BRUSSELS BRIEF

The priorities of the Austrian Presidency were covered in the January 2006 ECCE Brussels Brief. Further news on activity is to be found on the Austrian Presidency pages: http://www.eu2006.at/en/

1st January – 30th June 2008: Slovenian Presidency (This will be the first of the 10 new Member States which joined in May 2004 to hold the EU Presidency).

° MEPs and research personalities petition European Council for more funds to support EU competitiveness On 31^st January MEPs Jerzy Buzek and Jorgo Chatzimarkakis delivered a petition over 50 senior figures to the President of the European Council, Austrian Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel. A 'European Petition for Research and Innovation' urges the European Council to rethink its December 2005 agreement on the long-term EU budget for competitiveness and innovation support. Petitioners believe that the European Council agreement on the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013 under the UK Presidency would result in cuts of around 28 per cent in the proposed EU research budget for that period, and over half in the proposed funding for its competitiveness and innovation programme (CIP). The 'European Petition for Research and Innovation' More information on the debate around FP7 More information on the CIP

° MEPs Jerzy Buzek and Jorgo Chatzimarkakis launch the 'EP Research and Innovation Circle' in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The circle will meet four times per year in the Parliament to 'discuss fundamental and current issues on research and innovation', and will also hold an annual conference. The first conference will address innovation; the next three nanotechnologies, biotechnology and information technologies

° Proposed Council Regulation laying down the rules for the participation in the Seventh Framework Programme (2007-2011) The Rules identify the procedures for issuing calls for proposals and the exceptions to calls for proposals, for submission, evaluation, selection and award of procedures. In addition, they establish the procedures for the appointment of external experts. Full Text

° India receives huge inflow of foreign R&D investment In recent years, Europe has become ever more aware of threats to its position as one of the most competitive regions in the world as increasing pressure has come from emerging economies. A new report from the Indian government's Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) states that USD 1.13 billion (0.95 billion euro) flowed into India in1998-2003. Most FDI is going towards computer-based R&D, followed by pharmaceuticals, automotive, chemicals and agricultural research. Further information

° Swiss study concludes that Innovation policy is not a quick and easy fix to slow growth

The 'impact of policies enhancing educational achievements and increasing R&D expenditures show a much smaller impact on productivity than expected. Innovation policy is not the quick and easy policy solution to solve growth problems', the study states, concluding that fiscal policy has the strongest impact on productivity, with higher tax burdens decreasing productivity growth, and that tightening labour market regulation is 'not a promising policy strategy'. Further information on the study

° European Commission launches call for proposals for science TV proposals for audiovisual and science professionals to create new and ambitious partnerships for high-quality science programming across Europe are sought as part of the 'Science and Society' programme. http://fp6.cordis.lu/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.FP6DetailsCallPage&call_id=264

° European Commission survey to gauge the ability of European firms to handle security threats (viruses, spyware, hackers and crackers to the security of their electronic communications tools and networks). The survey is part of the Commission's eEurope 2005 Action Plan to develop a dynamic environment for e-business through widespread cost-effective and secure availability of broadband access. http://europa.eu.int/information_society /eeurope/2005/all_about/trust/index_en.h tm By taking 30 minutes to complete 80 questions, participating firms can produce a preliminary 'self assessment' to help raise corporate awareness of ICT risks. All participating firms will receive an information folder on a CD with detailed material about risk prevention and awareness. Survey results and associated recommendations will be published on the new European Network and Information Security Agency website: http://www.enisa.eu.int Participants can obtain more information about the survey and possible participation via e-mail from risk-preparedness@unisys.com and via the study website: http://www.unisys.be/services/security/r isk__preparedness/index.htm

° Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopts opinion on the new programme i2010 – A European Information Society for Growth and Employment The i2010 initiative - which followw two action plans, ‘eEurope 2002’ and ‘eEurope 2005’, aims to increase. Community support for ICT research by 80% by 2010 (the EU invests EUR 80 per inhabitant in this field whilst the US invests EUR 400 per inhabitant ). The CoR believes that ‘i2010’ will probably promote social inclusion and help improve the quality of life. However, questions of consumer protection and personal data protection must be taken into account in drawing up operating rules for the ICT market, the security of transactions must be guaranteed and the proposed services and communications should be offered at affordable prices. http://www.cor.eu.int/

° OECD Guide seeks to Measure the Information Society: This documents the work of the OECD and others in developing statistical standards for measuring the information society. The main focus is on the work of the OECD's Working Party on Indicators for the Information Society (WPIIS), but other relevant statistical work in other areas including National Statistical Offices (NSOs) is included Full text Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development http://www.oecd.org (Please note that details of the March 2006 OECD Conference on the Future of the Internet appear in the Conference section of this Brussels Brief).

