european parliament sets out its views on...

eu newsletter january-march 2009

European Union Mission, Skopje o 1/2009

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SETS OUT ITS VIEWS ON 2008 PROGRESS REPORTS

In the resolution for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the MEPs reaffirm their support to the European perspective of the country, but regret that negotia-tions have not yet started, three years after it was granted candi-date status. MEPs ask the Council to decide on a date for the begin-ning of accession negotiations, during the current year. They also call on Skopje to resolve issues with its neighbours, including the name issue.

The Parliament welcomes the fact that the parties in government and the opposition in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with the widespread support of civil society and public opinion, are united in their desire to fulfil the

Copenhagen criteria for EU mem-bership and strive for the earliest possible accession to the EU. The Resolution commends the

The European Parliament adopted at its plenary session in Strasbourg on 12 March three reso-lutions on the candidate countries for accession and their progress in 2008, namely, Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. On Croatia, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) regret that accession negotiations have been blocked because of the bor-der dispute with Slovenia. The “continuous slowdown of the reform process” in Turkey, for the third consecutive year, is noted with concern by the European Parliament. For the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the MEPs ask the Council to decide on a date for the begin-ning of accession negotiations.

progress made by the country in the dialogue on visa liberalisation, notably the high number of biomet-ric travel and identity documents

New IPA Programmes Signed Western Balkans: Enhancing The European Perspective – Update 2009

january - march ‘09

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Three financing agreements for 2008 IPA National Programme (Component 1), CBC programme with Greece and South East Europe programme were signed on 23 February 2009...

Progress in visa liberalisation, more scholarships, and more opportunities in research – the Commission updates its initiatives to support the po-litical and economic develop-ment in the countries ...

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- Three New IPA Programmes Signed

- Domestic Wine According to European Standards

- Seminar on Twinning and Taiex

- Training Institute for the Judiciary Functional

- Safe Food for Consumers

- Western Balkans: Enhancing the European Perspective – Update 2009

- Spring Day in Europe 2009

- Economic Analysis of Five Years of an Enlarged EU

- Celebrating 10 Years of Euro

- European Council Agrees on Anti-Crisis Measures

- Commission Adopts Two Ecodesign Regulations- European Young Journalist Award 2009- Wanted: More Transparent Nuclear Energy

- Safer Internet Day 2009- Exhibition of Caricatures - Ante Portas

EU Assistance . . . . . . . . page 5 to 8

EU Policies . . . . . . . . . . . page 10

News from Brussels . . . page 11

EU InfoCentre . . . . . . . . back page

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Progress in visa liberalisation, more scholarships, and more opportunities in research – the Commission updates its initia-tives to support the political and economic development in the countries of the Western Bal-kans, thus helping to accelerate their progress on the road to-wards EU membership.

The Commission’s overview of EU re-gionally relevant activities in the West-ern Balkans 2008/09 published on 3 February highlights more than 90 con-crete EU-supported activities and ini-tiatives across a wide range of sectors implemented in 2008 and planned for 2009.Important steps towards visa-free travel to the EU, increased number of scholarships for studies in the EU, more support to civil society, further regional cooperation and integration in areas such as transport, trade, disaster preparedness, support in addressing the impact of the inter-national financial crisis and better co-ordination of the massive financial as-sistance provided by the EU and other international donors are some of the most important developments. “I welcome the progress achieved in the countries of the Western Bal-kans during the past year. I am proud that the EU contributed with concrete means to this success. I know how much free travel or possibilities to study abroad matter in people’s every day life. I am looking forward to see-ing further progress, as 2009 will be an important year for the EU integra-tion of the Western Balkans.” – com-mented Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. The dialogue on visa liberalisation started in 2008 with all Western Bal-kan countries concerned. Detailed roadmaps, outlining conditions, were

drawn up for each country. The Com-mission is assessing progress in the countries and may propose lifting of the visa obligation in the course of 2009, on a country-by-country ba-sis, provided that established bench-marks are met. To support the whole process, financial and technical assis-tance is provided.The decision to double the number of scholarships for students from the Western Balkans will start being im-plemented from the academic year 2009/2010. The annual sum of €20 million will enable several hundreds additional students to benefit from the experience of studying in the EU.More EU programmes and agencies are being opened to the countries of the Western Balkans, enabling for ex-ample contacts and cooperation be-tween scientific and educational insti-tutions. All countries of the region are now participating in the 7th Research Framework programme.Civil society development and dia-logue are core priorities, playing a

