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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European Day of Languages 2007 — 27 September 2007, 15:30 CET

At the end of the hugely successful 2001 European Year of Languages, jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the European Commission, it was decided that 26 September each year should be the European Day of Languages, to celebrate the rich heritage of cultures and traditions embodied in all the languages of Europe – and not only the 23 official languages of the EU.

European Police College - CEPOL — 27 September 2007, 15:28 CET

CEPOL brings together senior police officers across Europe with the aim to encourage cross-border cooperation in the fight against crime, public security and law and order. Established as an agency of the European Union (EU) in 2005 (Council Decision 2005/681/JHA of 20 September 2005), the CEPOL Secretariat is based at Bramshill in the United Kingdom.

Green Paper on urban mobility (Adopted 25 September 2007) — 27 September 2007, 15:20 CET

"Towards a new culture for urban mobility" is the title of the European Commission's new Green Paper on urban transport, adopted on 25 September 2007. The Green Paper opens a debate on the key issues of urban mobility: free-flowing and greener towns and cities, smarter urban mobility and an urban transport which is accessible, safe and secure for all European citizens. With this Green Paper the Commission hopes to set a new European agenda for urban mobility, while respecting the responsibilities of local, regional and national authorities in this field. The Commission intends to facilitate the search for solutions by, for example, sharing best practices and optimising financial means.

EU Job Days 2007 — 21 September 2007, 13:16 CET

More than 200 European cities have signed up to participate this September in the European Job Days 2007, a series of events dedicated to promote workers mobility in Europe. Numerous initiatives from Finland to Portugal, from Ireland to Cyprus will raise awareness on the possibilities and practicalities of living and working in another European country.

Intelligent Car Initiative — 20 September 2007, 22:05 CET

Less polluting, safer, and smarter thanks to digitial technologies - to be found in the car of tomorrow Discover on this site: current and future technologies; European research to make road transport safer; What the Commission is doing in this field.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) — 18 September 2007, 16:18 CET

ESC stabilises the vehicle and prevent skidding under all driving conditions and driving situation within the physical limits by active brake intervention on one ore more wheels and by intelligent engine torque management. The Choose ESC campaign is also supported by the European Commission and by the Euro NCAP crash test programme.

Health in the European Union - Eurobarometer Sep 07 — 14 September 2007, 19:10 CET

Although European citizens appear to be generally aware of the importance of preventive medical checkups, the vast majority of them do not undergo colorectal cancer or prostate tests, an EU wide survey reveals. The Eurobarometer on "Health in the European Union," published today, which marks the European Prostate Awareness Day, indicates that only 13% of European men took the Prostate Specific Antigen Tests and only 8% of all respondents the colorectal cancer test. The survey also reveals that, in general, Europeans are aware of the importance of preventive check ups as more than six out of ten carry out dental tests and almost four out of ten get their eyes checked every year. According to the Eurobarometer, a sizeable majority of EU citizens consider themselves to be in good health. In fact, less than one in ten (7%) say that their health is bad or very bad.

History of the EU Microsoft case — 14 September 2007, 13:08 CET

Information about the European Commission’s March 2004 Microsoft Decision, the Court of First Instance proceedings relating to that Decision, and its ongoing implementation.

Public consultation - Update for units of measurement directive — 13 September 2007, 18:22 CET

The use of units of measurement is prescribed in the European Union by means of Council Directive 80/181/EEC of 20 December 1979. Last updated in 1999, the EU Commission services solicited views on a further update of the directive.

Excessive Deficit Procedure - EC assessment of UK — 12 September 2007, 16:02 CET

Ongoing procedures under article 104 of the Treaty - European Commission recommends abrogation of excessive deficit procedure for the United Kingdom.

High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the European Chemicals Industry — 11 September 2007, 16:59 CET

The European Commission has launched a high level group on the competitiveness of the European chemicals industry.

Testing the EU fiscal surveillance — 06 September 2007, 18:54 CET

Real-time estimates of the potential output are essential in the EU fiscal surveillance framework. They are used for the calculation of the cyclically-adjusted budget balance, one of the main indicators in the assessment of the fiscal performance of EU Member States. Our paper examines whether and how different degrees of smoothness of potential output would have supported different decisions in the EU budgetary surveillance in terms of both timing and substance. The results of our simulations show that, the accuracy of the diagnostic instruments especially those that measure the risk of breaching the 3% of GDP reference value of the Treaty is surprisingly robust. Only a very high and excessive degree of smoothing of potential output would significantly reduce the reliability of the surveillance indicators. In the light of our results a somewhat higher degree of smoothing compared with the current practice would not seem to be harmful for EU fiscal surveillance. During economic upturns it would guaranty a higher degree of caution by signalling larger and possibly longer periods of economic 'good times' which would in turn warrant more fiscal consolidation.

