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European Commission in Ireland

In this issue - 8 September
Top News Other news		Agenda Public consultations

Commissioner Hogan welcomes the Cork Declaration on the future of rural areas

"I believe that the Declaration will feed into our deliberations on the future of the CAP”. So said EU Commissioner Phil Hogan welcoming "A Better Life In Rural Europe" Declaration presented to him by the Cork 2.0 Conference on Rural Development this week. This Declaration comes 20 years after the original Cork Declaration of 1996 that established the basis for the EU's rural development policy. It centres on investing in the potential of rural areas and better integration into other policies. With 85% of the EU territory managed by farmers and foresters, they are the guardians of the countryside and have a key role in providing important public goods in terms of protecting the rural environment.

Commissioner Hogan Visits Ludgate Hub, Skibbereen

"The roll-out of high-speed rural broadband is a priority for me and the European Commission." said EU Commissioner Phil Hogan in Skibbereen this week. "It's essential if we are going to provide citizens with the opportunity to fulfil their desire to live and work in rural areas and to provide opportunities for rural communities throughout Europe." Commissioner Hogan visited the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen last Monday (5 September), before opening a major EU conference on the future of European Rural Development policy. Commissioner Hogan went on: "today's visit to the Ludgate Hub is a perfect illustration of how a group of forward-thinking people can come together to foster local innovation and enterprise."

No more EU roaming charges from 15 June 2017

Statement by Vice-President Ansip and Commissioner Oettinger: Announcing the effective end of roaming charges, Vice-President Ansip and Commissioner Oettinger said: "Getting rid of roaming charges is one of the best achievements of the EU in the last few years, and a cornerstone for building the Digital Single Market. For more than a decade, the Commission has been working to reduce the huge surcharges that telecoms operators imposed on their customers each time they crossed a border while using their mobile device on holiday, at the week-end or during business trips (…) We are now at the final hurdle: the complete abolition of roaming charges for European travellers in the EU. This will enter into effect as of 15 June 2017. Those of us who travel do so on average for 12 days per year. But the Commission goes much further by abolishing roaming charges for at least 90 days per year, much more than the average time that a European is roaming with their phone."

Other news

VAT Gap: Nearly €160 billion lost in uncollected revenues in the EU in 2014

A staggering €159.5 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT) revenues was lost across the EU in 2014 according to a new EU report. Ireland had the 8th lowest VAT Gap at 9.42% in 2014, down from 12.94% in 2013. In real terms this amounted to a €1.195 billion loss in 2014. The overall difference between expected VAT revenue and the amount actually collected (the 'VAT Gap') ranged from a high of 37.9% of uncollected VAT in Romania to a low of only 1.2% in Sweden. In absolute terms, the highest VAT Gap of €36.9 billion was recorded in Italy while Luxembourg had the lowest at €147 million. The Commission has called on Member States to agree on a definitive VAT regime for cross-border trade in the Union.

EU Commisson announces €348 million in humanitarian aid to refugees in Turkey

The EU has signed its largest ever humanitarian programme of €348 million using direct cash-transfers to cover the everyday needs of the most vulnerable refugee families in Turkey. As of October 2016, monthly cash-transfers to electronic cards will be given to refugees in need across Turkey. The cash card is an efficient way to support families to purchase what they most need, providing them the dignity of choice. Refugees will be enabled to feed and house their families and to send their children to school. As the money will be spent in local markets, the new system will also boost the local economy. The much needed humanitarian aid will reach one million refugees countrywide by the first quarter of 2017.

EU certification system for airport security equipment

The Commission wants a single EU certification procedure for aviation security screening equipment. An EU certificate will allow security equipment approved in one Member State to also be put on the market in others. This will help overcome market fragmentation, strengthen the competitiveness of the EU security industry, and boost employment in the sector.

Two Dublin researchers get ERC Starting Grants

Two Dublin-based researchers are to receive European Research Council (ERC) starting grants; Tomas Ryan of TCD for his project titled: Memory Engram Maintenance and Expression, and Dieter Franz Kogler of UCD for his project titled: Technology Evolution in Regional Economies. ERC starting grants of up to €1.5 million each are awarded to early-career researchers throughout Europe to help them set up their own research teams and pursue ground-breaking ideas.

Dubliners 7th happiest in EU

New figures out this week from Eurostat show 93% of people living in Dublin are happy with life in the capital, up 3 percentage points since 2012 and 7th highest in the EU. People in Vilnius (98%) were the most satisfied of all, closely followed by Stockholm and Copenhagen (97% each) while Athens (71%) and Rome had the lowest satisfaction levels. There's a lot more about Urban Life in Eurostat's new publication "Urban Europe: statistics on cities, towns and suburbs".

