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Top News from the EU

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Up-coming events for the first semester 2009
It's a non-exhaustive and to be confirmed Top News list.
You can find the entire program here

JANUARY 2009:

01/01: Slovakia adopts the euro; with this new country, the euro area will count 16 European Union countries and a total of 323 million people. The last Eurozone enlargement took place last January with Cyprus and Malta.

05/01: The new MEDIA MUNDUS programme of the European Commission will add a global dimension to the existing MEDIA programme which promotes already today the circulation of European films outside their country of production. 07/01: Meeting between the College of Commissioners and theCzech government in Prague, Slovenia. The Commission has already begun working closely with the Czech Government.

19/01: Exceptionally, the Commission will publish a new, extended interim forecast, including on budgetary and debt positions of all Member States. Commissioner Almunia announced the updated exercise during the press conferences of the Eurogroup and Ecofin on 1-2 December.

FEBRUARY 2009:

5-6/02: 2nd European University-Business Forum. Launched in February 2008, the initiative is a platform for a structured dialogue between Higher Education and business stakeholders at the European level. The Forum in 2009 will bring together 400 high-level representatives from relevant European organisations and associations, from Higher Education Institutions, from large companies and SME's, and from national, regional and local authorities.

11/02: Recommendation for a Council Opinion on a first group of updated stability/convergence programmes. At the end of each year, Member States submit to the Commission their medium-term budgetary projections (generally for a period of five years including year that ended) as part of the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact, which requires Member States to have sustainable public finances as a rule. For most this means a balanced budget. The Commission will assess these programmes in three stages

18/02: Recommendation for a Council Opinion on the updated stability / convergence programmes (second group of countries).

25/02: Recommendation for a Council Opinion on the updated stability / convergence programmes (third group of countries).

Events with no set date:

- (tbc maybe for March): Joint Communication presenting the rationale for going beyond GDP and developing a more integrated form of accounting that also includes the environment and quality of life, and detailing a first set of actions.

- The 2009 Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion will be presented to social affairs ministers for adoption by the Council. It reports on the EU's system of common objectives and assessment for social protection and inclusion. The 2009 Joint Employment Report will also be presented to ministers.

- The new "Consumer Market Scoreboard" will cover energy, financial and telecoms sectors. The new EU-wide monitoring system will publish data on EU markets from a consumer point of view – with regard to prices, complaints, switching, consumer satisfaction. The reporting system will introduce a new level of transparency about the prices of goods and services within different Member States and operators will have to justify these.

- (tbc maybe for March) Revision of Directive 2000/35/EC on combating late payment in commercial transactions. Several key provisions of the current Directive are unclear or difficult to implement, thereby creating various hurdles for businesses to claim their rights in case of late payment.

- tbc Green Taxation package to introduce measures to adapt taxation rules to the low-carbon economy, including lower VAT rates on green products and services.

MARCH 2009:

08/03: The 2009 Report on Equality between Women and Men. The Commission will publish its annual report on developments towards gender equality. The report will be presented on the occasion of International Women's Day.

15/03: Consumer Day. DG Sanco will arrange a series of celebrations to mark the day.

19-20/03: European Council in Brussels. Expected first items: Integrated guidelines for Growth and Jobs, Lisbon strategy programme, Better regulation, Western Balkans, Accessions negotiations follow-up.

APRIL 2009:

1-2/04: European Consumer Summit: A high-level Summit for a wide array of consumer stakeholders – EU institutions, industry, consumer organisations, press – will take place in Brussels to look at the challenges and opportunities for consumers in the digital economy.

2/04: Likely date for meeting of G-20 in London to follow up on November Washington summit.

Events with no set date:

- (tbc maybe for May) Final report and budgetary execution in 2008 related to the structural funds.

- Communication of the European Commission on the Millennium Development Goals package.

MAY 2009:

6-14/05: The European Commission will be organizing the first Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) Week to inform small businesses about available EU and national support and to encourage people to become entrepreneur. In June 2008, the Commission adopted the "Small Business Act" for Europe(SBA) which recognises the central role of SMEs in the EU economy and applies to all companies which are independent and have fewer than 250 employees: 99% of all European businesses.

09/05: European day. Open day in the EU institutions.

15-16/05: in Brussels, 8th Meeting of People Experiencing Poverty and Social Exclusion. This annual meeting brings together people faced with poverty and policy-makers engaged in reducing poverty and social exclusion at European Union and national level.

Events with no set date:

- The Commission will adopt a Communication on the Renewed Social Agenda, reporting on the results after one year of implementation..

JUNE 2009:

4-7/06: European Parliament elections.

18-19/06: European Council in Brussels.

Events with no set date:

- Communication on sectoriel social dialogue. The Commission will present a new Communication analysing the dialogue between workers' and employers' representatives at European level in different sectors of the economy.

- EU-US Summit in Washington.

EC launches a public consultation on ADR in financial services

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Launch of public consultation on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the area of financial services
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the area of financial services. Existing schemes do not always cover all financial services providers. The Commission encourages wide participation of all interested stakeholders and invites them to respond to the consultation by 27 February 2009.

• Read the consultation >>

The European council approved a European economic recovery plan

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The European Council on 11 and 12 December 2008 approved a European Economic Recovery Plan, equivalent to about 1,5 % of the GDP of the European Union (a figure amounting to around EUR 200 billion). The plan provides a common framework for the efforts made by Member States and by the European Union, with a view to ensuring consistency and maximising effectiveness.

