Commissioner Janez Potočnik, Irish Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, and Irish Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan agreed at a meeting this week that their services would work closely together on the urgent preparation by the Irish Government of a national plan for the conservation and restoration of 53 internationally important Irish raised bog sites protected under the EU Habitats Directive. This plan will have the aim of comprehensively addressing the challenge of conserving the sites for future generations while having full regard to the concerns of affected turf-cutters.

The meeting was part of an Irish Government follow-up to an 8 March 2012 resolution of the Dáil calling for such a plan.  Mr Conor Skehan, Chairman of the Peatlands Council in Ireland, was also present.

Ministers Deenihan and Hogan reaffirmed the Irish Government’s commitment to working expeditiously within the framework of the Habitats Directive and explained the steps the Irish Government had already taken. They also updated the Commissioner on the intensive efforts now underway to re-locate turf-cutters to unprotected bogs.

The Ministers explained that the national plan will be developed, as a matter of priority, as quickly as possible and in close consultation with stakeholders.

At the Eurogroup meeting in Copenhagen last Friday, 30 March 2012, finance ministers agreed to set up a firewall of more than 800 billion euros to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area.

The combined lending ceiling of the temporary European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will be raised from 500 billion euros to 700 billion euros.

From July this year, the Luxembourg-based financial institution ESM will be the main fund to finance new support programmes for eurozone countries where required. Its new maximum lending volume will amount to 500 billion euros. Existing programmes, worth about 200 billion euros, will continue to be financed by the EFSF.

The EFSF/ESM lending capacity comes on top of the 102 billion euros already paid out in bilateral loans and from EU funds to support Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

In addition, eurozone member states have committed to provide 150 billion euros as bilateral contributions to the International Monetary Fund.

Each year, EU citizens and companies have to move some 3.5 million vehicles to another Member State, and need to get them registered according to the national legislation. However, what should be a simple registration procedure in the 21st century Single Market remains a cumbersome and lengthy administrative procedure because of the diversity of rules and the various conflicting requirements.

It takes on average 5 weeks to complete the procedure and the cost is estimated at €400 for citizen and for businesses. Moreover, these problems also represent a significant barrier to the free movement of goods, services and workers, and therefore for growth and jobs creation in Europe. This is why the European Commission is acting this week to dramatically reduce this unnecessary administrative burden. The proposal presented by Vice-President Antonio Tajani would lead to a very substantial administrative simplification with total savings of at least € 1.5 billion per year for businesses, citizens and registration authorities.

Member States' tax provisions are to be scrutinised to ensure that they do not discriminate against cross-border workers. Throughout 2012, the Commission will carry out a thorough assessment of national direct taxes to determine whether they create unfair disadvantages for workers that live in one Member State and work in another. Where discrimination or breaches of the EU's fundamental freedoms are found, the Commission will flag them to the national authorities and insist that the necessary amendments are made. Should the problems persist, the Commission will take infringement procedures against the Member States in question.

It is estimated that more than 1.2 million people work cross-border in the EU. Gross wages paid to cross-border and seasonal workers in 2010 amounted to €46.9 billion. Worker mobility has been identified as one of the key potentials for increasing growth and employment in Europe. However, tax obstacles remain one of the key deterrents to citizens looking for work in another Member State.

The Commission is working on many fronts to tear down barriers for EU workers, for example, in its proposal to tackle double taxation or to boost protection for posted workers

Yesterday, the European Commission took the next step in the important process of referring the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). By agreeing on the legal submission to be put before the ECJ, the Commission aims to respond to the wide-ranging concerns voiced by people across Europe on what ACTA is about and whether it harms fundamental rights in any way.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht stated, "I am very pleased that we are now one step closer to ensuring clarity on ACTA. As I said when I first proposed this action in late February, I believe the European Commission has a responsibility to provide our democratically elected parliamentary representatives and the public at large with the most detailed and accurate information available. Most of the criticism against ACTA expressed by people across Europe focused on the potential harm it could have on our fundamental rights. So, a referral will allow for Europe’s top court to independently clarify the legality of this agreement."

