The inward mission (*click here for full itinerary) will showcase the growing offshore wind energy sector in Yorkshire and Humber and develop partnerships between regional businesses and their Danish counterparts - the pioneers in offshore wind power.

Coordinated by Enterprise Europe Yorkshire and supported by AEM Yorkshire and Team Humber Marine Alliance and other key regional organisations, the centre piece of the three day visit will be a matchmaking event, taking place in the afternoon of September 2nd at the World Trade Centre Hull & Humber.

Companies represented on the inward mission include Nordic Offshore, FORCE Technology, Fair Wind Solutions, SCANCON, Copenhagen Capacity, Site Facility, AX-s, ACTA, Roblon, Muehlha and U-Rope Access.

Yorkshire and Humber is already home to over 20 wind energy projects including ‘Humber Gateway’ and ‘Westernmost Rough’ - two of the UK’s largest offshore wind farm projects.

On Thursday September 2nd, the delegation will be welcomed by North East Lincolnshire Council at the 110 acre, ‘Europarc’ business centre, before touring Port of Grimsby East. The port is a key operations and maintenance base for wind farm projects and currently provides facilities for offshore activity of Siemens and Centrica.

In the afternoon delegates from regional businesses including Cosalt, Grimsby, Able UK, Hull, and Sky Climber Wind Solutions, Scarborough will have 20 minute 1-to1 meetings with Danish delegates and take part in an informal networking session.

The following day delegates will tour MTL Group’s plant in Sheffield. The company is a specialist contract manufacturer already working on large fabricated steel structures for offshore foundations.

Tim Barraclough, a consultant at Enterprise Europe Yorkshire has been instrumental in coordinating the three day programme with his Danish Enterprise Europe Network counterpart, Thomas Anderson. Tim said:

“The importance of this industry to the region as a whole can’t be underestimated. The Humber estuary is centrally located to the three largest Round 3 offshore wind development zones - Dogger Bank, Hornsea and Norfolk.

“Hornsea alone will provide enough electricity to meet 4% of all electricity demand in the UK and will power approximately 3 million homes.

“Estimates suggest that the industry could be worth up to £50bn the region by 2020, bringing jobs and wealth to the people of Yorkshire and Humber.

“This visit will lead to new ventures and partnerships that drive growth in the sector to the next level.”
Dr Henry Shirman is MTL Group’s Managing Director. He added:

“Working on offshore projects poses different engineering challenges for companies supplying in to the sector. This visit is a great opportunity to showcase what we do and demonstrate our ability to deliver high quality engineered components for the renewable energy sector.

“I look forward to welcoming all the delegates, forming new relationships and increasing our involvement in the industry.”

Theresa Lindsay, Assistant Director of Business (Business Development) at Yorkshire Forward, added:

“Our power stations currently provide 18% of the nation’s electricity capacity, but target’s for an 80% cut in emissions means we need to find alternative sources of power.

‘’The Humber is located in the heart of the Round 3 zones and offers the right conditions for the offshore wind industry to operate from.’’

Getting a foothold in new markets can be a challenge. Enterprise Europe Yorkshire can help. Your local gateway to the European marketplace, EEY is part of Europe’s largest business support network with a presence in 46 countries and 280 cities.

Co-funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Commission, the EEY team of advisors works with businesses, universities and research bodies to help them make the most of opportunities overseas.
EEY helps organisations interested in..

• Research opportunities
• Business opportunities
• News alerts & information
• Public procurement, ‘Tenders Electronic Daily’

Enterprise Europe Yorkshire brings together four local organisations including Yorkshire Forward, RTC North, Targeting Innovation and Bradford Metropolitan District Council which are dedicated to helping your business get the information and advice you need, to compete effectively here in the UK and the rest of Europe.

ENDS

Media contacts: Jamie Ollivere at RTC North on 01915164400 or Mob 07950566182
Notes to editor:

1. Enterprise Europe Network: The Enterprise Europe Network is made up of close to 600 partner organisations in more than 40 countries, promoting competitiveness and innovation at the local level in Europe and beyond. Whether you need information on EU legislation, help with technology transfer or finding a business partner, want to benefit from innovation networks in your region or need information on funding opportunities, this is the place to start. Enterprise Europe Yorkshire brings together four local organisations including Yorkshire Forward, RTC North, Targeting Innovation and Bradford Metropolitan District Council which are dedicated to helping your business get the information and advice you need, to compete effectively here in the UK and the rest of Europe. Launched in January 2008, the consortium includes partners with many years of experience in delivering high quality services to local firms, largely through the Euro Info Centre and Innovation Relay Centre networks.  We also work closely with Business Link Yorkshire and a range of other business support organisations in the region, to make sure that you can access all the help and advice you need. Please click on the buttons on the left to find out more about the Partners, our aims and objectives and the wider Enterprise Europe Network both here in the UK and further afield.

2. Yorkshire Forward: Yorkshire Forward was set up by Government to promote sustainable economic development throughout the Yorkshire and Humber region. One of England's nine Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) we are a business led organisation that aims to help improve the region’s relative economic performance and reduce social and economic disparities. A regional approach to economic development allows local businesses and communities to formulate solutions that are appropriate for the particular circumstances and strengths of this region. Yorkshire Forward supports the expansion and development of business in our region by encouraging public and private investment, and by connecting people to economic opportunity. We also work to improve levels of education, learning and skills, and do all that we can to enhance the region's environment and infrastructure. Our aim is to maintain and develop this success, making Yorkshire and Humber a truly world-class region in which to live, work and invest. Further information on Yorkshire Forward is available on www.yorkshire-forward.com Yorkshire Forward successfully led a consortium that secured European Commission funding for the new European business support service, and has pledged its own support until 2011. The other partners in the consortium delivering on behalf of Yorkshire Forward are Targeting Innovation Ltd., RTC North Ltd., and City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

3. Targeting Innovation Ltd: Targeting Innovation Ltd (TIL) is a renowned delivery provider of specialist support services to technology or innovation led companies and research organisations. Throughout the wide range of services and products we provide, our primary objective is to help businesses succeed through innovation.  TIL has extensive experience in project management, working closely with the public  sector to develop innovation strategies and managing programmes in support of these strategies. Targeting Innovation’s role in the consortium is project coordination, focussing on the integration of the services into high profile and high quality delivery.

4. RTC North Ltd: RTC North is recognised as one of the most successful independent technology transfer companies in Europe serving businesses, universities and the public sector in the UK and overseas.  Led since 1987 by our founder Gordon Ollivere and employing scientists, technologists, engineers and business professionals, RTC North’s aim is to help clients exploit new opportunities and improve competitiveness through the application of technology, knowledge and forward thinking. RTC North act as primary deliverer of business and innovation services.

5. Bradford Metropolitan District Council: Bradford Metropolitan District Council (BMDC) is the local authority covering the City of Bradford and surrounding district in West Yorkshire.  The City Council has hosted a highly successful Euro Info Centre for over 16 years, providing pro-active information and support to companies in such fields as public procurement and the environment, as well as in collaboration and coordination with other business intermediaries at a regional and national level. BMDC is the primary deliverer of information on European legislation, tendering opportunities, business cooperation and internationalisation services.

The so-called POP Regulation was adopted in 2004 and aligns EU legislation with two international agreements designed to reduce and eliminate the production and use of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).  POPs are chemical substances which, once released into the environment, remain there for decades and make their way up the food chain, accumulating in the fatty tissue of animals and humans.  They can lead to cancer, birth defects and dysfunction of the immune and reproductive systems.

The new substances added to the list are:
• 4 types of polybromodiphenyl ether
• alpha hexachlorocyclohexane
• beta hexachlorocyclohexane
• perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its salts
• perfluroooctane sulfonyl fluoride
• pentachloorbenzene

The original POPs were mainly pesticides but some of the new additions to the list are used in consumer products.  For example, PFOS is used in metal plating, fire fighting foams and stain repellents.

For more information on the POP legislation, click here or call the Enterprise Europe Yorkshire team on 0800 052 8156 or e-mail info@ee-yorkshire.com

Settling disputes and disagreements through court can be not only costly and time-consuming, it can also destroy profitable business relationships.  Cross-border cases tend to be more complex due to different national laws and jurisdictions as well as practical matters like cost and language. 

According to a recent EU-funded study, the time wasted by not using mediation is estimated at an average of between 331 and 446 extra days in the EU, with extra legal costs ranging from €12,471 to €13,738 per case.  The EU rules have been adopted to try to help save both time and money.  So far, Estonia, France, Italy and Portugal have already notified the Commission that they have put the national rules in place to implement the Directive.  Denmark has exercised its right not to enforce these rules.

Member States are to provide information on courts competent to make mediated agreements enforceable by an earlier date (21 November 2010), so that the Commission can publicise this information to make it easier for citizens and businesses to use mediation. 

A European Code of Conduct for Mediators has been in place since 2004, setting out a number of principles to which individual mediators can voluntarily decide to commit.  The list of organisations subscribing to this Code has been published here.

Further background information on mediation can be found here

The funding is part of a €4m collaborative project lead by German technology leaders, SAP, that will focus on how improved data searching will impact on business.

Dubbed the ‘Semantic Web’ by father of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the next generation of the World Wide Web will allow users to search more data than ever before, return more relevant results and save users time surfing the web.

Currently only a proportion of data posted on the Internet can be ‘read’ intelligently by computers and users have to visit multiple websites to find the information that they want. 

The project will develop methodologies and a platform that combines essential features of semantic technologies and business intelligence.

The Communication and Computing Research Centre (CCRC) at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is committed to research in the areas of computing and communication.

Dr Simon Polovina, Senior Lecturer in Enterprise Computing, said:

“Semantic technology will be the next big breakthrough for the World Wide Web and will better enable computers and people to work in cooperation.

“This project, Combining and Uniting Business Intelligence with Semantic Technologies (CUBIST), will focus on creating new visual tools to help businesses make sense of the vast amounts of data that are out there.

“To be awarded funding to do this kind of work alongside a company like SAP is recognition of the truly leading edge research going on here in Sheffield.

“For organizations looking to access funding for innovation, Enterprise Europe Yorkshire is a great first port of call.”

Senior Lecturer in Software Engineering, Dr Simon Andrews, added:

“CUBIST will focus on an emerging semantic technology called Formal Concept Analysis and will help make sense of a variety of data sources which can be accessed through the web.

“Sheffield Hallam University has world leading expertise in this area, so the help from Enterprise Europe Yorkshire in securing the funding has given us an excellent opportunity to make a big impact with our research.”

CCRC approached Enterprise Europe Yorkshire – part of the world’s largest business support network - for assistance in evaluating their bid for funding as part of the ‘CUBIST Project’, led by German company, SAP.

Enterprise Europe Yorkshire advisor, Andy Taylor, added:

“Companies across Yorkshire are working on all kinds of innovative research and exciting new technology. If they get in touch with Enterprise Europe Yorkshire, we can help them access the €50bn ‘Framework Programme’ which funds collaborative research and development.”

“Bidding for funding at this level can be complicated and time consuming, but we can help and are here to make sure organisations in Yorkshire stay at the forefront of research in their sector.”

“The research will ensure Sheffield remains a leading centre of research into the impact of semantic technology on business intelligence.”

Getting a foothold in new markets can be a challenge. EEY can help. Your local gateway to the European marketplace, EEY is part of Europe’s largest business support network with a presence in 46 countries and 280 cities.

Co-funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Commission, the EEY team of advisors works with businesses, universities and research bodies to help them make the most of opportunities overseas.

EEY helps organisations interested in..
• Research opportunities
• Business opportunities
• News alerts & information
• Public procurement, ‘Tenders Electronic Daily’

Enterprise Europe Yorkshire brings together four local organisations including Yorkshire Forward, RTC North, Targeting Innovation and Bradford Metropolitan District Council which are dedicated to helping your business get the information and advice you need, to compete effectively here in the UK and the rest of Europe
 
ENDS
Media contacts: Jamie Ollivere at RTC North on 01915164400 or Mob 07950566182
Notes to editor:

1. CUBIST: The CUBIST project  is about combining and unifying the presently disparate sources of data found on the web, and then employing FCA (Formal Concept Analysis) to capture and visualise that data's underlying meaning (or 'semantics'). FCA adds conceptual structures to data, by searching data in a way that discovers the key knowledge that businesses need to make effective decisions in an increasingly competitive, web-oriented marketplace. What distinguishes FCA is its rich mathematical basis, but that businesses do not need understand the mathematics to use it, as it aligns mathematical rigour with intuitive human thinking - the best of both worlds.

2. Enterprise Europe Network: The Enterprise Europe Network is made up of close to 600 partner organisations in more than 40 countries, promoting competitiveness and innovation at the local level in Europe and beyond. Whether you need information on EU legislation, help with technology transfer or finding a business partner, want to benefit from innovation networks in your region or need information on funding opportunities, this is the place to start. Enterprise Europe Yorkshire brings together four local organisations including Yorkshire Forward, RTC North, Targeting Innovation and Bradford Metropolitan District Council which are dedicated to helping your business get the information and advice you need, to compete effectively here in the UK and the rest of Europe. Launched in January 2008, the consortium includes partners with many years of experience in delivering high quality services to local firms, largely through the Euro Info Centre and Innovation Relay Centre networks.  We also work closely with Business Link Yorkshire and a range of other business support organisations in the region, to make sure that you can access all the help and advice you need. Please click on the buttons on the left to find out more about the Partners, our aims and objectives and the wider Enterprise Europe Network both here in the UK and further afield.

