European
Commission
Top
News
Brussels,
Friday 13 September 2013
Top News from the European Commission
14 September – 11 October 2013
14 September – 11 October 2013
Background notes from the Spokesperson’s
service for journalists
The European Commission reserves the right to make changes
The European Commission reserves the right to make changes
The
news:
The
conference "A new deal for Somalia" is a high-level event organised
jointly by the European Union and Somalia in Brussels.
Somalia's
eight-year transition ended in September 2012, with the peaceful handover to a
new Federal Government. The Conference's objective is to sustain the positive
momentum in Somalia, to ensure that the country stays on the path to stability
and peace and brings prosperity to its people.
The New
Deal is the driver of this process. The Brussels Conference will therefore
bring together the international community and Somalia to endorse the Compact
–a key milestone of the process- pledge support to enable its implementation
and, above all, re-commit to this new political process.
The background:
The New Deal for engagement in fragile states is a new
approach for the stabilisation and reconstruction of countries in a fragile
and/or post-conflict setting.
The new
political context in Somalia requires a new approach in the relations and
interaction between the Federal Government and the international community.
Somalia and a large part of the international community have subscribed to
using the New Deal in defining the future way of working together.
The New Deal helps determine priorities through five
Peace-Building and State-Building Goals that provide impetus for the
establishment of (1) inclusive politics
(fostering inclusive political settlements by dialogue among the different
Somali regions and social groups, finalising the Constitution, promoting
reconciliation and resolving conflict), (2) security (establishing territorial security and strengthening
people’s security) (3) justice (establishing judicial structures, addressing
injustices and human rights, and increasing people’s access to justice), (4) economic foundations (generating
employment and improving livelihoods) and (5) revenues and services (generating and managing revenue and building
capacity for accountable and fair service delivery).
The New
Deal also advocates development of a Compact
as a tool to help agree on priorities, financing mechanisms and aid modalities
through a mutual accountability framework. And it proposes a shift to country
modalities to strengthen national capacity. The Compact will set out the most
important priorities within the five Peace- and State-Building Goals for
Somalia and associated commitments of the Federal Government, resulting from a
consultation process among different regions and social groups.
The
event:
The opening session will include speeches
by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, the President of Somalia, Mr.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the President of the European Council Herman Van
Rompuy.
This will
be followed by three working sessions,
one focusing on the new political order, one on rebuilding the social and
economic foundations and one on the rule of law and security. EU High
Representative Catherine Ashton, Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs as
well as representatives of various international organisations will co-chair
these sessions.
Pledges will be during the working sessions at the end of each speaker's intervention.
The closing session will consist in the
endorsement of the Compact by the President of Somalia, Mr. Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud, the President of the European Commission, Mr. José Manuel Barroso and
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton.
Media
events:
A technical briefing on the record is organized on 13 September in
the EEAS press room. The speakers are: EEAS MD for Africa Mr. Nick Westcott, DEVCO
Deputy Director-General Mr. Marcus Cornaro and Alexander Rondos, The European
Union Special Representative for Horn of Africa
Photo and TV opportunity upon the
arrival of the participants on the day of the conference, 16 September
(outside, in the courtyard of Egmont Palace; entrance via Passage de Milan,
Boulevard de Waterloo, 31, 1000 Bruxelles)
The closing press conference by Somali
President Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton
on 16 September in the Library Room of the Egmont Palace.
Available on EbS
The opening and the closing sessions together with the session on
Re-building Somalia’s social and economic foundations will be broadcast live on
the conference website and Europe by Satellite.
The press conference will be LIVE on EbS
The sources:
Conference website:
EU Relations with Somalia:
For any media queries please contact:
The
contacts:
Tuesday
17 September: European Commission takes decisive action against designer drugs
The news:
The European Commission will present proposals to
strengthen the European Union’s ability to respond to ‘legal highs’ – new
psychoactive substances used as alternatives to illicit drugs such as cocaine
and ecstasy. Under the rules proposed by the Commission, the procedure for
banning harmful drugs and removing them from the market will be quicker,
simpler and more proportionate to the risks involved.