De Gucht went on to say, "The European Union is founded on respect for the rule of law. Considering that tens of thousands of people have voiced their concerns about ACTA, it is appropriate to give our highest independent judicial body the time to deliver its legal opinion on this agreement. This is an important input to European public and democratic debate. I therefore hope that the European Parliament will respect the European Court of Justice and await its opinion before determining its own position on ACTA".

The legal submission agreed by the College of Commissioners is a broad legal question which will allow the European Court of Justice a detailed examination of whether ACTA is in line with European Fundamental Rights such as the freedom of expression and information or data protection and the right to property including that of intellectual property. The question which has been agreed upon unanimously is: "Is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) compatible with the European Treaties, in particular with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union?" 

The Commission last week put forward new proposals to clarify the social security rights of people migrating into and out of the EU. The aim is to ensure better protection of workers' rights, in particular acquired state pension rights. The policy communication stresses how migrants and businesses from third countries (who generally see the EU as a single entity) often face fragmented social security systems which create obstacles in terms of entering, moving within and leaving the EU.

To address this difficulty, the Communication sets out how EU rules currently impact on the external dimension and gives clear guidance on the legal relationship between EU law and national bilateral agreements. It also suggests different ways to encourage cooperation between Member States in the field of social security coordination with third countries and emphasises the need for strengthened Member State cooperation on bilateral social security agreements made with non-EU countries.

With €53 billion of development aid in 2011, the European Union and its 27 Member States remains the world biggest donor, providing more than half of global official aid, preliminary figures on official development aid published by the OECD reveal. At a time of heavy budgetary constraints, 16 Member States managed to increase their aid, three of them are ranked among the five largest donors worldwide and four of them have already reached the target of spending 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) on aid. EU official development aid reached 0.42% of EU GNI, which exceeds the efforts of other major donors. However, efforts are still needed to reach the agreed target of 0.7% EU GNI by 2015.

Four EU Member States (Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) continue to exceed the 0.7% target, with Denmark, Luxembourg and Sweden aiming to reach 1% of GNI. Other Member States are moving towards achieving the 0.7% target, such as the UK, or keeping aid levels above the 2010 target of 0.51% of GNI (Belgium, Finland, Ireland). Germany and Italy have made considerable increases to their aid budgets in 2011.

A team of EU-supported researchers have discovered that there are a number of drugs that can give cognitive function a boost. These drugs could help fuel our understanding of cognitive disorders, including Alzheimer's disease.

Synapses, which are the neuronal connections in our brain, play a crucial role in our cognitive functions. Experts say these neuronal connections are dynamic and change in their strength and properties, a process they call synaptic plasticity. Researchers believe this synaptic plasticity forms the cellular basis for learning and memory. Some scientists also suggest that alterations in synaptic plasticity mechanisms cause multiple cognitive deficits, including autism, Alzheimer's disease and various forms of mental retardation.

The researchers discovered that the use of a small protein fragment, called a peptide, can produce a more plastic-like synapse. This peptide (called FGL) triggers a cascade of events within the neuron, which helps facilitate synaptic plasticity.

The researchers involved in the study received a grant of over €2.9 million from the EU's Seventh Framework for Research.

Monday 16 April: European Consumer Centre Ireland seminar on the Proposals for a Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution & the Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution, Dublin

Wednesday 18 April: Conference: Ireland's Presidency of the EU - Priorities and Challenges, (Joint European Movement Ireland - Public Affairs Ireland event), Dublin

Wednesday 25 April: Enterprise Europe Network Ireland "Info-2-Innovate Seminar", Alexander Hotel, Dublin 2

Thursday 26 April: Exploring Citizenship in Youth Work (workshop organised by Leárgas for youth workers and volunteers), Galway

Tuesday, 22 May: Marine Biodiversity Seminar: Protecting marine life for future generations & Launch of the Marine Institute’s Ground fish Survey Atlas, Dublin

The Irish Unit in the Directorate for the Social Market Economy in Member States II: European Social Fund (ESF) (which is part of the European Commission's Directorate for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) is looking for Seconded National Experts (SNEs).

