Brussels, 17 May 2013: On invitation of its new Hungarian member Derula Kft., the European Poplar Association Pro-Populus held a two-day event (on 13 & 14 May 2013) in Szolnok, Hungary, consisting of its 5th General Assembly, 3rd European Poplar Congress and visits of the Derula plywood producer factory and poplar plantations.
The Institute for European Studies, in collaboration with iMinds-SMIT (Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication) and LSTS (Law, Science, Technology and Society Studies) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, kindly invites you to the Policy Forum "Open Data in the European Union" on 29 May at 12:00. This Policy Forum is the third and last session of a series of Data Talks.
Directors of 49 Caritas organisations in Europe call on the European Council to show clear commitment – at its upcoming meeting on 27-28 May 2013 – to fight poverty around the world. The directors, meeting at their annual assembly in Brussels 23-24 May, insist that the EU must show responsibility in combating poverty after the expiration of the MDGs in 2015.
Athens, 26 May 2013 /// On 25-26 May 2013, EDF’s Annual General Assembly took place in Athens, Greece, gathering hundreds of leaders from its member organisations all around Europe. This year’s meeting focused on the situation of persons with disabilities and the crisis, as well as the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) at National and EU level. It was also marked by the renewal of EDF’s governing bodies and the re-election of Yannis Vardakastanis as EDF President.
To accompany the much needed fiscal consolidation exercise across the EU currently being put in place, ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) fully endorses the importance of better coordination of taxation matters at national, EU and international level
“We welcome the decision Commissioner Barnier has taken, not to include solvency rules for occupational pension funds”, commented CEEMET Director General, Uwe Combüchen. “Our members have been concerned about the plan to extend the own-funds requirements to occupational pension funds since it would have considerably increased the costs of occupational pension provision schemes and in the worst case closed them down.
Brussels, 23 May 2013: Following the conclusions of yesterday’s European Council on energy, Glass for Europe releases its contribution to the debate on a 2030 energy and climate package to highlight how such an instrument can be designed to foster growth opportunities for EU industries.
The European Parliament today endorsed a proposal to grant preferential trade access to Burma (under the generalised scheme of preferences) after a break of 16 years. The Greens criticised the decision, notably the absence of any conditions or time limits, in spite of the human rights situation in the country. After the vote, Green trade spokesperson Ska Keller stated:
In his speech today at the GIE Annual Conference 2013 held in Venice, Jean-Claude Depail, GIE President, reminded about the role of natural gas and its underlying infrastructure for the future energy mix. Jean-Claude Depail is convinced that gas is a sector with a brilliant future that can help the EU to achieve a secure, competitive and decarbonised European energy system. However, more certainty and predictability is needed from the European policy makers.