European Union News - European Union

The Official Journal of the European Union, OJEU, published on September 5th a Council Decision on the existence of an excessive deficit in the United Kingdom. This Decision comes after an overall assessment of the economic situation in the UK, and is based on the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) to ensure that Member States avoid excessive government deficits or that they correct such deficits when they occur.

The Official Journal of the European Union has published on the 3 rd September 2008 a set of call for proposals related to the 7th EC Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities in the  Cooperation Specific Programme and in the Capacities Specific Programme for the 2008-2009 period.

The Directorate-General for Regional Policy, REGIO.C.3 Economic and quantitative analysis has launched a call for tender related to a study of the competences in relation to regional development policies in the Member States of the European Union.

Ten years on from the introduction of the single currency, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) decided to take stock of the benefits brought by the euro for individuals and businesses: not so much the economic and monetary benefits — for there are economists, politicians and media commentators to do that — but rather from the point of view of users. In other words, a decade of experience has shown that the euro has proved its worth and that the introduction of this prestigious, stable currency has enabled Europe to hold its own internationally, but how do users see the single currency?

According to the most recent data released by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat), the seasonally-adjusted unemployment  rate stood at 7.3% in July 2008 for the Euro area. This rate has also remained stable for the EU27 as a whole, showing a value of 6.8% for this same period.

The Commission published on August 26th a Communication to the Council and the European Parliament, COM(2008) 526 final, with the recommendations on the Methodology and Terms of Reference to be used for the Review to be carried out by independent experts concerning the European Research Council Structures and Mechanisms. The Commission’s responsibility for implementing the Specific Programme “Ideas” is combined with a duty to assure the ERC’s full autonomy and integrity. It is in this context that the Commission proposes the methodology and terms of reference to be used for the review of ERC structures and mechanisms.

The EU27 population is projected to increase from 495 million on 1 January 2008 to 521 million in 2035, and thereafter gradually decline to 506 million in 2060. The annual number of births is projected to fall over the period 2008-2060, while at the same time the annual number of deaths is projected to continue rising. From 2015 onwards deaths would outnumber births, and hence population growth due to natural increase would cease. From this point onwards, positive net migration would be the only population growth factor. However, from 2035 this positive net migration would no longer counterbalance the negative natural change, and the population is projected to begin to fall.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will participate in the investigation of the Spanair plane crash JK 5022 in Madrid (20/08/2008) as it has been invited to participate as experts.

The EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) has awarded EUR 14 million to a 4-year project, euHeart, for the improvement of the diagnosis, therapy and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The consortium comprises public and private partners from 16 research, academic, industrial and medical organisations from 6 European countries.

The European Commission, through its Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), has allocated (22/08/2008) €5 million in humanitarian aid for vulnerable people affected by the conflict between Georgia and the Russian Federation. The new aid package comes on top of the €1 million fast-track humanitarian aid released by the Commission on 10 August, shortly after the conflict started[1]. ECHO experts remain in the region, evaluating needs, coordinating activities with relief partner organisations and monitoring the use of Commission funds.

Final evaluation report on the Community framework strategy and Community action programme relating to the Community strategy on gender equality [SEC(2008) 2365].

In its Decision of April 7th, the Council approved on behalf of the European Union the Agreement between the European Space Agency and the European Union on the security and exchange of classified information. The Agreement was signed in July 18th and published in the OJEU on August 14th, and will enter into force after the Parties have notified each other of the completion of the internal procedures necessary for this purpose.