3. Yorkshire Forward: Yorkshire Forward was set up by Government to promote sustainable economic development throughout the Yorkshire and Humber region. One of England's nine Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) we are a business led organisation that aims to help improve the region’s relative economic performance and reduce social and economic disparities. A regional approach to economic development allows local businesses and communities to formulate solutions that are appropriate for the particular circumstances and strengths of this region. Yorkshire Forward supports the expansion and development of business in our region by encouraging public and private investment, and by connecting people to economic opportunity. We also work to improve levels of education, learning and skills, and do all that we can to enhance the region's environment and infrastructure. Our aim is to maintain and develop this success, making Yorkshire and Humber a truly world-class region in which to live, work and invest. Further information on Yorkshire Forward is available on www.yorkshire-forward.com Yorkshire Forward successfully led a consortium that secured European Commission funding for the new European business support service, and has pledged its own support until 2011. The other partners in the consortium delivering on behalf of Yorkshire Forward are Targeting Innovation Ltd., RTC North Ltd., and City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

4. Targeting Innovation Ltd: Targeting Innovation Ltd (TIL) is a renowned delivery provider of specialist support services to technology or innovation led companies and research organisations. Throughout the wide range of services and products we provide, our primary objective is to help businesses succeed through innovation.  TIL has extensive experience in project management, working closely with the public  sector to develop innovation strategies and managing programmes in support of these strategies. Targeting Innovation’s role in the consortium is project coordination, focussing on the integration of the services into high profile and high quality delivery.

5. RTC North Ltd: RTC North is recognised as one of the most successful independent technology transfer companies in Europe serving businesses, universities and the public sector in the UK and overseas.  Led since 1987 by our founder Gordon Ollivere and employing scientists, technologists, engineers and business professionals, RTC North’s aim is to help clients exploit new opportunities and improve competitiveness through the application of technology, knowledge and forward thinking. RTC North act as primary deliverer of business and innovation services.

6. Bradford Metropolitan District Council: Bradford Metropolitan District Council (BMDC) is the local authority covering the City of Bradford and surrounding district in West Yorkshire.  The City Council has hosted a highly successful Euro Info Centre for over 16 years, providing pro-active information and support to companies in such fields as public procurement and the environment, as well as in collaboration and coordination with other business intermediaries at a regional and national level. BMDC is the primary deliverer of information on European legislation, tendering opportunities, business cooperation and internationalisation services.

The Directive on self-employed workers and assisting spouses repeals and replaces an earlier law (Directive 86/613/EEC) and aims to improve the social protection rights of millions of women in the labour market, boosting female entrepreneurship.

The legislation, agreed with the European Parliament in May and endorsed on 7th June by EU Member States, considerably improves the protection of female self-employed workers and assisting spouses in case of maternity or motherhood. It will provide equivalent access to maternity leave as for employees, but on a voluntary basis. At EU level, this is the first time a maternity allowance has been granted to self-employed workers.

The Commission hopes that the new rules will also serve to promote entrepreneurship in general and among women in particular. There is a currently a major gender gap in this area – only 30% of entrepreneurs in Europe are women.

Finally, the Commission believes that the provision on social protection for assisting spouses and life partners (recognised as such in national law) is also a considerable improvement from the 1986 Directive. They will have the right to social security coverage (such as pensions) on an equal basis as formal self-employed workers. It is hoped that this will help to provide a stronger social safety net and to stop women from falling into poverty.

The Directive entered into force on 4th Augut and EU countries have two years to introduce it into national law.

For more information on the EU gender equality policy and legislation please click here.

 

Otherwise know as the "performance regulation", it is seen as a key step in creating the Single European Sky.   A single European Sky package of rules aims to help the civil aviation sector affected both by the global economic downturn and the damage caused as a result of the volcanic ash cloud in April 2010. 
 

The regulation sets implementing rules on the performance of air navigation services and the designation of the performance review body. These measures provide the legal basis needed to implement the package, as from 1 January 2012.
 

The package aims to cut the cost of flying by half, decrease the environmental impact of flights by 10%, and enable a threefold increase in traffic while further improving the already impressive safety record of European airspace.
 

The next important step, to be achieved by the end of 2010, will be the designation of a single manager for the whole European network, to ensure the optimum use of the airspace and coordinate the allocation of scarce resources such as frequencies and codes.
 

For more information see Single European Sky.
 

Translating research into new technologies, products and services is at the heart of the package.  In healthcare, around €206 million – one-third of the overall budget for 2011 – is to be spent on investigator-driven clinical trials to get new medicines on the market quicker.  Around €600 million of ICT funding is also earmarked for next generation network and service infrastructures, robotics systems, electronic and photonic components, and digital content technologies. 

More than €400 million will support research into how ICTs can address challenges such as a lower-carbon economy, an ageing society, and adaptable and sustainable factories.  €90 million is also earmarked in 2011 for the Future internet Public Private Partnership to make key European infrastructures "smart".

A top priority has been given to SMEs to receive close to €800 million and for the first time there will be ring-fenced budgets in several areas.  For example, in health, knowlege-based bio-economy, environment and nanotechnologies SME participation must reach 35% of the total budget for a number of topics.

More than €1.3 billion of funding is to be allocated for the best creative scientists selected by the European Research Council.  In addition, mobility grants for 7,000 highly qualified researchers are to be provided through “Marie Curie Actions”, worth €772 million.

It is hoped that the introduction of “Innovation Partnerships” will help bring together the main actors in key areas with the aim of striking a balance between collaboration and competition.

Click on the following to access more information:

Call page
The Commission’s website on Research
The Commission’s ‘Innovation Union’ Facebook page
 

The VAT Refund Directive allows for the refund of VAT on business expenses incurred by taxable persons in a Member State in which they are not established.  It introduces an electronic system whereby the taxable person can submit his or her application for a refund via a web portal developed by the Member State where they are established.  Under the previous paper procedure, taxpayers had to send original invoices to all Member States in which they incurred VAT in order to receive a refund.

Member States were obliged to make the web portals available on 1st January 2010.  However, delays in getting these portals up and running in some Member States has led to a situation where people have not been able to submit their refunds.  It is therefore proposed that the deadline for submission of refund requests for 2009 expenses is postponed from September 2010 to March 2011.

Numerous complaints have also been received from businesses pointing to divergences between the different Member States on some of the technical details relating to practical operation of the national web portals.  So, the Commission proposes harmonising some features of the portals in order to make them more interoperable and accessible for taxpayers.

The Commission has strongly urged Member States to make their web systems fully operable as quickly as possible in order to minimise negative impacts on businesses. 

Click here to view the text of the proposal.

At the same time, the Commission hopes that the new legislation will improve safety for these vehicles, by – for example – requiring anti-locking brake systems to be fitted on certain vehicles.

The types of vehicles covered by the proposed legislation would include tractors, trailers and towed equipment.  The updated safety rules include shorter breaking distances and the introduction of hydrostatic braking systems.  The new requirement for ABS would apply to T5 fast tractors and their trailers, suitable for speeds over 40km/h.

By repealing 50 Directives and replacing them with 5 directly enforceable Regulations instead, the Commission hopes to cut both costs and the administrative burden for the industry.

The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers for discussion and adoption.  To find out more, see Tractors or contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 052 8156 or e-mail:  info@ee-yorkshire.com  
 

Recognising that these kind of companies need to be able to transfer workers temporarily to branches within the EU but that they face barriers when wishing to do so, the Commission is proposing a common set of rules for a “fast-track” procedure. 

This procedure would see the granting of a combined residence and work permit within 30 days of application for a targeted group of highly specialised staff from non EU countries, such as managers, specialists and graduate trainees.  There would also be an easier system for these workers to move around within the EU and they would have a clearer legal status including the same working conditions as workers posted by an EU-based company.

The Member States would still decide on the numbers of skilled workers being transferred and a time limit is proposed to make sure that any transfer is temporary (3 years for managers and specialists and 1 year for graduate trainees). 

The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and the Member States for discussion and they must agree before it becomes law.

For further information on the draft Directive on intra-corporate temporary transfers for skilled workers,  please contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 051 8156 or e-mail info@ee-yorkshire.com
 

It is hard to get complete and comparable data on the numbers of non-EU workers, but according to estimates there are well over 100,000 working here each year.  Typically, they take up jobs in agriculture, horticulture and tourism.  However, at the moment, the entry procedures for this kind of worker are complex and, with their rights unclear, there is a risk that they may be exploited.

The Commission’s draft Directive proposes a simpler entry procedure, a standard seasonal work time limit throughout the EU of 6 months per calendar year and the possibility of a 3-year multi-seasonal permit or an easier re-entry procedure for subsequent seasons.

It also proposes rules on working conditions to try to prevent exploitation and protect the health and safety of seasonal workers.  Employers would also be required to prove that these employees will have appropriate accommodation during their stay.

However, the Commission has left it up to the Member States to decide how many seasonal workers they admit and does not create any right to admission.

The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and the Member States for discussion and they must agree before it becomes law.

For further information on the draft Directive on seasonal employment,  please contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 051 8156 or e-mail info@ee-yorkshire.com
 

The Retail Environmental Sustainability Code, developed by the Retail Forum and presented to the Environment Commissioner, Janez Potoènik,  is for retailers who wish to commit to a set of principles and measures aimed at reducing their environmental foot print by signing up to the code. 

The code focuses on the sustainable sourcing of specific products such as timber or fish, increased resource efficiency in stores, optimisation of transport and distribution, better waste management practices and improved communication to consumers.  Signatories agree to report on their progress, for instance through their annual corporate sustainability report.

More than 20 major retailers and retail associations have already signed up to the code of conduct. 

Membership of the Retail Forum is voluntary and open to all retailers who join the Retailers’ Environmental Action Programme (REAP).  In its first year the Forum has tackled a number of key issues such as energy efficiency, transport and logistics, and communication and marketing.  A number of papers providing proposals for action and highlighting examples of good practice by the retail sector are available on the Forum's website.  Click here to access it.
 

For non-eurozone countries, the amount will be calculated based on the exchange rate published in the EU's Official Journal as of 1 June 2010.  Consumers can select a different cut-off limit or opt out of this bill shock safeguard entirely. 

However, operators will have to send users a warning when they reach 80% of their data-roaming bill limit and have to cut off the mobile internet connection once the limit has been reached, unless the customer has indicated they want to continue data roaming that particular month.  Messages can be sent by text message, e-mail or with a pop-up window on computer screens, whichever way the operator chooses and according to the device being used. 

In addition, the maximum wholesale prices for data roaming allowed under the Roaming Regulation are cut as of 1st July from 1 euro to 80 cents per MegaByte (MB) of information uploaded or downloaded.  Next year, the price will fall further to 50 cents per MB.

These measures will hopefully prevent users from receiving massive bills (potentially thousands of euros) because they downloaded music or watched videos on their phones or computers while in another Member State without being aware of the cost.  As an example of the problem, in 2009, a German traveller downloading a TV programme while roaming in France faced a bill of no less than €46 000.  In another recent example, a UK student was reported as receiving a bill of almost €9 000 for data roaming during a single month while studying abroad.

Consumers will still be charged for listening to their voice mail messages while abroad in another EU country.  However receiving a voice mail message while roaming, indicating that a news voice mail has arrived will become free of charge. 
 

The design of the European standard is to take into consideration ongoing activities in international standardisation. 

The mandate to the European Standardisation Organisations bodies (CEN-CENELEC and ETSI) has three main objectives:

• to ensure that electric cars can be safely charged by their drivers
• to make sure that users are able to charge their electric vehicles anywhere in the EU by using the same charger (i.e. interoperability for electric vehicle chargers (as well as their removable batteries)  with the electricity supply points
•  to consider so called “smart –charging issues”, so that users can charge vehicles at off-peak times to get the lowest price and most efficient use of energy.

The Commission hopes that the standard will be ready by mid-2011. 

For more background information please see here.

Currently, it can cost ten times more to obtain a patent in Europe than in the USA.  The European Patent Office (EPO) examines applications and grants a European Patent (if all the relevant conditions are met).  However, for the granted patent to be effective in each Member State, the inventor has to request validation at national level and this usually involves translation and administrative costs.  This situation is felt to discourage R&D and innovation and undermine Europe’s competitiveness. 

Back in August 2000, the European Commission proposed a single EU Patent and eventually, in December 2009, the EU Member States agreed a package which should bring about such a single Patent and establish a new patent court in the EU.  However, the agreement excluded translation arrangements.

The Commission’s new proposal foresees that applications will be examined and granted in one of the official languages of the EPO (English, French or German). It will be published in that language, with the claims (the section which defines the scope of the protection of the invention) also published in the other two.  No further translations into other languages would be required from the patent owner, except if there is a legal dispute.

The proposal also sets out a series of accompanying measures to make the patent system more accessible for inventors, including the provision of high quality machine translations of EU Patents into all EU official languages and reimbursement of the costs of translating applications into the EPO official languages for those inventors whose language is different.

The proposal will now be put to the European Parliament and the Member States for consideration.  For further information, please contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 052 8156 or e-mail info@ee-yorkshire.com.
 

It has adopted a Regulation setting the fees which the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) levies in connection with the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals and has included reduced fees for SMEs of between 30% and 90%, depending on the size of the firm. 

These fees apply when a company asks for an alternative name for a substance or requests harmonised classification and labelling for substances.  Companies can also use the new alternative name in a number of additional mixtures without paying an extra fee.

Other measures adopted by the Commission include making guidance documents available in all 22 official EU languages and calling on the member states to make sure national helpdesks are appropriately staffed to meet increased demand, in view of the upcoming deadlines for the registration of chemicals under the so-called REACH legislation.
 

The survey showed that stress is as important as workplace accidents for companies and organisations, with managers in the health & social work and education sectors expressing the highest levels of concern.  However, it also revealed that only 26% of the organisations surveyed had procedures in place to deal with stress.

42% of the management representatives surveyed consider tackling psychosocial risks such as stress, violence and harassment more difficult to manage than other health & safety issues.  According to the survey, the main barriers are the sensitivity of the issue (reported by 53%) and lack of awareness (50%).

EU-OHSA believe that the survey highlights the importance of providing effective support for companies in this field, and particularly smaller companies who feel that they lack the resources (time, staff or money) to deal with health & safety issues. To this end, the Agency is working to raise awareness of these issues and has set up a special section on its website to try to make the risk assessment and management process easier.  It is also developing an online interactive risk assessment tool, to try to encourage and help small and medium-sized firms carry out risk assessments.

