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Eco news
11 Cancer prevention
30M€ for Hungary
Agri R&D & IPR
Bioprospect & IPR
eBusiness Portal
e-Communication law
BEUC - GMO
Cereals online
Competitiveness
Competitiveness_Council
Co-operative
Digital Privacy
Emissions trading
Entrepreneurship plan
EU financial perscpetive
High Speed data
Initiative for Growth
IPR Directive
IPR free legal form
IST info
K Risk in agri SME
Low Carbon Economy
Med Industrial coop.
Protect air traveler
Sorbates cartel fines
Services: performance?
SPAM
Stat EU 25
Tourism sustainability
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This is where we announce the specific information coming from the European
sources with a more general economic content or related to market news in our context.
Another section on European News related to
food-MAC Members' interests is also available. Don't hesitate to give us feed-back
on the type of information you would like to find here.
The European Commission has released first highlights of a recent
stakeholder consultation on the EU emissions trading scheme, which attracted
over 300 responses. One of the main findings is that companies across sectors
demand longer-term certainty and predictability about the scheme and in
particular the allocation of emission allowances. The more certainty and
lead-time they have, the easier it will be for them to invest in the right
technologies for the future. The results of the consultation are feeding into an
ongoing review of the emissions trading scheme. The scheme aims to
cost-effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial and power
plants.
Memo by
EUROPA 28 November 2005: in English
(pdf 78kb)
EC webpage related to Emissions trading:
europa.eu.int/comm/environment/climat/emission.htm
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Management
of Intellectual Property Rights by Agricultural Research Institutes by
Michael Blakeney from the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute -
University of London for the
IPR Helpdesk
"Agricultural research
institutes both conduct research and act as depositories of biological
resources, such as living cells, genomes of organisms, and information relating
to heredity and the functions of biological systems. They contain collections of
culturable organisms (e.g. micro-organisms, plant, animal and human cells),
replicable parts of these (e.g. genomes, plasmids, viruses, cDNAs), viable but
not yet culturable organisms cells and tissues, as well as data bases containing
molecular, physiological and structural information relevant to these
collections and related bioinformatics.
...
Since the late
nineties, difficult questions have been raised concerning the legal status of
the germplasm collections of the agricultural research institutes which are
members of the CGIAR (the Consulting Group for International Agricultural
Research). At the time of their establishment, the questions of ownership and
intellectual property rights in the collections were very much subordinated to
the mission to increase crop yields to feed a burgeoning world population. It
has only been in recent years that ownership issues have become important,
either as a bargaining counter in North-South negotiations or as a source of
revenue."
...More Report
in
English (pdf 219kb)
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Bioprospecting
and Intellectual Property Protection by Florian Leverve from the Queen Mary
Intellectual Property Research Institute - University of London for the
IPR Helpdesk
Bioprospecting is the
systematic search, classification and investigation for commercial and
scientific purposes of new sources of biochemical compounds, genes and other
products with present or potential value.
This report examines:
-
the international
framework surrounding the activity of bioprospecting and its associated
concept, biodiversity
-
some of the
national regulations developed through this framework
-
the procedural and
contractual issues of such legislation
-
the bioprospecting
policies of ex situ collection centres
-
the contractual
approach to bioprospecting.
Report
in English
(pdf 267kb)
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"IST info"
stands for Information Society Technologies
information. It includes
market studies, technical information related to the information and
communication technologies applied to our economic environment.
- "Competitiveness"
that section deals with European and international documents on
competitiveness and benchmarking.
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Judgment of the Court of
Justice in Case C-182/01, 11 March 2004
Memo by
EUROPA 12 March 2004: in English
(pdf 112kb) or in
French (pdf 113kb)
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The Council took note of
information from the Presidency that the European Parliament voted on 9 March
2004 amendments to the proposal for a Directive on measures and procedures to
ensure the enforcement of intellectual property rights (see IP/04/316). The
Council will adopt the Directive as amended by Parliament in the next few weeks.
The Council welcomed the step forward which this first-reading agreement
represents in the fight against piracy and counterfeiting and underlined that
the new Directive will constitute a key element of the EU legal framework in the
area of intellectual property rights and in the Internal Market at large.
Memo by
EUROPA 12 March 2004: in English
(pdf 73kb)
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EU
enlargement The new EU of 25 compared to EU15
With the accession of 10 new Member States - the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia - the
European Union will undergo the greatest enlargement in its history. What will
be the impact of the 10 Acceding Countries on the new EU compared with EU15? And
how will the EU25 compare with the United States?