key role in democratic public life thus contributing to strengthen democra-cy and reconciliation. Under the new Civil Society Facility the funding will approximately triple. In the area of regional cooperation there have been many developments. The newly established Regional Co-operation Council became fully op-erational. The free trade area, estab-lished by the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) has a fully operational secretariat since Septem-ber 2008, that will support the imple-mentation of the agreement. This year, the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) will develop into a fully fledged school with a seat in Danilovgrad (Montenegro).To express the EU’s solidarity with the countries of the region in the global economic crisis, the Commission pro-posed to extend its Economic Recov-ery Plan for the Western Balkans. To this end, at least €120 million IPA funds will be allocated to support the economic and social consolidation of the region.

WESTERN BALKANS: ENHANCING THE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE – UPDATE 2009

issued, the implementation of the integrated border management scheme and the establishment of a national visa information system. The MEPs note with satisfaction the progress made in the fight against trafficking in human beings, illegal migration and corruption, and call on the Government to continue the ef-forts in this field. The EP welcomes the implementa-tion of the readmission agreement with the EU and calls for closer co-

operation with Frontex, Europol and Eurojust and takes note of the dif-ficulties faced by the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Mace-donia due to the non-recognition of its passports by one EU Member State. The MEPs call on the Commis-sion, given the progress achieved, to recommend to the Council as soon as possible visa liberalisation for the citizens of the former Yugoslav Re-public of Macedonia.In the Resolution, the MEPs also

welcome the progress in the area of management of the Instrument for pre-accession assistance. The Parliament also deplores the disadvantaged position of the Roma minority in the country and asks the Government to act in order to im-prove the situation of this minority. The MEPs also ask the Government to improve the waste facilities of the country and to preserve the quality and level of the water in the border water basins.

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http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/news/090203_en.pdf

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2009-0135+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

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SIXTH MEETING OF THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE

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FOUR SUBCOMMITTEES TOOK PLACE IN SKOPJEAND BRUSSELS

The implementation of the Stabili-sation and Association Agreement (SAA) is followed by the Stabilisation and Association Committee (SAC), which has seven sub-committees. Each sub-committee meets once a year. The meeting is the occasion for a technical discussion between the European Commission services and the relevant Government min-istries and state institutions on the state of play of implementation of the relevant provisions of the SAA and the acquis communautaire (EU legislation) in the fields concerned. Meetings of four of these sub-com-mittees took place in the first quarter of 2009.

During the sub-committee meet-ing on innovation, information society and social policy the de-velopments in the transposition of the acquis in these areas were presented. One of the livelier dis-

cussions focused on the need to strengthen further the independence of the regulatory bodies in the areas of electronic communications and audiovisual policy.

In the sub-committee on trans-port, environment, energy and regional development, there were exchanges on the proper imple-mentation of the obligations arising from the SAA regarding the road-fee charges, and commitments under the Energy Community Treaty.

The meeting of the sub-committee on economic and financial issues and statistics dealt with statistics, economic and monetary policy, fi-nancial control, free movement of capital, and financial co-operation (IPA). The sub-committee also dis-cussed several aspects of the coun-try’s progress towards meeting the economic criteria for accession to

the EU. The necessity for a more frequent exchange of financial data, in view of the global financial crisis, was emphasised. The meeting of the sub-committee on the internal market and com-petition dealt with acquis issues re-lated to the right of establishment and freedom to provide services, in-tellectual property law, company law, public procurement, financial servic-es, consumer and health protection, and competition policy. Besides the sub-committee meetings, several technical meetings took place, one of them being devoted to finalising the regional aid schemes and the state aid aspects of the law on technologi-cal-industrial development zones. Overall, the meetings demonstrated that the country had made further progress in meeting EU require-ments in the respective fields, but also identified areas that will require further attention.

The sixth parliamentary committee of the European Parliament and the Parlia-ment of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia met on 31 March in Brussels.The sixth meeting, co-chaired by Antonis Trakatelis and Aleksandar Spas-enovski, was an opportunity to exchange views on the relations between

the EU and the country with par-ticipation of DPM Bocevski, Czech Council presidency represented by Mr Secka, and the European Com-mission represented by Deputy Di-rector General of the DG Enlarge-ment, Mr Jan Truszczynski.

