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EU NEWS YOU CAN USE
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European Commission in Ireland
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Top News
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Irish most positive about EU - Eurobarometer latest
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The results of the Spring Eurobarometer opinion poll have just been published. Data show that optimism is on the rise in Europe with an increasing majority of people in the EU positive about the future of the European Union. Irish people are the most optimistic of all (77%) and most likely of all to have a positive image of the EU, at 58%, up 3 points since autumn 2016. Close to a majority of Europeans are now also optimistic about their national economy, while support for the euro shows its highest score since 2004. Over two-thirds of Irish people are positive about the national economy (68%, up 4 points since autumn 2016). A summary of the Irish results is available at the link below.
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Michel Barnier on second round of Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom
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At the press conference following the second round of Article 50 negotiations in Brussels on 20 July, the EU Chief negotiator Michel Barnier made specific reference to Ireland: "On Ireland, we had a first discussion on the impact of Brexit on two key subjects: the Good Friday Agreement and the Common Travel Area. We agree that the important issue of the Good Friday Agreement, in all its dimensions, requires more detailed discussions. In particular, more work needs to be done to protect North-South cooperation between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Today, that cooperation is embedded in the common framework of EU law and EU policies. We need to better understand how the UK intends on ensuring the continuation of this cooperation after Brexit. We also agreed that the UK should clarify in the next session how it intends on maintaining the Common Travel Area after leaving the EU."
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Irish enthusiastic online shoppers - EU Scoreboard
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The European Commission's 2017 Consumer Scoreboard recently published, shows Ireland in the top ranks for online commerce. More and more EU consumers are shopping online and their trust in e-commerce has increased, in particular in buying online from other EU countries. The pattern is particularly strong in Ireland, with Irish consumers also showing very high levels of trust in buying online. In fact Irish consumers have the 2nd highest levels of confidence in online shopping in the EU after the UK. The Scoreboard also shows a near doubling in the shares of Irish people buying online: almost 6 in 10 (59.2%) Irish people bought online in 2016, up from 33.1% in 2007.
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EU Commissioner for Security Union, Julian King, at McGill Summer School
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EU Security Union Commissioner Julian King spoke to participants at the MacGill Summer School about the EU's latest moves to boost cooperation between Member States in the fight against cyber attacks and radicalisation. He said: "We are squeezing the space in which terrorists – and the crime that supports them – operate. We have strengthened our ability to control our external borders, and to exchange information between our law enforcement and security agencies. Real progress is being made - from establishing the European Border and Coastguard Agency to revising the Schengen Border Code and to improving the effectiveness of our data bases inside our borders. We are making it harder for terrorists to travel, to train, to finance themselves and to acquire weapons and explosives through our new counter-terrorism Directive." The full text of the Commissioner's speech is available on the link below.
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€3 million in EU funding to provide Irish school children with milk, fruit and veg in 2017/18:
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Ireland is to receive over €2.9 million from the new EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme for the 2017/2018 school year. The new scheme, which brings together the old School Fruit and Vegetables and School Milk Schemes, aims to promote healthy eating habits among children. It will include the distribution of fruit, vegetables and milk products in schools, as well as dedicated educational programmes to teach pupils about the importance of good nutrition and to explain how food is produced. EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said: "The scheme provides valuable support to millions of European schoolchildren and thousands of farmers in every Member State. Such support has proven particularly important for farmers in recent years and the increased funding will enhance the value of this support. In addition, the new scheme meets my priority of simplification through the integration of the former school milk and vegetable schemes."
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Other news
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Commission to assess applications to host the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority
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The application procedure to host the two UK-based EU agencies, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA), came to a close on 31 July 2017. The European Commission will now assess all offers in an objective manner. The Commission's assessment will be published online on 30 September 2017. A final decision will be taken at the General Affairs Council (Article 50 format) in November 2017. In total, nineteen EU countries have applied to host the European Medicines Agency while eight have applied to host the European Banking Authority. Six countries, including Ireland, have applied for both.
