EU-LAC – GIGA Seminar, Hamburg, 17-18 September 2012

The EU-LAC Foundation and the GIGA (German Institute of Global and Area Studies) are organising an international seminar “New Grounds for the Relations between the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean – towards a Relevant Partnership” which is taking place in Hamburg on 17th and 18th September 2012. The countries of the European Union, Latin…

New Challenges, New Beginnings – Next Steps in European Development Cooperation

It is a coincidence that two things have happened simultaneously – and the coincidence will be a happy one if the two can be brought together. On the one hand, Europe has emerged from eight years of introspection with new structures, a new leadership team and a new platform (the Lisbon Treaty) for more effective…

Time to deliver: Challenges of the new EU Commissioner for Development

In a challenge ahead, Europe has two main contributions to make: development policy thinking and development aid delivery. Development policy is a key part of the ”Europe 2020” vision presented by president Barroso. In particular, as we look ahead to a ”global Europe”, it is in times of development challenges that the EU can become…

Migration in the EU: An opportunity and a challenge

The European Union has historically attracted millions of immigrants. Most of them come legally, but there are some who do not. Immigration is both an opportunity and a challenge for Europe. Legal immigrants are needed to fill gaps in the EU labour force, as the EU’s own population grows older and its birth rate declines.…

Standardisation should focus more on innovation

EU standardisation policy should focus more on product innovation and competitiveness, the European commission argued on Tuesday in a new policy paper. Standards and technical harmonisation can help speed-up the uptake of environmental technologies and liberalise trade in rapidly-growing markets, it said. The commission’s policy paper outlines actions for a more market-led standardisation policy. Current…

European Commission prepares Small Business Act

The European Commission launched a public consultation on the content of a European ”Small Business Act”. Its objective is to put small and medium sized enterprises at the forefront of decision-making in the EU and to introduce concrete measures to unlock the SMEs’ growth potential. It will include new initiatives to reduce regulatory burden on…

EC Vice President Verheugen launches Enterprise Europe Network

European Commission Vice President Gunter Verheugen launched Enterprise Europe Network, a new and powerful European support network for enterprises. All major players of the business support community in Europe have united to offer a one-stop service to assist especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop their full potential and innovative capacity. With more…