EU web links

A collection of links to web sites of the European Union institutions and other European business web sites.

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Car price reports — 26 July 2011, 19:24 CET

The European Commission has published a six-monthly car price report since 1992. Since May 2007, the report has been published once a year. This initiative was launched following numerous complaints from consumers about differences in car prices between EU Member States and obstacles placed in the way of those consumers that wished to buy in another EU country. The car price report, which is based on standardised data provided by vehicle manufacturers, provides manufacturers' recommended prices for about 80 car models of 27 different brands. Prices are given both excluding and including taxes, together with prices for the major options and right-hand-drive supplements.

Statistics of customs detentions recorded at the external borders of the EU - 2010 — 14 July 2011, 17:28 CET

Statistics published on 14 July 2011 by the European Commission show an amazing upward trend in the number of shipments suspected of violating intellectual property rights (IPR). Customs in 2010 registered around 80,000 cases, a figure that has almost doubled since 2009. It refers to more than 103 million products detained at the EU external border. The report stresses that on-line sales caused a spectacular increase of detentions in postal traffic where 60% of the goods detained were medicines. Of the top categories, cigarettes accounted for 34%, followed by office stationary, tobacco products, labels, clothing, and toys.

Removal or blocking of child pornography on the Internet - questions & answers — 12 July 2011, 22:33 CET

Child abusers and viewers of child sex images on the web would face tough penalties for abuse, exploitation and pornography offences under draft EU rules as agreed with Council representatives and approved by the Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday. The rules would also require EU Member States to remove child porn web sites, or, failing that, make it possible to block access to them within their territory, if a Member State so decides.

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) — 04 July 2011, 14:36 CET

EIOPA is the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, one of three European Supervisory Authorities. EIOPA is part of the European System of Financial Supervision consisting of three European Supervisory Authorities and the European Systemic Risk Board. It is an independent advisory body to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. EIOPA’s core responsibilities are to support the stability of the financial system, transparency of markets and financial products as well as the protection of insurance policyholders, pension scheme members and beneficiaries. EIOPA is based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

EU budget at a glance - online tool — 30 June 2011, 17:44 CET

What does the EU spend in your country and where does the money come from? The European Parliament's new multimedia tool will help you figure it out - EU spending per country - EU contribution per country - Total EU spending - Development of EU and national budgets

EU Budget 2011 in figures — 29 June 2011, 23:55 CET

On 15 December 2010 the European Parliament voted the EU budget 2011 – the first EU budget under the Lisbon Treaty. With issues such as energy, the environment, climate, trade, growth and financial stability best tackled at European than national levels, this budget is essential to start the year with the required tools. It will allow to continue to invest in the EU's future through growth and employment enhancing measures. The budget 2011 foresees €126.5 billion in payments, which amounts to a 2.9% increase on 2010.

Consumer rights: what the new EU rules will mean — 22 June 2011, 20:25 CET

An EU-wide right for consumers to change their minds about a purchase made on line within two weeks after having received the good, new requirements that compel on-line traders to provide the consumer with exact information on the total price, the goods ordered and the contact details of the trader, are among the benefits of the new Consumer Rights Directive. The new rules aim to strengthen protection for online buyers so as to boost consumer confidence and cross-border on-line trade - European Parliament website

Implementation of the Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU — 22 June 2011, 00:11 CET

In June 2011 the European Commission has published the first batch of findings of a second independent assessment of the implementation of the Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU.

Bathing water quality - new signs and symbols — 16 June 2011, 17:10 CET

The new Directive ensures timely information of the public during the bathing season, with an obligation for Member States to disseminate actively and promptly information on bathing water quality. In particular, notices banning or advising against bathing should be rapidly and easily identifiable. The Commission adopted on the 27 May 2011 a decision establishing a symbol for information to the public on bathing water classification and any bathing prohibition.

IPv6: Enabling the Information Society — 09 June 2011, 11:11 CET

European Commission website on Internet Protocol version 6. IPv6 provides a massive increase in web address space; a basis for developing and deploying applications that may be too complicated or too costly in today’s crowded IPv4 environment; users with the possibility of having their own networks that can be connected directly to the Internet; network security, integrated in the design of IPv6, which takes account of cyber security issues and mandates automatic encryption services, ensuring safer data communication exchange.

Country-specific Recommendations 2011 — 07 June 2011, 19:57 CET

With the publication of 27 country-specific recommendations on 7 June 2011, the Commission has taken another decisive step to support each Member State in delivering growth and jobs – and thus put the whole EU economy back on track. The recommendations are based on a thorough assessment (Staff Working Papers) of every Member State's plans for sound public finances (Stability or Convergence Programmes, or SCPs) and policy measures to boost growth and jobs (National Reform Programmes, or NRPs).

European standardisation policy — 02 June 2011, 14:26 CET

More Standards for Europe and faster: this is the main objective of a series of measures that the European Commission proposed on 1 June 2011. Standards are sets of voluntary technical and quality criteria for products, services and production processes. Nobody is obliged to use or apply them but they help businesses in working together which ultimately saves money for the consumer.

