Croatia moves closer to concluding EU accession talks

Croatia took a significant step towards concluding its EU accession process by closing three more negotiating chapters during a recent enlargement conference in Brussels. Finalised negotiations on the environment, justice and security, and foreign, security and defence policy mean that 28 chapters have now been closed in total. Croatia has closed three more chapters, moving it closer to becoming an EU member.

Both the EU and Croatia aim to conclude the talks in the first half of next year and to sign the accession treaty in autumn, although the EU has refused to set a date for Croatia to join.Enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele said he recognised there was "a goal to conclude accession talks during the Hungarian EU presidency". But he warned there was still work to be done in Croatia to meet the remaining benchmarks, as well as in the EU where the accession treaty must be prepared for signing and ratification. According to Mr Fuele, 2010 has been a successful year for negotiations with Zagreb as 11 chapters have been closed.

The EU has taken an increasingly cautious approach to further enlargement. Some new mechanisms in the negotiation process with candidate countries have been installed, with Croatia and Turkey the first to be subjected to the new rules. The rules were intended to enhance "credibility" said Mr Fuele, who specifically mentioned the introduction of opening benchmarks (candidate countries have to meet certain criteria even before they can open a chapter) and the requirement of a positive "track record" as a condition for a chapter to be closed. Croatia has reached the final stage of accession talks after more than five years of negotiations, but some difficult decisions still lie ahead. The country still needs to restructure its shipyard industry and continue to fight against corruption at all levels; these will be the two key issues over the next few months.

Mr Fuele rejected suggestions that corruption at the highest political levels threatened to destabilise the country. "That dilemma does not exist since Croatia is a developed democracy where the relevant authorities can do their job independently," he said. Croatia's foreign minister Gordan Jandrokovic said legal action against former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and other senior politicians showed Croatia's determination to fight corruption at all levels. "This will not undermine Croatia's democracy but strengthen it," he said. Seven chapters of the Croatian talks remain to be closed; one relating to 'other issues' is a formal procedure without actual negotiations. Hungary, which will chair the EU Council of Ministers during the first half of next year, has made the conclusion of accession talks with Croatia one of its priorities.

News source: waz.euobserver.com link: article

No tidal wave of Albanians into Schengen Zone

Only about 3,000 Albanians have traveled to the EU following the scrapping of visa requirements on December 15, dispelling fears of a mass influx of migrants. Data published by Albania's general directorate of police showed the majority of visits have been to neighbouring Greece, which hosts a large Albanian emigrant community, estimated at 600,000 residents and temporary guest workers.
EU officials had feared a repeat of the situation in Serbia and Macedonia after they joined the Schengen list, where thousands of poor ethnic Albanians and Roma headed by bus into the European Union to seek asylum.

Visiting Tirana on November 13, the EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, warned Albanians that the EU might reconsider the visa regime if there was a sharp increase of asylum seekers in member states. “We hope you will take your luggage and travel into Europe, then return home and put pressure on your political class to fulfill the missing criteria for [Albania’s] EU integration,” Malmstrom told students at the European University of Tirana. “While you have the right to visit Stockholm or Brussels, you don’t have the right to settle or work there,” she warned.

Visa-free travel to the EU took effect on December 15, allowing Albanian citizens to travel to a total of 28 nations that are inside Europe’s borderless Schengen zone or aspire to join it. Travel agents said a significant share of reservations were from elderly couples visiting sons and daughters working in neighbouring Greece or Italy. To make the trip, Albanians must hold a biometric passport, have proof of health insurance and show they have enough money to cover the cost of travel and the visit. According to Albania’s Ministry of Interior, more than 1.2 million citizens had applied for the new biometric passports as of November 5.

News source: Balkan Insight link: article

Starting a business is faster, cheaper, but challenges remain

The European Union adopted the Small Business Act in 2008, with the intention of making it easier to start and run a business. Two years on, the EurActiv network takes a look at the achievements and challenges ahead. Starting her own online art gallery in London this year took Gina Cross about a week and cost £70 (€82), about the average for entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom. Likewise, in Bulgaria, France and Ireland, registering a new business costs less than €100 and takes less than a week.

"It’s quite easy," said Cross, founder of A Little Bit of Art, a small company which sells printed artworks. But in Poland and Spain, entrepreneurs still wait about a month for their initial paperwork to be approved. In Italy, Luxembourg, Greece and the Netherlands, the process is faster but expensive – more than €1,000. That discrepancy highlights the challenges facing efforts in the European Union to jumpstart the economy. When it comes to economic initiatives the EU has no powers to enact rules with teeth. They host meetings, promote programmes and share best practices, but at the end of the day their recommendations are only as strong as the political will to enact changes at the national and regional level.

"Certain member states moved on certain elements, but not all […] There’s definitely space to push further. We’re very much aware of that," said Marko Curavić, head of unit for entrepreneurship in the European Commission. Four years ago, leaders from all 27 member states set a 2007 deadline for their own countries to create one-stop-shops for setting up a company quickly – ideally within a week. Start up fees, the European Council concluded, should be as low as possible, and hiring the first employee shouldn’t involve more than one public administration point. Clearly many countries are years behind schedule.