The European Council also reached agreement on the energy/climate change package which should enable this package to be finalised with the European Parliament by the end of the year. This decisive breakthrough will enable the European Union to honour the ambitious commitments entered into in this area in 2007 to maintain its leading role in the search for an ambitious and comprehensive global agreement at Copenhagen next year.

EU conclusion >>

ECB Montly bulletin, december

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

ECB Montly bulletin, december
In the view of the Governing Council, the economic outlook remains surrounded by an exeptionally high degree of uncertainty.

European Council: today and tomorrow, the Heads of State and Government of the 27 are meeting in Brussels
The subjects for discussion include energy and climate change, financial and economic matters, the Treaty of Lisbon and the European Security and Defence policy.

State aid: Commission consults on draft Best Practices Code on state aid proceedings
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a draft Best Practice Code on the conduct of state aid control proceedings. The Code will provide, after consultation with Member States in January, guidance on the day-to-day conduct of state aid proceedings. It aims to improve the effectiveness, transparency and predictability of the procedures at each step of the investigation, thereby fostering co-operation between the Commission and Member States. In particular, it proposes increased pre-notification contacts, mutually agreed planning for the most difficult cases and a stricter enforcement of existing procedural rules. This is in line with the objective announced in the State Aid Action Plan (2005) which called for more effective, simple and predictable procedures in the field of State aid. Interested parties are invited to submit their comments on the draft by 28 January 2009.

State aid: Commission approves Dutch authorities' recapitalisation of SNS REAAL
The European Commission has approved, under EC Treaty state aid rules, an emergency recapitalisation worth €750 million that the Dutch authorities intend to grant to SNS REAAL N.V. The Commission found the measure to be in line with its Guidance Communications on state aid to overcome the current financial crisis and on the recapitalisation of financial institutions in the current financial crisis.The measure constitutes an adequate means to remedy a serious disturbance in the Dutch economy while avoiding undue distortions of competition and is therefore compatible with Article 87.3.b. of the EC Treaty. In particular, the measure is limited in time and scope, requires an adequate remuneration and provides safeguards to minimise distortions of competition.

EU27 current account deficit € 26.0 billion
The EU27 external current account recorded a deficit of € 26.0 billion in the third quarter of 2008, compared with a deficit of € 9.7 billion in the third quarter of 2007 and a deficit of € 30.9 billion in the second quarter of 2008. In the third quarter of 2008, the EU27 external balance of trade in services recorded a surplus of € 21.2 billion euro, compared with a surplus of € 23.5 billion in the third quarter of 2007 and a surplus of € 20.5 billion in the second quarter of 2008. These provisional data, issued by Eurostat will be subject to revision.

GDP per inhabitant in the Member States ranged from 37% to 267% of the EU27 average in 2007
In 2007, GDP per inhabitant in Luxembourg, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), was more than two-and-a-half times the EU27 average, while Ireland and the Netherlands recorded levels about 50% and 30% respectively above average. Austria, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland and Germany were between 15% and 25% above the EU27 average. France, Spain and Italy registered GDP per inhabitant between 0% and 10% above the EU27 average, while Greece and Cyprus were between 0% and 10% below the average.

ECB, Britain and Sweden all made big cuts in interest rates.

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The European Central Bank, Britain and Sweden all made big cuts in interest rates.
The Governing Council of the ECB took the following monetary policy decisions:
1.The interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the Eurosystem will be decreased by 75 basis points to 2.50%, starting from the operation to be settled on 10 December 2008.
2.The interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be decreased by 75 basis points to 3.00%, with effect from 10 December 2008.
3.The interest rate on the deposit facility will be decreased by 75 basis points to 2.00%, with effect from 10 December 2008.

Antitrust: Commission consults on review of rules for assessing horizontal cooperation agreements
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the functioning of the current regime for the assessment of horizontal cooperation agreements under EU antitrust rules, in particular the Specialisation and Research & Development Block Exemption Regulations and the Horizontal Guidelines. The purpose of the review is to evaluate how these rules have worked in practice. The Commission welcomes comments up to 30th January 2009.

State aid: Overview of national rescue measures and guarantee schemes

Csr Forum 2009

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Corporate and Stakeholder Responsibility: “from theory to practice”
The goal of the 2009 edition is to concretely compare and contrast the knowledge and experience gained in order to pass “from theory to practice”.

Crisis: Faissola, we�re ready to collaborate with the government

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

“It’s a significant economic policy measure that will enable Italy to overcome the crisis and provide Italian households and companies with the necessary tools and solutions to tackle and emerge from the crisis” stated Corrado Faissola, President of ABI, with regard to his first impressions of the measures set out in the anti-crisis decree approved today by the Council of Ministers.

67 million cards currently in use

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A 12% increase with respect to the previous year. A comprehensive overview of electronic money in Italy, resulting from a survey conducted by ABI’s e-Committee, was presented today at the “Carte Diem” conference. Mr. Zadra stated: “Italy still lags behind other EU countries regarding the use of electronic payments. More cards and less cash are needed to enhance efficiency and innovation in Italy.”

Carte 2008 - Carte Diem

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Carte 2008 - Carte diem Conference & Expo
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi

Profumo new President of the European Banking Federation

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Chief Executive Officer of Unicredit, Alessandro Profumo, was nominated President of the European Banking Federation (EBF)