Memo by
EUROPA 11 March 2004: in English
(pdf 118kb) or in
French (pdf 120kb)
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The European Commission has
launched an initiative which will improve access to information on the EU's
market policy. Following a short trial period, the results of the management
committee for cereals as well as other relevant information are now publicly
accessible via the Europa server to all interested parties. This new approach
will replace the dissemination of the information by fax.
Press article by
EUROPA 10 March 2004: in English
(pdf 66kb) or in
French (pdf
64kb)
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The European Commission's
launched a new Action Plan setting out Europe's agenda for entrepreneurship in
the years to come. The Action Plan outlines key actions in five strategic areas.
High on the agenda are fostering a more entrepreneurial mindset among young
people, reducing the stigma of failure, providing support for women and ethnic
minorities, reducing the complexity of complying with tax laws and making it
easier to transfer a business to new owners. Examples of best practice will be
benchmarked and shared across the new enlarged Europe. A specific focus will be
placed on listening to SMEs when drafting new legislation. The Commission will
monitor and report on progress alongside its current reporting on the European
Charter for Small Enterprises. The Action Plan aims to unlock the potential for
entrepreneurship in Europe. Too few Europeans set up their own businesses and
too few small businesses in Europe experience substantial growth. Yet almost
half of Europeans say they would prefer to be self-employed, and almost a third
of Europe's SMEs cite growth as their main ambition. Overcoming this paradox is
a key aim of this Action Plan.
Press article by
EUROPA 2 March 2004: in English
(pdf 81kb) or in
French
(pdf 82kb)
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The Commission has just
adopted a Communication to promote co-operatives in Europe. The Communication
comes just a few months after the agreement of all the Member States to adopt a
Regulation allowing the creation of European Co-operative Societies (see
IP/03/1071). Co-operatives today thrive in competitive markets and have achieved
significant market shares in areas where other types of company are very strong
such as banking, insurance, food retail, pharmacy and agriculture. They are
growing fast in the sectors of health care, services to business, education and
housing. In addition co-operatives are by their nature an ideal way of finding a
mutually reinforcing balance between entrepreneurial values and social
objectives. The Communication sets out steps which may encourage the wider use
of co-operatives across Europe. They focus on increased visibility, further
improvement of national laws on co-operatives, and enhancement of co-operatives'
contribution to community policy.
Press article by
EUROPA 26 February 2004: in English
(pdf 82kb) or in
French (pdf
82kb)
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For the first time, the
European Commission has authorised a state aid to promote risk capital funds for
SMEs operating exclusively in the agricultural sector. Italy is authorised to
provide an amount of € 5 million per year until 2005 for setting up a risk
capital Fund to promote investments in agricultural SMEs in their start-up or
early stage phases. The Fund will take minority shareholdings and participatory
loans, under the condition that private investors participate as well. The new
Fund may also become a partner in other risk capital funds investing in SMEs
engaged in agricultural activities. The measure shall thus facilitate the access
of agricultural SMEs to risk capital funds.
Press article by
EUROPA 3 February 2004: in English
(pdf 66kb) or in
French
(pdf 66kb)
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The importance of investment
and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for further growth
and jobs in Europe is highlighted in a communication adopted by the Commission
in the run up to the Spring European Council. It underlines the importance of
the electronic communication sector for the health of the European economy and
its key role in boosting productivity. Further growth will be driven by the
provision of new services over high-speed fixed and wireless networks making use
of broadband and 3G mobile communications, while policy makers must do more to
create the conditions for faster investment. The report singles out the
implementation of the new regulatory framework for electronic communications,
action to extend broadband coverage in underserved areas, stimulating demand and
the successful role out of third generation mobile communications as top
priorities. This should be supported by the on-going mid-term review of the
eEurope 2005 Action Plan.
Press article by
EUROPA 3 February 2004: in English
(pdf 95kb) or in
French (pdf
100kb)
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Low productivity in
business-related services is a serious threat to the competitiveness of European
enterprises and the EU's overall potential for growth, says a Commission
communication. This communication sets out measures complementing the
forthcoming proposal for a Directive to remove legal and administrative
obstacles in the internal market for services. They aim to promote competition
among service suppliers and help customers to compare prices and the nature of
services offered. This, combined with better statistics to inform
decision-taking, will help to make the markets more transparent. The measures
include promoting service quality indicators, voluntary standards for the
cross-border supply of services, and rules on reporting intangible assets such
as training and software investment. Business-related services are inextricably
linked to manufacturing industry, and are crucial to its competitiveness. The
Commission will set up a new European Forum on business-related services to
identify ways of moving forward on these different measures. The forum's work
will help to shape an action plan that it will propose in the first half of
2005.
