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Weekly Issue - 9 December 2011

Latest News

PRESS RELEASE

EU Telecoms Council: expected decision on radio spectrum to open the way for growth in the sector

(9 December 2011) Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, will welcome the formal endorsement of legislation needed to make radio spectrum available for wireless broadband by 2013, at the EU's Council of Telecoms Ministers meeting in Brussels on 13th December. In addition Vice-President Kroes will present to the Council the Connecting Europe Facility and an Open Data Strategy for Europe due to be adopted next week. During lunch the Ministers will discus the concept of universal service ensuring that the EU-wide rules play their proper part in bringing the benefits of the digital economy to people in Europe. Neelie Kroes will urge Ministers to adopt the new Roaming Regulation before the current Regulation expires at the end of June 2012. She will underline the importance of introducing structural measures to enhance competition as the best way to drive down prices in a durable way, while maintaining retail caps as a safety-net. Vice-President Kroes will also call for a strong European response on Internet security - one that is based on close co-operation between Member States and the EU level. She will also inform Ministers of the new strategy that will be put forward in the third quarter of 2012.

PRESS RELEASE

Journalists and media figures to make proposals to Kroes on effects of digital revolution

(7 December 2011) Vice President Kroes has formed and will today open a new forum of leading media figures to debate what the EU can do to help media fully transition to the digital era without losing its essence.

PRESS RELEASE

From hospitals to Hollywood, EU-funded technology research is making a mark

(5 December 2011) ICT research is dramatically changing the possibilities open to people as diverse as victims of brain injuries and video game makers. Partners from Hollywood to hospitals are now reaping the benefits of this EU-funded research. Forty-five of Europe's best ICT research projects are on exhibition the EU's first Innovation Union Convention held in Brussels on 5-6 December 2011.

See also: Innovation Convention website

PRESS RELEASE

President Barroso and Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn launch the first Innovation Convention in Brussels

(5 December 2011) The first ever Innovation Convention, convened by European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, has been officially opened this afternoon by European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso. Both of them, along with Vice President Antonio Tajani, presented the first EU Women Innovators Prize. Also today, Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn and EIB President Maystadt have signed an agreement on the Risk Sharing Finance Facility, a joint initiative of the European Commission and the EIB to support higher risk and reward investment in research and innovation. Finally, President Barroso used this occasion to announce the name of the European Commission's first Chief Scientific Advisor.

PRESS RELEASE

Appointment of Chief Scientific Advisor

(5 December 2011) President Barroso has today appointed the Commission's first Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Anne Glover. Professor Glover will provide high-level and independent scientific advice throughout all stages of policy development and delivery. The Chief Scientific Advisor will provide advice directly to the President, and will give regular updates on major scientific and technological developments.

PRESS RELEASE

European Commission, EIB and EIF launch new scheme to help SMEs get loans for research and innovation

(5 December 2011) Today the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group launch a new guarantee facility for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them access finance from banks. This builds on the success of the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), launched in 2007, that has so far helped 75 companies benefit from over EUR 7 billion in EIB loans to projects enhancing European growth and competitiveness. The new risk-sharing instrument for SMEs will be managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF). In addition, the EIB and the European Commission are to provide extra resources for research infrastructures.

NEWS ARTICLE

European Commission officials visit member states to present the Digital Agenda for Europe

(9 December 2011) European Commission officials will participate in events organised on 12, 13 and 14 December in Portugal (Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon respectively), in order to present to stakeholders and the public the Digital Agenda for Europe. The events will focus on issues such as research and innovation, the role of excellence and research centres in promoting economic growth in Europe, broadband, social challenges for European sustainability. The visits are part of the Going Local exercise, run by the European Commission for the second year in a row, in order to foster a public dialogue on the Digital Agenda goals.

NEWS ARTICLE

Consultation reveals near consensus on the importance of pushing forward eHealth deployments

(9 December 2011) A final report on the public consultation on the eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020 has been published. The consultation, which involved a range of stakeholders including NGOs, academic institutions, enterprises, health and social care providers and public authorities from many Member States, aimed to validate four proposed objectives and to explore possible actions to be undertaken in the coming years. More than 90% of the stakeholders agreed with the four main objectives of the eHealth Action Plan and concluded that the main benefit of eHealth solution is to improve the quality, the efficiency and the sustainability of the available healthcare services.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Digital Agenda for South East Europe

13 December 2011 Brussels, Belgium

The objective of this event is to bring together representatives of the EU policy making bodies, national regulatory authorities, industry stakeholders and major investors in the region to discuss the following questions in the context of the Digital Agenda: How to create a policy environment which encourages high-risk investments in fast and ultra-fast networks in the four member states and the eight enlargement countries of the region ? What are the main challenges of integrating the enlargement countries into a single European digital market ?

NEWS ARTICLE

European Commission harmonises new licence-exempt frequency bands for wireless innovations

(8 December 2011) The European Commission has today updated spectrum harmonisation conditions for short-range devices (SRD) in the internal market. SRDs play an important role in the daily life of citizens. Numerous applications such as alarms, door openers, medical devices, but also local communications equipment such as Wi-Fi routers, rely on these low power radio transmitters. The newly harmonised licence-exempt frequency bands can be used by intelligent transport systems, vehicle radars and for non-specified purposes. Additionally, the technical conditions for a number of devices, such as RFID and inductive devices, are made less restrictive.

See also: Short range devices

NEWS ARTICLE

Second call for volunteers to pilot methodologies quantifying the environmental footprint of ICT products, networks, services and organizations - Deadline 29/02/2012

(6 December 2011) Among the important priorities of the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) is the establishment of a common methodological framework for the measurement of the energy intensity and carbon emissions arising from the production, transport and selling processes of ICT goods, networks and services, and one which can be widely adopted by the ICT industry. To support and facilitate the efforts of industry and the community more generally in reaching the above objective, the Commission has launched in June 2011 a 1st call for volunteers from across the ICT industry to carry out a number of pilot testing projects. Ten in total applications of either individual organisations or consortia (representing in total 22 industry organisations from across the whole industry sector and the whole world) were received and approved in the context of the above call. The whole pilot testing initiative was launched in a meeting on 28 November 2011 in Brussels. As the Commission has received further expressions of interest from industry to take part in this pilot testing initiative, it has decided to launch a 2nd call for volunteers from across the ICT industry to carry out a number of additional pilot testing projects.

Contact: ICT Sector - Methodologies
See also: Energy Efficiency of the ICT Sector

NEWS ARTICLE

European Commission officials visit member states to present the Digital Agenda for Europe

(5 December 2011) European Commission officials will participate this week in events organised on 8 December in France (Paris) and Denmark (Copenhagen), in order to present to stakeholders and the public the Digital Agenda for Europe. The events will focus on issues such as EU finance for ICT, e-signature and digital content as a driver for the Digital Single Market. The visits are part of the Going Local exercise, run by the European Commission for the second year in a row, in order to foster a public dialogue on the Digital Agenda goals.

New in the Library

SPEECH
Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda
ICT for democracy: supporting a global current of change: Freedom Online - Joint Action for Free Expression on the Internet, The Hague, 9 December 2011
SPEECH
Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda
Investing in the future: meeting the Internet's astonishing promise: "Talk in Brussels", Deutsche Telekom Annual Reception, Brussels, 29 November 2011

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