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Financial support for energy efficiency in buildings
The European Commission wants to gather views from stakeholders on how the financial support for energy efficiency measures aimed at improving the energy performance of buildings, both at EU as well as national, regional and local level, could be improved. Interested parties have until 18 May 2012 to respond to the public consultation.
Gender imbalance in corporate boards in the EU
The European Commission is considering a legislative initiative to improve the gender balance in the boards of companies listed on stock exchanges. On the basis of the Progress Report "Women in economic decision-making in the EU" presented by Vice-President Viviane Reding on 5 March 2012, the Commission is launching a public consultation of stakeholders on possible measures in this context. This consultation will feed into an assessment of possible EU-level measures to enhance female participation in economic decision-making, which will inform the Commission's decision on whether to propose action and the form it should take. The consultation runs until 28 May 2012.
Tackling double non-taxation by EU companies
To kick-start work on tackling tax avoidance by companies exploiting loopholes between different member states' tax systems, the European Commission has launched a public consultation outlining possible ways to address double non-taxation cases.
The exercise will help the Commission gauge the full scale of the problem and see where the main weaknesses lie leading to the development of the most appropriate policy before the end of 2012. Double non-taxation occurs when cross-border companies escape paying taxes due to mismatches between national tax systems. The practice deprives member states of significant revenues and creates unfair competition between businesses in the single market. To encourage participation by anyone who may have insight into real-life exploitation of double non-taxation by companies, anonymous contributions will be accepted. The consultation will run until 30 May 2012.
Revision of the limit values for lead in toys
The new toy safety directive 2009/48/EC introduced strict migration limits for lead in toys. The new directive also foresees the possibility to amend these limits when new scientific evidence is made available, in order to assure constant alignment on the latest scientific evidence and appropriate protection for children. The latest EFSA study (2010) on Lead in Food concluded that it is impossible to establish, for lead, a threshold below which no critical effect on health can be observed. Therefore, EFSA recommended reducing the lead exposure from both food and non foods products. As this new study shows, the level of protection of children against exposure to lead, as established by the Directive, is no longer appropriate. Therefore, it is necessary to amend the current values for lead and align them with the latest scientific data, in order to reduce children's exposure to lead. The consultation runs until 7 May 2012.
Commission launches public consultation on bank accounts
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on bank accounts – focusing on the transparency and comparability of bank account fees, bank account switching and access to a basic bank account. The consultation is open to all stakeholders and will run until 12 June 2012. The results will be taken into account by the Commission when identifying and designing the measures to be included in its Bank Accounts initiative later this year.
Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's waters
This year, the European Commission will present a Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources. This document will assess the implementation and achievements of EU water policy as well as identify gaps and shortcomings. On the basis of this analysis, the Blueprint will identify actions to strengthen water policy and to address ongoing vulnerability of the water environment. The European Commission is asking the public for its views on the most appropriate actions to improve water management in Europe and to safeguard our water resources for all users. The public’s views will help to formulate the policy proposals to be included in a Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources planned for the end of 2012.
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