U.K. Presidency pages: http://www.eu2005.gov.uk

Next Presidencies:

1st January -30th June 2006: Austrian Presidency

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D)

° Eurostat publishes figures on R&D expenditure and personnel in the European regions: On a national level, Germany scores both the highest overall result and has the highest number of R&D intensive regions. The regional pattern of R&D personnel distribution across Europe shows high concentrations clustered in the capital regions and/or important industrial and technological regions (southern Germany or northern Italy). In the new Member States, however, high concentrations of R&D personnel are more scattered across one or two regions per country. 

° TPIS: safety for sustainable European industry growth A new Technology Platform on industrial safety (TPIS) has been launched to help enable the sustainable growth of European industry. Its main aim is to prepare a strategic vision of the research priorities for industrial safety and to implement a detailed action plan. It also hopes to achieve improvements in industrial safety through  better transfer of existing knowledge to companies, particularly SMEs, and the newer EU Member States.  Priorities include better training and education of those involved in managing environmental and professional risk, as well as the development of an incident elimination culture. Eurostat statistics indicate that one worker in the EU 15 becomes a victim of industrial accidents every 5 seconds and one worker dies every two hours.  The cost of accidents at work and occupational diseases in the EU15 ranges from 2.6-3.8 per cent of Gross National Product (GNP).  http://www.industrialsafety-tp.org/  For further information on technology platforms, please visit: http://www.cordis.lu/technology-platform s/

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT)  

° DIP on semantic web: the new Internet revolution: the explosive growth of the web has created a problem: information overload. Researchers are exploring the possibility to create a 'Semantic Web', in which the 'human' meaning of web pages is made visible to computers, allowing machines to process and integrate web resources intelligently. This Web, an extension of the current one, will help structure web content. The EU is providing Euro 16.3 million funding for DIP (Data, Information, and Process Integration with Semantic Web Services)  which aims to develop and extend current semantic web and web service technologies to produce a new technology infrastructure for semantic web services (SWS). DIP is leading the development of WSMO (Web Services Modelling Ontology).  (An ontology comprises the vocabulary and concepts used for describing semantic web services) Further info: http://dip.semanticweb.org/  : information on World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) semantic web activity committee: http://www.w3.org/Submission/2005/06

° Europe’s ICT and Media Industry leaders Sign Up to Commission Roadmap for Growth and Jobs  Ten business leaders of Europe’s major telecom, Internet, TV and music companies met the European Commission, the UK Presidency and representatives of the forthcoming Austrian and Finish presidencies to discuss how to activate Europe’s emerging “Digital Economy”. In a joint statement, the business leaders welcomed the European Commission’s response to the challenges given in its new initiative “i2010 – a European Information Society for growth and jobs”. i2010 calls for completion of the internal market for electronic communications and media services, for a more modern and flexible legal framework for audiovisual content, for efficient and interoperable Digital Rights Management and for strengthening investment in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).  Further details : http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/i2010/index_en.htm

° Project to promote use of ICT within research and higher education :  Four partner organisations (Joint Information Systems Committee, U.K.; Dutch SURF Foundation; Denmark's Electronic Research Library; German Research Foundation) will seek to redesign services provided to researchers.  The aim is to create a joint structure for digital learning, teaching and research including, for example, virtual research environments.  The network will be coordinated from a Knowledge Exchange Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the first three years of the initiative.

° Commission acts to promote broadband Internet access through ‘Wi-Fi’: a decision by the Commission on 14th July 2005 to dedicate a substantial amount of radio spectrum throughout the EU to radio local area networks (Wi-Fi). The decision to make two specific frequency bands (5150-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz) available for Wi-Fi access in all Member States clears the way for a single market in wireless access systems. Common EU rules will reduce equipment cost and aid uptake of wireless systems for public and private access.  Some projections estimate that today's 120 million Wi-Fi users worldwide (25 million of whom are in Western Europe) could grow to 500 million within three years.  This equate to the consumer appeal of mobile phones. http://europa.eu.int/information_society/policy/radio_spectrum/index_en.htm

A Commission public consultation is underway on policy measures required to extend broadband coverage to Europe's underserved rural areas (the EU’s own ‘digital divide’). To contribute/respond, please access: http://europa.eu.int/information_society /eeurope/i2010/digital_divide/index_en.h tm 

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION:

° Europe’s Centre for Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP)'s third report on vocational education and training research has been published.  It addresses the value of learning and current research into these matters. It focuses specifically on evaluation of reforms and measures and on the impacts of education and training for society, individuals and enterprises.  Further information available in English, French and German from: http://www.trainingvillage.gr/etv/HomePages/Banner/about_vocational_training_research.asp

° TEMPUS update: The European Commission has selected 108 university co-operation projects under the Tempus Programme to start on 1 September 2005. Each project lasts for a period of two or three years and involves a minimum of three universities in the European Union and its neighbouring countries. The EC contribution totals € 44 million http://www.etf.eu.int/tempus.nsf.