The joint final statement underlined the satisfaction with the relations be-tween the two parliaments and called for its fostering following the elections for the European Parliament in June. It further noted the efforts made to promote constructive and compre-hensive dialogue in areas requiring wide political consensus and wel-comed the positive role played by the National Council for EU integra-tion.

The parliamentarians exchanged views on visa liberalisation, educa-tion, environmental issues and utili-sation of IPA funds.


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THREE NEW IPA PROGRAMMES SIGNED

On 23 February 2009, EU Special Representative and Head of the Del-egation Erwan Fouéré and the Dep-uty Prime Minister in charge of Eu-ropean affairs Ivica Bocevski signed three Financing Agreements for the 2008 National programme under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assis-tance (IPA) Component 1 - Transi-tion Assistance and Institution Build-ing, the Cross-Border Cooperation programme with Greece as well as the South East Europe Space pro-gramme.

2008 IPA National Programme (Component 1) The National programme for Tran-sition Assistance and Institution Building Component aims at provid-ing assistance for political criteria, socio-economic criteria, ability to assume the obligations of EU mem-bership and support to programming and participation in community pro-grammes and agencies. The maxi-mum amount of EU contribution shall be app. 37 million Euro. (see list of projects in box below)

Cross-Border Programme with Greece Projects eligible for funding under the CBC programme shall stimulate co-operation among economic actors and stakeholders through common approaches for the promotion of en-trepreneurship, the development of local human resources, the develop-ment of sustainable tourism and the

protection of public health, as well as to support common actions of actors on both sides of the border for the protection and promotion of the envi-ronmental resources and the natural and cultural potential. For projects to be implemented in the regions Pela-gonia, Vardar, Southeast and South-west, EU has allocated close to 3.6 million EUR. On the Greek side of the border the EU has allocated app. 5.5 million EUR.

Multilateral cooperation within the South-East European Region The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) South–East European

Space programme aims at the estab-lishment and development of trans-national co–operation through the financing of networks and of actions conducive to integrated territorial development, concentrating primar-ily on the following areas: innova-tion, environment, accessibility and sustainable urban development. The Community contribution in the years 2007 and 2008 reaches almost 1 million Euros for the participation in the European Regional Development Fund transnational programme. The entire territory of the country is eli-gible to the South–East European Space programme.

Ambassador Erwan Fouéré and Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs Ivica Bocevski signing the financial agreements.

EU Assistance

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1. Strengthening the capacity of the institutions to manage and Implement the Operational Programmes 1.60 Million Euro.2. Supporting the process of decentralization through strengthening the capacities for sound financial management and internal financial control on local and central level 1.35 Million Euro.3. Further strengthening of the judiciary 1.60 Million Euro.4. Integrated Border Management 5.95 Million Euro.5. Democracy and Fundamental Rights 2.40 Million Euro.6. Support the participation of the civil sector in decision making process and in providing social services 1.20 Million Euro.7. Support to the Agency for Supervision of Fully Funded Pension Insurance (MAPAS) 1.00 Million Euro.8. Implementation of the Turn Around Management (TAM)/Business Advisory Services (BAS) Programme 2.10 Million Euro.9. Support to Free Movement of Goods - Quality Infrastructure 1.80 Million Euro.10. Support to the Public Procurement System 1.20 Million Euro.11. Strengthening the capacity of the Customs Administration 3.50 Million Euro.12. Development of the administrative capacity to adopt and implement the Acquis in the agricultural sector 2.00 Million Euro.13. Veterinary service of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia towards EU accession 3.30 Million Euro.14. Strengthening the Central and Local Level Capacities for Environmental Management 3.10 Million Euro.15. Project Preparation and Support Facility, Audit and Evaluation 3.02 Million Euro16. Participation in Community Programmes and Agencies 2.00 Million Euro.

http://www.delmkd.ec.europa.eu/en/bilateral-relations/EU-assistance.htm

2008 IPA Component 1

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SEMINAR ON THE PRE-ACCESSION INSTRUMENTS TWINNING AND TAIEX

TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR THE JUDICIARY CREATED AND FUNCTIONAL

On 20 February 2009, the seminar “Access to Justice – Requirements from European Law” for judges and prosecutors was the final event of the CARDS 2004 project: Technical Assistance to Support the Creation of a Training Institute for the Judiciary - Phase II.

