27 April 2007 - The Irish winners of a Europe-wide Journalism competition have been announced. David Lynch, of Business World has been declared the national winner of the ‘For Diversity. Against Discrimination’ Journalism Award and Maria Moynihan of the Irish Farmers Journal was winner in the Young Journalist Category. The Awards are presented by the European Commission in recognition of journalism which highlights discrimination issues and as part of the Commission’s "For Diversity. Against Discrimination" information campaign which has a particular focus on workplace discrimination.

The Awards are presented by the European Commission in recognition of journalism, which highlights discrimination issues and are part of the Commission’s "For Diversity. Against Discrimination." information campaign which, provides information on European anti-discrimination policies with a particular focus on workplace discrimination. Entries are currently being sought for the Journalist Award 2007 and a special award will be awarded to mark the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. Entries can qualify for this special award by submitting an article dealing with discrimination on the basis of race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability and referring to the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All.

Martin Territt, Director of the European Commission Representation in Ireland said that the Awards recognised the importance of journalism in highlighting issues of discrimination.

“I would like to commend both David and Maria for the quality and perceptiveness of their articles. The articles provide a real insight and understanding of the prejudices faced by sectors of our community. Tolerance and respect are core European values and the European Commission is delighted to support the type of journalism, which gives a real voice to those who are often not heard.

Commenting on the selection of David Lynch’s article, ‘The Persistence of Prejudice’, Niall Crowley, Chief Executive of the Equality Authority and Chairperson of the Irish national jury said that the article was unique in exploring the equality dimension to a news story that enjoyed widespread coverage.

"David Lynch, in this article provided a thoughtful and insightful perspective on the relationship between the Gardaí and the Traveller community and the outcome of the Morris Tribunal. The article demonstrated a keen awareness of equality issues and gave a voice to the Traveller community".

The Irish national jury also rewarded Maria Moynihan of the Irish Farmers Journal the Young Journalist Award.

Commenting on the article ‘Family Ties: No Longer Nuclear’, Niall Crowley said it was a timely and thought provoking exploration of family diversity in Irish society. It is timely given the need for a new policy focus on this theme and it was thought provoking in setting out the extent of diversity of family forms and in affording an opportunity for different families to tell their own stories. This was a worthy winner of the Young Journalist Award.

Accepting the Award, David Lynch said that the article focused on the difficulties posed for the Travelling community in contemporary Ireland and it was the work of other journalists in Ireland and abroad who saw it is as their principal task to write from the perspective of the underdog, which encouraged him to enter journalism.

Accepting the Award in the Young Journalist category, Maria Moynihan said, “that this Award is a great honour for both myself and The Journal. As a young journalist, it’s fantastic to get this level of recognition from the European Commission.”

26 April 2007 - New European Commission figures out tomorrow morning (Friday 27 April) show that Ireland has the highest percentage of young people killed in road accidents in the EU. Thirty-eight percent of all people killed in road accidents in Ireland are aged under 25 and thirty percent are in the 18 to 25 age group. The report is published to coincide with the EU’s first European Road Safety Day (Friday 27 April) which has a particular focus on young people. Today’s report also shows that seventy five percent of those who died in the EU in 2005 were males.

In 2002, the European Road Safety Action Programme Commission set a target of halving the number of road deaths in the EU from 50 000 to 25 000 by 2010. The last twelve months have shown an eight percent reduction in road fatalities. In its Action Programme, the European Commission supports Member States in drawing up national road safety plans, getting best practice and good ideas from other countries and adoption of measures on driving time and vehicle safety.

In Ireland, 1997 was the highest year for road fatalities when 473 people died on our roads. Over the last ten years, the number of road deaths has steadily declined with the number for 2006 at around 368. However, this figure is still above the European average.

A second report on road safety published by the European Commission today shows that in Ireland seat belts are worn by eighty-six percent of from seat passengers, compared to ninety-seven percent in France. However, when it comes to the use of seat belts by back seat passengers, Ireland has one of the worst records in Europe with only forty-six percent of back seat passengers using them.

For more information – these links will be updated Friday 27 April 11.00:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety/road_safety_day/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety/road_safety_observatory/profiles_en.htm

Ireland country profile 2005 only

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety_library/care/doc/profiles/pdf/countryprofile_ie_en.pdf

26 April 2007 - The European Commission scientists have produced a new atlas showing the areas of Europe under most pressure from fertilisers and Ireland figures amongst those with the highest levels. Other areas in Europe with high levels are large portions of The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France and Italy.

