Eurostat estimates show the population of the EU reached just over 510 million on 1 January 2016, up almost 2 million on 1 January 2015. Although nearly 5.1 million babies were born in the EU in 2015, over 5.2 million people died, meaning that the EU recorded for the first time ever a negative natural change in its population. The rise in population was mainly due to net migration. Ireland also saw its population rise in 2015, by a rate of +6.4 per 1,000 residents, almost double the EU average rise of +3.5‰. In Ireland's case the rise was mainly due to our high birth rate - Ireland was the EU country with the biggest positive difference between births and deaths (+7.7‰) in 2015. Ireland's population is now estimated at 4.658 million or 0.9% of the EU total. Luxembourg (+23.3 per 1,000 residents), Austria (+14.4‰), and Germany (+11.8‰) had the largest rises in population in 2015. Germany (82.2 m), France (66.7 m), the UK (65.3 m) and Italy (60.7 m) had the biggest populations.
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The European Commission has opened a public consultation on the evaluation of the market surveillance provisions of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and on actions to enhance enforcement and compliance in the Single Market for goods. The aim of this public consultation is to collect stakeholders' feedback. The consultation is open until 31 October 2016.
The Director General for Migration and Home Affairs at the European Commission, Matthias Ruete, was in Dublin this week where he spoke to the IIEA about the European Agenda on Migration. He said: "There is no one-country solution to flows of refugees or to irregular migration. We need to move away from a system which allows for and even encourages uncontrolled and irregular migration flows to a fairer system, providing safe pathways to the EU for people in need of protection." Europol reports that desperate people are paying three times as much as before to smugglers. The EU needs to break this business model.
The College of Commissioners confirmed today (7 July) that Portugal did not correct its excessive deficit by the deadline of 2015 and that Spain is off-track to correct its excessive deficit by the 2016 deadline. These deadlines were recommended by the Council on 21 June 2013. The College therefore adopted recommendations for a Council decision establishing the absence of effective action by Spain and Portugal in 2014 and 2015. This is a necessary step to give Spain and Portugal new deadlines for the correction of their excessive deficits, including updated fiscal adjustment paths. The Commission decision will now go to the Ecofin Council where it can only be overturned by a reverse qualified majority vote, with Spain and Portugal excluded.
Today (7 July) is World Chocolate Day! Thanks to EU food rules, European chocolate really is chocolate. It must have at least 35% dry cocoa solids. So-called "milk" chocolate gets a special derogation for use in the UK and Ireland, but even this must have minimum 25% cocoa solids). Irish people are the third highest consumers of chocolate in the EU with per capita consumption of 7.5 kg per year. Only Germany and Austria have higher consumption levels.
On Tuesday 19 July, the European Commission Representation in Ireland will host a screening of the documentary "Paper Heads" by the Slovak Embassy in Ireland. The documentary examines the relationship between the citizen and power in a totalitarian regime. The screening takes place in Europe House, 12-14 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2 on Tuesday 19 July at 6.30 pm.
The Commission has set out the next steps in its campaign to boost tax transparency in order to fight tax evasion and avoidance in the EU, taking into account recent media leaks known as the Panama Papers. Important progress has already been made at EU level to tackle such practices, including new rules to block artificial tax arrangements and transparency requirements for financial accounts, tax rulings and multinationals' activities. However, there are still gaps in the tax framework. Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, Pierre Moscovici said: "The recent leaks exposed loopholes that still allow tax evaders to hide funds offshore. These loopholes must be closed and our measures to stamp out tax abuse must be intensified."
Four innovative Irish SMEs, based in Cork, Kerry and Sligo, are to receive EU grants under the latest round of Horizon 2020 SME Instrument funding announced this week. The funding is for innovative small firms to get ideas from the lab to the market and help generate growth and jobs in Europe. Iris Advanced Engineering Ltd of Listowel, Co Kerry, will receive Phase 2 funding worth between €0.5 and €2.5 million. It can also get 12 days of free business coaching. Three other companies have been selected for Phase 1 funding. TIC (Brugger) Ltd of Co Cork, Episcan Ltd of Co Sligo and Eveara Ltd of Cobh, Co Cork, will receive €50,000 each to finance feasibility studies for new products that can disrupt the market. They can also get three days of free business coaching.
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed an application that will help EU citizens travelling abroad in Europe to see the quality of Wi-Fi, 4G, 3G, and GSM signals they can get in their surroundings. ‘netBravo’ allows the user to monitor different variables including signal strength, speed and channel usage, which are then shown in various colours depending on their quality, on a map of Europe. The application has a strong privacy policy and does not collect any personal data. It is available for iOS and Android systems.
Four Irish companies have been successful in their Creative Europe Slate Funding applications with combined amounts totaling €648,689. The companies are as follows: Crossing the Line Films, Fantastic Films, Fastnet Films and Treasure Entertainment. A Slate Funding application must contain a slate of at least 3 and a maximum of 5 projects. Each project can receive an amount of support between €10,000 and €60,000 provided the amount does not exceed 50% of the eligible costs of the project. The total amount of support that can be allocated under Slate Funding is between €70,000 and €200,000.
Wiosenna prognoza gospodarcza
Forum Ekonomiczne w Brukseli
Europa w moim regionie
The European Commission has now proposed the signature of a free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, to Council. According to EU trade Commissioner Cecila Malmström "CETA is a milestone in European trade policy. It will help to generate much-needed growth and jobs while fully upholding Europe's high standards in areas like food safety, environmental protection and people's rights at work." Although from a strict legal standpoint, the Commission considers this agreement to fall under exclusive EU competence, Commissioner Malmström explained that the Commission has decided to propose CETA for signature as a mixed agreement which requires the consent of the European Parliament, and of all Member States through the relevant national ratification procedures.
The Commission this week launched a new public-private partnership on cybersecurity that is expected to trigger €1.8 billion of investment by 2020. The EU will invest €450 million in this partnership, under its research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. Cybersecurity market players, represented by the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO), are expected to invest three times more. This partnership will also include members from national, regional and local public administrations, research centres and academia. The aim of the partnership is to foster cooperation at early stages of the research and innovation process and to build cybersecurity solutions for various sectors, such as energy, health, transport and finance.
First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos welcomed this week's endorsement by the European Parliament of the Commission's proposal to establish a European Border and Coast Guard saying: "The European Border and Coast Guard will ensure a truly collective European management of our borders, based on the principle that security of our common EU external borders is a responsibility shared amongst all EU countries." Next step is for the Council to adopt the final text of the proposal.
Un articol semnat în comun de: Volodimir Groisman, prim-ministrul Ucrainei, ?i Gunther H. Oettinger, comisar european pentru economie ?i societate digitala
Valorificarea potențialului proiectului ELI-NP Măgurele
Protecția copiilor în disputele familiale transfrontaliere
Comisia Europeană a publicat marți, 28 iunie, raportul de evaluare anuală a măsurilor de integrare a comunității roma. Potrivit acestuia, România a adoptat măsuri de facilitare a accesului la educație, pe piața muncii, la asistența medicală și la locuințe.