List of national SME Envoys — 26 May 2011, 12:09 CET

Newly appointed Ms or Mr SME will advocate for the interests of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). Chiefly they will check the correct application of the EU law on SMEs and ensure that policies at national, regional and local level are enterprise friendly''. Today, European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani inaugurated a new network of Member States' SME Envoys at the SBA conference “Mobilising SMEs for the Future of Europe” in Budapest. As SMEs are affected by policies originating in different government departments ranging from tax to financial and from regulatory to education, the SME envoys should help small businesses to concentrate on their core business to strive and create jobs.

Reducing plastic bag use - consultation — 18 May 2011, 22:40 CET

The European Commission is asking the public how best to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags. It will ask if charging and taxation would be effective, or if other options such as an EU-level ban on plastic carrier bags would be better. Opinions will also be sought on increasing the visibility of biodegradable packaging products, and boosting the biodegradability requirements for packaging. The web-based consultation runs until August 2011.

The EU MEDIA programme — 12 May 2011, 23:42 CET

EDIA is the EU support programme for the European audiovisual industry. It co-finances training initiatives for audiovisual industry professionals, the development of production projects (feature films, television drama, documentaries, animation and new media), as well as the promotion of European audiovisual works... The MEDIA 2007 programme (2007-2013) is the fourth multi-annual programme since 1991 (previous programmes) and has a budget of € 755 million. Its objectives are : to strive for a stronger European audiovisual sector, reflecting and respecting Europe’s cultural identity and heritage to increase the circulation of European audiovisual works inside and outside the European Union to strengthen the competitiveness of the European audiovisual sector by facilitating access to financing and promoting use of digital technologies

Future Internet Public Private Partnership — 05 May 2011, 17:42 CET

The launch of the Future Internet (FI) Public Private Partnership (PPP) Programme marks a major milestone in the development of Europe’s Internet of the Future. The committed FI PPP collaborators invite you to contribute and participate in the implementation of a shared vision of the Smart, Innovative and Inclusive Future Internet powered Europe!

Feasibility study carried out by the Expert Group on European contract law — 05 May 2011, 12:16 CET

An expert group established by the European Commission has delivered a feasibility study on a future initiative on European contract law. In April 2010, the Commission convened the group, made up of legal practitioners, former judges and academics from across the European Union, to explore ways to improve contract law in the EU. The group met monthly and regularly discussed its work with representatives of businesses – including small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) – consumer organisations and legal professionals. Observers from the European Parliament and the Council also participated. The study covers the most relevant practical issues in a contractual relationship, such as legal rights for faulty goods and rules on which contract terms may be unfair. Following today’s publication, interested parties can send their feedback on the individual articles drafted by the expert group until 1 July 2011. The Commission will take into account this input, as well as the results of a public consultation concluded in January 2011. As a next step, the Commission will have to determine if and to what extent the expert group’s text can serve as a starting point for a political follow-up initiative on European contract law.

European e-Justice portal — 02 May 2011, 23:05 CET

The European e-Justice portal is an electronic one-stop-shop for access to justice throughout the EU. The web site benefits citizens, businesses, lawyers and judges with cross-border legal questions and boosts mutual understanding of different legal systems by contributing to the creation of a single area of justice. It provides information and links on laws and practices in all Member States in 22 languages.

EU Budget 2012 - Documents — 29 April 2011, 11:01 CET

The Financial Programming and Budget website provides documents for Budget 2012, depending on the progress of the procedures.

Business Cooperation Database (BCD) — 21 April 2011, 13:19 CET

Business Cooperation Database is a tool meant to become the reference for business cooperation between enterprises in Europe. After a face-to-face meeting with the enterprise, the Enterprise Europe Brussels encodes your anonymous exhaustive profile in the database. The profile is then made available to more than 600 centres, all over Europe.

Progress towards the common European objectives in education and training (2010/2011) - Indicators and benchmarks — 19 April 2011, 16:44 CET

The European Commission's annual progress reports measure developments in education and training across the EU, using a series of indicators, benchmarks and research results. The progress reports provide strategic guidance into policy cooperation at the EU level and assess progress to overall objectives in the education and training fields. The results of these reports are used by the biannual joint reports from the European Council of education ministers and the Commission.

European Investment Bank: applying for a loan — 19 April 2011, 13:05 CET

The European Investment Bank (EIB) finances projects in most sectors. To be eligible projects must contribute to EU economic policy objectives. The project promoter should provide sufficient information to allow the EIB to assess whether the project adheres to EIB lending objectives and has a well-developed business plan.

Statistics — 18 April 2011, 00:51 CET

Eurostat - EU grants and loans in the field of statistics

Interpretation — 13 January 2013, 18:50 CET

Grants for actions to promote postgraduate training in conference interpreting

Multilingualism — 13 January 2013, 18:52 CET

Language-learning opportunities – European education and training programmes