Small and medium-size businesses create 80% of new jobs in Europe. That means entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses will play a critical role as Europe recovers from the economic and financial crisis. So anything that hinders new businesses hinders growth. This is especially important now because while the unemployment rate in the EU averages around 10%, and it’s double that for job seekers under the age of 25, according to research published last week by the Organisation for Economic Coordination and Development. The highest youth unemployment rate was in Spain, followed by Ireland, Slovakia and Greece. Only Germany posted a slight decrease.

News source: EurActiv link: article

Eleventh meeting of the Accession Conference at Ministerial level with Croatia

The eleventh meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference with Croatia at Ministerial level was held today in Brussels, following the start of the negotiations on 3 October 2005. The European Union delegation was headed by Steven Vanackere, Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Institutional Reforms. The Croatian delegation was led by Gordan Jandroković, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

The Conference, which is the fruit of extensive work over several months, dealt in total with eight chapters and represented a significant milestone in Croatia's accession process with the provisional closure of three significant chapters:

Chapter 24 - Justice, Freedom and Security;

Chapter 27 - Environment and

Chapter 31 - Foreign, Security and Defence Policy.

In addition, the Conference confirmed at Ministerial level the provisional closure of

Chapter 4 - Free Movement of Capital;

Chapter 12 - Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy;

Chapter 14 - Transport Policy; Chapter 32 - Financial Control and

Chapter 34 – Institutions.

On all these chapters the EU underlined that it would devote particular attention to monitoring all specific issues mentioned in its common positions with a view to ensuring Croatia's administrative capacity and its capacity to ensure proper implementation and enforcement of the relevant acquis. The EU will, if necessary, return to these chapters at an appropriate moment.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

EU project targets better food risk information for Europeans

Information about food, and especially its risks, flash before our eyes on a daily basis. But how effective and balanced is the information we get? EU-funded researchers believe that enhancing the delivery of information and advice on emerging food risks could help fuel consumer confidence in foods, curb economic losses related to food scares and reduce the number of illnesses linked to foods. The FOODRISC ('Food Risk Communication. Perceptions and communication of food risks/benefits across Europe: development of effective communication strategies') project is working to offer consumers the right information they need about food/risk benefit relationships. Funded under the 'Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology' (KBBE) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to the tune of EUR 2.97 million, FOODRISC is filling the gaps along the food information chain.

FOODRISC, which is coordinated by Professor Patrick Wall of University College Dublin's School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science in Ireland, has pooled the resources of experts in key fields relevant to food risk and benefit communication, namely industry, academia, research institutes. 'Some of the recent "food scares", such as BSE [Bovine spongiform encephalopathy], Dioxin contamination in Belgium and Ireland and the case where milk was contaminated with melamine in China, have undermined consumer confidence in food,' explains Dr Áine McConnon of University College Dublin, FoodRisC project manager. 'With the food industry now being a global manufacturing and distribution business all possible forms of public communication need to be understood and used.'

The FOODRISC consortium is comparing how traditional and social media for news and information is disseminated in the EU, which in turn will lead to the creation of the effective tools the project seeks to give communication on food risks a huge boost. The new FOODRISC website is a step in this direction. More specifically, social media use has ballooned in just a year, with numbers up by 50% in many countries. Facebook, which has taken the world by storm, has more than 570 million registered users, and the number of users of all types of social media currently tops the 1.25 billion mark. Europe has surpassed the US in the personal use of social media.

One of the objectives of the project is to establish a communication toolkit and best practice recommendations that will support organisations across the EU to offer better communication, information and education services to the public. The project partners say the toolkit will help policymakers, food authorities and other end users who seek to develop common approaches to disseminating information to European consumers. Also on the FOODRISC agenda, say the partners, is the description of key configurations of food risk and benefit relationships and the implications for communicators. The consortium will assess how new social media, like Facebook, Twitter and blogs, can be used to provide guidance on how risk communicators can use these media to their advantage. And the partners will illustrate how consumers can attain, interpret and use information to support the target populations. Kicked off earlier this year and scheduled to end in 2013, FOODRISC brings together experts from Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK.

News source: CORDIS link: article

Recovery of global shipping industry will take more time, finds UN report

While the hard-pressed shipping industry is recovering from recent declines, it is still being hindered by fragile global economic conditions as well as depressed freight rates and an oversupply of vessels, says a new United Nations report. The Review of Maritime Transport 2010, produced by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), shows that international seaborne trade contracted by 4.5 per cent in 2009 to 7.94 billion tons, which is below 2007 levels. It had climbed to an all-time high in 2008.Although a global recovery is currently under way, it is uneven, slower than the recoveries that have followed previous recessions, and subject to numerous uncertainties and to the fragile global economic conditions, according to the report, an annual publication that provides important information on this vital sector.