Nutrients are essential for plants and animals, but in excessive amounts they can lead to a significant decrease in soil and water quality. Nutrients can be introduced into the environment through fertilisers or other agrochemicals, and strict regulations have been adopted to limit their use. The new atlas provides for the first time a clear view on the pressure on eco-systems due to nutrients and their source.

The atlas is the product of the FATE initiative (Fate of Pollutants in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems) at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, investigating the impact of nutrients such as agrochemicals on the environment. Nutrients get into the environment through agriculture, wastewater treatment plants, industry, and so on. However there has been little research into and no EU wide assessment of the contribution of these sectors to nutrient pollution and the extent of its impact. The FATE initiative was designed to specifically address this gap in environmental research with particular emphasis on agriculture. The results of the project should help better implementation of existing legislation and also provide a scientific basis for any future legislation.

For example, the information used in the atlas shows that the range of surplus nutrients in agro-intensive areas varies widely among European countries, with the Netherlands topping 200 kg/ha and Italy not exceeding 40kg/ha. There is also wide variety of levels within countries: for instance, France has an overall nitrogen excess of 50 kg/ha, whereas Brittany standing alone exhibits levels exceeding 120 kg/ha. The scientists were able to show that excess nutrient loss is often due to practices such as over-fertilisation, making prevention both relatively straightforward and low-cost. Indeed, applications of nitrogen fertilisers were found at times to be twice as high as crop needs. The FATE team was also able to identify a close link between increased nutrient pressures on the environment and high-density livestock production.

The team also evaluated the impact of several climate change scenarios, showing that farmers in already intensive production areas will be forced to increase their use of fertilisers to maintain optimum crop yields, while demand for water resources will also increase, further taxing Europe’s water supply.

For more information: http://ies.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

19 April 2007 - Improved cooperation between European Union customs authorities has led to an increase in the number of dangerous consumer products ─ from teddy bears to hairdryers, cleaning sprays, mini-motorbikes, cigarette lighters and ski boot bindings ─ removed from the EU market last year.

The Annual RAPEX Report on dangerous consumer products published today by the European Commission also shows that toys have taken over from electrical appliances as the product category most often removed from the market.

“This Rapid Alert System is a powerful watchdog and an excellent example of European value added," said European Commissioner for Consumer Affairs Meglena Kuneva. “The constant increase in the number of measures notified is a good sign, it shows that vigilance across Europe is getting better and better. Today's annual report shows that the system in 2006 is working better than ever before. My task is to make it grow to its full potential.”

China was indicated as the country of origin in almost half of all cases (440 notifications or 48%). In total, restrictive measures concerning 924 dangerous products were reported through RAPEX last year, compared to 701 in 2005, representing a 32% increase.

The Irish authorities notified RAPEX of 14 dangerous products in 2006, or 2% of the total.

Through RAPEX, the Rapid Alert System for non-food consumer products, national authorities notify the Commission of products presenting a serious risk for the health and safety of consumers, with the exception of food, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This information is rapidly shared among all other surveillance authorities in 30 European countries, and dangerous products are then banned or their sale is restricted on the market.

The Commission is calling for enhanced participation from all EU Member States, joint efforts with and between national market surveillance and customs authorities, and co-operation with third countries to further increase the effectiveness of the system.

The number of notifications has risen steeply during the last few years. In the second year after the entry into force of revised rules governing non-food consumer product safety in Europe, the number of notifications relating to products presenting a serious risk has more than doubled from 388 in 2004 to 924 in 2006.

In 2006, there was an increase of 32% in relation to 2005 for serious risk notifications. Over 40% of all notifications concern voluntary measures taken by businesses - a considerable year-on-year increase. This is a clear indicator of growing safety awareness on the part of European economic operators.

Five countries accounted for 60% of all notifications:

• Germany (144 notifications, 16%),
• Hungary (140 notifications, 15%),
• Greece (98 notifications, 11%),
• United Kingdom (92 notifications, 10%),
• Spain (79 notifications, 9%).

The assessment of the functioning of the system in 2006 indicates that there is still an uneven distribution of notifications and reactions relating to products presenting a serious risk among Member States. Therefore there is a need for some Member States to improve their participation in the RAPEX system.

Toys and electrical appliances top the list

Most frequently notified products included:

• toys (221 notifications, 24%),
• electrical appliances (174 notifications, 19%),
• motor vehicles (126 notifications, 14%),
• lighting equipment (98 notifications, 11%),
• cosmetics (48 notifications, 5%).

