European Union News - European Union

The European Charlemagne Youth Prize 2009 will be awarded in Aachen on May 19th The Prize is awarded to youth projects that encourage the development of a shared sense of European identity. The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, and the Chairman of the Charlemagne Prize Foundation, Michael Jansen, will participate in the ceremony.

The Council of the European Union has formally designated on May 12th 2009 Guimarães (Portugal) and Maribor (Slovenia) to be the European Capitals of Culture in 2012, followed by Marseille-Provence (France) and Košice (Slovakia) in 2013. This decision follows the recommendation made by the Commission following the steps of the selection committee of the cities that hold the European Capital of Culture.

The European Parliament has given its approval to the creation of  Media Mundus audiovisual cooperation programme with third countries for the period 2011-2013, financed with 15 million euros. With him, it is intended to boost the competitiveness of European cinema at the international level and encourage collaboration in this field between the EU and the outside.

150 citizens from across the EU who have been taking part in a unique pan-European debate on how to tackle the economic and social challenges facing Europe are meeting top policy-makers in Brussels to hand over their recommendations at a European Citizens’ Summit.

Saturday 9 May is the Festival of Europe. Some of the European Institutions will be opened to visitors for the occasion.

The European Parliament has adopted four resolutions on the impact of the Treaty of Lisbon on May 7th 2009. The election of the new Commission, extending the powers and budgetary affairs and justice in the EU, and relations between national parliaments and the European, are among the issues highlighted in the resolutions.

The European Commission, through its EuropeAid Cooperation Office (AIDCO), has published in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 8th 2009, a public announcement for the selection and recruitment in a vacancy for a Principal Adviser (Grade AD 14). Selected candidate will contribute to improve the accountability of the Commission towards the other
Institutions (EP, Council, Court of Auditors).

The full Parliament has given the green light to the revision of the directive regulating the capital requirements of banks. The approved changes will improve risk management and help prevent future financial crises like the present. The legislation, which will be implemented from late 2010, will forbid banks lend more than 25% of their funds to a single customer (or customer group) and will introduce a 5% retention for the securitization of bank products, such as resale mortgage securities.

EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering, has commemorated the fifth anniversary of the expansion that joined 10 new countries to the EU. Pöttering stressed during the opening plenary session in Strasbourg, the importance of this historic moment as the "culmination of the reunification of Europe" and stressed that enlargement has strengthened the stability, democracy and the role of the EU in the world. The president also defended the role of the Treaty of Lisbon to meet the challenges of the future.

The Commission is leading EU Member States' coordination efforts to exchange information on surveillance, case definition and measures taken by EU countries to respond to this novel flu virus. The situation is changing rapidly and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is monitoring the situations on a continuous basis. The Commission holds daily audio meetings with the EU's Health Security Committee and national contact points of the Early Warning Rapid Alert System (EWRS) with the aim of adopting a common guidance document on managing the novel flu virus. This will include information on the case definition, advice to travellers and management of cases.

Five years ago, this central-european country started being part of the European Union. Now, the city of Kosice hosts the  "Five years of reaching to the stars".

The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe announced that Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, Oslo, Norway by Snøhetta is the winner of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2009. The Jury also awarded a Special Mention for an Emerging Architect to Lea Pelivan and Toma Plejic STUDIO UP for Gymnasium 46° 09' N / 16° 50' E, in Koprivnica, Croatia. By supporting the prize, the European Commission underlines the role of architecture as a driver for creativity and innovation, opens up culture to audiences beyond national borders and draws attention to the European professionals' contribution in the development of new ideas and technologies that impact Europeans' everyday life.