The successful SNE is expected to contribute to the Unit's work on Ireland and the UK in the area of employment and social policies under the Europe 2020 strategy. The SNE will be mainly responsible for giving analytical and technical support to the Unit's works in relation to:

• The assessment of employment and social policies under the European Semester (National Reform Programmes submitted by Member States);
• The bilateral meetings related to the Europe 2020 process;
• Any other question related to the European Employment Strategy;
• Analysis of reports under the Social Protection / Social Inclusion Open Method of Co-ordination.

This work will in particular entail preparing written contributions, speaking notes and background materials.

The SNE will also be asked to prepare comparative analyses and technical assessments of the employment and social policies components of the Operational Programmes of the programming period 2014-2020 in terms of strategy and in terms of indicators and benchmarks.

The SNE is expected to:

• interact and closely liaise at working level with the national Ministry/Ministries in charge of employment and social policies, the social partners and other key organisations;
• establish informal working arrangements to promote mutual understanding and intensify cooperation at working level on employment and social policy issues.

Qualifications

A precondition is a good knowledge of employment and social policies. The successful candidate should therefore hold a relevant university degree as well as professional experience (minimum five years) in the above mentioned areas. Working experience in relation to European Union policies and programmes in these areas would be an asset. A good knowledge of French is an advantage.

See here for further information about Seconded National Experts.

The deadline for sending applications is 25 April 2012.

For further information please contact: Filip Busz, Head of Unit, F/3 UK, Ireland, Greece and Cyprus at filip.busz@ec.europa.eu  

The European Commission recently published an extensive survey to understand the views and attitudes of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) towards resource efficiency and green markets. The survey shows that Irish SMEs are third most likely to recycle in the EU at 83%. It also shows that a very large majority of Irish SMEs (94%) comply with environmental legislation.

There are 23 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union, representing 99% of all businesses and providing around 90 million jobs in the single market.

Other findings:

• 94% of Irish SMEs comply with environmental legislation. Based on self-reported results, 94% of Irish and 92% of EU SMEs comply with environmental legislation. 41% of Irish SMEs are currently going beyond the requirements, regardless of whether this is a company priority or not, and 27% are contemplating doing more in the future; 
• Irish SMEs are among the most likely to recycle. 83% of Irish SMEs report that they recycle compared to an EU average of 61% and third highest in the EU after Spain (93%) and the UK (91%). Other actions taken by Irish SMEs to be more resource efficient include saving energy (64%), minimising waste (67%), saving materials (48%) and saving water (49%). 98% of Irish SMEs report they are taking at least one action to become more resource efficient compared to an EU average of 93%.
• 29% of Irish SMEs offer green products or services (compared to an EU average of 26%) and a further 5% are planning to do so in the next two years. Ireland has the lowest number of SMEs (41%) who do not offer green products or services and are not planning to do so. Companies in Slovenia (36%) and Austria (35%) are most likely to offer green products or services and companies in Hungary least (11%). 
• 96% of Irish SMEs offering green products or services operate in the Irish market well above the EU average of 87%. Only 12% of Irish SMEs operate in the EU, which is well below the EU average of 23%. While Irish SMEs are less likely to operate in other European countries including Russia (2% compared to EU average of 6%), they are more likely to operate in America (5% compared to an EU average of 3%). They are also more likely to operate in Asia and the South Pacific (6% compared to EU average of 3%) but less likely to operate in the Middle East and Africa (2% compared to EU average of 4%). The main reason for Irish SMEs to sell green products or services is demand from customers (50%). Companies’ core values (31%) also plays a role in this respect. Company image is however considerably less important for Irish SMEs than their EU counterparts (13% compared to 30%). 
• Financial incentives are most likely to be mentioned by Irish SMEs (49%) as the type of support they would most welcome to develop their products, services or new production processes followed by assistance with identifying potential markets or customers for these products or services (23%), technical advice and consultancy services for products, services development or production processes, and consultancy services for marketing or distribution (12%). 
• 35% of Irish SMEs report that they have at least one full-time employee who works some of all of the time in a green job, just below the EU average of 37%. The average number of green jobs in Irish SMEs is 1.8, just above the EU average of 1.7.

The full Eurobarometer report is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_342_en.pdf  

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