° Commission proposal to the European Council to set up a European Institute of Technology. to be a new flagship for excellence in higher education, research and innovation. Its structure would be based on two levels: a Governing Board with a small supporting administration (the central core); and a set of Knowledge Communities, distributed all over Europe, carrying out activities in strategic trans-disciplinary areas. EIT funding is expected to come from a variety of sources including the EU, Member States and the business community. A formal Commission proposal will be put forward before the end of 2006. If the legal instrument establishing the EIT is adopted in 2008, the Governing board and first staff could be appointed in early 2009. The identification of the knowledge communities should start in 2009. http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/eit/index_en.html Frequently Asked Questions: Why does the EU need a European Institute of Technology?

° Call for proposals: implementation of Actions 1, 2 and Action 3 in the academic year 2007/2008 and Action 4 in the year 2006 of ERASMUS MUNDUS - (OJ C38/7 15.2.2006) Full text The Erasmus Mundus programme aims to enhance the quality of European higher education by fostering co-operation with third countries. The following activities are covered by the call for proposals: 1: Select high-quality integrated masters courses offered by a consortium of at least three higher education institutions in at least three participating countries; 2. Give scholarships to highly qualified graduate students and scholars from third countries for masters’ courses; 3. Select high-quality partnerships between selected masters courses/ third-country higher education institutions; 4. Select projects from at least three institutions, in at least three participating countries. http://europa.eu.int/erasmus-mundus

° 2005 Environment Policy Review : Communication from the commission to the Council and the European Parliament {SEC(2006) 218} Full Text In the first chapter this Review examines environment policy's part in the Lisbon strategy for Growth and Jobs. It then summarises main policy developments in 2005 in the four priority areas of the 6th Environment Action Programme, presents newly released evidence, and outlines aspects of 2006 actions.

° Commission Communication concerning the common position for a Directive on the protection of groundwater against pollution. In its amended proposal, the Commission accepted in full, in part or in principle 67 of the 89 amendments adopted by the European Parliament in its first reading. 54 amendments have now been incorporated. The Commission did not accept amendments which repeated Water Framework Directive provisions and referred to groundwater ecosystems. Full Text of the Communication.

° European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas speaks at Press Conference on Kyoto Anniversary: He affirmed that Climate change is not an academic question anymore; its impact is already felt around the globe. NASA tells us, he stated, that 2005 was the hottest year since records began. The five hottest years have all been since 1998. Climate change will aggravate water scarcity in some regions. To take things to grass-roots level, in June 2006, the Commission will launch an EU-wide awareness-raising campaign focusing on how all of us can contribute to fighting climate change through our daily actions. The Kyoto Protocol Stavros Dimas: Giving Kyoto a Future

° The EU's Fourth National Communication under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) has been published Full Text Total Greenhouse Gas emissions in the EU-25 (without land use change and forestry) decreased by more than 5% from 1990 to 2003. In the EU-15 they decreased by nearly 2% over the same period. Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases rose by 1.3% in the EU-15 in 2003 compared with 2002. This was primarily due to a rise in coal use for electricity generation in 2003.

° Climate change: European Commission’s annual environment conference will be ‘climate-neutral’: The Commission’s “Green Week” conference should not contribute to climate change in 2006. Estimates indicate that Green Week 2005 generated emissions of climate-changing green-house gases equivalent to 139 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Emissions come mainly from participant travel: the Commission has now offset these by buying emission allowances for the same amount of CO₂ under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Methods considered to offset emissions included investment in emission-saving projects in developing countries through the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The simplest administrative option was to buy ETS emission allowances. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/climat/emission/press_en.htm

