European Union News - European Union

European research ministers have made a commitment in San Sebastián to increase investment in R&D and to promote a culture of trust in scientists, without forgetting that research must be accountable to the public.

After the last hearing with Kristalina Georgieva, the European Parliament will finally hold a vote to approve or reject the Commission team as a whole. It comes two weeks later than the initial prevision.

The EU Micro-finance Facility for business start-ups will be funded partly by its "Progress" employment and social solidarity programme and partly by unallocated margins in the EU budget, says a compromise agreement reached by MEPs and the Spanish Presidency on Thursday evening.

The European Commission has adopted a Decision updating the standard contractual clauses for the transfer of personal data to processors established in non-EU countries. The Decision modifies current standard contractual clauses to take account of the expansion of processing activities and new business models for international processing of personal data.

European women in charge of ministries and other european political organisms gathered at Cadiz on the occasion of the "European Summit of Women in Power" have produced a joint statement condemning the low participation of women in certain spheres of public life and its absence at high levels of responsibility and decision making.

Parliament's negotiators discussed in the European Commission about Equal treatment of the Parliament and Council by the Commission, about strengthening the position of EP's legilative initiative requests and about enhancing Parliament's role in international negotiations, between other issues.

Further to the decision of the Bulgarian government to withdraw Rumiana Jeleva as commissioner-designate, a new hearing will take place on 3 February with the new Bulgarian commissioner-designate, Mrs Kristalina Georgieva.

Europeans are on average broadly satisfied with their personal situation, but less satisfied when it comes to the economy, public services and social policies in their country, according to an opinion survey released today. The Eurobarometer on the social climate in the EU also found large differences between countries, with people in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands generally most satisfied with their personal situation.

Ministers and top-level political representatives from the EU will be taking part in the European “Women in Power” summit in Cádiz on 3 February, which will be opened by the First Vice-president of the Spanish Government, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the Minister of Equality, Bibiana Aído, and the United Kingdom's Minister for Women and Leader of the House of Commons, Harriet Harman.

The exhibition entitled "20 suits for Europe. Designers converse with literature" is the creative result of twenty designers from Spain, Belgium and Hungary being inspired by the works of other Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian writers and poets. The first destination of the itinerant exhibition will be Brussels, where it will be open to the public in the Hotel de Ville, the headquarters of the city council in the Belgian capital, from 3 February to 4 April. It will then go to Budapest and Madrid.

Barcelona will host the European Summit of Local Governments 22-24 February 2010, bringing together representatives from local groups, governments, European institutions and the private sector. The question at the heart of the summit is how local governments need to go about strengthening the cohesion of cities and Europe in general.

DG for Education and Training of the European Commisssion has issued a statistical overview of mobility with the Erasmus programme, including detailed analysis of student and staff mobility, Erasmus Intensive Language Courses and Intensive Programmes in the academic year 2007/08.