° EU 86 million euro to boost innovation in vocational training under the Leonardo da Vinci programme. Funding will be divided between 295 projects in 31 countries. These projects will focus on: developing new measures and instruments to present and compare qualifications and competences; developing vocational training opportunities; ICT supported learning; developing training and learning materials to improve skills; developing e-learning training tools; training teachers and trainers from schools, universities and companies. Italy has receiving a total of over 64 million euro from 2001- 2005, next most successful are Germany and then the UK. The 2006 selection round will be the last in the current phase of the Leonardo da Vinci programme. The European Commission has proposed a new programme on lifelong learning to fund vocational training activities post 2006. http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/prog rammes/leonardo/new/leonardo2_en.html

THE ENVIRONMENT:  

° Internet consultation on a proposal for a Floods Directive: "Reducing the risks of floods in Europe" Comments by 14 September: Commission Services are currently developing an EU Flood Action Programme.  Three key components are: Research and information: improving the exchange of information and knowledge, sharing experiences and increasing awareness; EU funding tools: a targeted approach to best use of these tools; and Proposal for a legal instrument: proposal for a Floods Directive. The consultation objective is to obtain stakeholder opinions on the principles and elements being considered for inclusion into a new EU Floods Directive. Full text   

° Industrial pollution: new European register adopted: Following first-reading European Parliament and Council agreed the text for the European Release and Transfer Register (PRTR), as required by a UN protocol.  The European PRTR should go online in 2009 and will then replace the European Pollution Emissions Register (EPER) http://www.eper.cec.eu.int.

° Russian public discusses decommissioning plans for nuclear-powered ships: A first series of public consultations to discuss environmental, health-related and social impacts of a master plan for the decommissioning of 121 nuclear-powered submarines and ships in northwest Russia has been held in Moscow, Murmansk and Severodvinsk with the support of the Russian authorities.  The draft report is now available for comments at www.ebrd.com/enviro/eias/index.htm. A final version incorporating public comments will be published after a four-month public consultation period ending in September 2005.  The master plan has been financed from the nuclear window of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP). The international community has so far committed €150 million to the EBRD-managed NDEP Support Fund.

° Environmental cases: (Please note that a review of environmental breaches notified in July appears as an Annexe to this month’s ECCE Brussels Brief)

See also: http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm#infractions

For rulings by the European Court of Justice see http://curia.eu.int/en/content/juris/index.htm

ENERGY:

° New Directive for eco-design requirements on energy-using products: Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L191/29 22.7.2005).  Member States must implement the directive before 11^th August 2007.Full text

° European Commission opens state of the art Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Test Facilities: The new testing facilities are located at the Commission’s Institute for Energy in Petten, the Netherlands. Transition to a hydrogen economy is a key part of the EU’s long-term energy policy, from electricity generation to transport. When hydrogen is combined with fuel cell technology to generate electricity, the only waste product is water. Hydrogen can be easily stored and transported. In combination with fuel cells, it can provide energy in remote locations not served by the electricity grid. Scientists at the Institute will simulate operational lifetime conditions on fuel cells from arctic to tropical and from motorway driving to forest tracks. Further info: https://www.hfpeurope.org/  and http://www.jrc.nl/

° Energy markets: five Member States to be taken before the Court of Justice The Commission is bringing Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain and Luxembourg before the Court of Justice of the European Communities and to send a reasoned opinion to Portugal, for failure to transpose into their national law either one or both of the two EU Directives on the internal gas and electricity markets. This is the third stage in the infringement procedure after the Commission sent letters of formal notice to 18 States in October 2004.  The Commission is closely monitoring the integration and degree of opening up of the energy markets to competition and each year it publishes a benchmarking report.  Before 1st January 2006 the Commission will publish an overall report on the functioning of the market http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/electricity/benchmarking/index_en.htm

° European Commission sends Reasoned Opinions to 9 Member States for failure to implement European legislation on bio-fuels.  Under the Directive (2003/30/EC ), Member States transpose the Directive during 2004; send the Commission a national report with an indicative target for the share of the petrol and diesel market that will be taken by biofuels at the end of 2005; and explain any difference between this target and the 2% “reference value” in the Directive. Despite letters of formal notice sent in February 2005, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia have still not informed the Commission of the measures they have taken to transpose the Directive. Biofuels include biodiesel made from oil seeds (especially rape seed) and used cooking oil; bioethanol made from grain and sugar crops; and biogas made from landfill gas and farm waste.  Member States’ national reports under the biofuels Directive are available on: http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/res/legislation/biofuels_en.htm

TRANSPORT:

° EESC Opinion: Market access to port services The European Economic and Social Committee has published its Opinion on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on market access to port services COM(2004) 654 final - 2004/0240 (COD) Full text of Opinion  It concludes that a far less detailed framework directive providing sufficient scope for subsidiarity would appear preferable to the present draft directive and that it should be sufficient to refer to the applicability of legislation relevant to transparency or public procurement without entering into the details of their application to port services. 