° Procedural consequences for Council and Commission of European Court's judgment on criminal liability for environmental damage (Case C-176/03): 2709^th Council Meeting - Justice and Home Affairs, 21 February 2006 Provisional version. By judgment of 13 September 2005, the European Court of Justice annulled Framework Decision 2003/80/JHA on the protection of the environment through criminal law: Measures intended to protect the environment fall within the competence of the Community (Art 175 TEC) even when they involve measures relating to the criminal law of the Member States. Therefore the Framework Decision encroached on competences attributed to the Community, and therefore failed to respect Article 47 TEU. EU Council

° The UK was ordered to pay costs for failure to ensure adequate treatment of urban waste water in 13 towns - Bangor, Brighton, Broadstairs, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Donaghadee, Larne, Lerwick, Londonderry, Margate, Newtonabbey, Omagh, Portrush (Case filing C-405/05). It had failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4 paragraphs 1 & 3 of Council Directive 91/271/EEC relating to treatment of urban waste water: Court notice for the OJ

° Luxembourg was ordered to pay costs for failing to reduce phosphorus and nitrogen in urban waste water treatment - Case filing C-452/05: Commission v Luxembourg Court notice for the OJ

France was ordered to pay costs for failing to prevent dumping of waste - Case filing C-423/05: Commission v France Court notice for the OJ It was considered that the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 4, 8 and 9 of Directive 75/442/EEC, as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC, and Article 14(a), (b) and (c) of Directive 99/31/EC

° IEA study - Renewable energy technologies to play important role in clean, clever and competitive energy future - The purpose of the IEA publication is to assist governments in prioritising their RD&D (Research, Development and Dissemination) efforts for renewable energy RD&D should not be left solely to government. Industry can be expected and should be encouraged to play a major role in the development of all technologies, whether or not yet commercially available. Renewable Energy: RD&D Priorities - Insights from IEA Technology Programmes

°Initial meeting of High Level Group on Competitiveness, Energy and the Environment, the group, set-up by the Commission on the basis of its Communication on Industrial Policy of 5 October 2005, has a two-year mandate. Subjects for the next meeting in June 2006 will be the functioning of the energy markets; the EU emissions trading scheme and its impact on electricity prices; the competitiveness of European energy intensive industries; energy efficiency.

° Commission Report on Radioactive effluents from nuclear power stations and nuclear fuel reprocessing sites in the EU, 1999-2003 Radiation Protection 143 The report covers nuclear power stations of a capacity greater than 50 MWe and nuclear fuel reprocessing plants in the European Union prior to the latest enlargement of the Union to 25 Member States in 2004.

° EU and Japan agree on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy The Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy will provide a stable framework for the development of nuclear trade between the two parties. The initiative for the conclusion of an Agreement at the EU/Japan Summit in 1998, was reaffirmed in the 10-year EU-Japan Action Plan adopted in December 2001 and follows upon the Japan-USA and Euratom-USA Agreements.

European Economic and Social Committee on: “The role of railway stations in the cities and conurbations of an enlarged EU” (EESC own-initiative opinion) Full text of Opinion

Adoption of the EU's first and second railway packages has enabled continuous progress in the liberalisation of freight transport and harmonisation of quality standards. The EESC hopes that the third railway package will deliver similar results. The EU still needs to adopt and implement measures in the field of passenger transport. European Economic and Social Committee

° Consultation on transposition of Directive2004/49/EC on railway safety to Channel Tunnel

The consultation on a proposed Intergovernmental Regulation, which will have force in both the UK and France, to ensure the coherent application of the Directive to the whole of the Channel Tunnel was published on 6th February 2006. Closing date is 20 March 2006. Consultation paper

° Aid to finance safety measures in the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the Maurice Lemaire Tunnel

The European Commission has decided to authorise State aid which will extend the concessions for the Mont Blanc Tunnel (ATMB until 2050) and the Maurice Lemaire Tunnel (TML/APRR until 2068) to meet the costs arising from the new safety rules for the tunnels. These rules were adopted following the March 1999 accident in the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The aid should enable the two companies that hold the concessions to make the investments required without affecting their financial viability. The Commission decided not object since it regards the aid as compatible with the Treaty, given the scale of the investments which have been made to ensure the safety of users.

