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

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

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

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

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

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

Euro area and EU27 employment stable -0.2% in both zones compared with the third quarter of 2009 The

The number of persons employed in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU271 was stable in the third quarter of 2010 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the second quarter of 2010, employment grew by 0.1% in both zones. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

Falls in employment were recorded in construction (-1.1% in the euro area and -1.0% in the EU27) and manufacturing (-0.3% and -0.2% respectively). Agriculture fell by 0.2% in the euro area, but grew by 0.4% in the EU27. Financial services & business activities increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU27. Other services (which mainly include public administration, health and education) rose by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. Trade, transport & communication services grew by 0.1% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU27.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU27 in the third quarter of 2010. In the second quarter of 2010, employment decreased by 0.6% in both zones. Eurostat estimates that, in the third quarter of 2010, 221.2 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of which 144.5 million were in the euro area. These figures are seasonally adjusted. These quarterly data on employment provide a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measure of national accounts. 

News source: Eurostat link: article

GDP per inhabitant in the Member States ranged from 44% to 271% of the EU27 average in 2009

In 2009, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant in Luxembourg, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), was more than two and a half times the EU27 average, while the Netherlands recorded a level more than 30% above the average. Ireland, Austria and Denmark were between 20% and 30% above the EU27 average, while Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Finland and the United Kingdom were between 10% and 20% above average.

France, Italy and Spain registered GDP per inhabitant between 0% and 10% above the EU27 average, while Cyprus and Greece were between 0% and 10% below the average. Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Malta and Slovakia were between 10% and 30% lower than the EU27 average. Hungary, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia were between 30% and 50% lower, while Romania and Bulgaria were between 50% and 60% below the EU27 average. These data for 2009, 2008 and 2007, published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, are based on revised4 purchasing power parities, and the latest GDP and population figures. They cover the 27 EU Member States, three EFTA Member States, three EU Candidate Countries and four Western Balkan countries. 

News source: Eurostat link: publication

Data protection compliance in the EU administration: EDPS adopts comprehensive policy on supervision and enforcement

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted a policy paper that sets out the framework within which he monitors, measures and ensures data protection compliance in the EU administration. The policy signals a fundamental change of gear in the field of enforcement.
The policy seeks to encourage voluntary compliance and best practice and create sufficient incentives for compliance by:

• emphasising where the responsibility for compliance lies;
  
• explaining how the EDPS will support this compliance;
  
• explaining what the EDPS will do in the case of non-compliance.
  

The paper places a strong emphasis on the principle of "accountability" to encourage compliance and the adoption of best practice in the EU administration. Accountability requires the European institutions and bodies to put in place appropriate and effective measures to ensure compliance with data protection obligations and to demonstrate this to the EDPS.

Peter Hustinx, EDPS, says: "Holding the EU institutions accountable for ensuring compliance with data protection obligations, and for demonstrating such compliance, is a crucial first step in fostering data protection in practice. However, this must be backed up by a framework for dealing with those institutions and bodies that continue to fail to meet the required standards and demonstrate poor compliance records".
The EDPS has to date adopted an approach which prefers to make recommendations and encourage compliance rather than warn or admonish or make legally binding orders. Following five years of such activity, the EDPS believes that the time has come to take a more robust approach to enforcement, particularly in cases of serious, deliberate or repeated non compliance with data protection principles. This policy therefore introduces a set of criteria which will ensure a proactive, as well as consistent and transparent, application of his enforcement powers.

The EDPS also emphasises that transparency and publicity are an important tool both for stakeholders and in terms of good governance. In relation to his enforcement activities, the EDPS will normally publish information regarding any official referrals he makes. He will also consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether it is appropriate to make public any of the other enforcement actions pursued.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

Ministers move forward on EU patent

'At today's Competitiveness Council, 11 Member States stated their agreement to work to implement the European patent via the procedure of enhanced cooperation,' announced Belgian Minister for Enterprise and Simplification Vincent Van Quickenborne on 10 December. His words mark the beginning of the end of a decades-long impasse on the difficult issue of a single European patent. Mr Van Quickenborne continued: 'The agreement of today means that in the future the cost of a European patent will be reduced by a factor of 10, and the result will be that the cost of a patent in Europe will be competitive and comparable to that of the cost in the United States and in Japan, and this will of course greatly benefit competitiveness in our industry.'

