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EU NEWS AND INFORMATION

2012 is the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. A chance for all of us to reflect on how Europeans are living longer and staying healthier than ever before — and to realise the opportunities that represents.

Active ageing can give the baby-boom generation and tomorrow's older adults the opportunity to:

  • stay in the workforce and share their experience
  • keep playing an active role in society
  • live as healthy and fulfilling lives as possible.

It is also key to maintaining solidarity between generations in societies with rapidly increasing numbers of older people. Read more...

Europe Direct NI's Recent Activities

 

Denmark assumed the Presidency of the EU from 1 January 2012.  For more information, see www.eu2012.dk/en. 

The European Commission's Work Programme for European Renewal 2012

The European Commission's work programme for 2012 "Delivering European renewal" sets otu how the Commission will build on the proposals to respond to the ecomonic crisis.

The top priority is to adopt and implement the ambitious package of proposals to restore confidence in the European economy.

The main priorities over the next 12 months include:

Building a Europe of stability and responsibility

Building a Union of growth and solidarity

Giving the EU an effective voice in the wider world

In all of these areas, the Work Programme underlines the need for the EU to be united, and to work together to ensure that paroposals and ideas are translated into laws and practical implementation ont he ground. 2012 Work Programme

 

EU evaluates danger, number of faulty breast implants

A caucus of member states has asked the Commission to investigate how many women have received potentially dangerous breast implants from a French company and possible risks posed by the devices.

n Britain – where between 40,000-50,000 women are believed to have received the implants – the government was preparing to reveal the findings of its own assessment of the risks. So far, the UK has signalled less alarm than France, finding fewer cases of rupture, no proven cancer links, and is recommending that women who have received the implants should receive a medical check up. More than 300,000 implants have been sold in 65 countries in the last 12 years. Europe was a major market, but more than half of the implants went to South America. Venezuela – like France – is offering free surgery for women to remove PIP implants. But like the UK, Bulgarian, Czech and Romanian health authorities are counselling women to get medical examinations. More...

Greece must return €425 million in farm subsidies

 

Some €425 million in Greek government subsidies to farmers were incompatible with EU law and will have to be returned. Details of precisely when the farmers must return the money will be decided after the Commission formally adopts a decision and publishes this in the EU's Official Journal, the spokesman said. He said it was not yet clear when this would be. It's up to Greece to decide how they will return it," he said, when asked if the nation would have to get the money back from its farmers. More...

 

2013 The EU Year of Citizens
On the 11.08.2011 the European Commission announced that it proposes to make 2013 the "European Year of Citizens" Citizenship and the rights that go with it are one of the key pillars of the European Union. As we mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Union citizenship under the Maastricht Treaty, on 1 November 1993, the European Commission has today proposed to designate 2013 as the "European Year of Citizens". More...

Brussels to recommend EU-wide increase in retirement age

The office of employment commissioner Laszlo Andor has told the Polish press agency he will in February publish recommendations for all EU countries to raise their retirement ages to cope with looming economic problems associated with an ageing population. The 'soft' communique will not be an EU legislative proposal.
Mobile phone charges when Travelling
EU roaming regulations mean that the cost of using your phone in an-other EU country has been reduced by around 60%. The average cost for a 1 minute phone call is €0.35. A text will now cost no more than 11 cents. You will receive an automatic message on arrival in the EU destina-tion country, informing you of charges while you are there. If you want to find out more about Eu-rotariffs in each EU country, visit (ec.europa.eu/roaming)

Commission expected to boost LIFE funding

The European Commission is expected to provide significantly more money for regional environmental and climate projects under proposals scheduled to be unveiled on Monday (12 December).

The successor to the current Financial Instrument for the Environment, known as the LIFE programme, is likely to include €3.2 billion in funding for the 2014-2020 budget, 52% more than the €2.1 billion package approved five years ago. One-quarter of the budget is expected to be dedicated to climate change adaptation. LIFE has been in operation since 1992 and helps finance environmental initiatives in the EU as well as in some candidate and accession countries.

 

UK minister sees decline in CAP payments to farmers

Farmers are likely to see the annual payment they receive from the government fall in coming years, UK farming minister Jim Paice said, adding he favoured its eventual abolition as global food prices rise.

"The single farm payment is going to go down," Paice said yesterday (4 January) at the Oxford Farming Conference, referring to the expected outcome of negotiations about the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2013. More...

 

Launch of next year's Charlemagne Youth Prize

The selection procedure for next year's European Charlemagne Youth Prize was launched. The prize is awarded to young people who have been involved in projects to promote understanding between people from different European countries. The deadline for submitting projects for next year's prize, the fifth since it came into being in 2008, is 23 January 2012.

The Charlemagne Youth Prize, which is jointly organised by the European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen, is awarded to projects undertaken by people between 16 and 30 years old. The winning projects should serve as role models for young people living in Europe and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community. Youth exchange programmes, artistic and Internet projects with a European dimension are amongst the projects selected.

The three winning projects will be awarded funding of €5,000, €3,000, and €2,000 respectively. They will also be invited to visit the European Parliament.

 

 

 
112 is the Single European Emergency Number.
Citizens across the EU can call this number free of charge in an emergency from landlines or mobile telephones,
to call the police, fire brigade or ambulance services, in anyof the 27 EU member states. In some countries, suc h a s Denmark, Finland, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Sweden, this is also the main national emergency number. The number can also be picked up in Croatia, Montenegro and Turkey, EU Accesson States.

 
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What's In It For Me?

This is a no-Nonsense Guide for UK Citizens to what the European Union Delivers. The UK, as most of us know, is a net contributor to the EU budget. Therefore it’s understandable that people in this country want to learn more about how we benefit from our collective contribution. On this website you can find out how the EU helps with:

To view the website click here

 

Your Voice in Europe
This is the European Commission’s “single access point” to a wide variety of consultations, discussions and other tools which enable you to play an active role in the European policy-making process. This web­site has three sections:

 

How does the EU work?

How do the decisions of EU Institutions influence our lives?

What has changes since the Lisbon Treaty?

Become a Member of the European Parliament - discuss, vote, submit projects and become aquainted with residents from other Member States through the internet game "Try the Treaty" Register at www.treaty.pl

The European Commission regularly issues calls for proposals in various policy areas which allow civil society to apply for EU funding for specific projects. Below are open EU calls for proposals relevant to anti-racism and anti-discrimination work. The European Commission has issued the 2011 call for proposals for the European Fund for the Integration of Third Country Nationals and a call for tender for a Study on mobility, migration and destitution in the European Union.

For more information
CULTURAL AWARENESS TRAINING 
Northern Ireland has undergone significant cultural change as a result of inward migration. In response Europe Direct NI has developed Cultural Awareness Training to promote a better understanding of how to communicate and work in a cross-cultural environment within this region or when working as part of a trans-national partnership.
More...

CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change is already happening and represents one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing the planet. The European Union is committed to working constructively for a global agreement to control climate change, and is leading  the way by taking ambitious action of its own. For further information on the EU's actions on climate change, Research, Funding, Publications and other links More...
For details on EU conference/events click here

Get involved in EU consultations Click here
Eurostat The EU’s statistical office, providing statistics that enable comparisons between countries and regions.

 

 



           






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