° Responses to Commission consultation on Airport Capacity, Efficiency and Safety in Europe: A draft Communication will be produced following the conclusion of a consultation process at the end of November 2005. Contributions

Former Commissioner fears that budget cuts for trans-european routes are a serious worry: Former Commissioner Loyola De Palacio addressed Parliament's Transport Committee and expressed deep concern at Council plans to cut the budget for the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) in the period 2007-2013. The former Commissioner is one of the six TEN-T coordinators, in her case for the rail route Lyon-Turin-Budapest-Ukrainian border. For 2007-2013 the Commission had proposed Euro 20.35 billion for the TENs, but the Council proposed reducing this to an estimated Euro 6 billion in its December 2005 agreement. European Parliament

° Assessment of the contribution of the TEN and other transport policy measures to the mid-term implementation of the White Paper on the European Transport Policy for 2010 Full text

° Communication from the Commission European Road Safety Action Programme mid-term review {SEC(2006) 221} Full Text The Transport White Paper adopted in 2001 (European transport policy for 2010: time to decide [COM(2001) 370 final, 12 September 2001) proposed the target of halving road fatalities by 2010. This target was repeated in the 2003 European road safety action programme. Halving the number of road accident victims in the European Union by 2010: a shared responsibility [COM(2003) 311 final, 2 June 2003. The Commission Communication is accompanied by several annexes containing statistical data and country files. Some useful internet links are: (1) European Commission website on road safety: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/road/roadsafety/index_en.htm (2) European Road Safety Action Programme:http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/road/roadsafety/rsap/index_en.htm and (3) European Road Safety Charter: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/roadsafety/index_en.htm:

° European research to advance road safety: €100 million has been made available from the Sixth Framework Programme for Research to advance drivers, passenger and pedestrian safety. News has been published on a few key projects:

° Reducing death and injury due to road accidents – examples of EU projects:- APROSYS project results include new mathematical models of the human body to help car design; a worldwide, harmonised female crash test dummy for side impact testing; new tools to design, implement and evaluate intelligent safety systems; test methods and protection systems to reduce injury http://www.aprosys.com/

° Conclusions of the Ministerial Conference: Motorways of the Sea "Preparing the future" can be found by clicking on the following hyper-link: Full text

Further Information on European Investment Bank loans is to be found on http://www.eib.org

° The European Technology Platform for Industrial Safely (ETPIS) held a General Assembly on 7th February. Commissioner Potocnik emphasised that EU industry must join forces and work together. the Commission is positive, and will support such technology projects to the limit our resources will allow,' he said. Further information on EPTIS Further information on Technology Platforms

For those who wish to look further into European Parliament business and transactions, the European Parliament new website has been in place since September 2005

The site includes five main sections: (1) ‘News’ -daily, up-to-date Parliament news; (2) the ‘Parliament‘ section which describes the institution’s role, powers and organisation and sets out services offered, such as Petitions and Correspondence with Citizens, and gives the addresses of the Parliament’s 31 information offices; (3) ‘Your MEPs’ section provides information on the 732 Members of Parliament, including details on their careers and parliamentary offices; (4) the ‘Activities’ section allows users to search for documents by institution, type or date for the last three parliamentary terms, i.e. the last 15 years; (5) an ‘EP Live’ section broadcasts events taking place in the European Parliament using ‘web streaming’ technology.

A session of the European Parliament was held in Brussels, 1st and 2nd February 2006

°MEPs discussed a Regulation on working time and rest periods for drivers of lorries and passenger vehicles and a Directive on checks and penalties to be imposed. This was at third reading stage: the legal texts have followed a conciliation procedure which involves face-to-face negotiation between Parliament and Council of Ministers.

Plenary session of the European Parliament, Strasbourg,13th – 16th February 2006.

° MEPs voted on first reading of the proposed Services Directive, which aims to open up the EU market in service provisions. Key concerns included the definition of 'services of general economic interest' and to what extent 'freedom to provide services' could go – the crux of the matter being whether companies established in one country would have to comply with the laws of the country in which they wish to offer the service. Parliament voted to exclude both public and private healthcare from the directive. Industries covered by legislation specific to their sector are also excluded, e.g. financial services, electronic communications services and networks, and transport. Other excluded areas include legal services, audiovisual services and professions and activities linked to the exercise of public authority (e.g. notaries) and tax services. Parliamentary amendments allow Member States to authorise firms to establish themselves if there is a proven economic need or demand for their service. Member States are also permitted to require companies register there before they can provide their services. The right of establishment may be restricted if there are overriding reasons relating to the public interest. The proposal now goes to the Council of Ministers and should return to the Parliament for a second reading at a later stage.

