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Statement by European Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn on the Fiscal Treaty

05/24/2012

Statement by European Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn on the Fiscal Treaty

"Rejecting this treaty will leave Ireland in a financial no man's land  - unnecessarily exposing our country to uncertainty as to where future funding might be secured from, and at what cost."  More...

Statement by President Barroso following the Informal European Council dinner, 23 May 2012

05/24/2012

Statement by President Barroso following the Informal European Council dinner, 23 May 2012

"We need both stability and growth".  More...

Clean water at most EU holiday destinations

05/23/2012

Clean water at most EU holiday destinations

Good news if you’re planning a beach holiday in Europe this summer. 92.1 % of bathing water in the European Union now meets the minimum quality standards. The latest EU bathing water report out today shows that water quality at Europe's most popular summer destinations was generally good – Spain, Italy and Portugal had more than 80 % of sites with excellent water quality.  More...

Europe's action plan for growth, employment and investment

05/22/2012

Europe's action plan for growth, employment and investment

Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the European Commission and member of the European Commission responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro, gave an address to the European Parliament on 22 May on "Europe's action plan for growth, employment and investment". The full text of his speech is reproduced below.  More...

New EU project gets to grips with globetrotting germs

05/16/2012

New EU project gets to grips with globetrotting germs

As Germany was struck by a devastating Escherichia coli (E. coli) crisis in June 2011, the dangers of transferring life-threatening disease-causing germs in food from one country to another once again hit the headlines. Despite the alarm however, until now very few studies have been carried out into the actual danger posed by germs that enter the EU along with food. Step in a new EU-funded project that hopes to tackle pesky pathogens like E. coli head on.  More...

Statement by President Barroso on the economy and on Greece

05/16/2012

Statement by President Barroso on the economy and on Greece

The following statement on the economy and on Greece was made by President Barroso at the end of a debate on the economic situation in Europe during the weekly meeting of the European Commission on 16 May 2012.  More...

Ireland records 3rd lowest inflation in April 2012

05/16/2012

Ireland records 3rd lowest inflation in April 2012

According to Eurostat figures just published, Ireland had the third lowest annual rate of inflation in the EU in April 2012 at 1.9%. The lowest rates were observed in Sweden (1.0%) and Greece (1.5%) and the highest rates were observed in Hungary (5.6%), Estonia (4.3%), the Czech Republic and Poland (both 4.0%).  More...

Ireland records third largest trade surplus in EU in Jan-Feb '12

05/16/2012

Ireland records third largest trade surplus in EU in Jan-Feb '12

Ireland recorded the third largest trade surplus (+6.8 bn euro) in the EU in January to February 2012 after Germany (+27.8 bn) and the Netherlands (+7.2 bn). Irish exports for this period were up 2% on January-February 2011, from 14.5 to 14.9 bn euro, while Irish imports were down 5%, from 8.5 to 8.1 bn euro.  More...

Remarks of European Commission Vice-President Rehn at the Eurogroup press conference of 14 May 2012

05/15/2012

Remarks of European Commission Vice-President Rehn at the Eurogroup press conference of 14 May 2012

Regarding progress on the implementation of the programmes of Ireland and Portugal, I'm pleased to say that both programmes are on track, and the re-balancing towards an expanding export sector continues in both countries.  More...

Spring forecast: On-going adjustment supported by export growth

05/11/2012

Spring forecast: On-going adjustment supported by export growth

The Irish economy returned to growth in 2011 after three years of contraction. GDP increased by 0.7% for the year, although the divergence between the export-oriented and domestic sectors continued. While net exports added 4.7 pps. to growth, domestic demand continued to contract, as household balance-sheet adjustment continued, and both fiscal consolidation and contracting employment reduced disposable incomes. The effects of public and private sector deleveraging will continue to weigh on growth in 2012. However this will be offset again by external demand, so that overall real GDP growth of 0.5% is forecast for this year. Growth is then expected to pick up to 1.9% in 2013 as domestic demand stabilises and trading partner growth increases.  More...

Botolist and Botocyl trade-marks annulled by ECJ

05/10/2012

Botolist and Botocyl trade-marks annulled by ECJ

In an EU row over trademarks, Helena Rubinstein and L'Oreal have been told to withdraw their brands "Botolist" and "Botocyl" respectively.  More...

Eurobarometer: Irish people third most likely to consider themselves well informed on EU matters

05/10/2012

Eurobarometer: Irish people third most likely to consider themselves well informed on EU matters

According to the most recent Eurobarometer report, Irish people are third most likely to consider themselves well informed on EU matters; 46% of Irish people see themselves as well informed on European matters compared to an EU average of 33%. This is the third highest in the EU after Luxembourg (52%) and Finland (47%), Spanish respondents were least likely to consider themselves as well informed at 20%.   More...

