News

On the 24 September, the European Commission Representation in Malta celebrated the European Day of Languages in St Anne’s Square, Sliema. Għaqda tal-Malti – Università helped in the organisation of this event. Participating in the event, and each manning a different stand, were the Spanish Embassy, The Deaf Society, the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Malta, Malta University Language School, DESA, The National Book Council, HOASA and Alliance Française.

On Thursday, 15th September, Europe Direct Information Centre – Victoria, Gozo organised a seminar at the Victoria Scouts Headquarters about Organic Production, its genuinity and the way by which this production contributes to minimizing the effect on Climate Change.

EU Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Monday and Tuesday, 10 and 11 October.

EU Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Monday and Tuesday, 10 and 11 October.

EU Finance Ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday 11 October.

EU Finance Ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday 11 October.

Eurozone Finance Ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday, 10 October.

Eurozone Finance Ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday, 10 October.

On Thursday 6 October, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides will address the IIEA on the Role of Education in Displacement Crises. Emergencies and protracted crises, such as the current migration crisis, are disrupting the opportunities for education of an estimated 75 million children and youth across 35 countries. In his keynote address to the IIEA, Commissioner Stylianides will discuss the European Union’s strategies for supporting education in crisis situations, and the challenges the EU faces achieving this priority.

The daily agendas for this plenary session are now available online.

Eurodesk Ireland and Léargas invite youth workers, information workers, guidance counsellors, youth and career officers and everyone working with young people who might benefit from working, volunteering, studying and training in Europe to join us at our special event “Time To Move” on 11 October 2016 in Dublin Castle.

Eurodesk Ireland and Léargas invite youth workers, information workers, guidance counsellors, youth and career officers and everyone working with young people who might benefit from working, volunteering, studying and training in Europe to join us at our special event “Time To Move” on 11 October 2016 in Dublin Castle.

A one-day networking seminar will bring together various European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF) stakeholders who will learn about strategies to motivate redundant workers to proactively participate in their reintegration into employment

A one-day networking seminar will bring together various European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF) stakeholders who will learn about strategies to motivate redundant workers to proactively participate in their reintegration into employment

After months of negotiations, on 24th August the Commission announced that Malta's plans for setting up a development bank to be in line with EU state aid rules. The bank will carry out non-commercial activities to facilitate access to finance for small and medium sized companies (SMEs) and to support infrastructure investment, without unduly distorting competition.

The event targets potential applicants to the calls for 'Smart Grids and Storage' projects, which will be funded under the 2016-2017 Horizon 2020 work programme ' Secure, clean and efficient energy', and in particular under the 'Competitive low-carbon energy' (LCE) call. Presentations will cover the call content and the application procedure. A networking session will take place in the afternoon. The event can also be followed via live web streaming and on Twitter at #H2020GridsStorage.

On the 23rd of September, APS Bank and the European Investment Fund (EIF) signed the first agreement in Malta under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe. The agreement will help Maltese innovative SMEs access to € 12 million of fresh loans.

Ireland (4,500) had the third highest number of dairy farmers who signed up for the Milk Production Reduction Scheme, announced by the Commission last July to incentivise a reduction in milk production. In total 52,000 dairy farmers in 27 Member States have applied to participate in the scheme with the highest numbers coming from France (13,000) and Germany (10,000). EU Agriculture Commissioner Hogan said the figures showed that "the scheme has proven to be both very attractive and successful. It fully meets our expectations. I am confident that this measure, allied to others included in the July and earlier packages, will contribute further to an already stabilising market situation in the European dairy market. I am particularly pleased at the level of participation among the main dairy producing Member States."

The European Commission wants to strengthen controls on exports of certain goods and technologies that – as well as legitimate civilian applications – may also be misused for severe human rights violations, terrorist acts or the development of weapons of mass destruction. A main element of the proposal is a new "human security" dimension in export controls, to prevent human rights violations associated with certain cyber-surveillance technologies. EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said: "We are living in turbulent times. Preserving peace and protecting human rights are core objectives of the EU and our trade policy is essential to that aim. That's why we are proposing a set of modern rules to make sure that exports are not misused to threaten international security or undermine human rights".

The European Commission has launched the first-ever call for proposals under the EU funding programme for infrastructure, called the Connecting Europe Facility, to support projects fostering synergies between transport and energy infrastructure. The call makes €40 million available to studies supporting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, in line with the Europe 2020 strategy, as well as enabling the EU to achieve its sustainable development targets through the creation of synergies between transport and energy. Support will be granted to study projects with or without pilot deployment on a competitive basis in the form of EU co-financing of up to 60% of eligible costs, following a thorough evaluation and selection process. Applicants have until 13 December 2016 to submit their proposals. The outcome of the call will be published by April 2017.