The European Commission allocates €40 mio to multi-country projects in Eastern Europe and Southern Caucasus
The assistance package of €40mio will fund several programmes in different areas such as the strengthening of culture policies and civil society, support of SME networks, border management, air quality governance and disaster preparedness. All the projects to be financed with this programme will have a regional scope as they each will each benefit at least two of the seven partner states along the Eastern border of the EU (Russia, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia).
Latvian new member in the College of Commissioners
The Official Journal of the European Union has published the Council Decision of 30 June 2009 appointing a new member of the Commission of the European Communities.
Read more …10,000 Erasmus Mundus scholarships for 2009-2010
The European Commission has just awarded almost 10,000 new grants to be funded by the Erasmus Mundus programme in the academic year 2009-2010. 8,385 students and academics will come to study or teach in Europe, and 1,561 Europeans will spend periods at partner institutions in countries outside Europe.
Read more …Commission calls for Smoke Free Europe by 2012
The European Commission adopted today, after extensive consultation, a proposal for a Council Recommendation calling on all Member States to bring in laws to protect their citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke by 2012. Tobacco remains the largest single cause of premature death and disease in the European Union. According to conservative estimates, 79,000 adults, including 19,000 non-smokers, died in the EU-25 in 2002 due to exposure to tobacco smoke at home (72,000) and in their workplace (7,300).
Read more …Wonky fruit and vegetables back on sale from 1 st July
European Union rules governing the size and shape of many fruit and vegetables will cease to exist since 1st July, when specific marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables are repealed. The Commission's initiative to get rid of these standards is a major element in its ongoing efforts to streamline and simplify EU rules and cut red tape. For 10 types of fruit and vegetables, including apples, strawberries and tomatoes, marketing standards will remain in place with some consessions.
Read more …'.eu' internet domain to be available also in Cyrillic and Greek alphabets
Speakers of Bulgarian and Greek will soon be able to have .eu websites in their own languages. The European Commission has adopted new EU rules to make it possible for internet users and businesses to register domain names under .eu using the characters of all the 23 official languages of the European Union, now including Cyrillic and Greek scripts. This means that later this year .eu will also be available in the alphabets used by Bulgarians, Greeks and Cypriots and special characters used in other languages.
Read more …Commission acts to ensure effective and competitive energy market across Europe
The Commission has taken firm action today against 25 Member States who prevent European consumers benefiting from the advantages of a competitive and open Energy Market by not complying with EU legislation. All the member states, except Cyprus and Malta, will be receiving letters of formal notice for not complying with applicable gas and electricity regulations. The Commission has also sent letters of formal notice to Greece, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Lithuania for maintaining a system of regulated prices in violation of the EU directives on electricity and gas.
Read more …EU establishes a common binding framework on nuclear safety
The adoption of the Nuclear Safety Directive is a major step for achieving a common legal framework and a strong safety culture in Europe. The EU has thus become the first major regional nuclear actor to provide binding legal force to the main international nuclear safety standards, namely the Safety Fundamentals established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the obligations resulting from the Convention on Nuclear Safety . The Directive also reinforces the independence and resources of the national competent regulatory authorities.
Read more …Hans-Gert Pöttering welcomes European Council deal on legal guarantees for Ireland
The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, has welcomed the agreement on the legal guarantees for Ireland between the 27 Member States which paves the way for a second referendum in Ireland and the full ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.
Read more …CoR issues its first White Paper to put multilevel governance on EU agenda
As proposed by CoR president Luc Van den Brande and first vice-president and Mayor of Dunkirk Michel Delebarre, the White Paper on multilevel governance calls on the EU institutions and Member States to step up the involvement of local and regional authorities in the preparation and implementation of EU policies. By adopting a White Paper for the first time in its history, the CoR has given a political signal shortly after the European elections and just before the renewal of the European Commission.
Read more …European Council reaches a compromise over the Lisbon Treaty and Barroso's nomination for EC Presidency
European Heads of State and Government, meeting at the European Council taking place in Brussels between June 18th and 19th 2009, reached an agreement intended to try to ensure Irish ratification of the Lisbon Treaty which would finally unlock the process. Moreover, it was agreed unanimously to nominate Durão Barroso as the candidate for European Commission Presidency for the period 2009-2014.
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