As the minister pointed out, the idea of creating a single European patent was first mooted back in 1949. However, getting Member States' agreement on this thorny subject has, until now, proven impossible. Like many Member States before them, the Belgians made the EU patent one of their priorities when they took over the Presidency of the EU Council back in June. Initially, they strove to get all 27 Member States on board. 'We tried hard to reach unanimity,' reported Mr Van Quickenborne. 'I can say that we left no stone unturned.' By November's Competitiveness Council meeting, it was clear that it would be impossible to arrive at a compromise satisfactory to all EU countries. Instead, in what Mr Van Quickenborne described as a 'brave decision', a number of Member States opted to use the 'enhanced cooperation' procedure, which allows nine or more countries to move forward on an issue which is being blocked by a small number of Member States. 

According to the Lisbon Treaty, enhanced cooperation can only be used 'as a last resort, when it has established that the objectives of such cooperation cannot be attained within a reasonable period by the Union as a whole, and provided that at least nine Member States participate in it'. The 11 countries interested in using enhanced participation for the patent issue are: Denmark, Germany, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and the UK. Other countries may join the system later if they wish. The European Commission must now assess whether the request for enhanced cooperation is valid; on Tuesday 14 December, the European Commission is expected to discuss putting forward a formal proposal for a Council decision authorising the application of the enhanced cooperation procedure to the creation of an EU patent.

Speaking after the Competitiveness Council meeting, European Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier set out the next steps: 'This is an institutional decision of principle which will open the way for enhanced cooperation.' He went on to say: 'The decision on Tuesday will not deal with the substance. It is a proposal for the Council to take a decision. The European Parliament will also be asked to give its opinion and agreement to this proposal. Then at its next meeting the Competitiveness Council will take the formal decision under the Hungarian Presidency. In all likelihood this will be in March. 'As soon as the formal decision is taken by the Competitiveness Council, the Commission will make legislative proposals with a view to the de facto implementation of this cooperation by virtue of two regulations, firstly on the creation of single protection and then we will also have a second regulation on translation arrangements.'

Once these legislative proposals are on the table, normal EU legislative procedures will be followed. Mr Barnier commented that he hoped these deliberations would be 'wrapped up by the end of 2011'. However, the move for enhanced cooperation is not without its detractors. Spain and Italy sent a letter to the Council and Commission claiming that the patent issue does not meet the requirements of the enhanced cooperation procedure. 'Enhanced cooperation should only be applied as a last resort mechanism, a requirement that is not met in the negotiations concerning the Patent's language regime,' they write. In their opinion, the importance of the issue to European competitiveness is 'well worth the additional effort needed to reach the unanimity desired'.

They call on the European Council to 'consider the need to continue negotiations in order to find an agreement between all the Member States on the language regime of the Patent of the European Union.' Meanwhile the Belgians are proud of their efforts regarding the patent, calling the result of the latest Competitiveness Council the 'cherry on the cake' of their EU Council Presidency. 'The EU patent was one of the priorities of our presidency. I'm pleased to say that we've managed to conclude it with this important result,' commented Mr Van Quickenborne. 

News source: CORDIS link: article

Industrial production up by 0.7% in euro area Up by 0.3% in EU27

In October 2010 compared with September 2010, seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 0.7% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.3% in the EU27. In September 20103 production fell by 0.7% and 0.3% respectively. In October 2010 compared with October 2009, industrial production increased by 6.9% in the euro area and by 6.7% in the EU27. These estimates are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In October 2010 compared with September 2010, production of capital goods grew by 1.8% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU27. Non-durable consumer goods rose by 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. Production of energy increased by 0.4% in the euro area, but fell by 0.2% in the EU27. Intermediate goods gained 0.2% in both zones. Durable consumer goods decreased by 0.1% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU27. Among the Member States for which data are available, industrial production rose in ten, fell in eleven and remained unchanged in Romania and the United Kingdom. The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (+9.7%), Luxembourg (+6.4%), Estonia (+4.9%) and Greece (+3.6%), and the largest decreases in Ireland (-4.8%), Denmark (-2.8%), Malta (-2.5%) and Portugal (-2.4%).