“The European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks” covered 31 European countries and carried out interviews with managers and health & safety representatives in both private and public sector organisations with ten or more employees.

To find out more about the survey or the help and support available via EU-OSHA, see the website at EU-OSHA or call Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 052 8156 or e-mail info@ee-yorkshire.com
 

The rules recently adopted by the European Commission have a number of aims.  First, by improving access to the technical information needed for repairs and making it easier to use alternative spare parts, the Commission hopes to increase competition in the market for vehicle repair and maintenance.  The rules will also allow the Commission to tackle manufacturers’ abuse of warranties, when they request that cars are serviced only in authorised garages.

Secondly, the Commission has taken steps to simplify the rules which apply to the distribution of cars and hopes that this will reduce distribution costs.

The new measures for the repair and distribution market came into force on 1st June this year.  Those for the vehicle sales market will apply from 1st June 2013 and remain valid for the next 10 years.

For further information on the application of EU competition rules to the motor industry, please contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 052 8156 or e-mail info@ee-yorkshire.com
 

This percentage has stayed fairly stable in recent years, unlike the US where the preference for self-employment has fallen by 6% since 2007.  However, overall more Americans are interested in working for themselves than Europeans (55%) and in China the percentage is even higher (71%).

Encouraging more people to set up their own businesses is seen by the Commission as being key to rejuvenating the European economy.  The most significant barrier to the creation of more businesses has traditionally been lack of finance (quoted by 24% of those surveyed).  The survey also tries to identify other characteristics or factors which encourage self-employment, including general attitudes towards entrepreneurs and the benefits of role models.

To see the full survey results, see Entrepreneurship or contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 052 8156.
 

E-mail: info@targetinginnovation.com

Tel: 0113 394 4315

The revision of the energy labelling Directive extends the current labelling scheme to a wider range of products in the commercial and industrial sector.  The existing legislation introduced the energy label for household appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, ovens, air-conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, washer-driers, tumble driers and lamps.

Under the new Directive, advertisements containing energy-related information or price must include a reference to the energy efficiency class of the product.  The existing labelling scale from A-G will be further differentiated by adding the new classes A+, A++ and A+++ on top of class "A".  The new scale has been created to allow manufacturers to compete more, by developing products that are even more energy efficient.  The dark green colour of the scale will indicate the most efficient class and thus guide consumers to the most efficient products.

Besides differentiating products with energy or price related information, manufacturers would also need to improve how they advertise their products, to show how much better they are for consumers.  It is hoped that this will help customers to assess the running costs when buying new household appliances and then make well informed choices.  Any technical promotional literature such as manuals and manufacturer’s brochures will also have to indicate the product’s energy consumption or energy efficiency class. 

Further information can be found here.
 

Concluding a pilot project – known as SETPOS (secure European truck park operational services) – the Commission released today a handbook of best practice on secure European truck parking. The project also included investments into four pilot parking sites on the trans European network, serving as a model and encouraging investors to develop such facilities.

In the pilot project, a secure truck parking site has been built near Valenciennes and investments to improve the security of existing rest areas have been carried out in Wörnitz (Germany), Ashford (United Kingdom) and Uhrsleben (Germany).

A web database of parking sites available along the main European roads has also been developed.  Click here to view.  The handbook of best practice on secure truck parking and more information on road transport policy can be accessed here.   

Injuries caused by needles and other sharp instruments are one of the most common and serious risks to healthcare workers in Europe, and represent a high cost for health systems and society in general.  According to healthcare experts, such injuries occur more than 1 million times per year, partly causing very serious consequences and sometimes leading to serious diseases.

The new directive gives legal effect to a framework agreement concluded by the employers and the trade unions of the hospital and healthcare sector.

The directive sets up an integrated approach to assessing and preventing risks, and to training and informing workers.  If a risk assessment reveals a risk of injury, the workers' exposure must be eliminated by taking measures such as implementing safe procedures for using and disposing of sharp medical instruments and disposing of contaminated waste, eliminating the unnecessary use of sharp objects, and banning the practice of recapping.  The practice of recapping refers to the use of needles without safety and protection mechanisms.  Modern devices with safety mechanisms are not banned unless they pose a risk of injury.

Member states have three years in which to transpose the new directive into national law.
 

The 2010 contest began on 1 May, and closes on 31 July; competitors are invited to submit their ideas online at ESNC’s website. Twenty-one regions in Germany, France, Israel, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan the UK, the USA, the Middle East and North Africa will offer prizes and support for winning ideas. 

For more information on the 2010 ESNC competition, visit http://www.galileo-masters.eu 

The European Commission has published a report encouraging the uptake of green vehicles to help fight climate change, reduce oil dependency and boost industrial fabric.  The strategy in the report aims to help the European car industry to strengthen its leading role globally basing its production on clean and energy-efficient technologies.  It also contributes to the Europe 2020 objectives of smart and sustainable growth.  The report contains an Action Plan composed of concrete and ambitious measures to be implemented by the Commission.

While the report does not make any technological choices, it recognises that until now, the European framework has been mostly lacking in electric mobility.  With electric vehicles (including hybrids) reportedly viewed as ready for the mass market, and several Member States notably France, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Denmark promoting electro mobility, a number of actions announced in the report focus on enabling this technology.  For example, ensuring that alternative propulsion vehicles are at least as safe as conventional ones, and promoting common standards that will allow all electric vehicles to be charged anywhere in the EU.

Some of the other measures that form part of the action plan to be implemented by the Commission include supporting research and innovation in green technologies, as well reviewing vehicle emission reduction legislation.

Click here to see a full list of actions.
 

New rules on the coordination of social security between Member States which entered into force on 1st May 2010, allow jobseekers to export their unemployment benefits when moving to another EU country to seek a job.  The updated regulation, coordinating the different social security systems in the Member States, makes it possible for citizens of 31 European States to move as they please and retain their rights.  It guarantees social security benefits to mobile citizens, irrespective of their place of work or location.  This includes everyone claiming benefits, whether they are students, jobseekers, cross-border workers, a family or a pensioner.

The exchange of information between Member States administrations via a secure online network (EESSI) is scheduled to be in operation by the end of 2010.  This European network aims to simplify procedures, and to reduce the time taken to process benefit claims.  It is also to allow social security officers in Member States to identify the agency they need to speak to.  Citizens will also be able to access via the European Commission’s website the information they need to contact the appropriate agency to deal with their situation.

Click here for more information on social security coordination or here to view a video clip providing examples of how this regulation can be helpful to citizens.
 

The first change proposed in the plan is to make improvements possible under the current legal and regulatory framework, for example: better IT systems, more consistent application of rules (in particular on auditing) and improving the structure and content of the “calls for proposals”.

Secondly, existing financial rules are to be improved so that there is no longer a need to account separately for each small item of expenditure.  The aim is to allow projects to use the same accounting methods for EU funding as they are required to use for national research funding.

It has also been proposed that lump sum payments could be considered for implementation under future research funding programmes.  This would mean that beneficiaries would be paid lump sums to undertake specific scientific tasks, and would need to demonstrate that they have done so effectively and efficiently, rather than to report individual cost items.  The changes put forward for improvement now require a decision from the European Parliament and Council.

Meanwhile, a group of independent experts has also been appointed to review all aspects of the current Seventh Framework Programme, so called FP7 (funding programme for European research projects).

More information about FP7 can be found here.

The new Regulation, which will come into force in June 2010, also takes into account the development of the Internet as a force for online sales and cross-border commerce.  

With the revised rules, manufacturers are still entirely free to decide how to distribute their products. However, to be able to do this, both manufacturer and distributor must have a market share with their industry of less than 30%. Moreover, the distribution or supply agreements in place between manufacturers and distributors must not contain price-fixing or any other restrictions which could be seen to create barriers to the European Union’s single market.

For companies with a market share exceeding 30%, agreements established between manufacturers and distribution channels may not necessarily be illegal. Nevertheless, these companies are required to assess whether their agreements should contain restrictive clauses, or indeed, if they would be justified.

With regards to online sales, distributors must be free to sell on their websites just as they do in their traditional shops. For selective distribution, the manufacturers cannot limit the quantities sold by the distributor over the internet or charge higher prices for products to be sold online.

To read more information on the new revised rules please click here.
 

Alternatively contact the Enterprise Europe Team on 0800 052 8156 or by email at info@ee-yorkshire.com

LIFE is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment, to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental policy and legislation by co-financing pilot or demonstration projects with European added value. The aim of these events is to inform potential applicants both about the LIFE+ Programme and the forthcoming call for proposals as well as to help them decide whether or not to submit a LIFE+ proposal. The target audience is therefore those who:

• have little or no knowledge of the LIFE+ Programme;
• are submitting their first proposal; or who
• have submitted an unsuccessful proposal in the past.

However, those with previous LIFE programme experience are also welcome to attend.

The agenda will include a presentation to inform participants about the main points of the LIFE+ Programme and, where possible, successful applicants to the LIFE or LIFE+ Programmes will make a presentation. Please note that the information sessions are not 'writers’ workshops' and therefore do not provide in-depth information on preparing proposals.

To register for the London event please send an email to Joanna Pachucka at lifeplus-uk@stellaconsulting.com. She will then send you a registration form.

For more details about the LIFE+ programme please click here.
 

Designed as a single point of access to relevant and practical information, the portal includes animated scenarios to explain each step of the import, export and transit procedures.

It also outlines the legal framework for such procedures, and includes information (such as policy information, databases and assistance services) taken from Commission and Member States’ customs websites.

This first stage of the "European Customs Information Portal" (ECIP) focuses on the application of the Safety and Security Amendment to the Customs Code, which entered into force on 1 July 2009.

The customs portal was developed together with Member States and the Trade Contact Group, and will be further extended in the future to cover other areas and provide more in-depth information on customs procedures.

To view the web portal please click here. For further information on import and export procedures, please contact the Enterprise Europe Team on 0800 052 8156 or by email at info@ee-yorkshire.com
 

Nominees include inventors of pioneering innovations in a wide range of fields, from the conservation of drinking water to the synthesis of football-shaped carbon molecules or "fullerenes", and from cancer treatments to digital data encryption.

Other nominees are the Wii console, the civilian use of GPS, mobile use of fuel cells, "green" plastic and internet access straight from a wall socket. The award honours individual inventors, or teams of inventors, who, through their pioneering work, respond to the challenges of our time, thereby contributing to progress and prosperity.

** Nominations for the 2011 awards open on June 1st and is open to anyone Yorkshire who has been granted a European patent. Click here to find out more

The four winners will be chosen by a high-ranking international jury and will be presented with their prizes by EPO President Alison Brimelow in Madrid on 28 April 2010.

Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, said:

"The nominees underline the richness of the human imagination. Their inventions mean a lot for mankind and for shaping our modern world; yet their innovatory spirit also helps to create jobs in Europe and strengthen its competitiveness.

"The Europe 2020 strategy, just adopted by the European Commission, indeed stresses the need for a more innovative Europe. In this light I hope these inventors encourage others to follow their paths."

European Patent Office President Alison Brimelow added:

"The core task of the patent system is to support innovation through the effective protection of inventions. We must seek to maintain and strengthen the performance of the system to ensure the patent-based diffusion of pioneering technologies into the future".

Twelve candidates from nine countries are competing this year. The prize, which is purely symbolic and involves no material recompense, is awarded in four categories: Lifetime achievement, Industry, SMEs/research and Non-European countries. In addition to countries with a tradition of innovation such as France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United States of America, this year’s contest also sees candidates from Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Spain.

Nominations for the European Inventor Award can be made by the inventors themselves or put forward by patent examiners from the national patent offices and the EPO. A panel of EPO experts checks all proposals received to ensure they satisfy all criteria with respect to form and content (link) before they are submitted to the jury. Previous winners include Adolf Goetzberger, the father of solar-power generation (2009), Peter Grünberg, Nobel Laureate in Physics (2006), AIDS researcher Erik De Clercq (2008) and Federico Faggin, the inventor of the microprocessor (2006).

The shortlist of nominees for the European Inventor Award 2010 are...

Industry

• Inventor: Hermann Grether, Christoph Weis (DE):
• Invention: The Perlator, a jet regulator for water taps, provides an effective means of saving precious drinking water.
• Inventor: Albert Markendorf, Dr Raimund Loser (CH)
• Invention: Three-dimensional laser- controlled measuring system for quality control in the automotive and aerospace industry with maximum-precision metrology.
• Inventor: Benedetto Vigna (IT)
• Invention: Three-dimensional motion sensor for use in wireless controllers like the motion control sensor of the Nintendo Wii.

SMEs/research

• Inventor: Jürgen Pfizer, Helmut Nägele (DE)
• Invention: Arboform, the " green" alternative to plastic; this natural polymer is currently used around the world in the manufacture of car parts, children’s toys, furniture and much more.
• Inventor: Albert Ge let, Jean-Yves Chapelon, Dominique Cathignol, Emmanuel Blanc (FR)
• Invention: Ultrasound treatment is now an integral part of a highly effective device for fighting prostate cancer.
• Inventor: Jorge Blasco (ES)
• Invention: Data transmission over power lines for fast internet access straight from the wall socket.

Lifetime achievement

• Inventor: Peter Landrock (DK)
• Lifetime achievement: Many of the encryption methods used today for the digital transmission of confidential data are based on Landrock’s pioneering work.
• Inventor: Wolfgang Krätschmer (DE)
• Lifetime achievement: Krätschmer’s procedure for synthesising C60 carbon
• molecules (fullerenes) helps to develop new lubricants and fuels, electronic
• superconductors and polymers designed for data storage.
• Inventor: Desiré Collen (BE)
• Lifetime achievement: Collen’s findings in the field of blood clots broke new ground in medication for strokes and heart attacks.

