European Union News

The European Commission has cleared, under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed joint-venture between Münchmeyer Petersen & Co (MPC) of Germany, Grupo Villacero (Viga-Villacero) of Mexico and MAN AG of Germany. The proposed concentration would result in MPC, Viga-Villacero and MAN combining their worldwide activities in non-stockholding steel distribution. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a substantial part of it.

The European Commission today called for a new approach to looking at the role and governance of European agencies. In recent years, using agencies to implement key tasks has become an established part of the way the European Union does its business. The communication calls on the European Parliament and the Council to give a new momentum to the need to develop a clear and coherent vision on the place of agencies in European governance. The Commission calls for the establishment of an inter-institutional working group to allow the key issues facing agencies to be set out as ground rules to apply to all.

The European Commission has approved A Technical Specification for Interoperability (‘TSI’) relating to ‘persons with reduced mobility’. The TSI shall be fully applicable to the trans-European conventional rail system and the trans-European high-speed rail system. The official decision was publsihed in the Official Journal (OJ) of the Eropean Union on 7th March 2008.

On 7th March 2008, the EC published its official text of the Council decision of 28 February 2008 implementing Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 as regards the adoption of a Multi-annual Framework for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for 2007-2012.

Despite recent progress, women in Europe are still shut out of top posts in both politics and business, says a new European Commission report. Across the EU, 24% of parliamentarians are women – up from 16% a decade ago – with a similar proportion holding ministerial office. In the private sector, men still represent 9 out of 10 board members in top companies and two-thirds of company bosses. The report coincides with International Women's Day on 8 March and comes ahead of a new European network of women in power, to be launched later this year.

In January 2008  according to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the industrial producer price index rose by 0.8% in the euro area (EA15) and by 1.0% in the EU27. In December prices increased by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively, in comparison with December 2007.

Careers in information and communications technology (ICT) are often thought to be restricted to men. Such a common stereotype is far from the truth. Although the proportion of women graduating in engineering or computer science is still very low, young girls can expect a successful and rewarding career in the ICT sector. This topic is at the core of a conference organised today, ahead of International Women's day (8 March), in Brussels, where the European Commission will encourage young girls in Europe to "Move out of the shadow and seize the opportunITy".

In May 2007 the European Commission published the Fourth Cohesion Report which provided an extensive overview of how cohesive the EU actually is, what the convergence trends are, what challenges lie ahead and also what role cohesion policy has played in contributing towards strengthened cohesion among the EU regions and Member States. his was followed by the official launching of the debate on the future of cohesion policy at the Fourth Cohesion Forum organised in Brussels at the end of September 2007.

The European Commission has released individual service contract forecast. The successful service provider will have to design and implement training modules on EDF financial and contractual procedures.

A Europe-wide online poll to select a design for a commemorative €2 coin has chosen a design by Greek sculptor George Stamatopoulos. His design symbolises the currency as the latest step in a long history of trade within and outside Europe. The winning design will be on 90 million coins minted and put into circulation next year to mark the 10th anniversary of the completion of economic and monetary union (EMU).

The Third Postal Directive was published in the Official Journal on the 27th February 2008. The publication marks the entry into force of the directive and sets the clock ticking for abolishing legal monopolies on postal services by 31 December 2010. The Directive is the result of a broad political consensus on the way forward for the regulatory framework of European postal services. The Commission will monitor and assist Member States pro-actively in implementing the Directive. In particular, it will pay close attention to potential entry barriers that would deprive users of the benefit of a dynamic and open market.

The European Commission adopted, on the 27th February 2008, a 19-point plan to address the challenges facing forest-based industries, which are adapting to deal with increased global competition, climate change and energy and wood supply availability. Important competitiveness challenges cover innovation, access to non-EU markets and high energy and transport costs. Moreover, the access to and availability of new and recovered raw material at competitive prices and the strategic role of this sector in limiting climate change are issues which need to be addressed specifically in order to provide the right framework conditions within which this industrial chain can prosper and grow. Furthermore, and in particular in the woodworking and printing sectors, the dimension of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) is especially relevant. The communication is part of the Commission's integrated industrial policy consisting of horizontal and sectoral measures.