The overall objective of the project was the strengthening the indepen-dence and efficiency of the judicial system. Decisive support was pro-vided to the setting up of the Acad-emy as an institution which provides not only continuous training for judges and prosecutors in office, but also initial training for future judges and prosecutors.

A Seminar on the Pre-accession in-struments Twinning and TAIEX was organised for the potential beneficia-ries (civil servants of the public ad-ministration, judiciary, members of the parliament) on 10 February 2009 at the EU InfoCenter.Mr Alain van Hamme, Team Leader in DG Enlargement, held a presentation on the Twinning instrument, its back-ground, the implementation in prac-tice and potentials for its utilization in the pre-accession process. Twin-ning is an institution-building tool of the European Commission, that was launched in May 1998. The partners in a twinning arrangement are public

administration bodies of an EU member state and of the beneficiary country. Through exchange of experiences, the twinning partners work together and jointly implement twinning programmes, generally in the field of institutional development and the harmonisation of legal instruments with the EU legislation.To date, the public administration of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has been involved in eleven Twinning projects. In one of those projects, the Finnish Metrological Institute had worked successfully together with the Minis-try of Environment and Physical Planning on a project for Air Quality Improve-ment. The project’ goal was to improve air quality by aligning the beneficiary country’s standards with those of the EU. The project helped the improvement of the capacity of air quality measurements, through monitoring stations, soft-ware, staff training, and laboratory facilities. Mr Werner Deenen, the Resident Twinning Adviser on the ongoing Twining project Strengthening of the Public Internal Finance Control gave a short overview on lessons learned during the project implementation. The Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands and the Ministry of Finance of the beneficiary country work together as Twinning partners on this project, supporting the development and strength-ening of the administrative capacity of Financial Management Control Systems. Mr Nicolas Lilienthal, Project manager in DG Enlargement, gave an overview on TAIEX, the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument. He presented the concept for this short-term tailor made technical assistance and the most efficient way of using it. TAIEX aim to help the potential beneficiaries of the candidate countries, potential candidate countries, and the new member states to bring the country closer to the EU. TAIEX workshops, expert’s mis-sion, study visit, can be organised based on an individual request submitted by the beneficiary administration and in line with the country needs and priorities. The entire exercise provided the participants with valuable information on the essence, advantages and implementation of these two institution-building in-struments in taking over EU obligations in particulary from the EU acquis.


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EU Assistance

A pilot-project on vineyard cadastre started five years ago in the Tikves region. During its first phase, a lo-cal office was opened in Kavadarci, a software application was designed and put into function, a new Law on wine and two acts of secondary legislation were passed and sever-al trainings were carried out to the project staff. After the expiry of this pilot phase the second phase of the project began, which was aimed to extend the entire system and soft-ware and put them into function throughout the country. Specific objectives of this phase of the project were: - to align the national wine legisla-tion together with the additional sec-ondary legal acts with those of the European Union, - to support the future Wine and Vine Department within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy (institutional support). - the most important goal of the project has been the institutional strengthening of the Ministry for Ag-riculture, Forestry and Water Econ-omy, which will loose a great deal if it does not employ the staff that has been trained to work in the wine sector and that will make a large contribution in the development of this sector.

DOMESTIC WINE ACCORDING TO EUROPEAN STANDARDS

Except for the main office in Skopje, the project now has six regional of-fices in the main vine regions, name-ly in Kisela Voda, Sveti Nikole, Ohrid, Kavadarci, Negotino and Valandovo. The system is based on rules that require mandatory declaration. It means that every vine grower is obliged to register himself in the vineyard register if he wishes to sell his production on the market. This is a European Regulation, however, it has become mandatory in the for-mer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as well. An aerial photo-interpre-tation has been made as to define the vineyard parcels in the country, which accounts for 95% of the wine-producers; all vineyards have been

photo-interpreted and put into the system. The system will provide traceability of wine and will be used for program-ming the support policy in the wine sector, being an indispensable instru-ment which can give data on what and where something exists, who cultivates it, yields, what has been

produced, what has been placed on the market, what has been shown in the declarations etc. This has been a first attempt of a project based on GIS (Geographical Information System). It is a pioneer project and will convey the experi-ence gained to the well-known LPIS (Land Parcel Identification System) actually under construction. The wine market is a difficult one as the global market is full of low price quality wines. The country has a problem of transforming its domi-nant bulk production into bottled quality production. Apart from the EU alignment, this system will sub-stantially help in insuring traceabil-ity of wines. If the country wishes

to improve wine export must prove its control and inspection capacity to grant consumers and prevent all possible irregularities.

