THE BACKGROUND TO THE COMPLAINT

1. The complainant is a non-governmental organisation acting in the field of environmental protection. On 1 March 2007, it asked the Commission for access to information and documents held by the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry (DG ENTR), and by former Vice-President Verheugen. In its application for access, it specified that the information and documents requested related to meetings between the Commission and representatives of car manufacturers, during which the Commission’s approach to carbon dioxide emissions from cars as of 1 January 2006 was discussed.

2. On 25 June 2007, the complainant submitted a confirmatory application to the Secretary-General of the Commission
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Ireland’s public deficit will rise to 32% of GDP because of bank bailout; Greece set to grant tax amnestyIrish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said yesterday that “there will be a significant increase in [Ireland’s] public deficit due to the financial support we are providing to our banks, which amounts to around 20% of GDP”. After the bank bailout – which may be worth up to €50 billion – Ireland’s public deficit will therefore attain a record 32% of GDP, while government debt is expected to reach 100% of GDP by the end of the year, Le Monde reports.http://www.openeurope.org.uk/media-centre/summary.aspx?id=1198

Possible Answer To A Nagging Question

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits!

Just a thought, on a quiet Friday Thursday night………………….. 

Update: Thought I had better change the night, before I get any more smart-arsed comments! So I got the day wrong – its an ‘age thing’!

http://witteringsfromwitney.blogspot.com/2010/09/possible-answer-to-nagging-question.html

The On-Going/Never Ending Battle Mili vs Mili

“…………With the battle between the brothers over……..“

Both stood believing they had the ‘nous’ to run the country – unfortunately it is obvious they did not posses the basic ability to run their own brains!

http://witteringsfromwitney.blogspot.com/2010/09/on-goingnever-ending-battle-mili-vs.html

• 15:00: Press conference of the Informal Competitiveness Council (Internal Market)
• 18:30: Press conference of the Informal ECOFIN Council

You can watch the press conferences live on the home page or in the multimedia section

15:00 – 18:30: Committee on Constitutional Affairs Live on the website of the European Parliament

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The European Union should regulate the processing of biological waste better. After all, too much biological waste is still being dumped in Europe, while there are much better and more sustainable alternatives. This was the conclusion of the participants of the conference on biological waste on 21 September in Brussels.

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During the first part of the Informal Competitiveness Council, the EU Patent dossier, and especially its language regime, was discussed today.

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The European Commission yesterday (29 September) proposed tough new sanctions for countries who fail to follow the EU's rules on reining in deficits and cutting public debt, in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the Greek sovereign debt crisis.

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CISSE 09 provides a virtual forum for presentation and discussion of the state-of the-art research on computers, information and systems sciences and engineering. The virtual conference will be conducted through the Internet using web-conferencing tools, made available by the conference. Authors will be presenting their PowerPoint, audio or video presentations using web-conferencing tools without the need for travel. Conference sessions will be broadcast to all the conference participants, where session participants can interact with the presenter during the presentation and (or) during the Q&A slot that follows the presentation. This international conference will be held entirely on-line.
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Today, the JRC launched a number of dedicated competitions through the European Personnel Selection Office for the recruitment of researchers on permanent positions. Over 270 successful candidates will be retained on reserve lists to meet the JRC’s staffing needs in the coming years. Recruitment possibilities exist at the JRC’s research institutes, located in Italy (Ispra), Spain (Seville), the Netherlands (Petten), Germany (Karlsruhe) and Belgium (Geel). Candidates can apply until 4 November.

Researchers with the right blend of competence, experience and language skills are encouraged to apply in one of the following fields:

• Chemistry, Biology and Health Sciences
• Physics
• Structural Mechanics
• Quantitative Policy Analysis
• Spatial Sciences
• Environmental Sciences
• Energy Sciences
• Communication/Information Technology

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Two events in livestream today :

• 12:00 : Press conference of the Informal Council ECOFIN
• Followed by the Press conference of the Informal Council Competitiveness (Internal Market)

You can watch it live here on the home page or in the multimedia section

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Published on:

30 September 2010

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) was asked to carry out the additional assessment for ‘phosphated distarch phosphate’ Novelose® 480HA, as a food ingredient in the context of Regulation (EC) No 258/97. The novel ingredient is a chemically modified starch manufactured from high-amylose maize. Starch chains are cross-linked and esterified with phosphate groups to create a digestion-resistant starch (Resistant Starch Type 4). The novel ingredient is proposed for use in low-moisture food products (e.g. bread and bakery products, breakfast cereals, pastas and snacks) at a maximum level of 15 %. The maximum daily intake based on a conservative estimate, was calculated to occur in male teenagers with a mean of 9.0 g/person and 25.3 g/person for the 97.5th percentile. On a body weight basis, the highest estimated intake is in small children (mean 0.38 and high level 1.09 g/kg bw per day). The toxicological tests described by the applicant to demonstrate the safety of the novel ingredient were carried out using various phosphated starches including varieties of phosphated distarch phosphate that are currently used in Europe as food additive (E1413). They have a similar content of phosphorus but are manufactured from “conventional” maize having starch grains with less than 30 % amylose and 70 % amylopectin. The toxicological tests did not provide reasons for concern. The conservative estimated maximum intake of phosphorus at the 97.5th percentile of 101 mg/day for male teenagers is low compared with European intakes ranging up to about 2600 mg per day and was considered not of concern. The product specification allows up to 0.8 % protein, assumed to be derived from maize, which is not a common allergenic food. The Panel concludes that the novel ingredient, a phosphated distarch phosphate, is safe at the proposed conditions of use and intake levels.

