A secure and transparent integrated payments environment throughout the EU could create more efficient, modern and safer means of payments for the benefit of consumers, merchants and payment providers.  Based on a newly adopted Green Paper, the European Commission is seeking the views of stakeholders as to which obstacles hinder further market integration and how these could be resolved.

Electronic payments are essential for every consumer, either when buying something at the point-of-sale or while shopping on the internet.  Throughout the EU, more than 700 million payment cards are in use, and the number of smart phones is increasing at a dramatic rate. 

The Green Paper assess the current landscape of card, internet and mobile payments in Europe, identifies gaps between the current situation and the vision of a fully integrated payments market and the barriers which have created these gaps.  The main issues identified in the Paper concern:

•  market access and entry for existing and new service providers
•  payment security and data protection
•  transparent and efficient pricing of payment services
•  technical standardisation
•  inter-operability between service providers

If you are interested in responding to the Commission’s consultation, please contact the Enterprise Europe team for more information on 0800 052 8156 or info@ee-yorkshire.com.
 

The Commission believes that if we want to be able to meet our needs in the future, companies will have to produce more added value with fewer inputs, and consumers will have to adopt more sustainable consumption patterns for products and services.  To this end, it is currently reviewing its Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) actions and is seeking feedback in four major areas:

• Polices regarding product design, recycling and waste management etc
• Green Public Procurement (encouraging public bodies to favour ecologically friendly solutions)
• Actions for improving the environmental performance of products (Product Environmental Footprint – PEF)
• Actions for improving the environmental performance of organisations (Environmental Performance of Organisations – OEF)

The 1992 EU Treaty calls for the inclusion of sustainability considerations and targets into all European policies.  A first structured package of actions and proposals to improve the environmental performance of products and to stimulate the demand for more sustainable goods was included in the Action Plan on ‘Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy’ published in 2008. 

The actual policy context for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and Sustainable Industrial Policy (SIP) is the Europe 2020 Strategy which sets out to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and is now Europe’s main strategy for generating growth and jobs.

The consultation will run for nine weeks until 3 April 2012.  To find out how to participate, please contact the Enterprise Europe team on 0800 0528156 or info@ee-yorkshire.com

The aim of the consultation is to identify successful practices and policies in the field of restructuring and adapting to change.  The results will feed into the upcoming employment package. 

The economic crisis has put an extra strain on business:  from 2002 to 2010, over 11,000 cases of restructuring were recorded by the European Restructuring Monitor, with a ratio of almost two jobs lost for every one created.  Many companies and their workers have developed innovative arrangements to limit job losses.

The Green Paper includes several questions and issues covered include:

• Lessons from the crisis – are existing policy measures and practices adequate?  What are the success factors and future challenges?  How have short time working schemes functioned during the crisis and how have they coped with persistently weak demand?
• Economic and industrial adjustment – what are the relevant framework conditions and existing good practices on access to finance, to accompany structural adjustment?
• Adaptability of business and employability of workers – is there a possible need to update existing guidelines on restructuring and the means to ensure their implementation?
• Creating synergies in the process of industrial change – how to improve the synergies between companies, local authorities and other local actors?  How to develop training as a permanent feature of human resources management?
• Role of regional and local authorities – how to encourage a supporting role of public authorities taking into account different national traditions?
• Impact of restructuring operations – what can be done by companies and employees to minimise the employment and social impact of restructuring operations and what role can public polices play in facilitating these changes?

For more information on contributing to the consultation please contact the Enterprise Europe team on 0800 152 8156 or info@ee-yorkshire.com

LED lighting is believed to be one of the most energy-efficient and versatile forms of lighting, saving up to 70% energy and money compared to other technologies.  However, the market faces a number of challenges including high purchase prices, lack of familiarity amongst users and a lack of common standards.

The Commission is inviting views on how these challenges might be overcome.  It is seeking ideas on:

• how deployment could be speeded up in Europe
• how good quality, safe products can be ensured; and
• how cooperation can be strengthened between lighting manufacturers and the construction industry.

By increasing LED usage, the Commission hopes to ensure the success of Europe’s lighting industry, maximise the number of jobs in it and help reduce energy use from lighting by 20% by 2020.

For more information on the consultation and how to take part, please contact the Enterprise Europe Network team on 0800 052 8156 or e-mail info@ee-yorkshire.com.

The Commission is interested in statistical information and qualitative comments on national R&D&I policies, at large, and on national state aid support measures for R&D&I, in particular.

On the basis of the replies received to a published questionnaire, the Commission will prepare a first draft of a revised EU Framework for State aid for R&D&I which it expects to publish in the second half of 2012 for consultation.

The review was launched in August 2011 by the publication of a mid-term review on the application of the current framework that will expire at the end of 2013. Comments can be submitted until 24 February 2012.  Please contact Enterprise Europe Network Yorkshire on 0800 052 8156 for previous published material and the consultation document.