BRUSSELS BRIEF

This brief is intended to provide a monthly up-date on matters within the European Institutions. More detailed reports of meetings with European Commission and Parliament are provided to ECCE member organisations with Working Papers and Minutes of Meeting.

ECCE BRUSSELS BRIEF: A review of the programme of the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers for the period from 1st July to 31st December 2003

Regular updates: EU policies and actions on Research and development; Education; Environment, Energy; Information Technology; General Interest; Project Financing; News from the European Parliament

ANNEX: Leading EU innovative regions. Click Here

On the political stage, the Presidency intends to convene the Intergovernmental Conference by October 2003 and will arrange for it to complete its work as soon as possible. The aim is for the contents of new constitutional charter to be available to European voters prior to the 2004 European Parliament elections. It is expected that the signing of the new Treaty will take place in Rome between 1st May 2004 and the date of the Parliament elections.

Italy plans to continue with the greater involvement of the Western Balkan countries in the decision-making process which was part of the Greek presidency. It also plans to map out a schedule of accession negotiations for Romania and Bulgaria. Negotiations should be completed by end 2004 with a view to accession in 2007. Initiatives are also mentioned in relation to Turkey and to the Russian Federation and a particular initiative is a relaunched Euro-Mediterranean partnership (the “Barcelona process”). This will continue moves to establish a Mediterranean Bank involving countries on both sides of the Mediterranean in joint development projects. Mention is also made of more extensive and reciprocal co-operation with Israel.

° Actions of interest to the construction sector and to professional engineers

An early announcement by the Italian Presidency which started on 1st July 2003 for a six-month period, was its priority of proposing investment in Europe's infrastructure as a means to stimulate economic growth. By mid-July, the European Commission had already announced plans for a number of financial and regulatory measures to boost investment in Trans European Networks (TENs) and major research and development (R&D) projects. CORDIS, the European Commission's Research and Development Information Service, supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research is offering a new window for research and innovation activities led by the Italian Presidency (July to December 2003). The service is available in both English and Italian. http://www.cordis.lu/italy/home.html

The Italian Presidency plans to conclude adoption of the two proposals for Directives on public procurement - one for the ‘traditional’ sectors and the other which covers water, energy and transport sectors. It also proposes to reach political agreement on the Commission proposal for a Directive on the improvement of mechanisms for recognition of professional qualifications, with the object of reinforcing the common platforms to facilitate free movement of workers and bring about a labour market which is accessible to all.

In the area of competitiveness, enterprise policy and innovation Italy intends to include a special examination of the competitiveness requirements in individual industrial sectors, especially those which lead to European economic growth. A stakeholder consultation to follow up on recommendations in the Green Paper on Entrepreneurship will precede a specific Action Plan.

Research topics will include encouragement of the 3% of GDP level of support for research, a proposal to adopt a Resolution to identify measures to train researchers and reduce barriers to mobility and progress on a process to map and recognise Centres of Excellence and promote support measures for European research facilities.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) initiatives in line with the e-Europe 2005 Action Plan will include a conference in Cernobbio on e-Government at the outset of the Presidency and hosting the annual European ICT Conference in Milan in October. Work will also be carried out to achieve a European position for the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to be held in Geneva at end December 2003.

Environmental policy measures will include work in integrating environmental objectives into sectoral policies and identification of key environmental indicators, technological innovation to ensure higher standards of environmental protection, promoting ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, in particular by Russia and setting out rules on the trade in greenhouse gas emissions. A Directive on public access to justice on environmental matters will follow on from the Aarhus Convention. Second reading of the packaging waste proposal is also on the agenda as are the topics of integrated product policy, sustainable use and management of resources, natural and technological risk management and environment and health.

Education and vocational training issues includes continuing discussion on preparing an interim report on implementation of the work programme on achieving the common objectives for education and training systems and on strengthening European co-operation on education and vocational training. A Ministerial Conference will take place on the subject of inter-university co-operation in the Mediterranean to which representatives of UNESCO and MEDA countries will be invited. Adoption of a Decision on the new elearning programme is planned, as is a debate on the next generation of European education, training and youth programmes (Socrates, Leonardo and Youth).