“Signs show that the shipping industry and seaborne trade are recovering, but it will likely take some time for the industry to return to its 2009 levels,” UNCTAD said in a news release. Maritime transport is the single most important transport mode, with around 80 per cent of the market share in the global movement of goods. In some developing countries this percentage is much higher, due to cumbersome cross-border procedures and an underdeveloped land transport infrastructure. The report notes that seaborne trade in dry bulk commodities – such as iron ore, grain, coal, bauxite/alumina and phosphate, which represent around one quarter of seaborne trade – actually grew by an estimated 1.4 per cent in 2009. However, this figure masks fluctuations by commodity type, it adds.

The supply of new vessels, the report points out, showed no signs of abating. At the beginning of 2010, the world merchant fleet reached 1,276 million deadweight tons (dwt) – an increase of 84 million dwt over 2009. Despite this increase, the combined effect of a downturn in demand and an oversupply of vessels meant that freight rates for many vessel types remained depressed. The report also details recent developments in maritime legislation, such as steps by the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding the scope and content of an international regime to control emissions of greenhouse gases from international shipping.

Every year the report has a regional focus and this year it is on Asia since 2007, when UNCTAD last reported on the region. The report notes that recovery in the region – where gross domestic product (GDP) growth decelerated to 4 per cent in 2009, its lowest level in eight years – remains fragile and is subject to downside risks.

News source: UN News Centre link: article

European Commission has set up Task Force to help maximise the potential of the European Research Council

The European Commission has set up a Task Force to explore options for the future of the European Research Council (ERC). The Task Force is chaired by the Director General of DG Research, Robert-Jan Smits. This follows nearly four years of successful work by the ERC since it was established by the Commission in 2007.

Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "The ERC has been a great success already and we need to learn from experience and build on the excellent work already done. The Task Force will help us take some final decisions on how best to equip the ERC to play the key role it will have in the Innovation Union and in the Eighth Framework Programme."The Task Force was set up at the request of the ERC Scientific Council, as announced in its statement in November (see link below), and is the follow-up of last year's thorough Review of the ERC's Structures and Mechanisms, carried out by an expert panel (see link below). The Task Force includes participants from the relevant Commission departments and representatives from the ERC Scientific Council, including its President Prof. Helga Nowotny. There will also be two external members, Prof. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former President of the Latvian Republic and former chair of the Review panel of the ERC, and Prof. Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, former ERC Secretary General.

Building on last year's review recommendations, the Task Force will examine the remaining unresolved issues and explore possible governance options to guarantee the long term stability of the ERC structure within the European Research Area and in the context of the new Lisbon Treaty.

Presently, the ERC has a dual structure with a Scientific Council, composed of 22 top scientists, setting the scientific strategy, and an Executive Agency, in charge of implementing the operations. The ERC has a budget of € 7.5 billion from the "IDEAS" programme, part of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research, for the period 2007-2013.

The Task Force has already held an initial meeting and aims to conclude its work within six months, hence well before the decision on the next Framework Programme (FP8) is taken, to allow ample time for the Council and the European Parliament to hold a thorough debate about FP8. The Commission will in the first quarter of 2011 launch an open consultation on all issues connected to FP8, with a formal proposal to the Council and Parliament to follow towards the end of the year. FP8 will begin in January 2014.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

EU and China to debate economic and trade issues at high level dialogue

The EU and China will hold their third High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue (HED) on 20 and 21 December in Beijing. It is the first such meeting since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and will cover macro-economic challenges facing the international economy, competition questions as well as trade, investment, innovation, and customs cooperation.

Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia said: "The European Union and China are both global partners that have much to gain from each other. It is our interest to develop economic relations that are mutually beneficial and provide the best opportunities for our respective citizens. The EU and China must both be actors in the solution of global challenges such as current macro-economic imbalances, development of trade flows, access to raw materials and the need for a more efficient energy use worldwide."

"European businesses have vastly contributed to China’s economy over the last decade," said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. "We want to stay in the game and be part of China’s future economic development. A constructive dialogue that looks at both the challenges and the opportunities is the way to make this happen."

The HED offers an opportunity to discuss EU-China relevant topics across the board. It is co-chaired by European Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy Joaquin Almunia, Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn as well as Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan. The EU will further be represented by Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union Algirdas Šemeta, Director General for Enterprise Heinz Zourek and Deputy Director-General for Information Society Antti Peltomaki.The meeting takes place as the global economy is gaining a more solid foothold and at a juncture where both the EU and China are moving forward with bold plans for the future of their economies. It is important for the EU and China, two of the largest economies in the world, to discuss the economic challenges they face. Both EU and China can contribute, through their policies and enhanced bilateral cooperation and within the G20, to more solid, sustainable and balanced global growth.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

 

Europeans driving electrical power

Researchers in Germany are developing new electronic components that will help energy infrastructures adapt to the growing use of renewable energy sources and cut energy losses during transmission. As things stand now, power is lost during its journey along the electricity wires to users. The team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB) in Germany discovered that a reliable power supply is the critical component behind the infrastructure.

The cable infrastructure consists of various switching points that reduce the voltage, helping equipment tap into the power at low voltage. 'A reliable power supply is the key to all this, and major changes will take place in the coming years to safeguard this reliability,' explains IISB head Professor Lothar Frey.