Press article by
EUROPA 14 November 2003: in English
(pdf 84kb) or in
French
(pdf 85kb)
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The European Commission has
presented its ideas on how best to exploit the European tourism sector's
competitive potential. Outlined in a Communication on "Working together for the
Future of European Tourism", the Commission highlights the need to enhance
co-operation on and the consistency of tourism policies among the stakeholders
involved in tourism. These include the European Commission, Member States,
regional and local authorities, industry, associations, and tourist
destinations. The Commission aims in particular to foster tourism's
competitiveness and sustainability. Underlining tourism's contribution to
sustainable development, with a special focus on environmental and cultural
resources, is high on the list of recommendations, in accordance with the
"Agenda 21" guidelines.
Press article by
EUROPA 14 November 2003: in English
(pdf 38kb) or in
French (pdf 40kb)
Report: Basic
orientations for the sustainability of European tourism'
in English (pdf 189kb)
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The Community legal
framework for e-business has been largely completed. However, when most of the
Directives were adopted, e-business was still in its infancy. An important
lesson to be learned from the online consultation is that many European
enterprises do not feel sufficiently informed about existing legislation on
e-business. This confirms the need to provide better information about relevant
e-legislation, such as through “e-business lex”, the information portal of a
network of Euro Info Centres which currently covers all 15 EU Member States plus
Norway, and which will soon be extended to the Acceding and Candidate Countries.
Web link:
www.ebusinesslex.net
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The European Commission
launched a Communication that will facilitate and guide the work of the
Competitiveness Council to improve competitiveness across the EU. With its
Communication “Some key issues of Europe's competitiveness towards an integrated
approach”, the Commission aims to re-launch Europe's competitive drive. The
Communication issues a first reflection about the performance and future of EU
industry, based on an analysis of its current state of competitiveness. The
Communication pinpoints how exploiting synergies between different policies at
EU and national level such as Industrial Policy, Internal Market Strategy,
Research and Competition will pay off in increased competitiveness. It urges all
EU institutions and the Members States to play their part by adopting and
implementing legislation crucial for economic growth, but also by taking full
account of the competitiveness consequences of all their decisions. This
integrated approach, which responds to a request by the Spring European Council,
will be discussed with Member States at the Competitiveness Council on 27
November.
Press article by
EUROPA 18 November 2003: in English
(pdf 64kb) or in
French
(pdf 64kb)
Communication on
EUROPA 21 November 2003: in English
(pdf 159kb) or in
French (pdf 183kb)
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Ce prêt global accordé à un
nouvel intermédiaire bancaire a pour objectif d'aider la Hongrie à préparer son
adhésion à l'Union européenne. Plus spécifiquement, il permettra d'octroyer des
ressources à long terme, indispensables pour le financement de projets
habituellement mis en œuvre par des PME. En outre, une priorité particulière
sera accordée aux projets relatifs à la protection de l'environnement et aux
économies d'énergie, qui sont généralement réalisés par les collectivités
locales de petite taille.
Press article by
EUROPA 31 October 2003: in
French (pdf 36kb)
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As from 31st October 2003,
EU Member States must comply with the Directive on Privacy and Electronic
Communications, which sets EU standards for the protection of privacy and
personal data in electronic communications. The Directive includes basic
obligations to ensure the security and confidentiality of communications over EU
electronic networks, including internet and mobile services. It sets out
specific conditions for installing so-called “cookies” on users' personal
computers and for using location data generated by mobile phones. Notably, the
Directive also introduces a 'ban on spam' throughout the EU.
Press article by
EUROPA 31 October 2003: in
English (pdf
16kb) or in
French (pdf
80kb)
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English (pdf 24kb)
or in
French (pdf25kb)
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A policy agenda to promote
investment, innovation, access to finance and the development of small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the EU and 12 south-east Mediterranean
countries is on the AGenda of the meeting of the Working Group on
Euro-Mediterranean Industrial Co-operation in Rome on 2 and 3 October. Work on
this agenda, based on shared experience and proven best practice, will help bed
in the new relations initiated earlier this year by the Commission's Wider
Europe Communication (see IP/03/963). This work should be stepped up by the
Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Entrepreneurship in 2004 and, along with progress
in ensuring the free movement of goods, should help to pave the way to the
creation of a free trade area between the EU and its Mediterranean partners by
2010.
Press article by
EUROPA 1 October 2003: in
English (pdf 71kb) or in
French (pdf 71kb)
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The European Commission has
concluded that Hoechst AG, Chisso Corporation, Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd,
The Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co Ltd and Ueno Fine Chemicals Industry
Ltd operated a cartel in the sorbates market between 1979 and 1996. Sorbates are
one of the most widely used chemical preservatives in Europe to prevent the
development of moulds, bacteria and other micro-organisms in foods, for example
in mayonnaise and sausages as well as beverages. They are also used for the
coating of cheese wrapping paper or in cosmetics. ”Because of this conspiracy,
European consumers paid more for many everyday product than if the companies had
competed against each other. I am determined that participation in a cartel
should not pay. The only way for companies to avoid high fines is to come clean
and stop participating in cartels whose only purpose is to extort from unknowing
consumers, be they intermediate or final, illicit profits,” said Competition
Commissioner Mario Monti.