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Irish house prices rose at almost double the EU average
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New Eurostat figures show that Irish house prices were up 8.9% in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the first quarter of 2016. This compares to an EU average rise of 4.5% and an Euro Area average rise of 4% over the same period. The fastest annual house price rises, however, were recorded in the Czech Republic (+12.8%), Lithuania (+10.2%) and Latvia (+10.1%). House prices fell in two countries: Croatia (-0.4%) and Italy (-0.1%). The Eurostat figures also show a slowdown in the rate of house price rises in Ireland with a rise of 0.9% recorded in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the previous quarter. This compares to a rise of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the previous quarter and a rise of 4.7% in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the previous quarter.
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New EU campaign to tackle marine litter
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Galway Atlantaquaria and Dingle Oceanworld are among one hundred aquariums from all over the world taking part in a new campaign against marine litter. The campaign, which was launched last week by EU Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella, will see aquariums fill one of their exhibitions with plastic to show the global reality of marine litter - 10 million tonnes of litter end up in the oceans every year. Commissioner Vella said: "Aquariums are a television screen to the ocean. This campaign on marine litter is urgent and welcome. The world's aquariums have decided to become the ocean's 'breaking news' to avoid becoming its history channel."
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Irish IT specialists best educated in Europe
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Over 8 in 10 ((82.4%) IT specialists in Ireland have a third level education, the highest level in the EU and well above the EU average of 61.8%. This compares to an average of 46.1% with a third level qualification in the Irish economy as a whole. Ireland is followed by Lithuania (80.7%), Spain (79.1%), France (78.4%) and Belgium (76.2%) while Italy (32.8% and Germany (49.6%) had the lowest shares. The figures from Eurostat also show that, in 2016, IT specialists accounted for 3.9% of total employment in Ireland, up from 3.7% in 2011 and above the EU average of 3.7%. In real figures there were 78,100 IT specialists employed in Ireland in 2016, up from 68,500 in 2011.
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EU countries want to reduce presence of acrylamide in food
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EU Member States representatives have approved a Commission's proposal to reduce the presence of acrylamide in food. Acrylamide is a carcinogenic substance that forms from naturally present free asparagine (amino acid) and sugars during high temperature processing, such as frying, roasting and baking, particularly in potato-based products, cereal-based products, coffee and coffee substitutes. The new regulation, which is expected to come into force next spring, will require that food business operators (FBOs) apply mandatory measures to reduce the presence of acrylamide, proportionate to the size and nature of their establishment.
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EU steps up its support for investigations into war crimes and accountability in Syria
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The EU is to provide €1.5 million to support the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in Syria. The European Union considers that without justice, war crimes go unpunished, victims are unable to obtain redress and peace remains an elusive goal. Accountability for war crimes, human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian. Vice-President Federica Mogherini said: "As the European Union, we confirm our commitment and our support to the Syrian people and to the UN-led political process towards a political resolution of the crisis. The Syrians deserve peace and justice, and we continue to be at their side in this endeavour.”
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EU customs seize over 41 million fake goods at EU borders
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A new EU report shows that customs authorities detained more than 41 million fake and counterfeit products at the EU's external border in 2016, up 2% on 2015. The goods had a total value of over €670 million. Cigarettes were the top category (24%) for articles detained and toys the second largest group (17%), followed by foodstuffs (13%) and packaging material (12%). China remains the clear leader when it comes to the provenance of fake goods: 80% of articles arrived from China in 2016. Large amounts of cigarettes originated in Vietnam and Pakistan, while Singapore was the top source for counterfeit alcoholic beverages. Iran was the main source country for fake clothing accessories. Hong Kong was the leader for counterfeit mobile phones and India topped the list for counterfeit medicines. In Ireland, 12,826 articles were detained in 2016, down from 18,001 in 2015.
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Agenda
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Wednesday 2 August: Seminar - Algorithmic Consumers: e-commerce, competition and regulation, UCD, Dublin
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Professor Michal S. Gal from the University of Haifa Faculty of Law will present her recent article published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology. The seminar takes place at 10 am on Wednesday morning 2 August at the Phelan Room. National University of Ireland, 49 Merrion Square. Attendance is free but all guests are asked to register at the link below.