Article by Saverio Savio, Team Leader of the National Vineyard Monitoring Man-agement System Project

On 17 February 2009, the kick-off meeting of the project “Support to IPARD Preparation” took place in Skopje. The project supports the effective implementation of the IPARD funds and builds up institutional capacities to ensure maximum uptake of the funds under the IPARD Programme 2007-2013. The direct beneficiaries from this project are the Agency for Support of Agriculture and Rural Development (Payment Agency) and the Ministry of Agricul-ture, Forestry and Water Economy.

Support to preparation of pre-accession rural development assistance

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The consumers worldwide want food that is safe and wholesome. Work to improve food safety is going on all the time and testing is a vital part of safe food production. On 16 February 2009, EU Special Representative and Head of the Delegation Erwan Fouéré handed over the new food safety equipment to the Minister of Health Bujar Osmani, at the Food Directorate in Skopje. The new food safety equipment, procured with the financial support of the European Union with 88,000 EUR, will enable the food inspectorate to apply modern inspection techniques in various field measurements i.e. moisture content in the cereal grains, state of degradation of frying oil, content of pesticide residues and micotoxins, pH and temperature of the food, water activity in the food etc..In the last four years more than 620.000 EUR were committed from EU funds to support the establishment of an effective food safety system in the country.

Safe Food For Consumers

On 2 April, 2009, the European Mission launched a Call for Proposals for projects that will strengthen the role of civil society in promoting human rights, democratic reform and reconciliation, and increasing its participa-tion in social, economic and political life of the country. The allocation for this grant scheme is € 600 000, funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), Country-Based Support Scheme 2008. The grant awarded under this Call must fall between the minimum amount: EUR 30.000 and maximum amount: EUR 70.000 for the projects between 9 and 12 months duration. Procedural novelty is the prior obligatory reg-istration in PADOR for applicants and their partners before applying on the Call. PADOR is an on-line database of the European Commission in which organisations register themselves and update regularly their data. The final date for submission of concept notes is 18 May 2009.

http://www.delmkd.ec.europa.euThe full Guidelines for Applicants are available at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/funding/index_en.htmhttp://www.delmkd.ec.europa.eu

Call for Proposals Launched under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights


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EU Policies

Despite the fears that the accession of 12 new countries could affect the economies and social systems of the ‘older’ member states, an analysis of the European Commission showed that the 2004/07 enlargement has been an overall success for the EU and its citizens. Significant improvements of living standards, modernisation of economies, and more stabilised insti-tutions and laws are among the main benefits on the side of the new mem-ber states. The enlargement has cre-ated new investment and export op-portunities for enterprises in the older member states. The EU as a whole has benefited from increased trade between members and has at the same time become more competitive. The latest enlargement cycle included 12 countries from eastern and cen-tral Europe and the Mediterranean: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Po-land, Slovakia and Slovenia joined on

1 May 2004, and the process came to its conclusion on 1 January 2007, with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. An enlarged EU carries more weight when addressing issues of global im-portance be it climate change or the world economy and its governance, as stressed by the commissioners for enlargement and economic and mon-etary affairs, Olli Rehn and Joaquín Almunia, at a joint press conference on 20 February. ‘We should not let the crisis overshadow this uncontested success. United, we can shape the solution to global issues such as cli-mate change or a new international financial governance’, said Commis-sioner Almunia. According to Com-missioner Rehn, ‘enlargement has served as an anchor of stability, and driver of democracy and the rule of law in Europe’. ‘It has extended the area of peace and prosperity to almost 500 million people and in-

creased our weight in the world’, he said, stressing that the enlargement had put an end to several decades of division brought about by the Cold War. The enlarged EU is now the larg-est integrated economic area in the world, accounting for more than 30% of world GDP and more than 17% of world trade. This enables the EU to be a decisive player in a global world. It can make its voice heard in shap-ing globalisation for the benefit of citizens. The united EU is also bet-ter able to address the challenges brought by the current global crisis that countries alone. The Union has taken a coordinated action to stabilise the banking system and to help the economic recovery. These measures, completed by others under prepara-tion, more importantly to restore the crucial credit channel to the economy, allow us to envisage a gradual recov-ery from the end of this year.