'The transport and power networks will grow together more strongly as a result of electromobility, because electric vehicles will not only tank up on electricity but will also make their batteries available to the power grid as storage devices. Renewable energy sources will become available on a wider scale, with individual households also contributing electricity they have generated.'

A case in point is the global DESERTEC project, which targets harnessing solar and wind energy in deserts worldwide. Locations that are currently in DESERTEC's spotlight are North Africa and the Middle East. Consumers will receive the generated electricity via long high-voltage power lines or undersea cables.

The researchers added that cables, systems and components already in use will have to be adapted to the future energy mix. Doing so will ensure that consumers receive electricity reliably and with as few losses as possible.

The IISB team is mulling over solutions and developing components to convert electrical energy efficiently. According to the team, more and more direct current is being used to transmit energy for distances that are over 500 kilometres or for cables located under the sea. This system ensures constant voltage and keeps consumption low; 7% maximum of power is lost over long distances compared with a 40% loss for alternating current. The researchers said more converter stations are needed to convert the high voltage of the direct current into the alternating current required by the consumer.

'In cooperation with Siemens Energy [Germany] we are developing high-power switches,' IISB's Markus Billmann pointed out. 'These are necessary for transmitting the direct voltage in the power grid and are crucial for projects like DESERTEC. The switches have to be more reliable, more scalable and more versatile than previous solutions in order to meet the requirements of future energy supply networks.'

In order to achieve this goal, the team is using inexpensive semi-conductor cells which with previous switching techniques could not be used for high-voltage direct-current transmission (HVDCT).

'At each end of a HVDCT system there is a converter station,' Mr Billann said. 'For the converters we use interruptible devices which can be operated at higher switching frequencies, resulting in smaller systems that are easier to control.'

The researchers are determined to protect cells from damage. Some 5,000 modules will be contained in each converter station. Normally, failure of these modules, which will be connected in series, would result in a chain reaction and damage the entire station. The IISB has changed this.

'We have now solved this problem. With our cooperation partners we are working on tailor-made materials and components so that in future the equipment will need less energy,' Mr Billmann pointed out.

News source: CORDIS link: article

Total weight of goods handled down by 12% in 2009

After growing steadily between 2002 and 2007, the total weight of goods handled in maritime ports in the EU27 remained nearly stable at 3.9 billion tonnes in 2008. It then fell by 12% to 3.4 bn tonnes in 2009 as the result of the economic crisis. As for the sea transport of passengers, the number of passengers embarking or disembarking in maritime ports in the EU27 has remained relatively stable at around 410 million since 2003. In 2009 it fell by 2% to 403 mn.These figures are published in a report from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on port activity for goods and passengers in the EU, as well as Iceland, Norway and Croatia.

The United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and France represent almost two-thirds of the total weight of goods handled. The Member States with the largest total weight of goods handled in maritime ports in 2009 were the United Kingdom (500 mn tonnes or 15% of the EU27 total), Italy and the Netherlands (both 470 mn tonnes, 14%), Spain (360 mn tonnes, 11%) and France (320 mn tonnes, 9%). These five Member States all registered a decline of between 10% and 13% in 2009, in line with the EU average.

Italy, Greece, Denmark and Sweden account for almost two-thirds of the total number of passengers handled. In 2009, the highest numbers of passengers embarking or disembarking in maritime ports were recorded in Italy (92 mn passengers or 23% of the EU27 total), Greece (88 mn, 22%), Denmark (44 mn, 11%), Sweden (31 mn, 8%), Germany (30 mn, 7%), the United Kingdom (28 mn, 7%), France (25 mn, 6%) and Spain (21 mn, 5%). For these Member States the change in the number of passengers between 2008 and 2009 ranged from -7% in Denmark and France to +2% in Italy and Germany.

Dover largest port for passengers. Among the top ten cargo ports in terms of tonnes of goods handled, Rotterdam (350 mn tonnes weight of goods handled, -10% compared with 2008) was the largest port in 2009, followed by Antwerp (140 mn tonnes, -17%), Hamburg (90 mn tonnes, -20%) and Marseille (80 mn tonnes, -14%). All of the top ten ports showed decreases in the total weight of goods handled between 2008 and 2009, ranging from -1% in Amsterdam to -20% in Hamburg. Dover (13 mn passengers, -5% compared with 2008) was the largest port in terms of the number of passengers disembarking or embarking in 2009, followed by Paloukia Salaminas and Perama (both 13 mn, -2%), Reggio Di Calabria (11 mn, +9%), Piraeus (10 mn, -6%), Messina (10 mn, +1%) and Calais (10 mn, -8%). 

News source: Eurostat link: publication

An EU research programme that is made to measure

Metrology refers to the science and application of measurement, and it impacts on our lives in countless ways. Today, Europe's metrologists are working together in the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), which receives 50% of its funding through the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Through the EMRP, they are helping to address the grand challenges facing the world today in diverse fields such as the environment, energy and health. According to EMRP chair Dr Jörn Stenger of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Germany, metrology is all about 'good, reliable and correct measurements'. Furthermore, measurements must be comparable all over the world and at different periods in time.