° Ecofin (the Council of EU Economic and Finance Ministers) Budgetary Council approves the EU 2004 Budget without debate(17th July): The Budget envisages appropriations of Euro 111.9 billion and allocations of 100.12 billion. The budget document stipulates that the maximum expenditures envisaged and approved in Berlin in 1999 are to be respected; margins must be maintained to allow for unforeseen payments; accurate programming of allocation payments is to be made and rigorous budget discipline is to be respected regarding the new acceding countries.

° Looking back on Greek Presidency research initiatives: Dimitris Deniozos, Greek General Secretary for Research regards the ‘breakthrough’ in reaching a common political agreement on the Community patent as a highlight of the Presidency. He was particularly pleased at the Presidency’s contribution to enhancing scientific and technological cooperation in the Balkan countries, extending the opportunities offered by FP6 for co-operation between the countries of the two regions. Of concern, however, were the difficulties in overcoming the gap between innovation and research in Europe, which he believes results from the institutional separation of the two themes between two different Commissioners and Directorates General.

° Germany plans to increase its research and education budget by 6% in 2004. A reported Euro 545 million increase set out in the country’s draft budget will raise total research and education spend to Euro 9.6 billion in 2004, in line with EU research investment policy of 3% of GDP by 2010. Larger research institutes will benefit under the new proposals, with the proportion of the total research and education budget allocated to them set to rise to 3%. Education provisions include Euro 32 million for a new ‘university pact’, aiming to improve student conditions, reduce student drop-out rate and reduce length of time spent studying. Money available for student loans will also increase.

° European Commission set to launch “Regions of Knowledge” pilot action: Regions of Knowledge initiative will have Euro 2.5 million in its first year to support innovative projects. Projects must involve regions in several Member States and demonstrate the central role of knowledge (i.e. know-how, human resources, R&D and other ‘intangible’ production factors) in the development of regional economies. The initiative was called for by the European Parliament. The call for proposals to be published on August 1st sets a deadline for proposals by mid-September 2003. Proposals must involve participants from at least three current EU Member States. The call will be available at http://www.cordis.lu/era/knowreg.htm.

(A table showing what are considered to be Europe’s most innovative regions, appears as an Annex to this Brussels Brief, after Conference News)

° New web research portal to boost R&D in Ireland: Launched on 1st July, the portal provides a searchable database with up-to-date details of academic and commercial expertise, funding information, technology transfer and collaborative opportunities in Ireland. The ExpertiseIreland portal will be formally launched in the rest of Europe during Ireland’s EU presidency in the first half of 2004. http://www.expertiseireland.com

° CORDIS offers individual services on research in each candidate country: The European Commission's Research and Development Information Service, has launched a redesigned gateway (available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish) offering access to new services providing research information on each of the 13 candidate countries. http://www.cordis.lu/candidate_countries

° Report draws conclusions on Europe’s research centre Euro 25 billion annual budget: A Commission study of 769 public research centres across Europe (92% of which focus on applied research) suggests that rationalisation, through harmonisation of public services and legislation would benefit the European Research Area. Study details: http://www.cordis.lu/indicators/publications.htm

° New online portal launched for SMEs: INSME, the international network for small and medium-sized businesses has launched a new web-based portal to improve competitiveness and innovative processes of small European companies. The free portal offers sections on innovation and technology transfer policies, promoting good practices, finding partners and technologies, joint projects and strengthening cross-boundary co-operation http://www.insme.info

° New thematic service on ‘sustainable energy systems’ launched on CORDIS. The service is dedicates to research and specific support actions on non-nuclear energy issues. The new service is part of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) portal, offering central access to background information and funding opportunities (Euro 810 million is available) as well as direct links aimed at supporting the submission of proposals and project management. Easy access is given to over 1,000 organisations interested in environment research, and links to over 600 previous projects on global change, renewable energies and new energy sources. http://www.cordis.lu/sustdev/energy/home.html