In October 2010 compared with October 2009, production of capital goods grew by 12.1% in the euro area and by 11.5% in the EU27. Intermediate goods increased by 7.3% and 8.0% respectively. Non-durable consumer goods rose by 3.6% in the euro area and by 3.9% in the EU27. Durable consumer goods gained 1.9% and 2.7% respectively. Production of energy grew by 0.3% in the euro area, but fell by 0.4% in the EU27. Among the Member States for which data are available, industrial production rose in nineteen and fell in four. The highest increases were registered in Estonia (+37.3%), Latvia (+21.1%), Lithuania (+17.1%), Slovakia (+13.3%), Germany (+12.1%) Finland (+11.8%) and Poland (+10.4%). The decreases were recorded in Malta (-5.2%), Greece (-4.6%), Portugal (-2.8%) and Spain (-1.9%). 

News source: Eurostat link: article

80% of young internet users in the EU27 active on social media

In the EU27, 70% of households had access to the internet in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 49% in the first quarter of 2006. The share of households with broadband internet connections doubled, to reach 61% in 2010 compared with 30% in 2006. These data2 published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, represent only a small part of the results of a survey on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage in households and by individuals in the EU27 Member States, Norway, Croatia and Turkey. As well as internet use and broadband connections, the survey also covers other indicators such as e-shopping, e-government, e-security and advanced communication and content related services.

Proportion of internet access around 20 percentage points higher in households with children. The level of internet access increased in all Member States between 2006 and 2010, most notably in Romania where it tripled, and in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia, where it doubled or almost doubled. In 2010, the highest shares of internet access were recorded in the Netherlands (91%), Luxembourg (90%), Sweden (88%) and Denmark (86%), and the lowest in Bulgaria (33%), Romania (42%) and Greece (46%). The proportion of households with a broadband connection also rose in every Member State in 2010 compared with 2006. Sweden (83%) registered the highest share of broadband connections in 2010, followed by Denmark (80%), Finland (76%) and Germany (75%), while Romania (23%), Bulgaria (26%) and Greece (41%) had the lowest.

In 2010, the level of internet access for households with children in the EU27 was significantly higher than for households without children (84% compared with 65%). This was the case in all Member States. The shares for households with children ranged from 50% in Romania to 99% in the Netherlands and Finland. In twelve Member States the share was 90% or more for households with children.

One in five older internet users make internet phone calls. In the EU27, around 90% of all internet users sent e-mails during the first quarter of 2010, without any significant difference between age groups. On the other hand, there was a very significant difference in the use of internet for posting messages to chat sites, blogs and social networks by age. Four fifths of internet users aged 16-24 in the EU27 used the internet for this purpose during 2010, compared with two fifths of those aged 25-54 and less than one fifth of those aged 55-74. Use of this form of communication was particularly high for all age groups in Poland, Portugal and Lithuania. There was a less pronounced difference between age groups in the use of internet phone and video calls, with one third of those aged 16-24, one quarter of those aged 25-54 and one fifth of those aged 55-74 in the EU27 using this form of communication during 2010. Use of the internet for phone and video calls was particularly high for all age groups in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia. 

News source: Eurostat link: article

Customs: New security rules enter fully into force on 1 January 2011

From 1 January 2011, traders will have to make an electronic declaration to Customs with security data on goods before they leave or enter the European Union. The aim of this measure is to increase security in international trade, by enabling customs to carry out better risk analyses on the basis of the information received in advance, and therefore to better target controls. Traders have benefited from a transitional period to adapt their electronic systems to these new rules since July 2009. Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner responsible for Taxation and Customs, Audit and Anti-Fraud said: "Customs today plays a vital role in ensuring the security of citizens and safe trade. Advance security information will assist Customs in the early detection of risky shipments and therefore to increase security without delaying reliable trade.”