'Metrology affects all areas of our lives,' Dr Stenger insists. For example, if we go to hospital for a CT (computer tomography) scan, it is thanks to metrology that we can rest assured that the dose of radiation we receive will be enough to generate the scan while remaining within safe limits. Similarly, if different parts of a car are built in different companies and countries, metrology ensures that the parts fit together in the assembly plant. National metrology institutes exist throughout Europe, and they have a long history of international cooperation, as the mutual acceptance of standards and measures across borders is essential. For many years, this cooperation was fairly informal. However, that all changed when the institutes recognised what Dr Stenger calls a 'metrological dilemma'.

In short, advances in technology meant research was becoming increasingly expensive, yet national metrology institutes' budgets were at best stable and at worst declining. Since primary measurement standards must be at the forefront of technology to be able to serve all stakeholder needs, metrology is very research intensive. 'We agreed that only a joint approach in metrology research could help us out of this dilemma,' Dr Stenger tells CORDIS News. The seeds of the EMRP had been sown. The group obtained funding from the EU for a project called IMERA ('Implementing metrology in the European research area'). This project, financed under the 'ERA-NET' scheme, allowed Europe's metrology community to formulate a joint, coordinated research programme and determine the procedures and structures needed to implement it.

When the first IMERA project ended, the metrologists carried on working through the EU's ERA-NET Plus scheme. During this period, the group issued calls for proposals in four key areas: health, the international system of units (SI units), electromagnetism and dimensional industrial applications. Projects funded in the SI units field address the challenges of measuring constants of nature to redefine SI units such as the kilogram and the Kelvin. The medical projects focus on, among other things, ensuring that diagnostic tests are precise and reliable enough for a doctor to decide confidently whether treatment is needed or not.

The topic of dimensional matters covers everything from what constitutes a nanoparticle to measuring the larger distances involved e.g. in manufacturing an aeroplane, where all components must be precisely fabricated. Finally, the electricity projects address various issues including the safe dose for electromagnetic radiation. In 2009, the EMRP obtained Article 169/185 status, securing the future of the joint research programme between the participating Member States and the European Union for a further seven years. Article 185 initiatives (which were formerly known as Article 169 initiatives) intend that countries integrate their national research programmes more deeply into a single European programme.

Meanwhile the EMRP is already having a huge impact on the European Research Area (ERA), as roughly 50% of metrology research and development carried out in the countries that have signed up to it is carried out through the EMRP. 'The EMRP is not some nice-to-have, add-on programme, but is really impacting our core mission we have in our institutions,' emphasises Dr Stenger. The EMRP is also generating interest beyond Europe's borders; countries that are particularly interested in the EMRP's work include Australia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and the US. In addition, a number of researchers from outside Europe are involved in EMRP-funded projects. 

News source: CORDIS link: article

Montenegro becomes formal EU candidate

EU heads of state and government have granted Montenegro official candidate status, moving forward its bid to join the European Union in an important step. The European Council, meeting in Brussels, agreed to grant Montenegro candidate status, which will allow it to begin official accession negotiations, but did not give a specific date for the start of the talks. EU leaders agreed to a written statement declaring Montenegro a formal candidate, and the approval "went automatically", Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite told the German Press Agency dpa. Montenegro welcomed the decision, but noted that challenges lay ahead. "The decision of EU leaders is a major encouragement for Montenegro and an affirmation of our efforts,' Deputy Prime Minister Igor Luksic told the dpa.

In November the European Commission recommended that Montenegro be granted official candidate status, but outlined several areas where Podgorica must make improvements. European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, speaking at the press conference announcing the annual progress report that contained the recommendation, said further work was needed in the field of the rule of law, noting that officials now have seven specific priorities that must be met in order for accession negotiations to begin. Although the country is considered a parliamentary democracy, parliament's control of the government remains weak, the report says. And although there is broad consensus on the fundamentals of economic policy, the Commission does not believe that the country is a functioning market economy.

The report notes: "The main concerns are related to the politicization of the judiciary and shortcomings in the functioning of law enforcement institutions, in particular in fighting organized crime and corruption. There are also concerns over efficiency and accountability of the judiciary." The tiny Balkan state of 600,000 people, which declared its independence in 2006, joins Croatia and Macedonia on the list of Balkan countries that have been granted the status. Turkey and Iceland are also official candidates. Albania, Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo are considered potential candidate countries.

News source: Balkan Insight link: article

Euro area external trade surplus 5.2 bn euro 7.4 bn euro deficit for EU27

The first estimate for the euro area1 (EA16) trade balance with the rest of the world in October 2010 gave a 5.2 bn euro surplus, compared with +4.8 bn in October 2009. The September 20102 balance was +2.6 bn, compared with +1.4 bn in September 2009. In October 2010 compared with September 2010, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.1%, and imports by 1.3%. The first estimate for the October 2010 extra-EU271 trade balance was a 7.4 bn euro deficit, compared with -6.4 bn in October 2009. In September 2010 the balance was -11.8 bn, compared with -10.5 bn in September 2009. In October 2010 compared with September 2010, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 0.1%, while imports fell by 3.0%.