° Draft regulation to give local authorities the means to develop public transport : The European Commission has now adopted a  revised proposal to provide a clear framework for local authorities’ needs to replace the outdated 1969 Regulation. Now, public authorities and operators responsible for providing public passenger transport must agree, within the framework of a contract, on the criteria necessary to offer the best quality of service.  Public service contracts between operators and local authorities will be able to lay down precise public service tasks entrusted to the operator and the funding to be granted to do so. Regulations will enter into force in a progressive transition: 8 years for bus services and 10 years for rail services. Financial compensation to be granted to public transport operators, calculated using clear and simple rules, must reflect actual costs plus a reasonable profit. By complying with these rules, local authorities will not need to notify compensation under State aid rules, simplifying administration and giving greater legal certainty.  This is in line with other recently-adopted measures by the Commission for public services.    

° Speed limitation devices and road safety: reasoned opinions The Commission has sent reasoned opinions to Ireland and the Czech Republic which have so far failed to communicate measures to transpose into national law, European legislation (Directive 2002/85/EC amending Directive 92/6/EEC)  on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles.  

Reference point: Energy and Transport DG   

INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING:

° European Investment Bank  

° The EIB is providing EUR 15 million for the modernisation and extension of the water infrastructure in the city of Plzen in the Czech Republic.  Plzen, with a population of 170,000, is the major industrial centre of Western Bohemia.

° EIB is providing EUR 25 million for municipal investments in Slovenia. The loan will co-finance small and medium sized municipal projects in the fields of energy and energy savings, environmental protection, infrastructure supporting developments of health, education, urban renewal and social housing.

° The Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) is granting a EUR 60 million loan for new roads in Lebanon. The loan covers construction of two new primary roads: (1) the 11 km Taanayel - Masnaa highway section between Beirut and Damascus and (2) the 6 km Tripoli West Ring Road . The loan is the second EIB operation in the Lebanese road sector.

 

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

 

° The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 

Information on EBRD activity is to be found on: http://www.ebrd.org

° Newly adopted EU guidelines for rural development 2007-13 set out a strategic approach and options for Member States’ national Rural Development programmes (increasingly important since Common Agricultural Policy reform).

Since enlargement, rural areas make up 90% of EU territory. http://europa.eu.int/comm/mediatheque/photo/barroso/index_en.cfm?id=7187

° Public procurement: Commission acts on Greek legislation excluding certain companies from public contracts. After suspension of law 3310/2005 a previously existing law (3021/2002) came back into force in Greece. The Commission has sent a letter of formal notice asking the Greek Government for its observations on the compatibility with Community law of the national provisions banning the award of public contracts to companies “interconnected” with Greek mass media companies http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/publicprocurement/index_en.htm

° Consultation until 30th September 2005: new Community Strategic Guidelines for cohesion, growth and jobs The Strategic Guidelines provide Member States and regions with indicative Community priorities for cohesion policy programmes. There are three overarching priorities:

Guideline I: Making Europe a more attractive place to invest and work: expanding and improving infrastructures; improving the environmental contribution to growth and jobs; addressing Europe’s intensive use of traditional energy sources, supporting renewable and alternative technologies. Guideline II: Knowledge and innovation for growth: increasing and improving RTD investment; facilitating innovation, promoting entrepreneurship; developing an information society for all; facilitating access to finance. Guideline III: More and better jobs: Attracting and retaining more people in employment, modernising social protection systems; improving adaptability of workers and enterprises and flexibility of the labour market; better education and skills to increase investment in human capital; enhancing administrative capacity, maintaining a healthy labour force.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/2007/osc/index_en.htm

National and regional authorities need to make substantial progress now with the management and substance of their cohesion policy programmes to avoid severe disruption in 2007 following failure of the June European Council to reach agreement on the future of the EU’s finances.  More information on Regional Policy :http://europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/index_en.htm, Employment, Social/Equal Opportunities http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/index_en.html

° The EU’s Council of Finance ministers met in Brussels for the first reading of the 2006 draft budget.   Representatives from the European Parliament joined them for the conciliation meeting. The first reading is based on the Commission’s proposal presented on 27 April 2005 which proposed €112.6 billion in payments for 2006, equal to 1.02% of the Gross National Income (GNI) of EU-25 and a 5.9% increase on the 2005 budget. In commitments the Commission proposed €121.3 billion, 1.09% of EU GNI, and an increase of 4% on 2005.  The Council normally proposes large cuts in the first reading (normally on agriculture and structural actions).  A severe cut of €429 million is foreseen for research. Further information : http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/infos/publications_en.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/pdf/news/budget_2006_slides.pdf 

° The European Parliament met in Strasbourg for a plenary session from 4^th to 7th July 2005

Main issues under discussion were:

- a main debate on next generation of Structural Funds (European Social Fund, European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund).