Non-European countries

• Inventor: Sanjai Kohli and his team (US)
• Invention: Thanks to their revolutionary receiver-chip design, GPS has successfully found its way onto the consumer market.
• Inventor: Danny G. Epp, Ben Wiens (CA)
• Invention: Hydrogen fuel cells for many mobile applications, utilised today in many buses around the world.
• Inventor: Napoleone Ferrara and his team (US)
• Invention: The cancer drug Avastin inhibits the growth of cancer cells and is the basis for a gentler, focused therapy.

For more information on the award ceremony, which will take place in conjunction with the European Patent Forum in Madrid:

http://www.epo.org/topics/innovation-and-economy/european-inventor.html

For further information and accreditation or interview requests, please contact:

Rainer Osterwalder
Director Media Relations
European Patent Office
Erhardtstr. 27 | D-80469 Munich
Tel.: +49 (0)89 2399-1820
Fax: +49 (0)89 2399-2850
rosterwalder@epo.org
http://www.epo.org.

Held at the Park Inn hotel in York on Thursday May 27, the event will introduce delegates to the opportunities available through Enterprise Europe Yorkshire – the regional gateway to Europe’s largest business support network.

As well as introducing businesses to intellectual asset management and the benefits of collaborative research and development, the half day event will also feature presentations from local companies and international advisors from UK Trade & Invest.

**For a full agenda see below. Click here to register or for more information call EEY on Tel: 0131 394 4317

The second European SME Week, taking place from 25th May to 1st June 2010, is a campaign to promote entrepreneurship across Europe and to inform entrepreneurs about support available for them at European, national and local level. It allows SMEs to discover an array of information, advice, support and ideas to help them develop their activities.

Medical devices range from life-supporting devices such as pacemakers through hip implants or X-ray machines, down to products used daily such as syringes or blood tests. Even though these devices are traded on the European single market, data which are key to their safety – such as conformity certificates, data on clinical investigations – are for the time being collected only at the national level.

The Eudamed databank is a secure IT tool which will ensure rapid access to such data by market surveillance authorities. The databank will also streamline the rules for manufacturers placing in vitro diagnostic (IVD) devices on the market. It is already used on a voluntary basis by a number of EU countries.

Why is a databank for medical devices needed?
 

Under EU law, medical devices cover thousands of product types used in diagnostics, prevention and therapy. They range from life-supporting devices such as pacemakers, through implants, complex diagnostic devices such as X-ray machines, to devices such as blood pressure meters, syringes or blood and urine tests.
Medical devices that conform to the European legislation may be traded on the EU single market. But important data (for example – data on conformity certificates, including those withdrawn or refused, on clinical investigations, or reports on malfunctioning or incidents) on their safety is currently only collected at national level and shared manually.

The Eudamed databank will boost market surveillance, as national authorities will be able to rapidly access crucial safety data for medical devices on the EU market, and to respond to risks, for example by ordering a withdrawal.

In addition, Eudamed will eliminate administrative hurdles for manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) devices. At present, they must notify every EU country concerned separately when placing certain IVD devices on the market. Eudamed will allow them streamlined registration.

How will patients benefit?

Thanks to rapid communication channels between market surveillance authorities, the risk for patients of a safety incident or malfunctioning will be reduced. In particular, rapidly sharing information on any known incidents will diminish the risk of recurring incidents elsewhere in the EU.

More information on Eudamed is available here.

‘CIP Eco-innovation’ is a green strand of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and a contributor to the Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP).  The call covers four main areas: material recycling, sustainable building products, food and drink sector and green business.  It offers direct co-financing with grants that cover up to 50% of the total project cost.  The €35 million funds available for the 2010 call are expected to bring to life between 45 and 50 new projects.

The projects will be selected on the basis of their innovative approach, their market replication potential and their contribution to European environmental policies, especially in terms of resource efficiency.

The call opens on 13 April and runs until 9 September 2010. 

Click here to find out more about who can apply and what will be funded.  
 

Under EU legislation, excise duties must be paid on alcohol, tobacco and energy products at the final point before consumption. Therefore, while these goods are in transit to their final destination and no excise duty has yet been paid on them, Member States need a system of monitoring their movement to ensure that the duties are properly levied at the final destination.

Currently, a paper-based system is applied, whereby the person who consigns the goods must complete an "Accompanying Administrative Document" (ADD) which travels with the goods to their final destination. Once the consignment arrives at its final destination, the recipient must acknowledge its receipt through the paper-based procedure.

The Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS)  will replace the paper AAD with an electronic record – the e-AD. This e-AD is sent electronically by the consigner of the goods to the final recipient, via the EMCS systems in the Member States of dispatch and destination. When the goods arrive, the recipient files an electronic report of receipt, which is sent to the consignor who can then discharge the movement. This computerised system should make the whole process faster and easier for traders, and also allows them to recover the financial guarantees they had to make for the excise products much more quickly.

It is estimated that about 100 000 traders dispatch around 4.5 million consignments of excise goods between Member States each year, and the EMCS aims to reduce the financial and administrative burdens that they face. The new electronic system should also allow Member States to monitor more closely and accurately the movement of goods for which excise duties have still to be paid.

Member States' authorities and traders can join the system progressively until 1 January 2011, after which the EMCS will be fully applied throughout Europe.

For more information on the new electronic system for excise goods please contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 052 8156 or via email at info@ee-yorkshire.com

You can also access more information on the implementation of the EMCS by clicking here.
 

In an ongoing deal brokered by international business support service ‘Enterprise Europe Network’ (EEN), Chamelic Ltd will supply its dirt and dust repellent ‘RepelSmart’ product to MACtac Europe based in Belgium.

As part of the campaign, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) is inviting nominations for the tenth European Good Practice Awards in occupational health and safety. The 2010-11 award scheme will recognise companies or organisations that have made outstanding and innovative contributions to promote an integrated management approach to safe maintenance.

 The European campaign is organised by EU-OSHA in cooperation with the Member States and the Presidency of the European Union. One of the principal activities to support the campaign is the European Good Practice Awards scheme that is organised specifically to identify examples of good practice related to safe maintenance.

The awards aim to demonstrate, by example, the benefits of following good safety and health practices to all European employers and workers, intermediaries including the social partners, OSH professionals and practitioners, and others providing assistance and information at workplace level. Those selected will be recognised for their role in improving working conditions in Europe.

The awards will be given in two categories – for workplaces employing less than 100 workers, and those with 100 or more workers.

For more information on the campaign and to find out about previous Healthy Workplace campaigns please click here.
 

Operational from June 2010, the European Microfinance Facility will have a starting budget of €100 million which could leverage more than €500 million in cooperation with international financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. It is these institutions that will manage the loans.  The initiative is part of the EU's response to the economic crisis and is especially targeted at people who cannot normally obtain credit because of the economic crisis and the current lack of credit supply.

Those helped under the initiative will also be able to benefit from mentoring, training and coaching as well as assistance in preparing a business plan, in close cooperation with the existing European Social Fund.

In addition, the possibility for these same people to benefit from interest rate rebates through the European Social Fund will make it easier for them to start their new business.

Micro-credit in this Facility means loans under €25,000. It is tailored to micro-enterprises, employing fewer than 10 people (91% of all European businesses), and unemployed or inactive people who want to go into self-employment but do not have access to traditional banking services. 99% of start-ups in Europe are micro or small enterprises and one third of these are launched by people who are unemployed.

For further information regarding the micro-loans please click here.

EU and Vietnamese officials will now work together to agree the way forward towards the formal start of negotiations as well as an agreed framework for the talks to reach an FTA.

With regards to Singapore, progress is one step ahead.  EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang have already previously met to officially launch negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Singapore.  The first round of negotiations is scheduled to take place from 8 – 12 March 2010 in Singapore.

Singapore is one of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).  The ASEAN countries together are the EU's third largest trading partner outside Europe, with annual bilateral trade in goods and services of some € 175 billion.  Almost a third of this trade takes place between the EU and Singapore (€ 55 billion) which makes Singapore by far the EU's most important trading partner in South East Asia. The EU and Singapore also have strong investment ties; the bilateral stock of investment has reached € 100 billion in 2007.

For further information on the EU and Singapore FTA negotiations please click here.

To find out more about the FTA progress between the EU and Vietnam click here.
 

In order to do this the Commission has identified three key drivers for growth:

• smart growth (fostering knowledge, innovation, education and digital society),

• sustainable growth (making our production more resource efficient while boosting our competitiveness),

• inclusive growth (raising participation in the job market, the acquisition of skills and the fight against poverty).

According to the Commission the battle for growth and jobs requires ownership at top political level across Europe as well as effective collaboration on a European level.  Five targets have been set which define where the EU should be by 2020 and against which progress can be tracked.

These five targets compose of the following:

• 75 % of the population aged 20-64 should be employed.

• 3% of the EU's GDP should be invested in R&D.

• The "20/20/20" climate/energy targets should be met.

• The share of early school leavers should be under 10% and at least 40% of the  younger generation should have a degree or diploma.

• 20 million less people should be at risk of poverty.

In order to meet the targets, the Commission proposes a Europe 2020 agenda consisting of a series of flagship initiatives.  Implementing these initiatives is a shared priority, and action will be required at all levels: EU-level organisations, Member States, local and regional authorities.

For more detailed information on the Europe 2020 strategy and the part you have to play please click here.
 

The new Directive implements in law a framework agreement on prevention from sharp injuries in the hospital and healthcare sector signed in July 2009 by the European Public Services Union (EPSU) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers' Association (HOSPEEM). 

This new Directive aims to:
• achieve the safest possible working environment for employees in the sector, which currently employs some 3.5 million people and protect workers at risk, as well as patients;
• prevent injuries to workers caused by all types of sharp medical objects (including needle sticks);
• set up an integrated approach to assessing and preventing risks as well as to training and informing workers.

The legislation specifically addresses one of the priority objectives of the EU's current strategy for health and safety at work, which aims to cut workplace accidents by 25% by 2012.

For more information on the proposal for the Directive on implementing the framework agreement please click here.

“Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs” was set up by the European Commission to help new entrepreneurs learn how to manage an SME, as well as experiencing first hand what it is like to work in the business environment of another EU country with an experienced entrepreneur.  It is financed by the European Commission and operates across EU Member States with the help of more than 160 intermediary organisations, such as Chambers of Commerce, business support organisations or start-up centres.

So far more than 50 exchanges have taken place while 100 are currently being carried out. There are more than 1800 applications with Italy and Spain accounting for more than 45% of the total applications.

New entrepreneurs can choose to stay between 1 to 6 months with an experienced entrepreneur.  During that period, they are expected to acquire relevant start-up and SME management knowledge in areas like financial and operational management, development of innovative products and services, successful sales and marketing practices, European commercial law and the single European market. 

Host entrepreneurs are experienced entrepreneurs who own or manage an SME in the EU.  They can also benefit from the scheme through enhancing their market access and identifying potential partners in other EU countries.  Information on how to apply can be found here or click here to read about success stories.
 

The Commission has adopted a report on sustainability requirements for the use of solid biomass and biogas in electricity, heating and cooling. The report makes recommendations on sustainability crieteria for use by Member States opting to introduce a scheme at national level on biomass sustainability.

In the absence of harmonized rules at EU level, Member States are free to put in place their own national schemes for solid and gaseous biomass used in electricity, heating and cooling.  The report provides recommendations for Member States to follow similar patterns and most importantly to be guided by the sustainability criteria explained in the report.  This is to minimize the risk of the development of varied and possibly incompatible criteria at national level, and to avoid barriers to trade or limits to the growth of the bio-energy sector.

The recommendations include a general prohibition on the use of biomass from land converted from forest and a common greenhouse gas calculation methodology.  Others include the differentiation of national support schemes in favour of installations that achieve high energy conversion efficiencies, and the monitoring of the origin of biomass.

The report concludes that at this stage, more detailed legislation is not necessary.  This report can be accessed here at the Commission’s renewable energy transparency platform along with other related information.
 

This is designed to give them an effective and unbiased choice between their default and competing web browsers.  In addition to Microsoft's web browser, the user will have the opportunity to choose between eleven additional web browsers, which will be displayed if the user scrolls sideways.  It is expected that the browser Choice Screen will be displayed on over 100 million personal computers (PCs) in Europe between now and mid-May. The central page of the choice screen is also available to any internet user at http://www.browserchoice.eu

During December 2009, the Commission made it legally binding for Microsoft to address competition concerns  that the Commission had raised with the tying of Microsoft’s web browser, Internet Explorer, to its dominant client PC operating system, Windows. 

Specifically in the European Economic Area , Microsoft has committed to make a "Choice Screen" available for five years. They will enable users of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 to choose in an informed and unbiased manner which web browser(s) they want to install in addition to, or instead of, Microsoft's web browser.

If Microsoft were to break its commitments, the Commission could impose a fine of up to 10% of Microsoft’s total annual turnover.  In compliance with the December commitments, computer manufacturers are now able to install competing browsers on Windows PCs instead of, or in addition to, Internet Explorer.  Microsoft further committed not to retaliate against PC manufacturers who pre-install a non-Microsoft web browser on the PCs they ship and make it the default web browser.

See here for more information on the web browser choice.
 

As a result of the EU roaming rules adopted by the EU’s Council of Ministers, a cut off mechanism will, following a warning, cut consumers’ mobile connection to the internet while abroad when their bill reaches a specified period. 

Mobile phone operators are obliged to offer their customers from 1st March 2010 a monthly cut-off limit of €50 (about £45).  They can also offer customers any other limit.  Customers will then receive a warning when they hit 80% of their chosen limit.  Until 1 July 2010, customers need to make a deliberate choice in order to benefit from a cut-off limit.  Customers who do not make a choice by 1 July 2010 will have the cut-off limit set at €50 by default as from that date.

Examples of “bill shocks” include a German traveller downloading a TV programme while roaming in France who faced a bill of no less than €46 000 (£41,730).  In another recent example, a UK student was reported as receiving a bill of almost €9 000 (£8,165) for data roaming during a single month while studying abroad.