These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. EU27 detailed results for January to September 2010. The EU27 deficit increased for energy (-214.5 bn euro in January-September 2010 compared with -172.8 bn in January-September 2009), while the surplus for manufactured goods rose (+124.9 bn compared with +112.2 bn). EU27 trade with all its major partners grew in January-September 2010 compared with January-September 2009. The most notable increases were recorded for exports to Brazil (+53%), China (+39%) and Turkey (+36%), and for imports from Russia (+37%), China (+30%) and India (+28%). The EU27 trade surplus increased with the USA (+52.8 bn euro in January-September 2010 compared with +31.8 bn in January-September 2009), Switzerland (+13.8 bn compared with +10.2 bn) and Turkey (+13.1 bn compared with +5.8 bn). The EU27 trade deficit increased with China (-122.2 bn compared with -97.8 bn), Russia (-52.1 bn compared with -35.0 bn), Norway (-26.8 bn compared with -24.5 bn) and South Korea (-8.9 bn compared with -8.6 bn). The deficit remained stable with Japan (-15.9 bn).

Concerning the total trade of Member States, the largest surplus was observed in Germany (+113.5 bn euro in January-September 2010), followed by Ireland (+31.8 bn), the Netherlands (+30.6 bn) and Belgium (+14.1 bn). The United Kingdom (-84.8 bn) registered the largest deficit, followed by France (-46.3 bn), Spain (-39.0 bn), Italy (-19.2 bn), Greece (-17.7 bn) and Portugal (-14.6 bn). 

News source: Eurostat link: article

Construction output stable in euro area Up by 0.5% in the EU27

In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production was stable in the euro area (EA16) and grew by 0.5% in the EU27 in October 2010, compared with the previous month. In September, production fell by 1.6% and 1.2% respectively. Compared with October 2009, output in October 2010 dropped by 6.8% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU27. These first estimates are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Among the Member States for which data are available for October 2010, construction output rose in five and fell in seven. The highest increases were registered in Slovakia and Sweden (both +2.0%), the Czech Republic and Germany (both +1.3%), and the largest decreases in Portugal (-6.6%), Romania and Slovenia (both -1.3%). Building construction remained stable in the euro area and increased by 0.5% in the EU27, after +0.5% and -1.8% respectively in September. Civil engineering rose by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU27, after -1.1% and -0.7% respectively in the previous month.

Among the Member States for which data are available for October 2010, construction output fell in eight and rose in five. The largest decreases were registered in Spain (-34.1%), Slovenia (-17.6%) and Bulgaria (-10.7%), and the highest increases in Sweden (+18.5%), Poland (+10.4%) and the United Kingdom (+9.5%). Building construction decreased by 6.6% in the euro area and by 1.3% in the EU27, after -7.1% and -2.7% respectively in September. Civil engineering dropped by 8.7% in the euro area and by 4.9% in the EU27, after -10.2% and -6.0% respectively in the previous month.

News source: Eurostat link: article

Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA): Commission sets deadline for pan-European payment system

A Belgian citizen working in The Netherlands receives his salary on his Belgian bank account as quickly as his Dutch colleagues. A German family pays all its gas and electricity bills for their holiday home in Greece by simple direct debit from their German account. A Romanian student on exchange in Italy does all her payments in euros effortlessly from her Romanian account in euros. Similarly, companies will also benefit from SEPA. A German export/import company trading with Latvia, Cyprus and Norway will optimise cash flow by easily collecting funds in euro from debtors in these countries using a single account in Germany. These are just some examples of what could soon be made easier and cheaper. Indeed, the European Commission has today proposed to set EU-wide end-dates for the migration of the old national credit transfers and direct debits to the recently created Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) instruments. It will mean that national credit transfers and direct debits are phased out and the recently created pan-European systems take their place, respectively 12 and 24 months after the entry into force of the Regulation. This will reduce the costs of payments, increase competition and make cross-border payments as easy as domestic ones. The Commission's proposal now passes to the European Parliament and the Member States for consideration.

Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said: "We have a Single Market, many countries share a single currency and soon we will move to a single pan-European payment system in Europe. It means that making payments cross-border will become as easy as making them at home. Consumers will only need one bank account and their payments will be faster, cheaper and safer. Businesses will benefit from one set of standards and much simpler processes. The proposal adopted today fixes end-dates to make this pan-European system a reality, hopefully as early as 2012." The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is the area where more than 500 million citizens, over 20 million businesses and European public authorities can make and receive payments in euro under the same basic conditions, rights and obligations, regardless of their location. The objective of SEPA is to increase efficiency and competition so that high-quality and competitively priced electronic payment products exist throughout the whole of the EU. This would mean that Europeans can rely on one bank account to make euro payments across 32 countries1 while enjoying highly competitive services provided by banks. Thanks to SEPA, as from 2012 money transfers will reach the beneficiary at least by the end of the next business day or faster and no deductions will be made to the amounts transferred. As a result, the process of paying bills will be even more convenient. SEPA benefits not only customers. Businesses will enjoy common standards; faster settlement and simplified processing for payments that will improve cash flow, reduce costs and facilitate the access to new markets.