Europe Day 9 May: Celebrating the older generation

05/09/2012

Europe Day 9 May: Celebrating the older generation

Today, 9 May, is Europe Day and this year it's all about the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity Between the Generations.  More...

Statement on Growth by President Barroso: "Seizing the moment to boost growth"

05/08/2012

Statement on Growth by President Barroso: "Seizing the moment to boost growth"

Statement on Growth by President Barroso: "Seizing the moment to boost growth: 9th May message from the European Commission"  More...

Europe Day 9 May: Celebrating the older generation

05/08/2012

Europe Day 9 May: Celebrating the older generation

Tomorrow, 9 May, is Europe Day and this year it's all about the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity Between the Generations. The celebrations kick off with a flash mob of older and younger people dancing together to music from a live swing band in Grafton Street in front of Bewley's Cafe at 11am. Young musicians playing the songs of older generations, putting their own twist to it ; the silver generation dancing in formation with young people...  this year's Europe Day celebrates the concept of Active Aging and Solidarity between Generations by turning stereotypes on their heads.  More...

Erasmus take-up increases by 18%

05/08/2012

Erasmus take-up increases by 18%

2,511 Irish students benefitted from Erasmus during 2010-2011 – up from 2,128 the previous year. The top 3 destinations for Irish students were France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.   More...

EU Health Prize for Journalists launched today

05/03/2012

EU Health Prize for Journalists launched today

Today,  EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, John Dalli, launched the fourth consecutive annual health prize for journalists.  More...

Irish SME joins forces to produce innovative packaging for food

05/02/2012

Irish SME joins forces to produce innovative packaging for food

We're constantly on the go, so products that make our lives easier are always welcome. But keeping products safe is important. This is especially true for the food industry. When fats, oils and other food components are oxidised, the foods we eat lose nutrients and colours. Steering clear of oxidation is crucial for food packaging.  More...

Giving EU citizens a "Letter of Rights" in criminal proceedings

04/27/2012

Giving EU citizens a "Letter of Rights" in criminal proceedings

"You have the right to… a Letter of Rights". Soon this will be the reality for anyone who is arrested or detained anywhere in the European Union.   More...

Statement by the EC, ECB, and IMF on the Review Mission to Ireland

04/26/2012

Statement by the EC, ECB, and IMF on the Review Mission to Ireland

Staff teams from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB), and International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Dublin during April 17-26 for the regular quarterly review of the government’s economic programme. Ireland’s policy implementation remains on track, nonetheless considerable challenges remain. Ensuring recovery in Ireland’s highly open economy will require that these policy efforts continue, and that the external environment improves. The EC and IMF missions will seek approval for the completion of this review from the relevant EU bodies and the IMF Executive Board respectively.  More...

Draft EU Budget 2013

04/25/2012

Draft EU Budget 2013: Investing in growth and jobs

The EU's draft budget for 2013, presented today by the Commission, reflects the European Council's statements that growth and employment in the EU can only be achieved by combining fiscal consolidation  and investment into future growth.   More...

04/24/2012

Young Irish researcher wins gold medal for road safety technology

Anthony Winterlich from the National University of Ireland, Galway, gets the prize for his work on systems for pedestrian identification, which is a key challenge to enhance road safety. He is among the winners of the YEAR 2012 competition announced yesterday at the Transport Research Arena (TRA), in Athens.  More...

Andor and Platini welcome new agreement on contract rights for footballers

04/20/2012

Andor and Platini welcome new agreement on contract rights for footballers

The social partners representing the professional football sector has today signed their first Agreement setting minimum contract requirements. The social partners represented by FIFPro (Trade Union); EPFL (European Professional Football Leagues), ECA (European Club Association) - and UEAFA the governing body of European football have negotiated the agreement. It will also be accompanied by a joint letter where all organisations pledge to implement these new commitments.  More...

When I'm 65: 11 healthy years left if you're Irish

04/19/2012

When I'm 65: 11 healthy years left if you're Irish

Although Irish women at 65 can expect to live three years longer than men of the same age, the number of healthy years they each have left is roughly the same. New figures from Eurostat released today show that the life expectancy for 65 year old women is 21.1 more years whereas for 65 year old men it is 18.1 more years.  However, when it comes to a healthy life, the gap is much closer with 11.2 years for women and 11.1 years for men.  More...

EU Commission tackles high unemployment level

04/18/2012

EU Commission tackles high unemployment level

With EU unemployment hitting record levels and forecasts of a grim economic outlook for the months ahead, the Commission has come forward today with a set of concrete measures to boost jobs. The proposal focuses on the demand-side of job creation, setting out ways for Member States to encourage hiring by reducing taxes on labour or supporting business start-ups more. It also identifies the areas with the biggest job potential for the future: the green economy, health services and ICT. For example, 20m jobs could be created by 2020 in the green economy (energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste, recycling, etc.). 8 million openings are expected by 2020 in the health sector. Jobs for ICT specialists have been growing by 3% a year even during the crisis, and Europe will be short of 700,000 ICT practitioners by 2015.  More...