Toys, electrical appliances and motor vehicles alone accounted for more than half of the notifications in 2006. This is in line with the previous year's results. The main difference is that for the first time, toys took over from electrical appliances as the product category most often notified.

Most frequent risks

The five main risk categories were:

• injuries (274 notifications, 25%),
• electric shock (270 notifications, 24%),
• fire risk/burns (194 notifications, 18%),
• choking/suffocation (157 notifications, 14%),
• chemical risk (95 notifications, 9%).

Main country of origin

The People's Republic of China was indicated as the country of origin of the notified product in almost half of all cases (440 notifications, 48%). To address this, the Commission has intensified its cooperation on product safety with China. Given the fact that China has rapidly become one of the biggest exporters of consumer products to Europe, in 2006 the Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Roadmap for safer toys to improve the safety of incoming products.

Click here for the RAPEX Report 2006 and here for further information about RAPEX.

18 April 2007 - The European Commission is launching a public consultation on public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001). The consultation, based on a Green Paper published today, marks a further step in the drive towards more openness in the EU institutions.

A special website at http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/revision/index.htm has been set up for submissions. The consultation runs until 15 July 2007.

Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the Commission in charge of Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy, said: “We are committed to high standards of transparency of EU decision-making process. Access to documents is an important citizens' right. With this consultation, we start the discussion how it can be best exercised."

In the Green Paper, the Commission takes stock of the current rules on public access to documents and outlines some options for improving the system with a view to granting citizens better and easier access to documents of the three institutions and of the Community Agencies.

Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 has been in operation for just over five years. The three institutions have gathered experience in implementing the Regulation and the European Courts have interpreted it in a series of rulings. Therefore, the time seems right to review the Regulation and the European Parliament has asked the Commission to come forward with proposals for amending it.

However, before proposing any changes to the current rules, the Commission wishes to consult the public at large. It has published this Green Paper and opened a dedicated website, through which members of the public, citizens, civil society organisations, economic operators, public authorities and any organisation with an interest in European affairs may submit comments and suggestions.

The Green Paper contains an analysis of the implementation of the Regulation and a summary of the relevant case law of the European Courts. It also features suggestions from the European Commission for improving the current system. The main issues submitted to the consultation are:

• Should more emphasis be put on promoting active dissemination of information?
• The rules on public access to documents could be harmonised with the rules on access to environmental information, to which the institutions are bound by an international Convention (the Convention of Århus on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters).
• Would a single set of rules for access to documents, including environmental information provide more clarity for citizens?
• How to ensure the proper balance between transparency and the protection of personal data, of economic and commercial interests and of the principle of good administration.

For each item, a questionnaire invites the public to give its opinion and to submit comments and suggestions.

For more information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/revision/index.htm.

4 April 2007 - Airlines should apply air passenger rights rules more consistently and Member States should work harder to enforce them, said the European Commission today. It has just published a report that evaluates the results and application of the air passenger rights Regulation, which was introduced two years ago.

The Regulation introduced new rules on compensation and assistance for air passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellations, long delays and involuntary downgrading. Depending on the circumstances, the Regulation requires airlines to provide passengers with assistance such as accommodation, refreshments, meals and communication facilities, offer re-routing and refunds, pay compensation, and proactively inform passengers about their rights.

“Although there is no doubt that air passengers enjoy better protection today, we must make sure that airlines and Member States fully comply with their obligations,” said European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot, who is in charge of transport. “The Commission will give them six months to make the air passengers regulation work and will provide them with full support in that process.”

Although stranded passengers now have specific rights, they are still in a weaker position compared to airlines. For example, airlines often do not inform passengers about their rights when their flights are disrupted, although the Regulation obliges them to do so, since passengers need this information in order to claim their rights.

The European Commission therefore considers that further work is needed in a number of areas: improving enforcement, clarifying the interpretation of certain aspects of the Regulation, establishing clarity between delays and cancellations as different rights are awarded to the passengers depending on the circumstances, and enhancing the role of the National Enforcement Bodies that oversee the application of the common rules.

During the next six months, the Commission will intensify cooperation with the National Enforcement Bodies and airlines in order to achieve better results. If the final outcome remains unsatisfactory, the Commission will initiate infringement procedures against Member States. Should these contacts and procedures fail to reach satisfactory results, the Commission could consider amending the current Regulation.

The Commission has also prepared updated information material in order to better guide passengers concerning their rights. A new poster will be available at all airports before the summer.

For more information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air_portal/passenger_rights/information_en.htm