Self-regulatory efforts have proven not to be sufficient to drive forward concerted migration to SEPA. According to available European Central Bank (ECB) data, as of October, only 9.6 % of all credit transfers in the euro area were executed using a pan-European payment instrument. If this trend continues, the full benefits or implementation of the SEPA would only be felt after more than 25 years. Only rapid migration to pan-European, i.e. SEPA credit transfers and direct debits, will generate the full benefits of an integrated payments market. The proposed Regulation will ensure a quick and smooth migration to pan-European credit transfers and direct debits by phasing out the existing national payment instruments. In order to ensure interoperability, the use of certain common standards and technical requirements such as the use of international bank account numbers (IBAN), bank identifier codes (BIC) and a financial services messaging standard (ISO 20022 XML) will be mandatory for all bank account payments in euro in the EU. The proposed regulation also takes into account user concerns such as the possibility to limit a direct debit collection to a certain amount and/or frequency of payments. Banks and companies which send out a large number of bills (for example electricity or telecommunications providers) are encouraged to adopt measures to make SEPA migration as easy as possible for bank account holders. 

The proposed Regulation will also increase transparency and competition between payment services providers and between payment services themselves, notably through the ban on hidden fees between banks for direct debit transactions, which are currently charged in six Member States (Spain, France, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal and Italy).

News source: EU Press Room link: article

Commission temporarily authorises BGN249 million rescue aid for Bulgarian railway company

The European Commission has authorised under EU state aid rules, state financing worth BGN249 million (approximately €128 million) for the Bulgarian railway operator BDZ EAD. The aid is in line with EU rules on rescue aid, because it is limited in time and scope. The Commission approved the measure temporarily, until it can take a position on the restructuring plan to be submitted by Bulgaria within maximum six months. "The Commission could agree to the rescue of BDZ EAD as the company's sudden disappearance would lead to serious disturbances in the Bulgarian economy and given the very limited impact the measure will have on competition in the Internal Market," Joaquín Almunia, Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said.

BDZ EAD is the 100 % state-owned Bulgarian railway carrier, operating on both freight and international passenger railway markets. It ensures 80 % of the domestic freight transport and 100 % of the passenger transport. The Commission authorised a short-term measure to tackle liquidity problems and enable BDZ EAD to pay creditors and properly maintain its rolling stock pending the implementation of a restructuring plan. The Commission found the measure to be in line with its guidelines on rescue and restructuring of companies in difficulties. In particular, the aid amount is limited to what is needed to keep the company in business over the next six months. Moreover, the Bulgarian authorities have committed to submit in maximum six months a restructuring plan capable of ensuring the future viability of the services currently provided by BDZ EAD.

The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number in the State Aid Register on the DG Competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

More spending needed in science, technology and innovation: OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says in its latest annual report that OECD members and non-members must drive science, technology and innovation (STI) investment in order to contend with intensified global competition and bolster long-term growth. STI offers societies the potential to tackle the myriad challenges they face, such as health issues and demographic change. Maintaining STI investment is key.

The 'Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2010' highlights that OECD members posted sluggish research and development (R&D) spending figures, with annual growth shrinking from more than 4% in recent years to 3.1% in 2008. Patent numbers rose by more than 2% from 1995 to 2008, but growth has weakened in recent years, and the number of OECD-area patents dropped in 2008. Trademarks also decreased by 20%. The report suggests that a rise in quality triggered the drop in the quantity of patents. Companies may also be opting for other ways to safeguard their knowledge base such as collaborative information science mechanisms.

Businesses were forced to rein in their efforts to maintain innovative activity, and trade and foreign investment have adversely affected the global value chains. This in turn has hampered businesses' technical expertise and market intelligence. However, the OECD found some positive results as well. Despite the crisis that has played havoc on the global economy in the last two years, a number of countries have reported surges in spending. Germany, South Korea, Sweden and the US have in fact given their long-term innovation a boost by increasing spending on public research. Moreover, all OECD members, save for the US, reported increases in their output of scientific articles between 1998 and 2008.

The report also notes how emerging economies continue to increase their R&D spending. Russia, for example, reported that R&D spending in 2008 was equal to 2% of the OECD total, which is nearly equal to the shares of Canada and Italy. 'Investment in science and technology is an investment in the future,' says OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría. 'At a time of fiscal consolidation, countries must carefully consider the long-term impact of spending cuts on science and technology. There is also a need to increase the efficiency of this spending. The right governance structures should be in place if countries are to make the most of the resources devoted to science and technology.'

So how can we give innovation a boost? The OECD report highlights a number of issues that need to be resolved. For instance, governments should establish a new shared system for the governance of international cooperation in science and technology so as to tackle the challenges that affect us all including climate change. Members should also enhance policy support at various stages of the innovation value chain such as entrepreneurship. The report also notes how the information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure should be upgraded and greater access to public research data should be offered. Finally, policy at the international, national and regional levels should be coordinated better. 