Economic analysis of five years of an enlarged EULASTING BENEFITS AND BETTER PROSPECTS TO TACKLE

TIMES OF CRISIS

EU Policies

EU Policies

The full study can be downloaded at: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication14078_en.pdf

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EUROPEAN COUNCIL AGREES ON ANTI-CRISIS MEASURES

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF EURO

On 19-20 March, the European Coun-cil met under the Czech Presidency to discuss measures to mitigate the consequences of the global economic downturn. The European Council had already discussed the economic and financial crisis at two previous meetings held in October and December 2008. The Council expressed confidence in the ability of the EU to tackle the fi-nancial and economic crisis. Review-ing the considerable fiscal stimu-lus now being injected into the EU’s

economy (over 400 billion euros), the Council emphasised that concerted action and coordination were an es-sential part of Europe’s strategy for recovery and emphasised that Eu-rope would do all that was necessary to restore growth. It further empha-sised that the single market was cen-tral to making the recession in Europe shorter and less severe. Stressing the need to get lending flowing again to businesses and households, the Council agreed to speed up agree-

ment on pending legislative proposals on the financial sector. In June, the European Council will take first decisions to strengthen EU financial sector regulation and super-vision, on the basis of proposals by the Commission. Based on the EU’s own experience and desire to contrib-ute significantly to shaping the future international governance of the finan-cial sector, it defined the Union’s posi-tion with a view to the G20 Summit in London on 2 April.

On 1 January 2009, the European Union celebrated the 10th anniversa-ry of its common currency: the euro. The euro is the single currency of 16 of the European Union’s member states. The introduction of the euro in 1999 was a major step in European

integration. Now around 330 million EU citizens use it as their currency.The euro was introduced as a vir-tual currency on 1 January 1999 for cash-less payments, accounting and financial transactions. The actual coins and banknotes were put into circulation on 1 January 2002. When the euro was introduced, it replaced the old national currencies of coun-tries in the euro area, such as the Deutschemark and the French Franc.The euro is managed by the Euro-pean Central Bank (ECB), which sets the monetary policy and exchange rate of the euro area. For countries sharing the euro, it is important to have coherent economic policies. The growth and stability pact en-sures this with commonly agreed rules on public finance.The euro is important to the econom-ic integration of the European Union

as it strengthens the single market, one of the pillars of the EU. Within the euro zone the single currency facilitates trade, eliminates curren-cy exchange costs for businesses and protects the economies against external economic shocks. On the global level, the euro has been es-tablished as a major international currency, second after the US dollar, which is used extensively for inter-national trade and financial transac-tions, and also as a store of wealth. For the citizens of the European Union, the euro is a tangible symbol of the European identity and facili-tates travel within the euro zone, as exchanging money into the local cur-rency is no longer necessary. Con-sumers can more easily buy goods in other EU member states and are better able to compare prices in dif-ferent countries.

The full text of Presidency Conclusions is available at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/106809.pdf

http://www.ecb.int/ecb/10ann/html/index.en.html


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News from Brussels

On 26 January 2009 the European Economic and Social Committee held a conference on “The view of European civil society on nuclear energy” that brought together both opponents and supporters of nuclear energy. While participants agreed on the need for transparency, no consensus could be reached on how transparency can be ef-fectively put in place. The EESC will take up the conclusions in future initiatives.

Wanted: More transparent nuclear energy

The Commission adopted two ecodesign regulations to improve the ener-gy efficiency of household lamps and of office, street and industrial light-ing products. The two regulations lay down energy efficiency requirements which will save close to 80 TWh by 2020 (roughly the electricity consump-tion of Belgium, or of 23 million European households, or the equivalent of the yearly output of 20 power stations of 500 megawatts) and will lead to a reduction of about 32 million tons of CO2 emission per year. Inefficient incandescent light bulbs will be progressively replaced by improved alterna-tives starting in 2009 and finishing at the end of 2012. As a result of these regulations, 11 billion euros are expected to be saved and re-injected every year into the European economy.