Scientific Opinion on the safety of 'phosphated distarch phosphate' as a Novel Food ingredient

Published on:

30 September 2010

For carcass decontamination purposes, only use of potable water is currently allowed in the EU. However, recycling (i.e. reusing after reheating) of the water used for carcass decontamination has been practiced in some countries (e.g. Canada, Denmark), because environmental and energy-preserving reasons. In this document, potential microbiological and abiotic risks for carcasses associated with recycled hot water decontamination, and related control options, were considered. It has been concluded that the decontamination efficacy of recycled hot water does not differ significantly from that of hot potable water. With recycled hot water, only microbiological risks associated with heat-resistant bacterial spores (C. botulinum, C. perfringens, C. difficile and B. cereus) are relevant. These risks can be controlled through ensuring that recycled hot water is verifiably subjected to such reheating and frequency of renewal regimes which ensure that the microbiological risk in recycled water is not higher than in hot potable water. For abiotic risks, the only concern with recycled hot water derives from the potential presence and accumulation of residues of veterinary drugs and other chemical contaminants not addressed in Council Directive 98/83/EC in the water for decontamination of poultry carcasses.

Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of using recycled hot water as a decontamination technique for meat carcasses

The European Commission has welcomed the adoption of new rules by Italy and Sweden as a result of which they are now complying with their obligations under the EU Directive on the re-use of public sector information. The Commission has therefore closed the infringement proceedings that had been opened against Italy and Sweden. Data produced by the public sector, worth at least €27 billion every year in the EU according to a 2006 study, can be re-used in many products and services like car navigation systems, weather forecasts, travel information applications (“apps”) that can be downloaded on smart phones and financial or insurance services. The EU’s public sector information Directive, adopted in 2003, encourages Member States to ensure that such information is made available and that the public sector, and those who could be interested in using this data, are made aware of their rights and obligations. A public consultation on how best to improve the public sector information (PSI) Directive is currently underway.
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The European Commission has today decided to request France and Spain to abolish specific charges on the turnover of telecoms operators introduced when the Member States concerned decided to end paid advertising on public TV channels. In both cases, the Commission considers these “telecoms taxes” to be incompatible with EU telecoms rules, which require specific charges on telecoms operators to be specifically and directly related to covering the costs of regulating the telecoms sector. The requests take the form of “reasoned opinions” under EU infringement procedures. France and Spain now have two months to inform the Commission of measures taken to comply with EU telecoms rules. If they fail to do so, the Commission may refer them to the EU Court of Justice.
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The European Commission has decided to refer the United Kingdom to the EU’s Court of Justice for not fully implementing EU rules on the confidentiality of electronic communications such as e-mail or internet browsing. Specifically, the Commission considers that UK law does not comply with EU rules on consent to interception and on enforcement by supervisory authorities. The EU rules in question are laid down in the ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC and the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. The infringement procedure was opened in April 2009 (IP/09/570), following complaints from UK internet users notably with regard to targeted advertising based on analysis of users’ internet traffic. The Commission previously requested the UK authorities in October 2009 (IP/09/1626) to amend their rules to comply with EU law.
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The European Commission today unveiled two new measures to ensure that Europe can defend itself from attacks against its key information (IT) systems. A proposal for a Directive to deal with new cyber crimes, such as large-scale cyber attacks, is complemented by a proposal for a Regulation to strengthen and modernise the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). The two initiatives are foreseen by the Digital Agenda for Europe and the Stockholm Programme to boost trust and network security (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200). Under the proposed Directive, the perpetrators of cyber attacks and the producers of related and malicious software could be prosecuted, and would face heavier criminal sanctions. Member States would be also obliged to quickly respond to urgent requests for help in the case of cyber-attacks, rendering European justice and police cooperation in this area more effective. Strengthening and modernising ENISA would also help the EU, Member States and private stakeholders develop their capabilities and preparedness to prevent, detect and respond to cyber-security challenges. Both proposals will be forwarded to the European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers for adoption.
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The European Commission today presented a proposal for a new mandate to strengthen and modernise the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). This initiative is foreseen by the Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200) and to boost trust and network security. Strengthening and modernising ENISA will help the EU, Member States and private stakeholders develop their capabilities and preparedness to prevent, detect and respond to cyber-security challenges. The proposal will be forwarded to the European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers for adoption. The ENISA proposal is complemented by a proposal for a Directive to deal with new cyber crimes, such as large-scale cyber attacks (“botnets”) See also IP/10/1239 and MEMO/10/463.
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Background Memo
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