° MEPs also voted on and adopted a resolution from their Industry and Energy Committee calling for legislation from the European Commission to increase the share of renewable energy use. Geothermal, solar power and biomass make up 10% of energy use, committee members wish to see this doubled by 2020. (A majority of MEPs (367) must support such a proposal for it to become a formal request form Parliament to Commission, this was achieved.)

Working Document on Energy efficiency or doing more with less - Green Paper Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Rapporteur: Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca Full text

Working Document on the specific programme 'PEOPLE' implementing the seventh framework programme (2007-2013) of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities. Rapporteur: Umberto Pirilli MEP Full text

Draft Recommendation for second reading on the Council common position for adopting a Directive on the protection of groundwater against pollution: Christa Klaß MEP Full text

Report on the implementation of a European Union forestry strategy (A6-0015/2006)
Rapporteur: Heinz Kindermann MEP

° OECD ICCP workshop "The Future of the Internet" , Paris, 8^th March 2006.

Policy-makers, leading academics, private sector organisations, and civil society organisations will discuss the trends shaping the Internet’s future and explore the various technical, regulatory, and economic approaches that are or can be taken to create new functionality, increased trust, promote sustained growth and adoption, and identify opportunities for increased international cooperation on pressing issues. Info: karine.perset@oecd.org http://www.oecd.org

° The role of foundations and private philanthropy in funding research, Brussels, 27^th-28th March 2006

The European Commission conference will discuss how philanthropy (foundations, trusts, charities, etc.) can fund knowledge generation, in particular research activities, and explore strategies and initiatives to strengthen the potential of philanthropy as a source research funding in Europe. Guest speakers will include EU Science and Research Commissioner, Janez Potocnik. Further information

The congress is accompanied by an international concrete-aggregate technologies and equipment exhibition. Paper topics are Concrete in Human Life, Special Types of Concrete, Concrete Technology, Production and Application Technology, Architectural use of Concrete, Regulations and Quality Management Systems and Marketing and Industrial Problems. Deadline for abstract papers is 2 May 2005. e-mail: beton2006@thbb.org Information: www.beton2006.org

° 13th SEFI MWG Seminar, Buskerud University College, Kongsberg, Norway, 11th-14th June 2006 The main themes will be mathematical e-learning and innovative ways of teaching mathematics. Website: http://dmath.hibu.no/sefiseminar/index.html The seminar is followed by the 3rd European Workhop on MathML and Scientific e-Contents 13th-15th June 2006. Here the main themes will be all areas of brand new technology related to interactive mathematics on the web and mathematical and scientific e-learning. Website: http://dmath.hibu.no/workshop/

° Joint International Conference on Computing and Decision Making in Civil and Building Engineering, will be held in Montreal (Delta Centre-Ville Hotel), Canada, on June 14-16, 2006. For the first time three streams of conferences will gather together at a joint Conference under a common theme: Building on I.T. This will be the largest gathering in computing and decision making in civil and building engineering in 2006. (i) ICCCBE-XI - 11th International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering (ii) ICCC-ASCE - 2006 International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering of ASCE and (iii) DMUCE-5 - 5th Conference on Decision Making in Urban and Civil Engineering. Further information: http://www.icccbexi.ca,

° International Symposium on Dams in the Societies of the XXI Century,Barcelona, June 18^th 2006 Subjects covered will include the role of dams in water management, hydropower, and flood control, viability and acceptability of dams and their alternatives. Further details from: www.icold-barcelona2006.org. e-mail: secretariat@icold-barcelona2006.org

° First International Conference on Advances in Bridge Engineering, Brunel University, UK, 26^th -28^th June 2006 CALL FOR PAPERS: Full information and publicity leaflet from www.brunel.ac.uk/sed/bec2006 Further information available by e-mail from: bridgeconf.2006@brunel.ac.uk

° 21st European photovoltaic solar energy conference and exhibition, Dresden, Germany, 4^th-8th September 2006. The event will combines scientific and technological issues of research institutes, industries, utilities, politics, architects and end-users. There will also be workshops on specific PV issues. The accompanying industrial exhibition will attract over 250 companies and solar organisations from around the world and will provide a showcase for the technology and service providers involved in the PV solar field. Further information

° ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress 2007, Prague, Czech Republic, May 5^th-10^th 2007