Member States' national telecoms regulators are responsible for ensuring that mobile phone operators comply with the rules on cut-off mechanisms for data roaming in each EU country. Consumers can contact the national regulator in the Member State where they reside if they encounter any problems or have concerns over these cut off limits.

The European Commission will continue to monitor developments in roaming services and the correct implementation of these provisions, in close cooperation with BEREC, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications.  The Commission is due to analyse the functioning of the roaming Regulation, including the provisions on data roaming, in an interim report due in June 2010 and in a more extensive review in June 2011.

Forthcoming changes outlined in a recent European Directive to the rights of temporary agency workers will be highlighted at the event held at the Bewleys hotel in Leeds on March 5. ** (10am – 1.30pm)

Run by Enterprise Europe Yorkshire, the workshop is designed to help local firms understand how the new European Union Directive may affect their businesses and help them prepare for changes ahead of the UK enforcing regulations.

The regulations will entitle the agency workers to some of the basic rights as permanent employees after 12 weeks in a given job.  They are due to come into force in October 2011 and are set to have major implications for businesses who use temporary agency staff, and the agencies who supply them.

A representative from the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) will outline the requirements of the new Directive.  Joanne Houseman, employment solicitor from Gordons LLP, will highlight the potential liability for employers against claims for unequal treatment.

A local company already preparing for these forthcoming changes will present the steps they are taking to accommodate the new rules. 

The seminar is to help firms prepare and plan for changing business requirements.

Councillor Adrian Naylor, Bradford Council's Executive Member for Regeneration, said:

"The Agency Workers Directive will affect all companies who employ temporary workers over a 12 week period. There are steps that employers can take at this stage, to prepare for the potential impact of the new regulations. 

“Attending the briefing will help local companies understand the potentially significant impact on them and prepare their business ahead of change."

To register or for further information about the workshop, call 01274 434262,  email linfo@ee-yorkshire.com or visit www.ee-yorkshire.com

ENDS

Media contacts: Jamie Ollivere at RTC North on 01915164400 or Mob 07950566182 / Lisa Fisher at Targeting Innovation Ltd on 0113 394 4317
 
Notes to editor:

1. Enterprise Europe Network: The Enterprise Europe Network is made up of close to 600 partner organisations in more than 40 countries, promoting competitiveness and innovation at the local level in Europe and beyond. Whether you need information on EU legislation, help with technology transfer or finding a business partner, want to benefit from innovation networks in your region or need information on funding opportunities, this is the place to start. Enterprise Europe Yorkshire brings together four local organisations including Yorkshire Forward, RTC North, Targeting Innovation and Bradford Metropolitan District Council which are dedicated to helping your business get the information and advice you need, to compete effectively here in the UK and the rest of Europe. Launched in January 2008, the consortium includes partners with many years of experience in delivering high quality services to local firms, largely through the Euro Info Centre and Innovation Relay Centre networks.  We also work closely with Business Link Yorkshire and a range of other business support organisations in the region, to make sure that you can access all the help and advice you need. Please click on the buttons on the left to find out more about the Partners, our aims and objectives and the wider Enterprise Europe Network both here in the UK and further afield.

2. Yorkshire Forward: Yorkshire Forward is the Regional Development Agency behind the economic regeneration of Yorkshire and Humber. It aims to make a positive difference by investing in jobs, improving towns and cities, and in supporting businesses throughout the region.

3. Targeting Innovation Ltd: Targeting Innovation Ltd (TIL) is a renowned delivery provider of specialist support services to technology or innovation led companies and research organisations. Throughout the wide range of services and products we provide, our primary objective is to help businesses succeed through innovation.  TIL has extensive experience in project management, working closely with the public sector to develop innovation strategies and managing programmes in support of these strategies. Targeting Innovation’s role in the consortium is project coordination, focussing on the integration of the services into high profile and high quality delivery.

4. RTC North Ltd: RTC North is recognised as one of the most successful independent technology transfer companies in Europe serving businesses, universities and the public sector in the UK and overseas.  Led since 1987 by our founder Gordon Ollivere and employing scientists, technologists, engineers and business professionals, RTC North’s aim is to help clients exploit new opportunities and improve competitiveness through the application of technology, knowledge and forward thinking. RTC North act as primary deliverer of business and innovation services.

5. Bradford Metropolitan District Council: Bradford Metropolitan District Council (BMDC) is the local authority covering the City of Bradford and surrounding district in West Yorkshire.  The City Council has hosted a highly successful Euro Info Centre for over 16 years, providing pro-active information and support to companies in such fields as public procurement and the environment, as well as in collaboration and coordination with other business intermediaries at a regional and national level. BMDC is the primary deliverer of information on European legislation, tendering opportunities, business cooperation and internationalisation services.

For businesses selling and receiving goods within the EC market there has been a change in the threshold limits for submitting Intrastat returns as of 1 January 2010.

For Intrastat Arrivals the annual threshold has been increased from £270 000 to £600 000. This means that if ,over a 12 month period, a business receives goods into the UK from other Member States which have a value higher than £600 000, then the company will be required to submit monthly statistical returns.

With regards to Intrastat Dispatches, the exemption threshold has been reduced slightly from £270 000 to £250 000. Therefore only companies sending goods above this value to other Member States will have to submit monthly Intrastat returns.

All supplies of goods to British Embassies, Consulates and British armed forces based in other Member States are however, excluded from Intrastat reporting.

For more information on the regulations concerning Intrastat returns please click here.
 

Known as the 'Fraunhofer model', the network of technology and innovation centres plays a key role in supporting the development and commercialisation of new technologies in Germany.  These institutes are a vital link between the academic sector and the needs of industry.

Lord Mandelson’s visit preludes next month’s Hauser Review.  This review, undertaken by technology entrepreneur Hermann Hauser as part of the UK’S Going for Growth strategy, will evaluate the current and future role of technology and innovation centres in the UK.  It will also examine how the UK can learn from best practice elsewhere to ensure our communities and businesses are fully equipped to compete and succeed in the global economy.

For more information on the Government’s Going for Growth strategy please click here.

The content for this article was sourced from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The winning design is by Dusan Milenkovic, a student from Germany, who gained 63% of the overall vote for his 'Euro-leaf' logo.

The 'Euro-leaf' design, shown above, has the EU stars in the shape of a leaf against a green background. It is a very straightforward sign containing two clear messages: Nature and Europe.

From 1st July 2010, the organic logo of the EU will be obligatory on all pre-packaged organic products that have been produced in any of the EU Member States and meet the necessary standards.  It will be optional for imported products. Other private, regional or national logos will be allowed to appear alongside the EU label. The organic farming regulation will be amended in the coming weeks to introduce the new logo into one of the annexes.

How do I register?
You will need to submit a registration dossier to the European Chemicals Agency  (ECHA) consisting of:
a) a common part prepared and submitted together with other manufacturers or importers of the same substance and,
b) an individual part containing information specific to your company.

In order to prepare your dossier, you will have to share data with others in a Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF).

The registration dossier is submitted via the REACH-IT software and you can use the REACH-IT site to see who else is in your SIEF and if a Lead Registrant has been nominated. The Lead Registrant will be submitting the joint dossier on behalf of the SIEF members although don’t forget that you must still submit an individual file for your own business.

How much will it cost?
Registration fees are paid to the ECHA and will vary depending on the tonnage of chemicals and size of the company.

A further cost is incurred for the registration data obtained from other SIEF members. Again, the amount to pay depends on how many companies share these costs with the SIEF.

Where can I get help?
The ECHA website provides web pages on SIEFs, guidance documents, IT tools and FAQs.
There is also a REACH national helpdesk in every EU country.

 Here at Enterprise Europe Yorkshire we can also provide further detailed information. Please call us on 0800 052 8156 or email us at info@ee-yorkshire.com   
 

As part of a £21.5m programme in regenerative medicine, the Board is to invest up to £4m in commercial R&D projects in regenerative medicine therapeutics.  A second competition will see investment of up to £2m in feasibility projects in regenerative medicine tools and technologies.

The Technology Strategy Board launched its £21.5m programme of competitions in the area of regenerative medicine in September 2009.  It is supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).  In January the Board announced its first investments through the programme, with 30 feasibility studies receiving £2.8m of funding while two major collaborative research and development projects received a further £1.7m. 

For further information regarding the new competitions please click here.

This article was sourced from the Technology Strategy Board website.
 

According to European Comission, illegal dumping of waste continues on a significant scale, many landfill sites are sub standard and implementation of waste law in some Member States is still missing.  It is estimated that full implementation of EU waste law would reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, including methane from landfills, equivalent to almost 200 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

The recommendations of the report are based on responses from Member State officials and stakeholders through questionnaires, interviews and internal workshops.  The proposed agency would carry out a number of tasks such as reviews of enforcement systems in Member States, coordinated controls and inspection activities.    The creation of a specific European body would then be responsible for direct inspections and controls of facilities and sites in serious cases of non-compliance.

The Commission has also proposed the revision of the Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), which includes additional rules to avoid illegal shipments of electrical and electronic waste, especially when falsely declared as used products.

Further details can be found here.

Representatives from the 27 EU countries have begun work for the first time as members of BEREC in order to help ensure fair competition in the single telecoms market.    With 12 fixed and 10 mobile telecoms companies offering services in many EU Member States, and hundreds of service providers operating across borders, BEREC advises national telecoms regulators, especially on decisions with cross-border aspects.

Most decisions will be taken by two-thirds majority and by simple majority after national regulators have notified measures to the European Commission for analysis. 

BEREC replaces the "European Regulators Group", a loose grouping of national regulators that could operate on the basis of consensus alone and was not integrated into the EU's regulatory process. 

BEREC is part of the EU telecoms reform set to benefit citizens from more consumer choice such as better coverage over fast internet broadband connections across the EU, and stronger application of their right to privacy in their telecommunications.

For more background information see New EU Telecoms Rules enter into force.
 

These controls are foreseen in Regulation (EC) No. 669/2009 which enters into application today and provides, for the first time ever, a set of common rules for official controls on imports of certain feed and food of non-animal origin.

As a result, checks on documents accompanying the consignments will be carried out systematically on these products at EU borders, while physical checks will be performed at a lower frequency.

The increased level of checks is to ascertain the possible presence of a number of substances that may pose a risk to human and animal health, such as aflatoxins in nuts and pesticides in fruits and vegetables. The Commission intends to monitor regularly the implementation of this Regulation by Member States.

With the experience acquired at national level and by relying on the most recent available science, the Commission will proceed to quarterly reviews of the list of concerned products to ensure that a high level of consumer and health protection is guaranteed throughout the EU.

For more infomation on food safety in Europe please click here.

For a limited period under this new pilot scheme, the Government is offering small businesses in Yorkshire and Humber, a £50 discount on an Insured Advice service of their choice.

Insured Advice available on this scheme covers many areas such as:

• Disciplinary action and employee misconduct;

• Redundancy;

• Health and safety risk assessments;

• Changing employees’ contracts or conditions of employment;

• And a wide range of other health and safety and employment issues.

Insured Advice has several benefits for businesses, the biggest one being that provided SMEs follow the advice they are given, they will be covered for any legal costs they incur by the legal provider. 

SMEs can sign up until 31 March 2010 although places are limited to 4 500 companies which means that the scheme could close earlier.

In order to register your business and to obtain a discount for an Insured Advice policy please click here.

This article was sourced from Business Link.

The funding is being invested to enable British companies to carry out feasibility studies in areas such as Biosciences, ICT and Nanotechnology, and to support the Digital Britain vision.  Further feasibility studies in Regenerative Medicine lasting up to six months are also to be carried out.

There were over 2000 applications received in total, including many from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  Of the 184 successful applications for funding, all but two were from SMEs.

Commenting on the funding awards, the Technology Strategy Board's Director of Innovation Programmes, David Bott, said: 

"We decided to invest in short-term feasibility studies to stimulate innovation in a range of important technology areas and, in particular, to encourage the involvement of smaller companies.  Many small companies have great ideas, but lack the funds to enable them to carry out the important initial feasibility work required to see if their ideas are workable.

"We were delighted, but not surprised, by the huge number of applications.  Nearly two-thirds of commercial innovation stems from small companies and they are a vital source of wealth-generating new products.  We were also very pleased to see good applications from every part of the UK, which shows that we have innovative talent across the whole country," he added.

Upon completion of the feasibility studies, the companies should be well-placed to seek investment to develop their ideas into new products, processes and services, including through application to further Technology Strategy Board research and development competitions in 2010 and beyond.

This article was sourced from the Technology Strategy Board website.
 

The Enhancement Fund, which aims to improve the region's skills base, is supported by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the European Social Fund (ESF) and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.  Launched a year ago, the fund has so far supported 6,000 Yorkshire and Humber businesses.

David Hodges, regional director of skills for the LSC in Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "The Enhancement Fund has been well received for adapting to the changing skills needs and demands of employers during this recession, and will continue to support employer training with the aim of aiding economic recovery and supporting growth in the economy."

An example of where the fund has been used successfully are at Element Jewellery in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, where the company has given specialist gemstone and photography training to staff, helping to increase sales.

This article was sourced from The Business Desk.
 

• EU funding programmes steered towards research which focuses on solving key challenges in society;
• promotion of new networks for open innovation;
• higher investment in research, education and innovation;
• better coordination between research and innovation programmes;
• and insistence on open competition in all EU programmes.

The five expert groups include the European Research Area Board (ERAB), the Business Panel on future EU innovation policy appointed by DG Enterprise and Industry, the Expert Group on the role of Community research policy in the knowledge-based economy, made up of experts convened by DG Research, the European Technology Platforms Expert Group and the non-profit Science/Business Innovation Board.

For more detail on these recommendations please click here
 

According to the report, many organisations recognise that innovation across all aspects of their businesses is of increasing importance in order to ensure their survival and growth.