The background:
In recent years, one new
psychoactive substance was detected every week in the EU on average, and the
trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Since 1997, Member States
have identified more than 300 substances and their number tripled between 2009
and 2012 (from 24 in 2009 to 73 in 2012). Around 80% of these substances were
detected in more than one EU Member State.
These proposals respond to
persistent warnings from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug
Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol. They also follow calls from the European
Parliament and Member States to update Council Decision 2005/387.
The event:
Vice-President Reding will give a
press conference on the day;
DG Justice experts will give an
off the record technical briefing.
IP and MEMO will be available on
the day.
The sources:
Justice Newsroom:
Vice-President Reding's website:
The contacts:
Natasha
Bertaud +32 2 296-7456 Natasha.Bertaud@ec.europa.eu
The news:
On 18 September,
the European Commission will adopt a draft regulation on benchmarks. The
Commission’s aim is to address the issues raised by the alleged manipulation of
LIBOR and EURIBOR, and
of other benchmarks for commodities and exchange rates. The proposal will set out
new rules for the production
and use of benchmarks referenced in financial instruments and financial
contracts, in order to ensure their integrity by guaranteeing that they are not
subject to conflicts of interest, reflect the economic reality that they are
intended to measure and are used appropriately.
The background:
Benchmarks affect the value of
trillions of euro worth of financial instruments globally, and millions of
residential mortgages use benchmarks for reference. They determine the amounts
of money to be paid out under financial contracts, affect the value of assets
held by investors, and are used to assess the performance of investment
managers. Doubts about the accuracy and integrity of benchmarks can undermine
market confidence, cause significant losses to consumers and investors, and
distort the real economy.
The new Market Abuse Regulation (see
MEMO/13/595)
will ensure that those who manipulate or try to manipulate benchmarks can be
punished. This will have a deterrent effect, but deterrence is not enough.
Benchmarks need to be calculated and supervised in an appropriate way.
The event:
Press conference by Commissioner
Barnier preceded by a technical briefing (details to be announced).
Press release and MEMOs will be available on the day.
Available on EbS
The sources:
Commissioner Michel Barnier's
website:
The contacts:
Chantal Hughes +32 2 296 44 50
Chantal.Hughes@ec.europa.eu
Carmel
Dunne +32 2 299 88 94 Carmel.Dunne@ec.europa.eu
The news:
"European Territorial Cooperation programmes will
have more focus, more strategy and more support from 2014-2020", said
Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Regional Policy, in the lead up to the second
annual European Cooperation Day on 21st September.
This year’s campaign comes at a crucial time as the
European Parliament and Member States near a final agreement on the package of
regulations for the next round of Regional Policy funding, along with the
Union’s seven-year budget. As the proposed legislation stands, European
Territorial Cooperation (ETC) is set to get €8.9 billion – an increase of €1bn
from 2007-2013.
Commissioner Hahn will be discussing the future of ETC
and other models of cooperation, such as EU Macro-Regional Strategies during a
live Twitter chat on 19 September.
The
background:
European Territorial Cooperation is a core objective
of EU Regional Policy. Regions and cities from different EU Member States are
encouraged to work together and learn from each other through joint programmes,
projects and networks. From 2007-13, there are three types of cooperation
programme:
• cross-border
co-operation programmes along internal EU borders. ERDF contribution: €5.6
billion.
• transnational
co-operation programmes cover larger areas of co-operation such as the
Baltic Sea, Alpine and Mediterranean regions. ERDF contribution: €1.8 billion.
• interregional
co-operation programme (INTERREG IVC) and 3 networking programmes (Urbact
II, INTERACT II and ESPON) cover all 28 Member States of the EU. They provide a
framework for exchanging experience between regional and local bodies in
different countries. ERDF contribution: €445 million.
