° Hyper links to Commission Web Site for information on EU funding: information on Grants & Loans is to be found within the Europa web-site.  It contains fact sheets on each funding programme managed by the European Commission.  Other data include programme objectives, type of funding, conditions and procedure for participation and important deadlines.  This may be browsed by topic, by Directorate-General or through an alphabetical index.  Most EU funding is not paid directly by the European Commission but via national and regional authorities of Member States. This is the case for payments under the Common Agricultural Policy and most payments under the structural policy financial instruments (European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance).  In money terms, these comprise the majority of EU funding.

° The European Commission has published a Communication on: "Building our common Future" Policy challenges and Budgetary means of the Enlarged Union 2007-2013, COM(2004) 101 final – full text from :  http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/furtherinfo/index_en.htm#framework

° A Commission decision to recover EU funding for a Sicilian dam (Case Filing T-408/03 - Official Journal publication of the filing) has been challenged by the Regione Siciliana. The applicant claims that the Court should annul the October 2003 Commission Decision (BUDG/C5/ME/ jlsD(2003)358046) on the detailed rules for recovery of the contribution paid by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the `Aragona Favara' and `Piana di Catania' projects and seeks costs.

The European Parliament  held a plenary session in Strasbourg from 9-12 February  2004 and a part-session was held in Brussels on 25-26 February 2004.

Of particular interest to ECCE members and others concerned about mobility of the profession was the vote on the first reading of the report by MEP Stefano Zappala (Doc Ref: A5-0470/2003) on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive on the recognition of professional qualifications which was being voted on under co-decision procedure (majority of votes cast to approve).  The part-session of the Parliament opened with a statement from the Commission setting out its policy priorities for 2005 and the human and budgetary resources required.  This process will lead to publication in May of the proposed EU budget for 2005 and an autumn discussion of the Commission’s legislative work programme. http://europa.eu.int/comm/lisbon_strategy/intro_en.html

Some current reports of potential interest to professional civil engineers and to the construction sector:

·         Report on the Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Protocol to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, concerning co-operation to prevent pollution by ships and, in cases of emergency, to combat pollution of the Mediterranean. Rapporteur: Caroline F. Jackson MEP, Doc. Ref. (A5-0050/2004)

·         Report on the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee for a European Parliament and Council directive amending directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste European Parliament delegation to the Conciliation Committee Rapporteur: Dorette Corbey MEP Doc Ref: A5-0006/2004   (See also note in Brussels Brief ‘Environment’ heading above)

·         Report on progress in implementing Council Directive 96/61/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control  Rapporteur: Marialiese Flemming MEP  Doc Ref: (A5-0034/2004) (The rapporteur believes the Directive requires clarification).

° Workshop on standardisation for services, Brussels, 9^th March 2004

The Commission has asked the European Standards Oragnisations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI) to examine the needs of the service sector.  The workshop will also consider safety of services provided to consumers.  Background information from ‘Communication on "The competitiveness of business-related services and their contribution to the performance of European enterprises" ‘ Download here:

Further information Invitation letter ,Agenda, Register here or from the European Standards Organisations: CEN , CENELEC , ETSI

° Workshop on  European Commission's new model contract for FP6 projects and its implications for consortium agreements Hamburg, Germany, 17th March. Consortiums are now able to make changes to work plan, add partners, control the budget and run calls for proposals without prior permission from the European Commission. The workshop is a response to this and will also focus on the new decision-taking framework for Integrated Projects and issues of intellectual property and financial management. Further information: Sue Greig, Singleimage Ltd TEL: +44 1480.497712, Fax: +44 1480 497714  http://www.singleimage.co.uk/

° European tech investment forum, London, U.K., 30^th and 31^st March

The UK will host the 11th European tech investment forum (ETIF), supported by the European Commission under its information society technologies (IST) programme. ETIF will provide a platform where entrepreneurs can meet venture capital investors from outside their home countries. The following sectors will be reviewed:  information technology, software and knowledge management;  telecoms and networks; media and entertainment. Further information: http://www.e-unlimited.com/etif

° International Symposium on Eastern Mediterranean geology, Thessaloniki,  14^th-20^th April 2004

Thessaloniki, Greece is to be the venue for this conference on structural geology, stratigraphy and tectonics; petrology and geochemistry; volcanology and geothermy; large earthquakes, marine geology, remote sensing and natural hazards, geoarcheology, mineral resources and geology of the Balkan peninsula. http://geonet.geo.auth.gr/5thISEMG/index .htm

° Turkish Civil Engineering - 17^th Technical Congress and Exhibition, Istanbul, 15^th-17^th April 2004

The 17^th Technical Congress on Turkish Civil Engineering will be held at Yildiz Tehchnical University in Istanbul.  The congress and exhibition aim to present new advances and improvements in technical applications as well as problems and issues affecting the profession.  Student project competitions will ensure participation of future professionals and there will be international project presentations.  Further information from: http://www.imo.org.tr/teknikkongre17/english/english.htm