However, whilst companies and organisations consider innovation within their areas of business as important, the reality of implementing these innovative practices is very different.  Unfortunately, with the bite of the recession, some companies who would like to test out new innovative ideas are simply unable to do so due to current lack of resources and facilities. 

So how can companies be innovative if they don’t have the resources to do so? There are many ways in which an organisation can be innovative and it doesn’t have to be developing new breakthrough technology.  Certain types of innovation, such as incremental innovation in business processes, require far fewer resources but can still have significant impact on businesses.  Seizing market opportunities and responding quickly to challenges are other ways in which companies can be innovative without incurring high costs in terms of time and money.   

For more detailed information on the NESTA report please click here.

The basis for this article was sourced from NESTA.
 

To avoid situations of double taxation, there are guidelines for suppliers on establishing the location and tax status of the customer, as this will determine the rate of VAT that must be paid.  Other guidelines focus on the provisions within the VAT Package which complement or provide exceptions to these general new rules.

Under the new legislation, VAT for business-to-business services is to be paid in the country of consumption rather than the country where the supplier is located.  For business-to-consumer services, VAT will continue to be paid in the Member State in which the supplier is established.

The VAT Package, which was adopted by Member States in February 2008 also provides for a faster, more effective electronic procedure for businesses to reclaim the VAT that they pay in a Member State other than the one in which they are established.

For more information, see what's new?
 

A broad range of measures have been implemented in various Member States over the course of 2009 in order to assist SMEs on a number of levels.  This has been an important step given the current economic and financial difficulties encountered by many small companies.

Some of the main new measures relevant to UK businesses include:

• Reduction in the average time and cost to start-up a private limited company to 8 days and £370.
• UK central government has committed to pay all bills within 10 days.
• 40% reduction in fees for EU trade mark rights and simplified registration procedures.
• Business Link is now the UK one-stop-shop for company creation, making it much easier to set up a new company in the UK.

For more information on the Small Business Act 2008 please click here.

The Professional Qualifications Directive facilitates free movement of citizens who wish to establish themselves as a self-employed person or as a worker, or who wish to go cross-border on a temporary basis. 

The  “user’s guide” offers professionals practical information on how to exercise their right to work in another Member State.  It includes 66 questions and responses on the typical situations a professional might be confronted with in the recognition of his/her qualification when moving to another Member State.

More than 800 professions, which Member States regulate, are covered by the Professional Qualifications Directive.  These are professions that can be pursued in other countries only if certain professional qualifications have been acquired. 

A number of professionals in the health sector and architects already enjoy automatic recognition of their qualifications acquired in their country of origin, because the conditions for such qualifications are harmonised at European level.  Professionals from the craft sector benefit also from automatic recognition of the qualifications if they have reached a certain professional experience in their Member State of origin.  For remaining professions, the Directive foresees a system of mutual recognition of qualifications on a case by case basis.  This is to allow qualified citizens to have their qualifications recognised in the host Member State where they wish to be active.

A scoreboard has also been published providing an overview of how Member States have implemented the Directive in view of the deadline, 20 October 2007.  Five Member States – Austria, Belgium, France, Greece and Luxembourg have not done so.  Click here to download this document for more detailed information.

More information and the user’s guide can be accessed here.

The Directive, adopted in 2005, is a landmark piece of legislation which protects EU consumers from a broad range of unfair trading practices, and especially from misleading and aggressive sales techniques.  It aims to help consumers make informed choices and create a level playing field for businesses across the EU.  Some of the practices blacklisted by the Directive include fake "free" offers, bait advertising or inertia selling.

Since the Directive was adopted, national enforcers have found it difficult to apply some of the rules, including how to apply them in a uniform way across Europe.  The European Commission has put together this new guide to ensure a common understanding of those provisions of the Directive which have been considered unclear, to allow consumers equal protection wherever they shop in the EU.  It also aims to ensure that businesses understand what to expect regardless of where in the EU they market their goods. 

To find out more about which practices are banned under the Directive, please visit Is it fair?

The full text of the guide is available here.
 

The so called ‘road package’ aims to make rules easier in the road haulage and passenger transport sector.  The new regulations are expected to generate administrative savings of €190 million a year to European road transport undertakings, involving transport of goods or passengers.

Some of the main changes include stricter rules on the establishment of undertakings; allowing drivers of certain types of transport to take compulsory rest periods after 12 days instead of 6 to facilitate coach holidays; and listing serious infringements which could mean a road transport operator loosing the right to work in the sector.

In order to avoid empty trips, there will be harmonised rules on cabotage, where transport of goods (or passengers) between two points in the same country will be allowed up to three times within seven days following the unloading of any international transport.  This can be proven with the freight document alone.  There will also to be an electronic linking of national registers of road transport undertakings, to facilitate exchange of information between Member States.

These new rules will apply within 24 months from the date of publication/entry in the Official Journal.  The provisions on cabotage and 12 days derogation for rest period for tour coach drivers will apply within 6 months.

See Road Transport for more information.

The new threshold for construction contracts is €4,845,000 (£3,927,260).  For services and supply contracts, the value for those contracts issued by central government bodies is €125,00 (£101,323), whereas for local authorities and similar organisations it will be €193,000 (£156,442).  Slightly higher values will apply for service and supply contracts put out to tender by public utility organisations, €387,000 (£313,694).
 

All the new values will apply for contracts put out to tender from 1st January 2010.  
 

Click here for more information about public procurement legislation.
 

The package for an enhanced patent system in Europe includes several major elements to bring about a single EU patent and establish a new patent court in the EU.  A specialised patent court would allow cases to be heard before judges with the highest level of legal and technical expertise in this field. 

The benefit of a unified court would mean that parties do not have to litigate in parallel in different countries.  The costs of parallel litigation can amount to at least €500 000 in a typical case and this sum would be cut drastically by a unified court.  The estimated saving is as much as €289 million per annum for European companies.

Ministers have agreed an approach on an EU Patent Regulation.  The next step is for the European Parliament to debate this.  However, the creation of an EU patent will also depend on a solution to be found for translation agreements, the subject of a separate Regulation.

More information is available at: Patents.
 

The consultation process involved experts as well as citizens in general, with a view to gathering ideas on future actions that can help further improve road safety in the EU.  Some of the discussion panels included the safety of vehicles and of infrastructure, with focus on the safety of motorcycles, vehicles of the future such as electric cars, eco-driving, and on how to adjust infrastructure to different categories of road users.  Panellists represented road victims, professional drivers, public authorities, traffic police and vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and elderly people as well as industry representatives.

A new section on the EUROPA website has also been launched dedicated to road safety.  The web pages are provided in user friendly Member State languages, with the use of pictograms and other readily understandable information.  The information can be accessed on road safety per category of road users such as car drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists.  Click here to access.

Further information can also be accessed via European Road Safety Charter.
 

Employees returning from parental leave will have the right to request changes to their working hours for a limited period.  In considering such requests, employers will be obliged to balance the needs of the employee as well as the company.  Governments and employers/unions will be obliged to assess the specific needs of parents of adopted children, and children with a disability or long-term illness.

The new rights will apply to all workers, regardless of their type of contract (e.g. fixed-term, part-time, agency workers).  However, the possibility of a qualification period of maximum one year is maintained.  The new Directive is expected to be formally adopted in the coming months.  Member States will then have two years to transpose the new rights into national law.

Click here to view a video news release.  Please contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire if you would like more information.
 

Some of the plans for the EU telecoms reform package include an open internet, a single European telecoms market and high-speed internet connections. 

A new European Telecoms Authority “BEREC” (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications) allows the heads of the 27 national telecoms regulators to make decisions by majority.  BEREC also advises, supports and complements the independent work of national telecoms regulators, especially when it comes to regulatory decisions with cross-border relevance.

The new rules give the European Commission the power to oversee regulatory remedies proposed by national regulators, to avoid inconsistent regulation that could distort competition in the single telecoms market. 

European citizen’s privacy is a priority of the new telecoms rules.  It is to introduce mandatory notifications for personal data breaches – the first law of its kind in Europe. 

The whole telecoms reform package is be adopted into national legislation in the 27 Member States by June 2011.

A further important reform, the modernisation of the GSM Directive, in parallel to the negotiations on the telecoms reform was adopted in October 2009.  It allows operators to introduce new services, starting with 3G and extending later to new technologies.  Click here to read more about this.

 For greater detail on the EU Telecoms Reform please click here. 

The European Commission has reported that implementation and enforcement of EU waste law remains poor for the Waste Framework Directive, the Landfill Directive, and the Waste Shipment Regulation.  Apparently in many cases, waste treatment is either missing or not collected separately.  As a result, reuse, recycling and recovery targets for waste streams such as electrical and electronic equipment, end-of-life vehicles or packaging are being missed.

The Commission believes that waste legislation offers significant opportunities for EU companies to innovate and access valuable secondary raw materials.  If properly implemented, and enforced, it estimates that EU waste legislation could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30%.  Where legislation has been implemented, such as recycling and recovery rates for packaging, clear environmental benefits have reportedly been yielded.  A landfill ban for waste tyres has increased tyre recovery to 95%, generated a strong market for tyre-derived materials and reduced fire hazards in landfill sites.

Some of the Commission’s actions to support Member States in better waste management implementation include: awareness raising and information exchange events, guidance documents on EU Waste legislation, joint enforcement actions, and inspection activities.  It is also investigating the feasibility of creating an EU Waste Implementation Agency to help address the problem of inadequate progress and enforcement deficit.

Click here to access the published reports or for more information see DG Environment waste homepage.  Please contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire if you would like more information on summaries of legislation or statistics.
 

The fifth training intake of METP, or "METP 5", is inviting applications. Training will begin 17 May 2010 and the deadline for submitting applications is 18.00h (Beijing time) on 7 January 2010.

The three components of METP 5 are the following:

• A joint Intercultural Training in Beijing of all Chinese and European managers participating in the METP (2 weeks);
• A Business Chinese Language Training at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing (7 months); and
• A work placement in China (3 months).

For more details on the METP 5 and how to apply, please click here

Who can apply?
The Eurostars Programme addresses a niche market of research and innovation-performing businesses that fulfill the EU-adopted definition of an SME, are based in a Eurostars participating country and that, in addition, invest 10% or more of full-time equivalent or annual turnover in research activities.

What kind of research is applicable?
It can address any technological area, but must have a civilian purpose and be aimed at the development of a new product, process or service. A Eurostars project is collaborative, meaning it must involve at least two participants (legal entities) from two different Eurostars participating countries. In addition, the main participant must be a research-performing SME from one of the 32 participating countries.

A Eurostars project should also be market-driven: it must have a maximum duration of three years, and within two years of project completion, the product of the research should be ready for launch onto the market. The exception to this rule applies to biomedical or medical projects, where clinical trials must be started within two years of project completion.

When is the deadline for applications?
The 4th EURKEA’s Eurostars programme is open for funding applications on a continuous basis. The next application submission deadline is 25th February 2010.

For more information on the programme please click here.

The Commission has sent what is known as a “reasoned opinion” to the UK Government, claiming that the Directives on gender equality and discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation have not been transferred into UK law correctly.

In the case of the legislation on gender equality, it has a number of concerns, including the fact that – in its view - the definition of indirect discrimination is too narrow, as it does not cover potential discrimination, and also that the exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sex for certain jobs are too wide.

The Commission’s concerns about the second Directive include the fact that there is no clear appeals procedure in the case of disabled people and the exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for religious employers are broader than that permitted by the Directive.

The “reasoned opinion” is the second stage of proceedings for potential infringement of EU law.  The UK now has two months to reply.  If this response does not address the Commission’s concerns to its satisfaction, the latter may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.
 

Despite the economic crisis companies are still investing heavily in many sectors.

US companies appear to be investing in high R&D intensity sectors such as pharmaceuticals and IT sectors. By contrast, EU companies are leading the way in the so-called medium-high and medium-low R&D intensity sectors, such as automobile and parts, electrical equipment or chemicals.

Two EU companies, Volkswagen and Nokia, are among the top 10 global R&D investors and they lead the way in demonstrating the increasing importance which companies are placing on R&D investment.

For a more detailed analysis on the 2008 “EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard” please click here.
 

Facilitating access to official information on companies for third parties was one of the objectives of the First Company law Directive in 1968. Its 2003 amendment ensured that all Member States have electronic business registers as of 2007. Furthermore, other requirements in EU law, such as the cross-border mergers directive, and the directive on branch disclosure, have made the day-to-day co-operation of business registers a necessity.

Nevertheless, the co-operation between business registers remains voluntary and does not seem to be sufficient to achieve certainty in all cross-border legal procedures nor to increase transparency in the Single market.  It is hoped that by gaining better access to company information this will create more transparency and legal certainty in Europe.

More information is available via our consultation list.  See ‘Gaining better access to company information’.
 

The new EU rules on payment services and cross-border payments now in force will also help to ensure that SEPA Direct Debits are as efficient and secure as national schemes without being more expensive.

Direct debits are already in widespread use in many euro area countries. However, there was until now no pan-European scheme in place for making these payments possible across borders. 

The introduction of the SEPA Direct Debit scheme allows both single and recurrent direct debit collections to be made for transactions of unlimited amounts in euro only. 

For UK consumers and businesses making payments in the euro area country there will still be benefits to the services and rules that apply to cross border payments, although currency conversion may mean that payments cannot be made quite as fast as a pure euro payment. 

The new rules extend the principle of equal changes for national and cross-border payments to direct debits, in addition to credit transfers, electronic payments (including card transactions) and ATM withdrawals.

A consultation on a Commission working document, providing guidance to participants in the SEPA Direct Debit scheme is now open for comment. Please click here for more information.

For more details on the new SEPA Direct Debit scheme and how this will affect consumers and businesses please click here. 
 

50 successful applicants will be given the opportunity to showcase their products and services to potential customers and investors at the Innovation Showcase. Each business will be allocated an exhibition stand, giving them exposure to more than 2000 delegates. These delegates will be looking for advice, contacts and investment opportunities.