Commission adopts two regulations to progressively remove from the market non-efficient light bulbs

http://europa.eu/rapid/ (Reference=IP/09/411)

As part of the ongoing implementation of the EU recovery plan endorsed by the European Council in December 2008, the European Commission presented proposals to invest in key energy and Internet broadband infrastructure projects. These will deliver a much needed stimulus to the EU economy in the short term, while at the same time targeting strategic goals such as energy security. All Member States will benefit from the package of measures.

The Commission proposes € 5 billion new investment in energy and Internet broadband infrastructure in 2009-2010, in support of the EU recovery plan


European Young Journalist Award 2009

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement, in cooperation with the European Youth Press association and Café Babel, announced the start of the second European Young Journalist Award 2009. This award offers aspiring journalists aged 17 – 35 from all over Europe to reflect and express their views on Europe and the European Union’s enlargement.This year participants will again be able to submit written print and online articles with national jury members looking for a touch of journalistic flair and analytical treatment, expressing their thoughts and feelings about Europe.The 2009 Award welcomes a second category – “radio”. Aspiring young radio journalists will also now be offered the chance to demonstrate their technical and journalistic skills on a European level. National competitions will be offered in the 27 EU member states, EU candidate countries and EU potential candidates. Deadline for submissions is 31 May 2009.http://www.eujournalist-award.eu/


eu newsletterEU InfoCentre

EU InfoCentre

Competition on EU top-ics – “Express yourself

through Media”

The exhibition of EU related carica-tures “ANTE PORTAS” was opened at the EU InfoCentre on 16 Feb-ruary 2009 at 12:00hrs. This ex-hibition is an individual project of the distinguished artist Mr Delcho Mihajlov, with participation of 40 authors from 4 countries in the re-gion.It is envisaged that the exhibi-tion will be also displayed in one of the buildings of the EU institutions - in Brussels in autumn 2009.

Exhibition of caricatures - Ante Portas

Safer Internet Day 2009

European Union Information CentreM.H.Jasmin 52 v 1000 SkopjeTel./Fax. ++389 (0)2 329 63 63Working Hours Monday-Friday 09-18; Saturday 10-13

The competition entitled “Ex-press yourself through the Me-dia” designed for the high school graduates was launched on 24 February at the EU InfoCentre in Skopje. The competition is or-ganised by the School for Jour-nalism and Public Relations and supported by the Mission of the European Union.

The 12 most successful works on subjects related to the EU will be awarded with scholar-ships granted by the School. The applicants are asked to submit their works in four categories (TV feature, TV spot, poster and photography) on three topics – “Why me in the EU”; “The 9th May is for all of us”; and “The Creativity of my street”.

Spring Day in Europe 2009

On Monday, 16 February 2009, the organisational team of “Spring Day in Europe 2009” held a press conference at the EU InfoCentre in Skopje to announce the start of this year’s activities.Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, Presi-dent Branko Crvenkovski as well as the members of the organisa-tional team Sasha Bogdanovik, Brankica Georgievska and Ana Malceva addressed the represen-tatives of 10 organisations which initiated the event this year. Spring Day for Europe is an annual campaign that is going on in all Eu-ropean countries simultaneously and enables young citizens to express their views and make their voices heard. Spring Day for Europe in the country is traditionally organised for the seventh time. The 10 organisa-tions which initiated the event this year, as well as the previous 3 years, are: AEGEE, AIESEC, Young European Federalists, ЕМSА, Youth Educa-tional Forum, Youth for Youth, HERA, SSFON, Vavilon Porta and Creator.

On the occasion of the celebration of the Safer Internet Day 2009 on 11 February, the EU InfoCentre in Skopje organised a Panel discussion en-titled “How to make the Internet a safer place”. The aim of this panel was raising awareness and opening debate about the issue of safe and responsible use of new technologies, particularly the Internet.The audience was addressed by Patrick PAQUET, Head of Political and Information Section in the Mission of the European Union, Elena STO-JANOVSKA from the Directorate for personal data protection, Irina SHU-MADIEVA, from the Metamorphosis foundation and Alesandar TOKAREV, Chief technology officer in IT Company Nextsense.

For information on forthcoming events in the EU InfoCentre please visit our website www.euic.mk

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