REGIO Newsletter: latest issue now online — 06 September 2007, 17:52 CET

DG REGIO has just published the latest issue of its monthly newsletter. The newsletter is available in the 19 official languages. Table of contents : - Questions for the regions: the fourth Cohesion Forum - New Treaty could strengthen role of the regions in the EU - Call for new means of measuring regional development - Luxembourg seven times richer than Bulgaria!

EU policy on nutrition and obesity — 31 August 2007, 22:25 CET

Initiatives on nutrition and obesity in the European Union

Eurobarometer on Safer Internet for Children: qualitative study 2007 — 10 August 2007, 15:49 CET

In a pan-European qualitative study covering 29 European countries, children of 9-10 and 12-14 years old were interviewed about their use of online technologies, such as the Internet and mobile phones, and how they see and deal with risks. The study was commissioned by the European Commission and covers 29 countries (the 27 Member States, as well as Iceland and Norway). It aims at improving knowledge about Internet usage by children, as well as mobile phone usage (by those who own a mobile phone); their on-line behaviour; their perceptions of risk and safety related questions. The results of the study are to be used to contribute to designing the EU's Safer Internet Programme, and to increase the impact of awareness building actions.

EU Information on foot and mouth disease outbreak in the UK in 2007 — 06 August 2007, 13:03 CET

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious, usually non-fatal viral disease of domestic and wild cloven-hoofed animals, but may also affect certain other species. It is widely distributed throughout the world. Animals recovered from the disease may remain carriers of the infectious virus for an extended period of time. FMD is not dangerous to humans, but has a great potential for causing severe economic losses in susceptible animals.

Benchmarking of EU mobile operators — 03 August 2007, 13:01 CET

According to the EU Roaming Regulation, mobile operators should have offered customers a Eurotariff by 30 July 2007. This tariff shall be activated no later than one month after the receipt of the customer's request. Roaming charges should not exceed EUR 0.49 for making calls and EUR 0.24 for receiving calls abroad (excluding VAT).

EU nature protection policies — 30 July 2007, 15:45 CET

European Union Nature conservation policy is based on two main pieces of legislation - the EU Birds directive and the Habitats directive - and benefits from a specific financial instrument - the LIFE-Nature fund.

European Disability Forum — 25 July 2007, 17:12 CET

The European Disability Forum exists to represent disabled people in dialogue with the European Union and other European authorities. Its mission is to promote equal opportunities for disabled people and to ensure disabled citizens' full access to fundamental and human rights throught their active involvement in policy development and implementation in the European Union.

EU crop yield forecasts for 2007 — 24 July 2007, 23:47 CET

he European Commission's in-house scientific service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), on 25 July 2007 released its annual crop yield forecast for Europe. The central prediction is that the 2007 total cereal harvest will be 276 million tonnes or 1,6 per cent below the average of the last five years with Central and Eastern Europe losing out the most. This Memorandum provides information, maps and graphs on the forecast of cereal production. During the agricultural season, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) regularly issues forecasts for the main crop yields and produces analyses of the impact of weather conditions on crop production. These are based on advanced methodologies using satellite remote sensing and mathematical models which simulate crop growth.

EU Kosovo relations — 24 July 2007, 12:00 CET

Kosovo is firmly anchored in the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Process, the EU policy which applies to the Western Balkans.

EU Intergovernmental Conference 2007 — 23 July 2007, 16:27 CET

The EU Summit at its meeting on 21-22 June 2007 agreed on the convening of an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in order to draw up a "Reform Treaty" amending the existing treaties with a view to enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the enlarged European Union, as well as the coherence of its external action.

Review of scientific data on risks to human health from certain hormone residues in beef — 19 July 2007, 22:03 CET

The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) was asked by the European Commission to assess any new scientific evidence that emerged since the last risk assessment in 2002 relating to the use of certain natural and synthetic growth promoting hormones (GPH) in cattle. EFSA's Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) concluded that there are no grounds to call for revision of previous risk assessments.

Safety and health at work - EU report — 19 July 2007, 22:59 CET

The central role of the ‘European Agency for Safety and Health at Work’ in promoting healthier, safer and more productive workplaces is underlined in its 2006 annual report, published 16 July 2007. It shines a spotlight on last year’s impact on young workers and small businesses and shows how the Agency continues to improve the quality of working life in an expanding European Union.

European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products - EMEA — 19 July 2007, 21:22 CET

The European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) is a decentralised body of the European Union. It has its headquarters in London since January 1995. Its main responsibility is the protection and promotion of public and animal health, through the evaluation and supervision of medicines for human and veterinary use.