Running alongside the Innovation Showcase is the Investment Competition. The latter will give up to ten applicants the chance to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges. This Dragon’s Den style competition has a prize package worth more than £25 000 up for grabs.

Venturefest is supported by Yorkshire Forward and is sponsored by a number of organisations including Business Link Yorkshire, Connect Yorkshire and Science City York.

To find out more about the event including information on application deadlines, please click here.
 

The overall aim of policy in this area is to make it easier for consumers to identify and choose welfare-friendly products. It equally gives producers the possibility of applying higher standards in order to market their products more effectively. To achieve this, the report suggests the establishment of a voluntary Community Animal Welfare Label open to for all use, provided they meet the criteria. In conjunction with this, labelling of welfare standards for farm animals for food production has also been suggested in the Commission's report.

A further idea is to set up a European Network of Reference Centres for the protection and welfare of animals. This has the aim of providing technical support for the development and implementation of animal welfare policies.

Whilst the report does not endorse the suggestions outlined above, the ideas put forward were the result of a feasibility study from 2007- 2009. They will now be explored in greater depth in the upcoming discussion between the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament.
 

For more  detailed information on this report please click here

The illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing regulation will control all landings and transhipments of third-country fishing vessels in Community ports as well as all trade of marine fishery products to and from the Union.

Estimations show that IUU fishing accounts for almost 20% of all marine catches worldwide and according to Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg, ‘it jeopardises the marine environment, the sustainability of fish stocks and marine biodiversity.’

Despite having one of the largest fishing fleets in the world, the Union is also the single largest importer of fishery products. Therefore in order to prevent IUU fishing being sold on the Community market, a catch certification scheme has been set up. This will enable all marine fishery products from and into the Community to be fully traceable. It will also help countries to comply with their own conservation and management rules.

In addition to the certification scheme, a Community alert system is to be introduced. This will detect the most suspect cases of illegal practices and any non-cooperating third countries.
 

The main focus of the Commission’s proposals is to detail the scope for the Authorities to exercise their powers as well as to harmonise the financial rules. Once approved by the Council and Parliament, these proposals will bring about the creation of three new European Supervisory Authorities scheduled to take place by the end of 2010. 

The new Authorities will take over the functions of the existing committees as well as take on more responsibilities. Notably they will also be responsible for resolving cases of disagreement between national supervisors, exercising direct supervisory powers for Credit Rating Agencies and playing a coordination role in emergency situations.

More proposals for technical amendments to sectoral Directives are envisaged by the Commission early in 2010, in particular in the insurance sector, which is not covered by the current proposal. 

For more detail regarding the new financial services proposals please click here.

An independent mystery shopper exercise was carried out for the Commission where shoppers across the EU tried to purchase a list of 100 popular products such as cameras, CDs, books, clothes – from a cross border provider.  The research found that 60% of cross border transactions could not be completed by consumers because the trader did not ship the product to their country or did not offer adequate means for cross border payment.  Latvia, Belgium, Romania and Belgium are the countries where consumers were least able to buy cross border.

In more than half of Member States, 50% or more of the products could be found 10% cheaper (transport included) from a website in another country.  Also 50% of products searched could not be found on national sites and were only offered by another Member State trader.

The report outlines some priority areas for tackling barriers to cross-border online trade.  These include a proposal for a Consumer Rights Directive which aims to replace the current confusing patchwork of laws with one simple EU-wide set of rules.  Currently some retailers must deal with several tax authorities, or face different national rules on recycling electronic waste, and may end up paying copyright levies in several countries.  The Commission’s proposals address value added tax and recycling fees to simplify cross-border rules for consumers.

More details on this article can be found here.

Click here to see a copy of the report.

The Financial Services KTN will also deliver innovation within the financial services sector, and will facilitate the innovation process by providing businesses with networking and partnering opportunities and with up-to-date knowledge on markets and technologies. Registered members will benefit from access to advisory services aimed at facilitating business and technological success, for example in R&D funding and collaboration building, project financing, supply-chain opportunity, technology investment and updates, market and policy information.

Membership of the KTN will be free of charge and open to the entire financial services community, including industry investors, academia, innovators, government bodies and regulators.

To visit the financial services KTN website please click here.
 

This article was sourced from the Technology Strategy board.

This month the Commission has published an overview of their progress so far towards achieving this aim. According to the report, measures already in place and adopted by the Commission could bring a saving of €7.6 billion to European businesses once they are implemented into the national legislation of the Member States.

Some of the major proposals adopted by the EU include the less burdensome accounting and auditing rules for which SMEs can already apply.  Another forthcoming change is the new Cross-border ‘VAT package’ for businesses supplying and/or receiving services to other businesses, which will come into force in the UK on 1st January 2010.  These new rules will mean that business-to-business services will be taxed in the Member State of the customer.

In addition to these changes, a large number of other improvements to cut administration time and costs for SMEs have been or will be proposed over the following months by the Commission.

For a full list of the proposed improvements please click here. 

To find out more about the Cross-border VAT changes for 2010 please click here.

Cot-related accidents are responsible for more childhood deaths every year than any other child-care product. And yet despite the number of serious and even fatal accidents cause by cot mattresses, baby duvets and sleeping bags, there are at present no EU safety standards for these types of products.

The proposed new standards will reduce the risk of cot-related accidents such as choking on loose parts or asphyxiation accidents from cords or loops.

Other important standards relating to the stability and design requirements of suspended baby beds and cot mattresses will be implemented as well as the obligation to publish clear warnings and instructions on any specific risks linked to each product.

To view the results of this EU study in more detail please click here.

Member States have until 5 December 2011 to implement the European Directive into their national legislation.  The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is seeking views on the conditions for temporary workers with regard to implementation in the UK.  It proposes to implement on the basis of the CBI/TUC agreement of May 2008, which allows for equal treatment to apply after a temporary agency worker has been in a given job for 12 weeks.

The second consultation document sets out the Government’s proposed approach to implementation of the Directive in light of earlier policy consultation in 2009.  Providing a synopsis of responses to the previous consultation, it sets out how it intends to proceed, and currently seeks comments on the implementation of the draft regulations.  Key elements include who should be covered by the Directive, the definition of pay, holiday entitlement, duration of working time, the 12 weeks qualifying period, how the principle of ‘equal treatment’ should be established, liability for compliance under the Directive, and dispute resolution.

Responses to the consultation must be received by Friday 11 December 2009.  See here for more information.
 

Tax laws of Member States with regards to cross-border withholding tax relief are rather complex and the procedures currently in place to verify claims for withholding tax relief are often so time-consuming that investors are foregoing the relief to which they are entitled. Indeed a study by the Commission services shows that the costs related to reclaim procedures are estimated at an annual value of €1.09 billion. This compares with an estimated annual amount of foregone tax relief of €5.47 billion.

The recommendation expresses therefore a number of ways in which the process for claiming withholding tax relief may be facilitated for investors, thus eliminating some of the tax barriers and administrative burdens that financial institutions currently face. At the same time it also provides guidance to Member States on how to protect tax revenues against errors or fraud and how to ensure that procedures to verify entitlement to tax relief do not hinder the functioning of the Single Market.

To read more about this news item and other EU taxation issues please click here.

Digital libraries will provide researchers and consumers across Europe with new ways to gain access to knowledge.  However, the issue of orphan works (i.e. publications without a rightholder), which are protected by copyright, is problematic as it means that without the required authorisation that publication cannot be digitised.

A further problem area to tackle is the improvement to the distribution and availability of works for persons with disabilities, particularly the visually impaired, as currently only 5% of European publications are available to them in accessible formats.

The Commission will now engage in a stakeholder dialogue to find viable cost-effective solutions to these problems as, according to Commissioners, Europe can not afford to be left behind on the digital frontier.

For more information on the Communication please click here 
 

Under the REACH legislation (Registration Evaluation & Authorisation of CHemicals), the deadline to inform  suppliers is 30th November 2009.  This applies only if the substance needs to be registered before 1st December 2010. 

ECHA has published a fact sheet that provides background information to this legal requirement. To access the ECHA website please click here. 
 

In addition there is REACH guidance available on the national Health and Safety website. To view this information please click here
 

This new Regulation will come into force on the 1st January 2010 and the 2001 Directive on the same subject will be repealed as from 31st December 2009.

For further information on EU legislation concerning food for specific uses please contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire on 0800 052 8156
 

The deal, estimated to be worth up to EUR 19 billion in new trade for EU exporters, could remove virtually all tariffs between the two economies, as well as many non-tariff barriers. The agreement could also create new market access in services and investment.

EU-Korea goods trade was worth EUR 65 billion in 2008 and there has been a 78% increase in EU unit car sales to Korea from 2005 – 2008. Similarly, for agricultural products Korea is one of the more valuable export markets globally for EU farmers, with annual sales in excess of 1 EUR billion. 

One of the key benefits of the deal for the European Union would be the quick elimination of EUR 1.6 billion of duties for exporters to Korea.  Service sectors such as telecommunications, environmental, legal, financial and shipping are expected to see some of the greatest benefits, with substantial commitments from Korea to liberalise these sectors.

As far as the entry into force of the free trade agreement, this is expected to take place in the second half of 2010, once it  is approved by the EU insitutions.

For more information on this free trade agreement please click here

METRC is providing short term project funding designed to support small research projects, to explore the feasibility of innovative new products and processes.

In the first stage, funds of up to £3,000 are available to support collaborative projects between industry and METRC’s academic members.The funding can be used flexibly on various things such as project consumables, research and development and consultancy work

Second stage funds of £7,000 are available for the most successful projects providing there is a match from the industrial partner. Application for the 2nd stage of the funding will open on January 1st 2010. There is funding available to support up to 10 stage 2 projects.

If you would like to discuss a project idea please contact one of the METRC team either on 0114 222 9450 or by email at METRC@sheffield.ac.uk

To visit the METRC website please click here

ICT equipment and services alone account for approximately 8% of electrical power used in the EU and approximately 2% of carbon emissions. However, using ICT in a smart way and implementing new energy saving measures could help reduce both energy consumption and carbon emissions for households and businesses alike.

With this objective in mind, the Commission has recommended that the EU countries agree on common methodologies for smart metering by the end of 2010. Partnerships between the ICT industry and in particular the buildings, transport and logistics sectors have been highlighted as the key areas where energy efficiency through the use of ICT is still largely untapped.

According to the Commission, the ecological advantages of ICTs are also evident. If Europe were to replace only 20% of all business trips by video conferencing then more than 22 million tons of CO2 could be saved each year.

European ICT companies who therefore commit to improving energy efficiency and carbon reducing measures could benefit from a number of new future business opportunities. 

To read the full details of this Recommendation by the European Commission please click here 
 

In addition the UK continues to take second place on leading scientific indicators, notably with regards to clinical, health, biological, environmental and social sciences.

The Minister for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson, commented on the report by stating that ‘supporting the science community and maintaining our excellent research base is critical to the UK’s future economic growth and prosperity. This is why the government will invest a record level of almost £6 billion in UK science and research by 2011.’

The study also revealed an increase in international collaborations on research projects, with a rise in the number of UK papers co-authored with researchers from other countries such as France, Germany and the USA.

Furthermore, the quality of researchers in the UK is highlighted in the 2009 European Research Council (ERC) starting grants, where the UK had the highest success rates with over 40 of the 237 successful proposals. France holds second position with 31 grants.

The ERC starting grants provide support to promising research leaders of the future and calls for proposals are still open for some research areas.

For more information on the ERC grants please click here

To view the BIS Performance of the UK research base report in full please click here

This article was sourced from the BIS webpage

Following on only six months after the launch of the code of best practices for women in the ICT sector (IP/09/344) by the European Commission,  there are now 28 European companies who have signed up to this code of practice in order to encourage young women to study and follow careers in telecoms, technology and internet industries.

Although women account for 45% of all European PhDs, only a quarter of them are gained in engineering, manufacturing and construction. Moreover, out of the biggest European telecoms companies only 7% of the board members are female.

In addition, a new online directory for women in ICT has been unveiled this week. The directory gathers together all activities, job offers, legislation and statistics related to women in ICT.

For more information on women in the ICT sector and to see who has signed up to the code of best practices please click here

To view the new online directory click here

According to the Commission, several service contracts relating to the management of housing stock, which are commonly known as ‘Remodelled Management Arrangements’ (RMAs) by the Housing Association in question were awarded without a competitive tendering process having been carried out. 

Under the Public Procurement Directive 2004/18/EC, the Commission considers that the RMAs constitute public service contracts and as such should have been awarded on the basis of an open and transparent tendering process.

The United Kingdom will now have two months to review the situation and send a reply back to the Commission.  If there is no satisfactory reply, the Commission has the power to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and can also request that the ECJ impose a fine on the country if it does not comply with the court ruling.

For more information on EU public procurement click here

For the latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States click here

The EETS will be available on all infrastructures in the entire Community where tolls can be paid using on-board equipment. In the long term, the EETS will limit cash transactions at toll stations therefore improving traffic flow and reducing congestion.

Electronic toll systems have been in existence in many European countries since the early 1990s. However, these numerous national electronic road toll systems are usually incompatible with each other and therefore where international road transport is concerned, several on-board units are often required.

The decision by the Commission also details the rights and obligations of toll chargers, service providers and users. Users will also be able to subscribe to the service provider of their choice and the tolls paid via EETS may not exceed the corresponding national or local tolls.

EETS will be available within three years for all road vehicles above 3.5 tonnes or allowed to carry more than nine passengers, including the driver. It will be available for all other vehicles within five years.   
 

Used in agriculture, medicine and industry, biocides are chemicals which are capable of killing living organisms, usually in a selective way.  They include many disinfectants, preservatives and pest control products. 

Under the European Directive adopted in 1998, a transitional period was provided for, up to 14th May 2010, during which Member States are allowed to authorise the placing of biocidal products on the market using national rules.  Over this period, a review has been taking place of all the active substances in biocides currently on the market, in order to check whether they are acceptable from the point of view of human and animal health and the environment.