Commission strengthens independence and reliability of EU statistic

04/17/2012

Commission strengthens independence and reliability of EU statistic

Stronger measures to ensure the quality and credibility of EU statistics have been set out in a proposal adopted by the Commission today.
 
High-quality, reliable statistics are fundamental for evidence-based decision making. Demands for such data have further increased in light of the enhanced economic-policy coordination that has been agreed in the EU over the past year.  More...

Eurotrip No. 3 - First stops Stockholm and Poznan!

04/17/2012

Eurotrip No. 3 - First stops Stockholm and Poznan!

The winners of Eurotrip No. 3, Dublin duo Diandra Xavier and Darragh Reck, and Co. Mayo natives Clare Cullen and Lorraine Cronin, kicked off their trips across Europe in Stockholm and Poznan yesterday.  More...

European Commission offers €2 million prize for a leap forward in vaccine technology

04/17/2012

European Commission offers €2 million prize for a leap forward in vaccine technology

The European Commission today offered a €2 million prize to encourage inventors to overcome one of the biggest barriers to using vaccines in developing countries: the need to keep them stable at any ambient temperature. The prize was announced by Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn at the third Innovation in Healthcare conference in Brussels. It is the first time the European Commission has offered a so-called inducement prize to stimulate research and innovation in the European Union.  More...

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn calls for 'Yes' vote on Fiscal Treaty to show Ireland back in business

04/11/2012

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn calls for 'Yes' vote on Fiscal Treaty to show Ireland back in business

European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn has today turned the first sod on the site for the new Medtronic Customer Innovation Centre in Galway. Speaking at the ceremony, she highlighted Ireland's and in particular Galway's position of leadership in the Medical Technology sector, a growing and innovative sector in Europe. The Commissioner argued that with a strong innovation base, Ireland is well positioned to emerge out of the crisis with an improved economy that will compete globally. An important element of this is to build confidence for investors, employers and markets alike, and here a positive vote in the upcoming referendum on the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance (the 'Fiscal Treaty') was vital. The Commissioner said:  More...

Minister Lucinda Creighton launches Talk To EU Eurotrip No 3

04/11/2012

Minister Lucinda Creighton launches Talk To EU Eurotrip No 3

Dublin duo Diandra Xavier and Darragh Reck, and Co. Mayo natives Clare Cullen and Lorraine Cronin are this year's Talk To EU Eurotrip participants. They were picked after a national competition to find two teams of two people to take on the Eurotrip Challenge.  More...

Environment: Irish Ministers and Environment Commissioner agree to work closely and quickly on national plan for Irish raised bogs

04/03/2012

Environment: Irish Ministers and Environment Commissioner agree to work closely and quickly on national plan for Irish raised bogs

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 today 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.  More...

03/30/2012

Irish Commissioner congratulates CIT on start-up award

As Corkman Kieran O'Callaghan basks in the glory of winning Europe's top innovation prize, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn congratulated the Cork Institute of Technology on another outstanding performance in this year's Innovact innovation awards.  More...

Statement by President Barroso at the signature ceremony of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance

03/02/2012

Statement by President Barroso at the signature ceremony of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance

President Barroso made the following key points at the signature ceremony of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union:  More...

European Commission gives green light for €5.8 bn payment following successful completion of 5th review of financial assistance programme

03/01/2012

European Commission gives green light for €5.8 bn payment following successful completion of 5th review of financial assistance programme

Today, the European Commission completed the fifth review of the EU-IMF supported financial assistance programme for Ireland. In this context, the Commission authorises the disbursement of €5.8 billion to the country, bringing total EU funding to Ireland to €32.2 billion since the launch of the programme in late 2010.  More...

Commission's interim economic forecast: Extract on Ireland

02/23/2012

Commission's interim economic forecast: Extract on Ireland

The latest interim forecast of the European Commission, presented on 23 February, points to a stagnation of the EU economy and to a mild recession in the euro area. However, modest growth is predicted to return in the second half of the year.  More...

Statement by Commissioner Karel De Gucht on ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement)

02/22/2012

Statement by Commissioner Karel De Gucht on ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement)

"I am glad to say that this morning my fellow Commissioners have discussed and agreed in general with my proposal to refer the ACTA agreement to the European Court of Justice.  More...

What is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement or ACTA about?

02/10/2012

What is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement or ACTA about?

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an agreement between the European Union and its Member States, Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Mexican States, the Kingdom of Morocco, New Zealand, the Republic of Singapore, the Swiss Confederation and the United States of America. Its aim is to help countries work together to tackle Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) infringements more effectively.  More...




Last update: 27/09/2011  |Top