Digital Agenda for Europe Newsroom Update Weekly - 04/03/2013

Weekly Issue - 4 March 2013 Latest News PRESS RELEASE European Commission launches Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs (4 March 2013) Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso today called on Europe's digital businesses, governments, training and education sectors to join a Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs to address up to 900 000 job vacancies expected to exist in Europe in Information and Communication technologies (ICT) by 2015. Despite the current levels of unemployment, the number of digital jobs is growing by more than 100 000 per year. Yet the number of fresh ICT graduates and skilled ICT workers is not keeping up. PRESS RELEASE Commission insists German operators should not be allowed special treatment on mobile rates (1 March 2013) The European Commission has halted plans of the German telecoms regulator (BNetzA) which could result in mobile termination rates (MTR) more than 80% higher than in many other Member States. This could mean that German consumers pay unjustifiably high prices for their mobile calls. PRESS RELEASE President Barroso announces creation of a Science and Technology Advisory Council (27 February 2013) The creation of the Advisory Council follows the President's appointment of Professor Anne Glover as the European Commission's first Chief Scientific Adviser in January 2012, aiming at ensuring more evidence-based European Union policy-making, but also at promoting the uptake of science & technology in society, including a better transfer of knowledge from the scientific world to industry. PRESS RELEASE EUR 50 million EU research grants in 2013 to develop '5G' technology (26 February 2013) European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes announces EUR 50 million for research to deliver 5G mobile technology by 2020, with the aim to put Europe back in the lead of the global mobile industry. "I want 5G be pioneered by European industry, based on European research and creating jobs in Europe - and we will put our money where our mouth is," Kroes said. PRESS RELEASE What did the EU ever do for the mobile industry? (27 February 2013) Cut the roaming prices; made the market work more efficiently; delivered extra spectrum for new industry; gave funding to develop 5G technology and much more. EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT EU - Taiwan Conference 1 March 2013 The Strategical Conference of EU-Taiwan ICT Technical Cooperation will be held in Taipei on March 11-12, 2013. The conference is co-organized by the National Science Council (NSC), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the Department of Health (DOH) of Taiwan, and will address the following S&T themes: Nano/Micro Electronics, E-Health/Active Healthy Ageing (AHA), and Robotics, 450mm Wafer Transition. NEWS ARTICLE CAF - new advisory forum (1 March 2013) As part of the preparation for Horizon 2020 DG CONNECT has set up a new advisory structure - CONNECT Advisory Forum for ICT Research and Innovation (CAF). The CAF is expected to become the essential platform helping the Commission, and more specifically - DG CONNECT, to bring closer to the potential users the ICT research and innovation. EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT Expert Group on Digitisation and Digital Preservation - meeting 9 April 2013 - 10 April 2013 Luxembourg The next meeting of the Member States Expert Group on Digitisation and Digital Preservation will take place in Luxembourg on 9-10 April 2013. The group will meet the Working Group on Digitisation Statistics and the ENUMERATE project. Contact: CNECT-DIGICULT@ec.europa.eu CALL FOR TENDERS Active ageing: Open call for robotic based pre-commercial solutions (Deadline: 05/06/2013) The EU-funded SILVER project (Supporting Independent LiVing for the Elderly through Robotics) searches for new, innovative ways to acquire public sector health services by utilizing a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process designed for optimally matching R&D with procurers' needs. The goal is to find new technologies to assist elderly people's ability to continue living independently at home. The international PCP opened on 1st March. The call is open to all EU members and associated state countries. The tenders are evaluated according to the same criteria regardless of country or origin or size. In this PCP the Technology Strategy Board (UK) will act as the Authority on behalf and in the name of the group of contracting authorities for a cross-border group of SILVER contracting authorities. Contact: competitions@silverpcp.eu See also: Registration, Invitation to Tender document, FAQ etc NEWS ARTICLE Conclusions of the Internet of Things public consultation (28 February 2013) The European Commission published the results of the public consultation on the Internet of Things and the output from the work of the group of experts on the Internet of Things. The conclusions will help to define the future policy on the Internet of Things. EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT European Robotics Forum 19 March 2013 - 21 March 2013 Lyon, France The European Robotics Forum will take place from 19 - 21 March at Lyon, France. The event is a meeting point for industry and research: at least 350 scientists, companies and officials from the European Commission will attend. The forum is designed to provide an opportunity for the companies and researchers to meet and interact in workshops and seminars; this way they can expand their networks, gather the latest relevant information, and build new business and partnerships, thereby strengthening the potential of European robotics. See also: Online registration for the event EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT Europe 2020 Conference - Agenda for new skills and jobs 28 February 2013 - 1 March 2013 Dublin, Ireland The event is primarily aimed at policy makers and senior experts of national, regional and local public administrations,as well as employment specialists from academia, networks and associations. The conference will be combined with study visits and a networking session dedicated to experiences and future aspects of transnational cooperation. Contact: europe2020events@cor.europa.eu Research Results Advancing research collaboration with GEANT's high-speed infrastructure 21 February 2013 EU advances research collaboration with GEANT's high-speed ICT infrastructure New in the Library SPEECH Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda The digital economy delivers jobs: FACT We agree that unemployment in Europe is unacceptably high and at the same time unfilled vacancies in ICT are growing. We also acknowledge that our competitiveness as a region is under threat if we're short of digitally skilled people. We cannot go on this way. REPORTS AND STUDIES Report on How the European Commission can Support Web Entrepreneurship in Europe 1 March 2013 The report suggest 13 concrete actions to help web entrepreneurs create the next generation of web, technology, and innovation-oriented companies. REPORTS AND STUDIES Report on an individual-centric Digital Agenda for Europe 1 March 2013 This paper reports on actions already taken and initiatives planned to enhance the individuals dimension of the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE). For this purpose, individual end-users are defined as individuals in their dimension of human beings, citizens and consumers. The report presents five lines of action to enhance the DAE's individuals dimension. SPEECH Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda Building Smarter Cities with Broadband Today's societies face many challenges. And I know well from my own experience that in such situations, you - mayors - are the first called on to respond. To address those many challenges facing our cities there is one key response: digital. Whether it's transport, energy or waste management, we need to get smarter. SPEECH Stopping a Digital Cold War I am very pleased that the European Parliament is increasingly interested in the internet. Politicians in Europe need to recognise the importance of the digital economy, and the benefits for society. I wish leaders had done so when discussing the EU's budget! SPEECH Funding Europe's tech industry future This new, expanded High Level Group includes not just the technology sectors, but the entire value chains. That broader composition fits the approach we need for Key Enabling Technologies: comprehensive and integrating. SPEECH Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda Smashing barriers and thinking big Today's wireless industry faces many demands. We must get creative to meet them. We have demands driven by our broadband goals, to get every European digital. New figures, published yesterday, show mobile broadband penetration reached 47.8% last year: nearly one broadband SIM for every two Europeans. Yet there is still an investment gap to deploy and upgrade our mobile networks. We have rocketing demands from users. Recent growth in mobile data could continue, climbing 66% each year - as we move to 4G, the cloud, and the "internet of things", with mobile devices soon outnumbering people. Subscription Information This is the Newsroom Update of Digital Agenda for Europe: Thematic Portal - a 'one stop shop' to all European 'DAE' policies, activities, news and more from across the European Commission. Get more news! Subscribe to our RSS feeds. The archives of all our Newsletters are now available! You may unsubscribe or broaden your subscription by going to Your Profile. Please do not reply to this email address - use the contact form in the Portal Contacts page.