Brussels News Updates

3 Consultations and Roadmaps, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

Open Public Consultation on “Strengthened Cooperation Against Vaccine Preventable Diseases”

Vaccine-preventable diseases are major health scourges. Due to their cross-border nature and the challenges to national vaccination programmes, there is a need for common EU action and more coordinated approaches to limit the spread of epidemics and cross-border diseases. There is clear added-value to strengthen cooperation among all relevant actors at EU level, including health authorities, the vaccine industry, research and innovation, healthcare sector and others. In mid-2018, the European Commission will adopt a proposal for a Council Recommendation on Strengthened Cooperation against Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. The objective of this public consultation is to collect the views and input of citizens, administrations, associations and other relevant organizations to feed into the process of drafting a proposal for the Council Recommendation.
Deadline: 15 March 2018
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/

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3 Consultations and Roadmaps, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

Public Consultation on EU Funds in The Area of Investment, Research & Innovation, SMEs and Single Market

In 2018, the Commission will make comprehensive proposals for the next generation of financial programmes for the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which is the EU’s long–term budget.  The Commission’s proposals will be designed to make it possible for the EU to deliver on the things that matter most, in areas where it can achieve more than Member States acting alone. This requires a careful assessment both of what has worked well in the past and what could be improved in the future.
Deadline: 8 March 2018
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/

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3 Consultations and Roadmaps, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

Public consultation: Sugars in Food

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is seeking feedback on the approach it plans to take for its upcoming assessment of dietary sugars. The aim of the assessment is to establish a cut-off value for intake of “free” sugars that are not associated with adverse health effects. EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies (NDA) has drafted a protocol to define the methods for 1) collecting data (i.e. which data to use for the assessment and how to identify and select them); 2) appraising the relevant evidence; and 3) analysing and integrating the evidence to draw conclusions that will form the basis of the scientific opinion.
Deadline: 4 March 2018
Website: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/

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3 Consultations and Roadmaps, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

Consultation: Evaluation of the EU’s Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change

This consultation is part of the evaluation launched by the European Commission in 2016 of the Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change. The evaluation examines the implementation and achievements of the Strategy compared to what was expected at the time the Strategy was adopted in 2013. It also looks at the evolution of the needs to which the Strategy responds, for example in light of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which treats adaptation to climate change on equal footing with greenhouse gas emission reduction. The evaluation follows the standard framework for the evaluation of EU policies and examines the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, and EU added value.
Deadline: 1 March 2018
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/

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3 Consultations and Roadmaps, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

Consultation: Reducing Marine Litter: Action on Single Use Plastics and Fishing Gear

The objective of this consultation is to provide input, opinions, and data for preparation of follow-up to the Plastics Strategy in relation to marine litter, particularly from single-use plastics and fishing gear.
The upcoming Strategy on Plastics in a circular economy will lay down the foundations of a new plastics economy, where reuse and recycling are fully integrated into production chains, where plastic pollution and its adverse impact on citizens’ lives and the environment are tackled. The Strategy will acknowledge the urgent need for concrete actions to reduce plastic leakage into the environment, in particular in our seas and oceans.
Deadline: 12 February 2018
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/

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2 Innovation & Entrepreneurship, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

Novel Food: New Regulation Enters Into Force

The new Regulation on Novel Food is applicable from 1 January 2018. The regulation brings significant improvements and changes to the novel food authorization procedure. The regulation includes an expanded definition for novel food to account for innovation and technology advances in the food sector, a centralized EU-wide authorization system of novel foods and of traditional foods from third countries, a list of all authorized novel foods in the EU, and data protection provisions for the applicants.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/

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2 Innovation & Entrepreneurship, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

The Role of Chemical Industry in Reducing GHG

The European Commission has published a study on the role of the chemical and petrochemical industry in reaching the EU climate targets. The innovative energy technologies considered in the study “Energy efficiency and GHG emissions: Prospective scenarios for the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry” can cut annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 72.5 Mt of CO2, equivalent to 36% of GHG emissions in 2050, while supporting the sector’s growth. The conclusions are based on a model accounting for fuel prices, GHG allowances and the payback period of technologies such as combined heat and power and carbon capture and storage. The study also concludes there is a need for additional research as identified in the Energy Union Package in order to reach the 2050 climate objectives in a cost-effective way.
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/

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1 European Highlights, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

MSCA Certificates are Now Available

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship certificates are now available, upon request, for fellows who have completed a research period within one of the FP7 or H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Certificates can be requested through the project contact person or the legal entity authorised representative (LEAR) or the scientist in charge at the coordinating institution. The Certificate is not compulsory. It is a service offered to fellows requesting proof of their participation in a Marie Curie project.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/

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1 European Highlights, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

Erasmus+ Generation Declaration

At the closing event of the Erasmus+ 30th-anniversary campaign, representatives of the Erasmus+ Generation presented the Erasmus+ Generation Declaration to EU decision-makers in Brussels. The document contains 30 concrete proposals that reflect the Erasmus+ Generation’s vision and priorities for the future of the programme beyond 2020 in six key areas: societal challenges, skills gap, civic engagement, inclusion, global dimension, and simplification.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/

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1 European Highlights, BNU January 2018, Brussels News Updates

New Data on Public Funding for Universities

The study, fuelled by data from EUA members, is presented in a report and in an online tool. It captures the very latest funding trends in Europe and offers the most up-to-date information on 34 different higher education systems. The analysis reveals that since the 2008 financial crisis, the divide between higher education systems that increase public funding, and those that reduce investment, is getting wider. The study also shows that while 2012 was the most difficult year in terms of cuts, any recovery that can now be detected is slow and fragile.
Source: http://www.eua.be/

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