News source: Cordis link: article

Harnessing of ‘creative industry’ sector can help spur economic growth – UN report

Demand for products from the “creative industry” sector – which includes items such as videos, music, video games, and new formats for TV programmes – can help national economies, including those of developing countries, to recover from the global economic downturn, especially if supported by enlightened government policies, according to a new UN survey released today. The “Creative Economy Report 2010 (CER 10),”prepared jointly by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), is the second in-depth UN survey of the topic, with the first having appeared in 2008.

This year’s survey highlights that early evidence indicates that demand for some "creative industry" products, particularly those which are domestically consumed, remained stable during the global recession and that the creative industries hold great potential for developing countries seeking to diversify their economies and participate in one of the most dynamic sectors of world commerce. The Survey found that the global exports of creative goods and services – products such as arts and crafts, audiovisuals, books, design work, films, music, new media, printed media, visual and performing arts, and creative services – more than doubled between 2002 and 2008. The total value of these exports reached $592 billion in 2008, and the growth rate of the industry over that six-year period averaged 14 per cent.

In terms of potential for developing countries seeking to diversify their economies, the Survey says that the global market already had been boosted by increases in South-South trade in creative products before the recession set it in. The South’s exports of creative goods to the world reached $176 billion in 2008, or 43 per cent of total creative-industries trade. Adequately nurtured by governments and public and private-sector partnerships, the production, sale, and trade of creative goods can broaden developing-country economies, create a wide variety of jobs, and spur innovation, the CER 10 notes, adding that appropriate institutional and regulatory frameworks are needed to establish a “creative nexus” that attracts investors, technology, and businesses.

The Survey’s key recommendations include that developing countries should include creative goods in their lists of products, and should conclude their negotiations under the Global System of Trade Preferences to give impetus to the expansion of South-South trade in the sector. The rate of growth in the trade of creative goods – from $7.8 billion in 2002 to $21 billion in 2008 – is an opportunity that should be fully realized, CER 10 contends. The Survey adds that although the global economic recovery is still weak, the “creative industry” sector appears to have been relatively “firm” during the crisis, and there are signs that as recovery takes hold, demand for creative goods may resume its previous brisk growth.

News source: UN News Center link: article

Euro area hourly labour costs rose by 0.8% EU27 up by 1.2%

Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA16) rose by 0.8% in the year up to the third quarter of 2010, compared with 1.6% for the previous quarter. This is the lowest increase registered since the start of the series in 2000. In the EU271, the annual rise was 1.2% up to the third quarter of 2010, compared with 1.5% for the previous quarter.

The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, wages & salaries per hour worked grew by 0.7% in the year up to the third quarter of 2010, and the non-wage component by 1.2%, compared with 1.5% and 1.9% respectively for the second quarter of 2010. In the EU27, hourly wages & salaries rose by 1.2% and the non-wage component by 1.1% in the year up to the third quarter of 2010, compared with 1.6% for both components in the previous quarter.

The breakdown by economic activity shows that in the euro area hourly labour costs rose by 0.3% in industry, 0.6% in construction and 1.1% in services in the year up to the third quarter of 2010. In the EU27, labour costs per hour grew by 0.7% in industry, 0.4% in construction and 1.5% in services. 

News source: Eurostat link: article

Euro area annual inflation stable at 1.9% EU stable at 2.3%

Euro area annual inflation was 1.9% in November 2010, unchanged compared with October. A year earlier the rate was 0.5%. Monthly inflation was 0.1% in November 2010. EU annual inflation was 2.3% in November 2010, unchanged compared with October. A year earlier the rate was 1.0%. Monthly inflation was 0.2% in November 2010. These figures come from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In November 2010, the lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (-0.8%), Slovakia (1.0%) and the Netherlands (1.4%), and the highest in Romania (7.7%), Estonia (5.0%) and Greece (4.8%). Compared with October 2010, annual inflation rose in ten Member States, remained stable in five and fell in twelve. The lowest 12-month averages up to November 2010 were registered in Ireland (-1.8%), Latvia (-1.5%) and Slovakia (0.6%) and the highest in Romania (5.8%), Hungary (4.8%) and Greece (4.5%).

The main components with the highest annual rates in November 2010 were transport (3.8%), alcohol & tobacco (3.4%) and housing (3.3%), while the lowest annual rates were observed for communications (-0.8%), recreation & culture (0.0%) and household equipment (0.7%). Concerning the detailed sub-indices, fuels for transport (+0.37 percentage points), heating oil (+0.13) and gas (+0.09) had the largest upward impacts on the headline rate, while telecommunications (-0.09) had the biggest downward impact. The main components with the highest monthly rates were clothing (0.9%), alcohol & tobacco (0.5%) and food (0.4%), while the lowest were hotels & restaurants (-0.6%), recreation & culture (-0.5%) and communications (-0.2%). In particular, fuels for transport (+0.06 percentage points) and garments (+0.05) had the largest upward impacts, while accommodation services (-0.07) and package holidays (-0.05) had the biggest downward impacts. 

 

News source:  Eurostat link: article