EU share of world population drops from 13.5% in 1960 to 6.9% in 2015

New Eurostat figures show that the share of the world's population living in the EU almost halved between 1960 and 2015. In 1960, 13.5% of the world's population of 3 billion people lived in the EU. By 2015, the share had dropped to 6.9% of the world population of almost 7.4 billion and is expected to fall further in the coming decades. The EU, however, continues to account for the largest share of world GDP at 23.8% in 2014. Eurostat's "EU in the world" publication further shows that the average EU birth rate is 1.5 children per woman compared to a world average of 2.5. Furthermore the old age dependency ratio (i.e. the ratio of the number of older persons to the number of persons of working age) in the EU is now over twice the world average.

Agenda

Friday 9 September: Eurogroup meeting, Brussels

Ministers of the euro area member states discuss matters relating to their shared responsibilities related to the euro. Its main task is to ensure close coordination of economic policies among the euro area member states. It also aims to promote conditions for stronger economic growth.

Monday 12 to Thursday 15 September: European Parliament Plenary Session, Strasbourg

The European Parliament will meet in Strasbourg from 12 to 15 September.

Wednesday 14 September at 8 a.m. Irish time: President Juncker delivers his State of the Union address at the European Parliament, Strasbourg

On Wednesday 14 September, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, will deliver his State of the Union address at the European Parliament. The speech will be followed by a plenary debate. The State of the Union address traditionally kick-starts the dialogue with Parliament and Council to prepare the Commission Work Programme for 2017.

Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 October: EU Code Week

The 4th edition of Code Week EU will take place from 15 to 23 October. Millions of children, young adults, adults, parents, teachers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers will again come together at events, in classrooms and libraries across Europe and beyond to learn to create with code. Events are already planned for a number of locations around Ireland.

Friday 16 September: Informal meeting of the 27 heads of state or government, Bratislava

On 16 September, the heads of state or government of the 27 will meet in Bratislava. They will continue a political reflection to give an impulse to further reforms and to the development of the EU with 27 Member States.

Friday 16 to Thursday 22 September: European Mobility Week

There are a number of events taking place in Ireland to mark European Mobility Week from 16 to 22 September.

Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 September: EU Stand at the National Ploughing Championships, Stand 307, Row 13, Block 3

The EU will host a stand at the 2016 National Ploughing Championships which will take place in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from 20 to 22 September 2016. This year, the theme of the EU stand will be "What is the EU doing for Agriculture?"

Saturday 24 September: Free taster language classes, Blanchardstown

The Europe Direct Information Centre, Blanchardstown Library and the European Commission Representation in Ireland will host the European Day of Languages 2016 on 24 September. The event will be a Language Café offering 9 languages: Irish, French, German, Spanish and Italian as conversation and Polish, Romanian, Lithuanian and Latvian as Taster Classes. Teachers from the Ambassade de France, Gaelchultúr, Goethe Institut, Instituto Cervantes, Instituto Italiano di Cultura, Embassy of Latvia, Embassy of Lithuania, Embassy of Poland and Embassy of Romania have kindly agreed to participate. It will start at 2pm and refreshments will be served afterwards.

Friday 30 September: Conference on Investing in Ireland's Infrastructure, Dublin

The European Commission Representation in Ireland and the European Movement Ireland are hosting a half-day conference on Investing in Ireland's Infrastructure. The conference will take place on Friday 30 September in the Chartered Accountants House, 47-49 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, from 9 am to 1 pm. The keynote speaker will be the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, and Ireland's new vice-president at the EIB, Andrew McDowell will also speak. The event is free to attend. Register in advance at: rsvp@europeanmovement.ie.

Friday 7 October: 2016 EPA Annual Information Day on Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 5, Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin

The Environmental Protection Agency is organising its 2016 Annual Information Day on Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 5 on the Friday 7th October 2016 in Dublin (Croke Park Conference Centre). The aim of this event is to promote and disseminate Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 5 Opportunities amongst the Irish Research Community, as well as facilitate networking. For this 2016 Information Day, the focus will be on the 2017 calls opportunities, as well as on the preparation of the upcoming Work Programme 2018-2020.

Public consultations

Public consultation on the enhancement of the social legislation in road transport

This consultation is aimed at providing the wider public and stakeholders with an opportunity to express their views on all elements relevant for the assessment of the functioning of the social rules in road transport, as well as to express their positions on the possible/desirable changes to the regulatory framework. It is also aimed at gathering specialised input (data and factual information, expert views) on specific aspects of the legislation (e.g. working and business conditions, enforcement methods and tools, etc.) from the enforcement community and from the industry, with the aim of filling the data and information gaps in view of finalizing the ex-post evaluation and preparing the impact assessment and the legislative proposal.

This is the Newsletter of the Representation of the European Commission in Ireland.
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