° Research project evaluates bridge repair requirements: New hardware and software tools are being developed by the IMAC project to allow rapid assessment of the state of Europe's many bridges. Europe’s main networks of transnational, primary and secondary roads depend on three quarters of a million bridges, a high proportion of which were built over 30 years ago. A huge peak of repair and retrofit investment is expected to be needed from 2005, which could cost up to three times the present value of such work. The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) is performing the final round of tests under laboratory conditions in its European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) in Ispra, Italy. http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/indus trial_technologies/30-06-03_pro-imac_en. html

° A fibre-reinforced composite river bridge able to carry 40-tonne vehicles has been built in the UK as part of the ASSET project to help improve Europe's ageing road system. It is made from strong but light structural elements. Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP), a resin matrix strengthened with glass or carbon fibres, is the structural material used in the project. FRP can be shaped as it is made by the pultrusion process, in which the fibres are continuously fed through a molten resin mixture, which is then pulled out through a heated die. The bridge, Westmill Bridge, is now located near Shrivenham in Oxfordshire.

° CORDIS database new search feature offer a quick and easy way to find information from amongst more than 40,000 web pages, nine databases and thousands of documents The new search service is to be found on http://ica.cordis.lu/search A help file and search tips are on http://ica.cordis.lu/search/helpfile

° Looking ahead - debate expected under Italian presidency on the next generation of European education training and youth programmes. Europe’s education and vocational training programmes aim to introduce a European dimension into these subjects. The Commission’s public consultation on the future development of the above EU programmes for the period 2017-2013 ran from November 2002 to February 2003. During its Presidency Italy will launch the debate on the next generation of these European programmes (Socrates, Leonardo and Youth). The Commission’s first draft proposal is expected at the beginning of 2004. The Commission expects Parliament and Council approval to be achieved in June 2004.

The Council of Ministers Working Party on the Environment included on its agenda: the amended proposal for a Directive on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances; Proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (presentation by the Commission and first exchange of views) and the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the quality of bathing water.

° European Parliament Question to Commission: Impact of ECJ judgement (Case C-458/00) on waste incineration: Interpretation of the above ECJ judgement is that the Court appears to conclude that incineration with energy recovery is to be regarded as a ‘disposal’ and not a ‘recovery system’. According to the Court, the main objective of the treatment operation within the plant determines whether recovery or disposal takes place. The operation is recovery only if the waste replaces the use of natural resources. The Court also stated that shipment of waste cannot be regarded as having the recovery of waste as principal objective, even if when the waste is incinerated all or part of the heat produced by the combustion is reclaimed. In the Luxembourg case, the Commission argued that incineration of waste where the energy is recovered in full or in part should be classified as a recovery operation. This was rejected by the court.

Thus, according to these judgements, incineration with energy recovery is regarded as disposal if that is the main purpose of the operations. In view of the available information, the classification of incineration within certain plants as disposal would not prevent the attainment of the reduction targets for landfill of biodegradable waste. The Landfill Directive requires that bio-degradable waste is not put into landfills - it does not, however, require such waste to be recovered.

° Environmental ministerial representatives back network of marine protected areas: Experts from the EU and 20 other countries formally backed creation of such a network by 2010 to cover the North-East Atlantic and the Baltic Sea during fhr first joint meeting of OSPAR (North-East Atlantic) and HELCOM Baltic Sea) Commissions on 26th June in Bremen. http://www.ospar.org/eng/html/welcome/html

