News

According to new Eurostat figures, Dublin Airport saw a rise of 14.9% in passenger numbers between 2014 and 2015. This was the third largest rise in the EU after Athens (+19.1%) and Luton Airport (+17%). Dublin Airport is now the 12th busiest airport in the EU with almost 25 million passengers handled in 2015. The busiest airports were London/Heathrow with 75.0 million passengers, Paris/Charles de Gaulle (65.7 million), Frankfurt/Main (60.9 million) and Amsterdam/Schiphol (58.2 million). Overall, Irish airports (+12.3%) recorded the fifth largest rise in passenger numbers in the EU in 2015. On average passenger numbers rose by 4.7% across the EU.

The aim of this event is to give the research community an overview of on-going activities in the following PPPs : Factories of the Future, Energy-efficient Buildings, Sustainable Process Industry and European Green Vehicles Initiative. The event will be web streamed and recorded.

The Council will conclude the preparations for the European Council on 20-21 October 2016 by discussing draft conclusions. Ministers will take note of the state of play on the mid-term review of the EU's multiannual budgetary framework for 2014-2020. The MFF regulation sets out annual maximum amounts which the EU is allowed to spend on different policy areas over the period from 2014 to 2020. Finally, ministers will be informed by the presidency on the implementation of the interinstitutional agreement on better regulation, which was adopted by the Council on 15 March 2016. One of its main aims is to ensure that EU policies and laws achieve their objectives at minimum cost and administrative burden.

The Council will be called on to adopt a package of decisions on the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with Canada (CETA). These include decisions on conclusion of the agreement, signature and provisional application. CETA will remove more than 99% of tariffs that are currently imposed on trade between the EU and Canada.

EU Environment Ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Monday 17 October.

EU foreign affairs ministers will discuss the situation in Syria in light of recent developments on the ground. The Council will also discuss the EU Global Strategy and how to implement it effectively. The Council is expected to adopt conclusions. The Council will further discuss the situation on migration and take stock of the EU actions and priorities in this area.

The Council will discuss the implementation of migration measures. The aims is to identify the main gaps and shortcomings and to make the appropriate recommendations to speed up the processes. The Council will focus in particular on the state of play of relocation and resettlement, the calls for experts for EU agencies, the situation in Italy and Greece and the implementation of the EU-Turkey statement. Ministers will also asses the implementation of the European Border and Coast Guard and will briefly review IT measures related to border management. The Council will discuss the reform of the Common European Asylum System, focusing on Eurodac, EASO related issues and the resettlement framework.

The Council is expected to reach a general approach on a revised directive protecting workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work. This directive seeks to introduce stricter limit exposure values for a number of cancer-causing chemicals as compared to those of the previous directive from 2004. In addition, the Council is expected to reach a political agreement on a directive dealing with the work in fishing Convention 2007 of the International Labour Organisation. Its aim is to provide fishermen with decent working and living conditions.

The autumn edition of the Employment and Social Development in Europe (ESDE) Quarterly Review confirms the strengthening of employment growth in the EU, observed over the last two and a half years. In the year to the second quarter of 2016, an additional 3.2 million (1.4%) people were employed in the EU, including 2.2 million (1.5%) people in the euro area. Employment increased in almost all Member States (except for Croatia, which registered a small decline, and in Finland where it stagnated). Employment in the EU is now above the 2008 level. Unemployment in the EU is at its lowest rate (8.6%) since March 2009, with 1.6 million (0.7 pp) fewer unemployed people in the EU compared to last year.

Ireland has the highest success rate in Europe for the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument with a 16% success rate compared to a European average of 6%. Irish innovative SMEs have received €26.5 million from the SME Instrument which places Ireland first in Europe for successful participation in this part of Horizon 2020. Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020).

The European Commission and Department of Justice and Equality, in collaboration with Irish Diversity Charter, are co-organising this year’s Annual Forum. The theme of the forum is "Selling Diversity in a World of Diversion". Speakers include Frances Fitzgerald, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Tiina Astola, Director General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission, and Cecile Kyenge, Member of the European Parliament.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the functioning of certain procedural and jurisdictional aspects of EU merger control. The public consultation will seek feedback from citizens, businesses, associations, public authorities and other stakeholders. The consultation is open until 13 January 2017.

