Το άρθρο αυτό μπορεί να έχει

75-125 λέξεις.

Η επιλογή εικόνων ή γραφικών

είναι ένας σημαντικός τρόπος

πρόσθεσης περιεχομένου σε

ένα ενημερωτικό δελτίο.

Σκεφτείτε το άρθρο σας και

δείτε εάν η εικόνα υποστηρίζει

και εντείνει το μήνυμα που προ-

σπαθείτε να αποδώσετε. Προ-

σπαθήστε να μην επιλέξετε

εικόνες που δεν ταιριάζουν με

Το άρθρο αυτό μπορεί να έχει

100-150 λέξεις.

Το υλικό θεμάτων που εμφανί-

ζεται στα ενημερωτικά δελτία

είναι πάρα πολύ μεγάλο. Μπο-

ρείτε να συμπεριλάβετε άρθρα

σχετικά με τεχνολογίες ή καινο-

τομίες στον τομέα σας.

Μπορεί επίσης να θέλετε να

αναφέρετε επιχειρησιακές ή

οικονομικές τάσεις ή να κάνετε

προβλέψεις για τους πελάτες

Πρόταση προϋπολογισμού 2008: αύξηση των

δαπανών για την έρευνα κατά 11%

Ευρωπαϊκή Συνεργασία στον τομέα της

Επιστημονικής και Τεχνικής Έρευνας (COST)

Ημερολόγιο

ευρωπαϊκών

εκδηλώσεων

9

Περισσότερες πληροφορίες: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm

I N T H I S I S S U E :

News from EOC 1

News from EOC

members 2

Research &

Innovation 3

Health 4

Energy 5

Education, Youth,

Sport 6

Employment 7

News of Enterprise

Europe Network 8-9

Calendars

November 2015 -

January 2016

10-

12

Ε U R O P E A N

O F F I C E O F C Y P R U S

EUROPEAN

NEWS S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 I S S U E 1 0 1

Presentation of the main novelties in

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and ΕΙΤ

INFO DAYS

“Info Day on Smart Cities & Communities - Horizon 2020 ‘Secure, Clean and

Efficient Energy’” 6 November 2015 Brussels, Belgium

http://tinyurl.com/qjccjgy

“Erasmus+ Info Day 2015 Knowledge Alliances and Sector Skills Alliances”

23 November 2015 Brussels, Belgium

http://tinyurl.com/oaeq6yo

“H2020 Info Day: Smart Cyber-Physical Systems, Digital Automation, Smart Anything Everywhere and ICT Innovation for Manu-

facturing SMEs Initiatives” 1 December 2015 Brussels, Belgium

http://tinyurl.com/nzdj63n

“Info and stakeholders' day on Smart Wearables”

11 December 2015 Brussels, Belgium

http://tinyurl.com/olzx2rd

On 8 September 2015, the Brussels Office of the Euro-pean Office of Cyprus (EOC) organised a presentation in Brussels entitled «Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and European Institute of Innovation and Technology - Recent and Future Develop-ments». Speakers of the presentation were Mr. Bodo Richter and Mrs. Gloria Nunes Rodrigues from the Directorate-General for Edu-cation and Culture of the Eu-ropean Commission.

The event was organised within the framework of the IGLO net-work (Informal Group of RTD Liaison Offices in Brussels), in which EOC is an active member. The event gathered 50 participants, IGLO members and representa-tives of a number of external Research and Innovation organisations that collaborate with

IGLO.

In his presentation about the Marie Skłodow-ska-Curie Actions, Mr. Richter referred to the participation’s statistics in the previous MSCA calls, as well as to the success rates. The new work programme 2016-2017 will move along the same lines as the previous work programme, meaning yearly calls in each MSCA funding scheme (ΙΤΝ, IF, RISE , CO-FUND), except for the European Research-ers’ Night (NIGHT) covering again 2 edi-tions. The main novelties of the new work programme 2016-2017 are the following:

Consortia agreements are mandatory for ITN and RISE actions - Members of consortium are required to conclude a con-sortium agreement, in principle prior to the signature of the grant agreement.

All applicants to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie calls are encouraged to adopt a Re-sponsible Research and Innovation approach into their proposals.

Applicants are encouraged to include elements of Open Science in the training of re-searchers.

Gender aspects are inte-

grated in the award criteria.

Further involvement of the non-academic sector in IF – creation of a new “Society and Enterprise Panel” in

European Fellowships.