- the patenting of computer-aided inventions.  This technical piece of legislation has sparked one of the fiercest debates of recent times between the so-called “open source” community and many of the larger IT companies such as Microsoft.  At issue is whether to allow the patenting of computerised inventions such as washing machines, mobile phones or ABS car braking systems, or whether copyright is sufficient.

The European Parliament is now in summer recess. MEPs will reconvene in Brussels on Monday 29th August for committee meetings.  They will then prepare positions before the next full session of the European Parliament which will take place in Strasbourg from 5^th – 8^th  September.

° MEPs' Pay and Expenses:   In July the Council of Ministers agreed a new Statute for Members of the European Parliament, to settle the long-running arguments over MEPs' pay and expenses.  This will come into effect following the next European Parliament elections in 2009.  This Statute sets the monthly salary for all MEPs at EUR 7,000.  It will end differences between Members’ pay (they currently receive the same salaries as members of their national parliaments).

Under the new system, the EU will pay MEPs' salaries.  MEPs will pay income tax to the EU budget, though Member States may choose to apply additional taxation up to the level of national rates.  During a transition period, each Member State may continue to apply rules different from those in the Statute. Once the Statute has come into effect, MEPs' travel expenses will no longer be refunded on a flat-rate basis. Instead, they would be reimbursed on the basis of actual expenses incurred. The Parliament will pay contributions for a common pension scheme for Members.

° IABSE Symposium “Structures and Extreme Events”, Lisbon, 14^th-16th September 2005 

The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.  There is a March 15^th 2005 deadline for receipt of papers for the Symposium. Symposium themes will be: Natural disasters, man-made events (fire, explosions, impacts, etc.) and human errors (mismanagement, design mistakes, defective material, equipment malfunction, etc.) Contact: IABSE Lisbon 2005, Organising Committee, c/o LNEC, Ave. Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisbon, Portugal | Tel: +351 21 844 3260| Fax: +351 21 844 3025 | Email: iabse.lisbon2005@lnec.pt | www.iabse.org/conferences/lisbon2005

° Semantic Web Days 2005, Munich, Germany – 6^th-7^th October 2005

This forum of exchange for innovative businesses and European research institutions that concentrate on semantic web tools and technologies will place particular focus on applications based on ontologies- and reasoning-based technologies to process (semantic) web data. Application areas such as Bioinformatics and Semantic Web Services will offer insights into practical application issues. For further information: http://semantic-web-days.net

° 2005 ASCE Annual Conference, Los Angeles, October 27^th -29^th 2005.

There will also be an International Roundtable on 26^th October on the subject of "Surviving Nature's Forces: Have Civil Engineers Built Safe Communities?"  Further information www.asce.org

° Second World Science Forum, Budapest, Hungary – 10^th-12^th November 2005

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences, in partnership with UNESCO and the International Council for Science (ICSU) is organising the second World Science Forum. This will tackle the ethical aspects of knowledge and the responsibility of scientists.  Eminent participants will discuss: The Scientists' Approach - The Political Decision Makers Approach;  Capacity Building and Implementation;  The Role of Business;  Perspectives from the Developing World;  Challenges for the Environment; Educating Future Generations. One result aimed for is for the web site of the World Science Forum to be a basic reference tool of thinking about the questions of science and society. A public e-Forum is available for all to discuss and consider World Science Forum topics : http://www.sciforum.hu/

° Communicating European Research 2005, International Conference, Brussels, 14-15 November 2005 the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research will host the second "Communicating European Research" conference. The event will focus on the manifold aspects of science communication and will provide a forum and meeting place for scientists, communication professionals and journalists. The conference will also take stock of the way towards the Seventh Framework Programme. The first announcement of the conference is now available.

Information on the Calls for Proposals for the Exhibition and Forum is now available.

° Global Conference on Social Responsibility, Vilamoura, Portugal 16th- 18th Feb 2006.

The conference, at Vilamoura in Portugal’s Algarve area will focus especially on The Role of Business in Poverty Alleviation. The World Council for Corporate Governance (WCFCG) is testing the idea of widening the scope of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from roots in labour relations and community, to a way of making business pro-active in alleviating poverty.

° BETON 2006 Ready Mixed Concrete Congress, Istanbul, Turkey, April 2006

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

ECCE Contact Details | ECCE Homepage