Speaking to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin today (6 October), EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said that a global response was needed to the current refugee crisis. He called for the support of national parliaments saying: "Today, 250 million people are affected by humanitarian crises world-wide. An unprecedented sixty-five (65) million have been forcibly displaced. We are facing a global displacement crisis. Which requires a global response. We help people in need, no matter where they are... As we have a new instrument that allows us to provide humanitarian aid within our own borders. And in particular, to the refugees in Greece. But we can certainly do more. Much more: Member States, National Parliaments, the EU institutions, civil society. In partnership."

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency was officially launched today (6 October) at the Bulgarian external border with Turkey. The new European Border and Coast Guard Agency will closely monitor the EU's external borders and work together with Member States to quickly identify and address any potential security threats to the Schengen area. Ireland is not part of Schengen but may cooperate with the new agency on an agreed basis. Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said: "Today is a milestone in the history of European border management. From now onwards, the external EU border of one Member State is the external border of all Member States – both legally and operationally. In less than one year we have established a fully-fledged European Border and Coast Guard system, turning into reality the principles of shared responsibility and solidarity among the Member States and the Union."

The Commission has just launched the web-based EU Coding Platform to support healthcare professionals and national competent authorities in tracing donated tissues and cells from donor to recipient in the entire EU. The EU Directive on standards for quality and safety of human tissues and cells sets standards for tissues and cells such as bone marrow, reproductive cells, corneas, skin, etc., that are used within the EU and which will be identified by a Single European Code (SEC). The new standard SEC is an important tool for better patient safety, as it enables the tracing of tissues and cells along the supply chain - from the donor to the patient receiving it. In case of a quality or safety issue, it allows appropriate action, including - where necessary, withdrawing or recalling all tissues and cells from the same donor, to be taken quickly.

The Swedish Academy this week awarded Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2016 for the design of the world's smallest - molecular - machines. All three laureates have participated in EU-funded research projects. Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "I warmly congratulate Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa on their achievement... I am proud to see that EU support has enabled them to push the frontiers of human knowledge and ultimately benefit the society and economy."

The Commission has proposed fishing opportunities for deep-sea fish stocks in the international waters in the North-East Atlantic for 2017-2018. Deep-sea fisheries account for about 1% of all fish caught in the North-East Atlantic. Over the years, fishing activity and associated jobs have been declining as stocks become more and more scarce. The proposal presented by the Commission aims to reverse this trend. Based on scientific advice, the Commission proposed to keep the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) unchanged for 1 stock and to reduce the TACs for 10 stocks in order to prevent their over-exploitation. Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, said: "Life at the bottom of the sea grows at a much slower pace, which makes deep sea fish particularly vulnerable to exploitation. We must set the biannual fishing opportunities for these stocks with the clear objective of ensuring sustainable management."

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the evaluation of the Aerosol Dispersers Directive. Aerosol dispensers offer a wide range of products from mass-market goods such as cosmetic and household products to specific aerosol types dedicated for industrial or medical purposes. Aerosol dispensers are safe and easy to use products that are resource efficient and cost effective. The consultation is open until 15 January 2017.

The European Union has taken an important step to further strengthen the trade rules applicable to goods that could be used for capital punishment or torture. On the proposal of the European Commission, the European Parliament this week approved new restrictions on certain services and revised rules on goods that could be used to apply the death penalty. The Regulation will become law as soon as it is approved by the Council of the European Union and published in the Official Journal of the EU.

As part of this year’s celebration of 25 years of the MEDIA programme in Ireland, Creative Europe MEDIA has teamed up with VOLTA Video on Demand to host an online Film Festival highlighting Irish and European films supported by MEDIA. Since 1990, the MEDIA programme of the EU Commission has invested over €39 million in Irish film and TV productions, film festivals, film exhibition, and training. The Celebrating 25 Years of MEDIA Online Film Festival will be officially launched on 6 October at a Gala screening of the Creative Europe MEDIA funded documentary, Mattress Men, in the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin. Mattress Men tells the story of sixty-something Michael Flynn who in an attempt to save his struggling mattress business, reinvents himself as the eccentric online personality ‘Mattress Mick’ under the guidance of his good friend Paul Kelly. The festival will run for four weeks from 7 October to 4 November on Volta and will highlight a selection of MEDIA funded films.