368/CFSP dates back to 14th May 2008 and is in support of the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) and in the framework of the implementation of the EU strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. (L 127/78).

As part of its effort to combat climate change, the European Commission today announced that it would promote the use of ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) to improve energy efficiency throughout the economy, starting with buildings, lighting and the power grid.

The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Tele Atlas by TomTom, both of the Netherlands. Tele Atlas is a provider of navigable digital maps and TomTom produces portable navigation devices (PNDs – often known as satellite navigation devices or SatNavs). After an in-depth examination, launched in November 2007, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.

14 films representing in total over €900,000 of co-funding from the European Union's MEDIA programme have been selected for screening at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival which opened on the 14th May 2008.

The seven outermost regions of Europe (the Canary Islands, the Azores, Madeira, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion) are at the centre of discussions at the conference on the future of the European strategy for these regions, beginning on the 14th May 2008 in Brussels on the initiative of Danuta Hübner, Member of the European Commission responsible for regional policy.

Via a new Calls for Proposals, the Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Union, will finance roughly 1,500,000 euros towards projects supporting information activities for young people and youth workers on the 2009 European elections.

On the 14th May 2008, the European COmmission published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ), two new Calls for Proposals under the MEDIA Programme 2007 Which aims generally to preserve and enhance European cultural and linguistic diversity and its cinematographic and audiovisual heritage whilst increasing the circulation and viewership of European audiovisual works inside and outside the European Union. 

Established in 1987, Erasmus, the EU's flagship education and training programme for mobility and cooperation in higher education across Europe, continues to expand. Erasmus receives approximately € 450 million per annum under the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013. For the academic year 2006/07, figures show that 3% more students and 10% more university teachers went abroad compared to the previous year. This brought the total participants to almost 160 000 students and 26 000 teachers in that year alone. Central and Eastern European countries, as well as Turkey, have had the biggest growth in the numbers participating in the programme.

The European Commission has published an official recruitment notice for Director of the Directorate-General for innovation  and Technological Support.

The report, drafted by Manolis MAVROMMATIS (EPP-ED, EL) welcomes the Commission's July 2007 White Paper on Sport and emphasises the important role of sport in society. It notes that about 60% of EU citizens regularly participate in sporting activities within or outside some 700,000 clubs, and that sport in a broader sense generated € 407 billion in value-added in 2004 (3.4% of EU GDP)  and employment for 15 million people (5.4% of the labour force).

The six winners of the 2008 "European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards" are outstanding projects in the Czech Republic, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and Romania. The prizes announced today serve as recognition of exceptional conservation, research and education efforts and are each worth € 10 000. The prizes are awarded jointly by the European Commission and Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage. They will be presented at the European Heritage Awards Ceremony on 12 June 2008 in Durham Cathedral in the United Kingdom.