From 1 January 2011, all traders involved in customs transactions and international logistics will have to provide EU Customs with security data through electronic declarations, before goods are brought into, or out of, the European Union. In addition, a uniform set of EU risk-criteria will be applied by Member States when carrying out Customs controls on goods entering or leaving the EU.Recent air cargo security incidents have shown that the reinforcement of Customs risk analysis systems is essential for good security. Access to security data at an early stage, i.e. before goods physically arrive at the border will allow cargo movements to be more efficiently screened and enable Customs authorities to carry out better risk analyses. As such, Customs will be better able to focus controls on high risk cargo, while quicker processing and release of goods at entry or exit will help to ensuring smooth trade.

The type of security data requested from the traders varies according to the means of transport and the reliability of traders involved in the operation. It can include, for example, a description of the goods, information on the consignor or exporter, the route of the goods, and any potential hazards. The time limits for submitting advance security data also vary according to the means of transport: from 24 hours in advance of loading for maritime cargo to 1 hour before arrival for road traffic or even less for certain air transport. Since 1 July 2009, it has been possible for traders to submit their advance declaration on an optional basis. From 1 January 2011, it will be compulsory.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

Scientists piece together EU media structure

How influential is the media in shaping the news agenda in EU Member States? Very, say EU-funded researchers, who evaluated more than 1 million news articles in 22 languages to identify the factors that make this impact felt. The study, the first mega content analysis of cross-linguistic text using artificial intelligence tools, is presented in the journal PLoS ONE. The research was funded in part by the PASCAL2 ('Pattern analysis, statistical modelling and computational learning 2') project, which received EUR 6 million under the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

In addition, the software used in the study was developed by the SMART ('Statistical multilingual analysis for retrieval and translation') project. SMART clinched EUR 2.34 million under the 'Information society technologies' (IST) Thematic area of EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and created a statistical machine translation pipeline for EU news - called 'Found in Translation' - that could demonstrate machine translation technology. Europe-based news outlets cover myriad stories chosen from an extensive repository every day. One may assume that the outlets base their selection on specific criteria, but the researchers found that patterns materialise when all of these choices are assessed over both an extended period and a set of outlets.

The computer scientists, led by Professor Nello Cristianini of the University of Bristol in the UK, in collaboration with Professor Justin Lewis of Cardiff University in the UK, found that the news content selected by outlets reflects national bias, and cultural, geographic and economic links between nations. A case in point, say the researchers, is outlets swapping information with one another about common interests, whether it is news about the euro area or who is singing what in the annual Eurovision song contest. They point out that deviation from 'normal content' is evident in outlets of countries that do not share the euro currency, for instance.

Research on this topic was relatively non-existent in the past because no tools had been developed to evaluate the vast amount of data available. But thanks to the creation of machine translation and text analysis, the scientists used automated methods from artificial intelligence in their study with fruitful results. 'Automating the analysis of news content could have significant applications, due to the central role played by the news media in providing the information that people use to make sense of the world,' explains Professor Cristianini from Bristol's Intelligent Systems Laboratory.

For their study, the researchers pulled articles from the online news feeds of the top 10 news outlets (by volume of web traffic) for each EU Member State. They collected 1,370,874 news items in total over a 6-month period (between August 2009 and January 2010). The number of non-English language news items amounted to 1.2 million; these were translated automatically into English. The team found various links between Greece-Cyprus; Czech Republic-Slovakia; Latvia-Estonia, Belgium-France; and Ireland-UK.

'This approach has the potential to revolutionise the way we understand our media and information systems,' Professor Lewis points out. 'It opens up the possibility of analysing the mediasphere on a global scale, using huge samples that traditional analytical techniques simply couldn't countenance. It also allows us to use automated means to identify clusters and patterns of content, allowing us to reach a new level of objectivity in our analysis.' Professor Cristianini says the tool developed by the SMART project is now used as part of the main pipeline that assesses EU news content. The Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC), one of the seven institutes of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), made a strong contribution to this study.

News source: CORDIS link: article