Future ETC programmes are required to embody the same
focus as all other Regional Policy programmes, ensuring that investment is
channelled into areas of real growth potential. However, unlike other
programmes which must focus a certain amount of funding on research,
information technologies, SMEs and the low-carbon economy, cross-border and
transnational cooperation programmes can choose to focus 80% of their
allocations on any four investment areas out of the 11 priorities laid out in
the draft
regulations.
The event:
Celebrating Territorial Cooperation — 'Sharing
borders, growing closer', numerous EU programmes will join forces to showcase
the results and benefits of cooperation between regions across borders, with
more than 100 events taking place in 30 countries in the following days and
weeks.
Join Commissioner Hahn on Twitter to debate the issues from
14:00-15:00 on 19 September - #ECday and #EUChat
IP will be available on 18 September.
I-071066
European Territorial Cooperation
The contacts:
Shirin
Wheeler Shirin.wheeler@ec.europa.eu +32 2 296 65 65
Annemarie
Huber Annemarie.Huber@ec.europa.eu +32 2 299 33 10
The news:
The European Commission will publish a Communication
on Opening up Education which aims to stimulate high-quality, innovative ways
of learning and teaching through digital technologies and content. By making
learning environments more open and delivering quality education more
efficiently, the EU will create a better skilled workforce which will boost
jobs, competitiveness and growth.
Opening up Education proposes measures at EU and
national levels, including helping learning institutions, teachers and students
of all ages to acquire digital skills and new learning methods. The initiative
also seeks to support the development and availability of open educational
resources.
The background:
Digital technologies are radically changing the
landscape of education and training. Open educational resources (OER), such as
'Massive Open Online Courses' (MOOCs), are challenging traditional models and
practices. These global changes are having an increasing impact on education
and training institutions, teachers, learners and publishers, among others. But
as well as challenges, the ICT revolution brings new opportunities – for new audiences,
new providers and new business models. Despite the efforts that Member States
and the EU have made so far in the area of digitisation, European education and
training systems are losing the lead in this process of change.
The event:
Neelie Kroes, Vice-President responsible for the
Digital Agenda, and Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture,
Multilingualism and Youth, will jointly present Opening up Education at the
midday briefing in the Commission's press room. A press release and a staff
working document will be available on the day.
Available on EbS
The sources:
European Commission website on education and
training:
European Commission website on
communication networks, content and technology:
Information on Commissioner
Vassiliou:
Information on Commissioner Kroes:
The contacts:
Ryan
Heath +32 2 29 57361 ryan.heath@ec.europa.eu
Ana
Gradinaru +32 2 29 57361 ana.gradinaru@ext.ec.europa.eu
The news:
On
Thursday 26 September 2013, the European Commission will adopt its monthly
infringements package. These decisions cover all Member States and most of EU
policies and seek to enforce EU law across Europe in the interest of both
citizens and businesses.
The background:
Article
258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) gives the
Commission the power to take legal action against a Member State that is not
respecting its obligations under EU law.
There are
three successive stages: Letter of formal notice, reasoned opinion and referral
to the Court of Justice.
If,
despite the ruling, a Member State still fails to act, the Commission may open
a further infringement case under Article 260 of the TFEU. After only one
written warning, Commission may refer a Member State back to the Court and it
can propose that the Court imposes financial penalties based on the duration
and severity on the infringement and the size of the Member State.
The event:
A
comprehensive Memo on all referrals and reasoned opinions, specific IPs on each
referral and a Memo on the procedure will be available on the day on Rapid:
The sources:
For more information on
infringements:
http://ec.europa.eu/eu_law/infringements/infringements_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/eu_law/infringements/infringements_en.htm
On the general infringement procedure: MEMO/12/12
The contacts:
Overall
coordination:
Jonathan Todd +32
2 299 41 07 jonathan.todd@ec.europa.eu
On
specific infringements, please contact the spokesperson in charge.
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