Press article by
EUROPA 1 October 2003: in
English (pdf 71kb) or in
French (pdf 71kb)
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The European Initiative for
Growth considered by the European Council in Thessaloniki has slowly but
steadily climbed to the top of the political agenda across Member States. Since
its initial outline last July the Commission has made quick progress on a series
of policy and legislative proposals in the fields of Trans European Networks (TENs)
and European Research, Development and Innovation. The Commission is now
proposing a detailed road map for action and a series of recommendations to the
October European Council. The European Initiative for Growth aims to mobilise
investment in two key areas of the Lisbon agenda: networks and knowledge. More
has to be done in the short term, from now until 2010, and more has to be done
beyond that date. Unlike previous attempts it presents an integrated approach of
policies, delivery mechanisms and institutional arrangements to ensure
implementation within a tight time period. The timing of the launch of the
Initiative is aimed at sending a powerful signal of strong economic governance
and of confidence in the potential of the European economy. A signal in support
of key structural reforms that must be accelerated in the framework of the
Lisbon agenda. The European Council of December 16-17 will examine the European
Initiative for Growth and its complete list of proposals for action.
Press article by
EUROPA 1 October 2003: in
English (pdf 71kb) or in
French (pdf 22kb)
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SPAM:
European Commission goes on the offensive
Erkki Liikanen European
Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society outlined in Brussels how
the European Commission is planning to address the proliferation of unsolicited
commercial e-mail, otherwise known as 'spam'. Given the timely adoption last
year of a directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications, Member States have
to transpose a 'ban on spam' into national legislation by the end of October
2003. As a second step, the European Commission expects a Communication on spam
to be adopted in the Autumn. Concrete action would focus on effective
enforcement, notably through international co-operation, technical measures for
countering spam, and consumer awareness. The proposed measures would be first
tested with Member States and interested parties through a workshop to be
convened in October.
Press article by
EUROPA 15 July 2003: in
English (pdf 16kb) or in
French
(pdf 16kb)
Memo by
EUROPA 15 July 2003: in
English
(pdf 12kb on SPAM Q&A)
Speech by Erkki Liikanen on
EUROPA 15 July 2003: in
English (pdf 36kb)
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Interesting news for the
European air travelers we are - Loyola de Palacio
welcomes European parliament vote on Air passenger rights: huge increase of
compensations for denied boarding and cancellation of flights
Loyola de Palacio,
European Commission vice-president in charge of transport and energy, welcomed
the European Parliament vote about the proposal of regulation to protect the
rights of air passengers when facing denied boarding, cancellation of their
flight or a long delay. "The today's vote is another step ahead which confirms
the new levels of compensation, their extension to travel packages and the
incorporation of cancellation's compensations: this is an important day in our
common effort to put the citizens at the heart of EU policies” ” she said.
“The support given to these European Commission's proposals will strengthen
strongly the rights of passengers and I'm confident that European parliament
and the Council will find in short time a final agreement on this very
important issue”.
Press article by
EUROPA
3 July 2003: in
English (pdf 80kb)
or in
French (pdf 80kb)
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BEUC-The
European Consumer's Organisation: "GM food or Non GM food: A Good Day for
Consumer Choice"
The European
Consumer's Organisation has issued a press relase after the decision made by
the European Parliament on GMOs (see above)
Press article by
EUBC
2 July 2003: in
English (pdf 18kb)
or in
French (pdf 19kb)
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Eleven
ways to prevent cancer
A new European Code
against Cancer was launched at a conference of the European Institute of
Oncology in Milan. The basic message is that certain cancers may be avoided
and general health improved if people adopt a healthier lifestyle. The two
main reasons for revising the code are scientific progress and Enlargement. An
enlarged Europe will see a much greater degree of divergence in lifestyle
habits and disease risk. The original code was drawn-up by a high-level
Committee of Cancer Experts in 1987. This revised Code draws on the results of
a Europe-wide consultation process, which attracted contributions from public
health specialists and oncologists as well as representatives of the Cancer
Leagues and the Ministries of Health. Although the Code has changed more than
once since its introduction, its underlying philosophy remains the same. The
eleven recommendations of the revised European Code Against Cancer should, if
followed, also lead to improvements in other aspects of general health.
Press article by
EUROPA
18 June 2003: in
English (pdf 78kb)
or in
French (pdf 73kb)
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