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Saturday 19 to Sunday 27 August: European Heritage Days, Ireland
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There are lots of events taking place around Ireland to celebrate European Heritage Days 2017. Check them out on the link below.
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Friday 8 September: Seminar - The Common Law and Brexit: A New Frontier, UCD, Dublin
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A Joint Seminar of the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, The Society of Legal Scholars and UCD Sutherland School of Law on the Common Law and Brexit will take place on Friday afternoon, 8 September. The seminar takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. at the William Fry Theatre, UCD Sutherland School of Law, Dublin. It will be chaired by Professor Conor Gearty (LSE). The Panel will include: Mr. Conleth Bradley SC, Dr. Catherine Donnelly BL, Ms. Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC and Mr. Garrett Simons SC. Anyone interested in attending should register at the link below.
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Thursday 14 September: Justice and Home Affairs Council, Brussels
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The agenda for this meeting will be available in due course on the link below.
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Friday 15 September, Eurogroup meeting, Tallinn (Estonia)
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The agenda for this meeting will be available in due course at the link below.
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Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 September: EU stand at the National Ploughing Championships 2017
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The European Commission Representation in Ireland will host a stand at the “The National Ploughing Championships” in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly from Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 September 2017.
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Monday 25 September: General Affairs Council, Brussels
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The agenda for this meeting will be available in due course at the link below.
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Competitions
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#2030isnow summer photo competition
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The European Commission is launching an Instagram contest around the theme: "What are you doing differently this summer to create a better world for 2030". The competition is aimed at instagramers and is open until 31 August. The first prize winner will receive a micro electric scooter while 9 runners-up will each receive a Lonely Planet Volunteer guide.
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Public consultations
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Public consultation on how to make cross-border payments cheaper
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The EU Commission has launched a public consultation on ways to reduce the costs of cross-border payments within the European Union in currencies other than the Euro. The consultation seeks to gather views from a broad range of interested parties and will include a separate questionnaire geared to consumers. The feedback to this consultation will help the Commission define the best way forward to complete the objective of reducing the cost of cross-border payments. The consultation is open until 30 October 2017.
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Public consultation on Health and Care in the Digital Single Market
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The European Commission has launched a public consultation on how Europe should promote digital innovation in health and care, for the benefits of citizens and health systems in Europe. Citizens, patient organisations, health and care professionals, public authorities, researchers, industries, investors, insurers and users of digital health tools are all invited to share their views via EU Survey until 12 October 2017.
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Calls for Tender/Proposals
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Invitation to tender No NP/DUB/2017/3 concerning a Negotiated procedure for the provision of project management services to the European Commission regarding the organisation of Citizens' Dialogues du
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The European Commission Representation in Ireland intends to issue a call for tenders for the services of a project manager to supply services relating to the organisation of Citizens' Dialogues during the second semester of 2017.
If you are interested in this tender, please request the tender documents by sending an email to COMM-IE-TENDERS@ec.europa.eu by 11 August 2017.
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Europe for Citizens - Call for Proposals now open!
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The Wheel is the National Contact Point for the Europe for Citizens Programme, which helps promote understanding between the European Union and its citizens. It funds activities carried out by a range of not-for-profit organisations, councils and local authorities across Europe. The specific aim of the 2014-2020 programme is to contribute to citizens' understanding of EU's history and diversity.
A Call for Proposals under Town Twinning and Networks of Towns is now open and closes on 1 September 2017. The 2017 priorities are: understanding and debating Euroscepticism; solidarity in times of crisis; combatting stigmatisation of immigrants and building counter narratives to foster intercultural dialogue; and debate on the future of Europe. Click on the link below for more information.
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Job opportunities
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Applications now open for traineeships in the EU Commission
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The European Commission organises paid traineeship of 5 months duration starting on either 1st March or 1st October. Applications are now open for the 5 month period starting March 2018. Successful applicants must have a degree of at least 3 years of study (minimum a Bachelor) as well as a very good knowledge of a second EU language. Trainees receive a monthly grant of approx. €1,160 as well as reimbursement of travel expenses. They also get hands-on experience of working in an international and multicultural environment.
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This is the Newsletter of the Representation of the European Commission in Ireland.
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