° Congress of Croatian Builders, Cavtat (by Dubrovnik), 22^nd - 24^th April 2004

The 4^th Congress of Croatian Builders is being prepared by the Croatian Society of Civil Engineers and will cover the themes of Croatia’s construction industry activities aimed at meeting EU accession requirements and implementation of national strategy for the construction of roads and motorways in Croatia.  For participation or paper submission contact: marija@grad.hr

° The Europe of Knowledge 2020: A vision for University-based Research and Innovation, Liege, Belgium,  22^nd - 28^th April 2004

The conference will discuss the “role of universities in the Europe of Knowledge” raised in the February 2003 Commission communication.  Further information on: rtd-consult-univ@cec.eu.int

° 2004 ‘fib’ (Federation Internationale du Beton) Symposium on “Concrete Structures: the Challenge of Creativity”, Avignon, France, April 26^th-28^th April 2004

The international federation for structural concrete conference is being organised by the French Association of Civil Engineering (AFGC)  and will look at use of new materials and innovative contruction techniques of builders.  Visits will take place to High Speed Railway Structures between Lyon and Marseille and to the world record Millau viaduct.

° Bridging the gap in environmental knowledge, Dublin, Ireland, 28^th – 30^th April

The conference will chart progress on environment and identify knowledge gaps.  Parallel sessions will cover the environment and human health; climate change; impact assessment; biodiversity and land use; and information needs.  It will also address how scientific, technological and policy opportunities may be used to progress effective integration and action on the environment, looking at environmental research beyond 6FP.  http://www.bridgingthegap.ie

° International Offshore Technology Conference “Innovation without limits” Houston, Texas, USA, 3^rd to 6^th May 2004

Around 280 technical papers will be presented relating to the offshore oil and gas industry covering a wide range of issues such as mass transport complexes in deepwater environments, seismic imaging, and the future of the North Sea for independent operators.  Further information: www.otcnet.org/2004

° 10^th International conference on urban transport and the environment Dresden, Germany, 19th to 21st May 2004.

Latest advances in the field of transport will be discussed and research papers will be presented on: urban transport systems; transport sustainability; environmental aspects; transport demand management; air pollution and emissions control; information systems.  Participants will include engineers, scientists and managers working on planning and management of urban transportation systems and transport policy industry in universities, research organisations and government.  Further information is located on: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2004 /urbantransport04/index.html

° Intelligent transport systems Congress and exhibition ‘moving towards an integrated Europe’, Budapest, Hungary, 24^th to 26^th May 2004

The Conference will include discussions on e-safety in an enlarged EU, intelligent vehicle safety systems and ITS for multimodal services without borders.  Contributions are expected for 1^st December 2003.

° Annual European association of research managers and administrators (EARMA) conference, Bucharest, Romania, 24th to 26th June 2004,

‘Research management and administration in a changing world'. Discussions to include:  managing, valuing and reporting the products of R&D; the effective operation of networks;  intellectual property policies;
- strategic planning for international collaborations;  management of change in research: the challenge of the real world   http://www.earma2004.ro

° Monitoring the geological environment Segovia, Spain, from 5 to 7 July 2004

An international conference on monitoring, simulation and remediation of the geological environment aims to attract a multi-disciplinary audience from the fields of civil engineering, forest and agricultural engineering, geography, biology, ecology and hydrology.  For further information, please consult the following web address: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2004 /geoenvironment04/index.html

° B4E "Building for a European Future - Strategies and Alliances for Construction Innovation" , Maastricht , Netherlands, 14^th – 15^th October 2004. 

The B4E conference aims to reflect the views of all stakeholders in construction on the future development of European research in the sector.  E-CORE and ECCREDI plan to then incorporate the views of the entire construction sector in E-CORE research strategy and to present these to the European Commission, with the aim of influencing the development of the 7^th Framework Programme. The event offers an important opportunity to express a vision of the future of construction research in Europe and the challenges and opportunities of  the next decade. Papers that illustrate the way in which industry uses advanced technology, and the value of research and innovation, by reference to recent major projects, are especially welcome.  Focus should be on the following themes: 1. Smart Construction; 2. Building the Future; 3. Strategies for Innovation; 4. Strategic Alliances. www.b4e.org 

° Advantages for Real Estate and Construction Sector, Helsinki, 13^th - 16^th June 2005

The 11^th Joint CIB International symposium aims to put modern construction management and economics into a perspective of modern real estate and construction businesses and projects.  Topics of interest include the evolving sector, firms and their businesses, projects and processes, IT and construction processes, Foundations of our thinking and practice. The call for Papers will be available in October 2003.

Symposium web-site: www.ril.fi/cib2005  Tentative registration: kaisa.venalainen@ril.fi