GPS data can now be obtained via the internet in addition to access via the existing satellite signal. Vice President Antonio Tajani launched today in Brussels the European Data Access Service (EDAS) - a new commercial service of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). EDAS will support new services in numerous sectors including high-precision fertiliser spraying, automatic road-tolling, fleet management, inland waterway navigation, dangerous goods transportation or accurate area measurement. Access to GPS data will also be possible via hand-held devices, using wireless communication from added value service providers.

Providing security is a central concern of any society. Recent natural disasters and terrorist attacks have highlighted the need to be better prepared for crisis situations. The European Commission has therefore proposed an action programme to boost Europe's security industry. The programme should empower this industry - one of the sectors with the highest potential for growth and employment in the EU - to stay in Europe and to continue producing high quality security products.

In these difficult times of increasing unemployment, Europe needs more entrepreneurs. Whilst actually only 11% of European citizens are entrepreneurs, 45% would like to be their own boss if they could.

To unlock this enormous potential for jobs and growth, the European Commission intends to launch in autumn 2012 a European Entrepreneurship Action Plan to boost entrepreneurship at all levels. To this end, the Commission has launched a public consultation with the aim to gather inputs from citizens on the scope of possible future actions in promoting entrepreneurship.

The European Commission has today called for a European effort to boost Key Enabling Technologies (KETs). The global market in KETs, which comprises micro- and nanoelectronics, advanced materials, industrial biotechnology, photonics, nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing systems, is forecast to grow from € 646 Billion to over € 1 Trio by 2015. This is a jump of over 54%, or more than 8% of the EU's GDP. Rapid growth in jobs is expected, too. In nanotechnology industries alone, the number of jobs in the EU is expected to increase from 160,000 in 2008, to around 400,000 by 2015.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation with the aim to gather inputs from stakeholders and citizens on the scope of possible future EU-level actions in demand-side policies for industrial innovation policy. Consumers and public procurers should not underestimate their power to spur industrial innovations, for example by buying products which consume less energy and/or are friendlier to the environment. The Commission is therefore calling for ideas for potential new policy measures and focus areas for future targeted demand-side innovation actions at EU level, to enable faster uptake of innovations in order to maintain business investments in Europe. Consumers and public procurers should not underestimate their power to spur industrial innovations, for example by buying products which consume less energy and/or are friendlier to the environment. The Commission is therefore calling for ideas for potential new policy measures and focus areas for future targeted demand-side innovation actions at EU level.

The European Commission has decided to refer Germany to the European Court of Justice for failing to respect EU rules governing the harmonisation of the marketing of construction products. The result of this failure is that manufacturers from other Member States have great difficulty selling construction products on the German market.  The Commission has received numerous complaints from manufacturers and importers of construction products, who have had difficulties to sell their products on the German market.

Today a total of 412 references of harmonised European standards related to the construction products directive (CPD) were cited in the Official Journal.  Harmonised European standards provide a solid technical basis for manufacturers for testing the performance of their products. Using these standards the manufacturer will be in position to make the declaration of conformity (DoC) as defined in the CPD and to affix the CE marking.