DIARY NOTE: 23 June, 12.30-17.00

“European youth to present its own visionary ‘strategy document’ about the future of transport and mobility”

· Europe’s bright young thinkers present their “Book of Ideas” to EU and industry leaders in Brussels, on 23 June

· High-level speakers and participants gather in a unique, interactive event

The much awaited Communication on a strategic vision for European Standards and the proposal for a Regulation on European Standardization was released today by Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission, in the Berlaymont building of the European Commission.

"The European social model and European values will only survive globalisation if our countries are capable of finding the way back to growth and employment. We must have confidence in our abilities to innovate and create", said Joseph Daul MEP during a meeting of the EPP Group with Edmund Stoiber, Chairman of the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens.

World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI) works together with ten banks in developing countries to double the number of sustainable and affordable savings accounts for the poor. In developing countries 90% of households do not have access to formal financial services. This is particularly the case in rural areas, where low population density makes a traditional bank branch unsustainable. WSBI bank members are working on alternative delivery channels to provide access to financial services to people living in remote areas and earning low and irregular incomes.

The evidence shows that tobacco legislation is working. Confounding its early critics, it is already saving lives and improving health across the WHO European Region. Studies from countries that enforce bans on smoking in public places are finding reductions in heart attacks.