However, it has now become clear that the review will not be finished in time and it has therefore been decided to extend the transitional and review period, to 14th May 2014, with an option to extend this for a maximum 2 more years if absolutely necessary.

For further information on the biocides Directive and its implementation in the UK, please see the website of HSE which is the responsible department at:  Biocides Directive or contact Enterprise Europe Yorkshire.
 

The aim of the competition, which is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), is to encourage the development and commercialisation of innovative processes that will generate high value chemicals through industrial biotechnology.

The competition has already opened and is running until the 19th November 2009 and BIS will fund feasibility studies, predominantly for short-term projects, usually lasting up to six months, which are likely to cost up to £200 000. Up to 75% of funding may be available and applications can be made by single companies or by a consortium.

For a more detailed explanation of the competition please click here

This article was sourced from the Technology Strategy Board website.

It is thought that technology is blamed for the reduction in time people spend with each other as they can communicate indirectly through text and email rather than meeting up face to face. The TA2 project is aimed at changing this by investigating how technology can support group-to-group communication. The objective is to use this technology to help people nurture and sustain relationships between families, when they are away from home.

The project has been created to improve and develop group communication through the Internet. For example, participants will be able to communicate with others in a virtual room. Games sessions were held in which players competed against each other via the Internet. So having access to a game, for instance, will give people the chance to 'be' with their friends and family despite the distance.

The Fraunhofer IIS researchers on the TA2 team have also developed the 'Audio Communication Engine' for TA2. The engine consists of reciprocally tuned components that heighten the quality of sound and clarity of video and telephone conferences. The innovative technology also frees users from wearing headsets and therefore allows individuals to move around and due to sophisticated signal processing, users have the feeling that they are much closer to each other than they actually are.

This article was sourced from the CORDIS: FP7 website.

For more information on the TA2 project please click here

EGNOS is a satellite-based augmentation system that improves the accuracy of satellite navigation signals over Europe.  The accuracy of current GPS signals is improved from about ten metres to two metres.  The system can support applications in a number of different sectors including agriculture and the high-precision spraying of fertilisers, and transport for services such as automatic road-tolling.  It can also support much more precise personal navigations systems.  EGNOS will also be certified for use in aviation and other safety-critical areas in compliance with the Single European Sky regulation.   The operations of EGNOS are managed by the European Satellite Services Provider, ESSP SaS, a company based in Toulouse, France.  The EGNOS Open Service is accessible, without service guarantee or resulting liability, to any user equipped with a GPS / SBAS compatible receiver within the EGNOS coverage areas.  Most receivers sold in Europe now meet that requirement and no authorisation or receiver-specific certification is required.  For more information visit EGNOS

This should allow Member States to fight carousel fraud in a consistent manner across the European Union. It will particularly focus on greenhouse gas emission allowances that have been the subject of VAT fraud over the summer.

VAT fraud is a major concern for Member States’ revenues and the correct functioning of the Internal Market. A common form of this fraud is VAT carousel fraud. This type of fraud is traditionally organised with small goods of high value and derives from the ‘cap and trade’ EU emission trading system whose objective is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by allocating emission allowances which can then be transferred between operators. 

Transfers of allowances between taxable persons are considered as a supply of service and are therefore taxable at the place where the recipient is established. Under the temporary reverse charge mechanism the VAT would be accountable in the country of the supplier or sender and not the recipient.

However, the proposal is not intended to change the fundamental principles of the VAT system and for that reason is limited in scope, both as regards the number of goods/services and the duration of the application period.

The text of the proposal is available here.

For more information on the strategy to improve anti-fraud measures please  click here.

The current Regulation 823/2000 expires in April 2010 and allows ship liner companies to enter into cooperation with one another for the purpose of providing a joint service in transporting cargo.

The new Regulation, which will come into force once the current one expires, extends this current exemption in favour of cooperation for five more years. However, changes to the Regulation have been made, notably in the reduction of market share threshold from 35% to 30%, above which companies do not qualify for automatic exemption under the Regulation. A further amendment is that the scope of the new Regulation has been extended to all liner shipping cargo services, whether containerised or not. The duration of the exit-clauses and lock-in periods have also been prolonged to better reflect current market practice whilst also safeguarding the carrier’s flexibility.

The new Regulation will take over from the current one on 25 April 2010, giving the liner shipping industry sufficient time to adapt their arrangements to the revised rules.  

The investigation looked at the 200 biggest websites and websites against which complaints had previously been logged.  The results showed that 55% of the websites showed irregularities relating to: misleading information about consumer rights; misleading information about the total cost of the product; or incomplete contact details for the trader. 

Websites selling electronic goods must comply with three crucial EU consumer laws: the Distance Selling Directive, the e-commerce Directive and the unfair Commercial Practices Directive. 

The initial checks made by national authorities will now be followed by an enforcement phase when companies will be contacted by national authorities and required to correct their websites or clarify their position.

Failure to bring a website in line with the law can result in legal action resulting in fines or websites being closed.

The EU-wide enforcement results will be presented by mid-2010.

For more in-depth information regarding this investigation please click here.

The Prospectus Directive came into force on 31st December 2003 and its implementation in Member States was required no later than 1st July 2005.

The main objective of the Prospectus Directive was to introduce an effective single passport regime for issuers of securities in the EU.

Despite the positive impact of this ‘passport mechanism’, further legal clarity and fewer administrative burdens for issuers and intermediaries have been formally suggested in the review of the Prospectus Directive. This review proposal derives from Article 31 of the Prospectus Directive which requires the European Commission to assess the application of the Directive five years after its entry into force.

To view the full details of the review proposal for the Prospectus Directive click here.

The new Regulation should lead to increased protection of human health and the environment in the use of plant protection products. It should also facilitate innovation by establishing clear criteria for approval of substances to be used in plant protection products, at the same time as favouring an open and competitive market for plant protection products in the European Union.

The new legislation will enter into force later this year and will become fully applicable 18 months following its date of publication in the Official Journal.

For more information concerning the subject area of plant health please click here.

The IMI was established with the aim of developing better medicines on a shorter timescale for patients by removing research bottlenecks which exist in the current drug development process. It launched the first call of proposals in April 2008 with 15 selected proposals receiving a total of €246 million between them. The initiative has been successful in bringing together pharmaceutical companies, who are usually in competition, with academic stakeholders and hopes that new innovative medicines will reach European patients as quickly as possible. 

In addition to the calls for proposals, the IMI has also introduced Professor Michel Goldman as their new Executive Director. Professor Goldman has a wealth of experience in immune-mediated disorders as well as immune-based biotherapies and his appointment is seen as an important step towards IMI’s complete autonomy from the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
 

For more information on the IMI and to view the topics which comprise IMI's second call for proposals please visit the website www.imi-europe.org

The government-backed Technology Strategy Board is working to encourage UK business to continue to innovate throughout the recession, in order to be in a strong position as the economy starts to recover.

The investment is being delivered as part of a new fast-track investment process designed to enable businesses to gain quick access to finance so that they can carry out feasibility studies.  With this funding, businesses in a broad range of areas will carry out studies and produce reports showing how they might create innovative new technologies, products or services.  This would enable them to work up their ideas and to compete for Technology Strategy Board funding for longer-term technology development.

The £6m will be made available in three separate competition calls, one focusing on the government's Digital Britain agenda, a second on Regenerative Medicine and a third Technology Inspired call, incorporating a range of priority areas from Advanced Medicines to High Value Manufacturing.

This article was sourced from The Technology Strategy Board website and the full article can be viewed at: Technologystrategyboard

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), a £60m collaboration between the University of Sheffield and aerospace giant Boeing, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with several leading Danish firms and institutions to explore the development of an AMRC in Denmark.

The AMRC is dedicated to developing the new technology-driven strategies for materials-forming, metal-working, and castings that help ensure UK manufacturing remains competitive around the world.

The new project - offered by the AMRC in support of Boeing’s industrial commitment to Denmark - would bring together industry, government and academic institutions to create a Danish centre of excellence for the development of advanced manufacturing methods needed in key growth industries such as energy and aerospace.

The ARMC works in partnership with over 40 organisations and its model has also been replicated in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, India and Australia.

This news item was sourced from TheBusinessDesk.com and the full article can be viewed at: BusinessDesk
 

The paper looks at practical ways to reduce the retail sector's energy consumption. It also outlines a number of cost-effective measures which can bring significant benefits in the short-term, such as introducing low energy lighting and using refrigerators and freezers in a more efficient way.

Furthermore, it highlights a number of examples of best practice from both food and non-food retailers that have improved their energy efficiency through a mix of environmentally-friendly design, materials and the use of innovative technologies. As well as lowering the environmental footprint of the retail sector, it also aims to ensure greater availability of environment-friendly and energy-efficient products in shops and better information to consumers on how to use products in the most ecological way.

A second paper, on the optimisation of transport and logistics, will be issued later this year. Over the next three years, the Retail Forum will issue a dozen papers providing a set of proposals for action in important environmental areas for the retail sector. Further details and the paper can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/industry/retail/index_en.htm
 

This Communication highlights the need for a greater collaboration between the private sector, national authorities and consumers in order to combat the damaging effects of counterfeiting and piracy on EU economies. 

Intellectual property rights reassure consumers that products and services purchased or used are legitimate and safe. However, piracy and counterfeiting are posing threats to businesses and consumers alike and the Commission is therefore proposing measures in an attempt to enforce intellectual property rights.

The actions in this communication aim to create a new EU Observatory on counterfeiting and piracy which will collect data and analyse the scale of the problem as well as raise awareness and propose solutions. Greater exchange of information and cooperation across Europe, including the building of coalitions between stakeholders will also help to overcome conflicts and focus on concrete problems related to intellectual property.

 
For more information see IP rights in the internal market.

The report on European innovation policy notes a number of areas where progress has been made, but also highlights others where further improvements are needed at both European and Member State level.

Amongst the achievements which the Commission reports are steps such as the European Small Business Act and new State aid rules which it believes give member countries more effective tools to support R&D and innovation.  It also highlights the lowering of the costs of European trademark registration and the introduction of a Directive designed to make it easier to provide services in other European countries.

However, the Commission believes that the fragmented and costly patent regime in Europe remains a barrier to innovation and that further use of ICT will be required.  It also finds that the potential of public sector purchasing to support innovation is yet to be fully exploited and that the procedures for small & medium sized companies wishing to access EU R&D and innovation funding need to be reviewed and simplified further.

To read more about the report and the proposals for future policy on innovation, see Innovation Policy.  Alternatively contact the Enterprise Europe Yorkshire team on 0800 052 8156.
 

If the proposal is adopted, the leave entitlement would apply per parent, with at least 1 month being strictly non-transferable between parents.  The proposed Directive would give this right to parental leave to all employees, regardless of their type of contract including part-time, fixed-term and agency workers.  However, there is the possibility of requiring a qualification period of up to one year’s employment.

Workers returning after parental leave would also have the right to request changes to their working hours or patterns, which employers must consider and respond to.

The proposed Directive will now go to the European Parliament and EU ministers for their consideration.

The 1987 GSM Directive (Global System for Mobile) reserves the use of part of the 900MHz spectrum band to GSM access technologies such as mobile phones.  However, the Directive needed to be brought up to date to allow more advanced, next-generation wireless technologies to also use this band of the radio spectrum. 

The updated Directive allows the 900 MHz frequency band to be used to provide faster, pan-European services such as mobile internet while ensuring the continuation of GSM services.  This is expected to encourage stronger competition in Europe’s telecoms market and contribute to more rapid and widespread roll-out of wireless broadband services.  Industry savings of up to €1.6 billion are expected from the reform of the GSM Directive, thanks to reductions in network costs resulting from the use of lower frequency bands.

Consumers’ existing handsets will continue to work normally, but they can also use new technologies to access high-speed broadband services. 

• tighten up the way in which banks assess the risks connected with their trading book
• impose higher capital requirements for re-securitisations
• increase market confidence through stronger disclosure requirements for securitisation exposures
• require banks to have sound remuneration practices that do not encourage or reward excessive risk-taking

Under the new rules, banks would be restricted in their investments in highly complex re-securitisations if they couldn’t demonstrate that they fully understood the risks involved, while national supervisory authorities would review banks’ remuneration policies and have the power to impose sanctions if the policies did not meet the new requirements.  The proposal, which amends the existing Capital Requirements Directives, represents part of the EU’s response to the financial crisis and reflects consultation with Member States, banking supervisors and industry.  The purpose of the Capital Requirements Directives is to ensure the financial soundness of banks and investment firms.  Together they stipulate how much of their own financial resources they must have in order to cover their own risks and protect their depositors.  The proposal will now go to the European Parliament and Council of Ministers for consideration.

Europe’s investment in ICT research is lagging behind other regions. Although the EU produces almost one third of the world’s scientific knowledge, research in this sector accounts for only a quarter of its overall research effort. 

The Commission is calling on Member States to catch up with the US, China and Japan by doubling by 2015 their investment in high-risk research in ICT.  This is to be done by joining research efforts between national and European programmes and by new flagship research initiatives.  The Commission itself, in 2010, will start increasing per year its spending on research for future information technologies from €100 million to €170 million by 2013.  It also aims to launch at least two flagship research initiatives by 2013 that combine efforts across borders and scientific disciplines to achieve research breakthroughs – the development of biocomputers, for example.  Other examples of European future research include:

• a thought-navigated wheelchair that interprets brain signals to move

• computer technology that copies the way the brain processes information so that it can continue to work even when parts of its hardware fail

• more secure computers that can function faster than light speed and process unlimited amounts of information

Various search criteria can be used such as the country of the beneficiary, the Commission department which gave the grant or contract and the relevant budget line or the amount.  The first year for which the data is available is 2007.  The beneficiaries of 2008 will be published in 2009.  It is also planned that the system will be enhanced in 2010 to include details of procurement contracts from the Commission for its day-to-day administration.  Click here to access the search engine.