° Earth's youngest desert is shown in a July MERIS satellite image of the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Once the fourth largest lake in the world, over the last 40 years the Aral Sea has evaporated back to half its original surface area and a quarter its initial volume, leaving a 40,000 square kilometre zone of dry white-coloured salt terrain now called the Aralkum Desert. It is expected to dry out completely by 2020. Located on the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea shows what happens when the concept of sustainable development is disregarded. The Small Aral Sea is still thought to be “saveable”; several dikes have been constructed to cut it off from the Large Aral Sea – preventing water loss and salt contamination - but shifting water levels have so far defeated these efforts. The channel connecting the two should soon dry up anyway, preserving the Small Aral Sea at least. Researchers are currently studying the salty Aralkum Desert – effectively the newest land surface on Earth – to see how best to promote plant growth and stabilise the dusty dry lakebed. http://ravel.esrin.esa.it/images/aral_meris_LL.jpg

° Meanwhile, scientists from the UK meteorological office have found new evidence to suggest that humans are to blame for climate warming, not only at global level, but over individual continents such as Europe. While identifying the effect of human activity on the global scale is difficult due to the 'noise' of natural climate variability, which is even greater at continental level, scientists believe that the rise in temperature is due to human-made greenhouse gases. Scientists compared temperature rises since the beginning of the last century in six continents, using simulations from climate models, and found that the global average temperatures have risen by between 0.6 and 0.7 degrees centigrade. Peter Stott, of the Met office's Hadley Centre, explained: 'The continental warming of the past few decades cannot be explained by natural factors such as solar changes, volcanoes or natural variability. But once we factor in the effects of human activity, we find we can explain the warming that is observed.'

° EU votes to launch the world's largest international emissions trading market starting in 2005. Companies will need special permits allowing them to emit carbon dioxide, which they can then trade with each other. EU sources state that the system will operate something like a stock market - instead of trading in shares, the currency will be the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. In accordance with the Kyoto protocol, countries outside the Union will be able to trade on the market as of 2008.

° Proposal for a Directive establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community, in respect of the Kyoto Protocol's project mechanisms {SEC(2003) 785 } Full Text It is accepted that industrialised countries have a responsibility to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases through domestic measures, as they have historic levels of emissions and current higher per capita emissions than developing countries. According to the principle of “supplementarity” which this scheme underpins, industrialized countries should take significant action at home to meet their reduction commitments and use the Kyoto Protocol's mechanisms to meet only part of these commitments. The so-called “Kyoto flexible mechanisms” - the Joint Implementation ("JI") and the Clean Development Mechanism ("the CDM"), together with international emissions trading, are innovative instruments provided for in the Kyoto Protocol. This proposal should boost JI and the CDM: it should provide additional incentives for business to engage in these mechanisms and promote technology transfer.

° The European Commission has issued its Opinion on the amendments to the common position for a proposed directive on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances. The Proposal follows the Communication on the "Safe operation of mining activities: a follow-up to recent mining accidents" (COM(2000) 664 final) in which the Commission sets out three key actions in order to increase the safety of mining operations (an amendment of the Seveso II Directive, an initiative on the management of mining waste and a Best Available Technologies reference document under the IPPC Directive (96/61/EC)) and aims at including certain activities of the extractive industries, including tailings disposal facilities.

Environmental cases: The Commission has decided to refer Austria to the European Court of Justice because Austrian law fails to fully transpose specific EU legislation on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC). The Commission has also sent a final written warning ("reasoned opinion") asking Ireland to take steps to fully transpose the Directive into Irish law. (The IPPC Directive aims to place strict environment controls on potentially polluting industrial and agricultural operations. It seeks to prevent or reduce pollution of air, water and land through a comprehensive permit system that assesses each environmental medium simultaneously. In addition, the Directive's scope covers the generation of waste, energy use, accident prevention and the cleaning up of industrial sites. Further IPPC info http://eippcb.jrc.es): Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): The European Commission is pursuing infringement procedures against the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg to ensure better compliance with EU law on EIA. The European Commission has sent a formal request to the Netherlands, Ireland and Italy urging them to correctly transpose into national legislation an EU law on the control of major industrial accidents involving dangerous substances (the ‘Seveso II’ Directive).