With regards to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the 2016 call for proposals will open on 14 January 2016 (with deadline: 14 July 2016) for the creation of two new Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) in the following two thematics:

Food4Future - Sustainable Supply Chain

from Resources to Consumers; and

Added-value Manufacturing.

An information day on the new EIT call for proposals will be organised by the European Commission on 18 February 2016 in Brus-

sels.

The IGLO network is recognised by the offi-cials of the European Commission and other EU institutions as one of the strongest net-works in the field of research and develop-ment based in Brussels.

More information and for receiving the presentations: eoc.brussels@ucy.ac.cy

P A G E 2 I S S U E 1 0 1

The aim of the ORGANIKO LIFE+ project is to demonstrate the comparative advantages of organic versus conventional farming and their products, using indicators of mitiga-tion efficiency to climate change, agronomic and environmental quality, and decreased children exposures to diet-based pesticides

Actions will involve the mapping of all relevant stakeholders from producers to retailers and assessment of consumer attitudes towards or-ganic products using questionnaire surveys. Model crops will be cultivated in three specific districts of the Republic of Cyprus, covering a wide geographic area (200 ha). Both organical-ly-grown and conventional apples and barley will be produced in order to allow their comparative as-sessment with respect to climate mitigation and agricul-tural performance characteristics. Organic products from these pilot farms will be qualitatively assessed using spe-cific bioindicators and environmental metrics.

Additionally, a health intervention children’s study (9-12 yrs old) will be implemented to showcase the reduced chemical (pesticides) body burden for those consuming an organic diet. Children will be alternatively fed with or-ganic and conventional diets and a mixture of selected pesticides will be analyzed in chil-dren’s urine. Periodic monitoring of the perfor-mance of indicators will be conducted. Com-munication and outreach events in both Cy-prus and Italy will diffuse project findings and provide international networking opportunities among interested stakeholders.

The duration of the ORGANIKO LIFE+ pro-ject is 4 years and it is coordinated by the

Cyprus University of Technology jointly with three main partners: the Agricultural Research Institute, the Department of Environment in Cyprus and the

Kyoto Club from Italy.

New European project for organic products

coordinated by the CUT

New International Master delivered by the Open University of Cyprus,

and the Universities of Glasgow, Malta and Tallinn

The Open University of Cyprus (OUC), the University of Glasgow (project coor-dinator), the University of Malta and Tallinn University will offer, as of 2016, a new Erasmus International joint Masters degree entitled “Adult Education for Social Change” (IMAESC). The programme is funded within the framework of the Erasmus Mundus: Key Action 1- Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees (EMJmDs) programme. This collaboration is important for OUC, as it contrib-

utes to the University’s internationalization and offers opportunities for student and staff mobility within the European Union, but also with third-country universities.

The “Adult Education for Social Change” (Erasmus Mundus International Master) is one of the 15 out of the 76 sub-mitted proposals that obtained funding. With a total funding of approximately 3 million Euro secured, 55 full scholar-ships (covering tuition, accommodation and transportation) will be offered to candidate students over a five-year peri-od (2016-2020).Courses will be delivered in Glasgow, Malta and Tallinn, while the Open University of Cyprus cours-es will be delivered at Malta and Tallinn as online modules. The programme also has an optional summer school in Penang at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

A distinctive feature of this programme is the connection between theory and practice, gained through focused place-ments and mobility periods between the partner universities. The international Master draws together the recognized strengths of the consortium partners into a relevant, joint degree that engages with and responds to such issues as social inequality, migration and intercultural cooperation. The programme aims to deliver a curriculum that enables people to work with adults effectively and competently in changing socially diverse contexts. Students will receive a theoretical grounding in adult education, as well as intercultural and practical skills development though teaching placements, focused seminars and online courses. Professor Heribert Hinzen, Senior Policy Advisor at the Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband DVV International, commented on the Erasmus Mundus International Master as “excellent work, and so many opportunities to work on this jointly, and extend into many more areas. This is the best news of the summer”, while Professor Arne Carlsen, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, stated that she was “delighted that the European Commission will prioritise this”.

Assistant Professor Maria N. Gravani, is the IMAESC’s academic Coordinator. Dr. Gravani is also Academic Coor-dinator of OUC’s Master programme “Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning” of the Open University of Cyprus.

More information: http://www.ouc.ac.cy/web/guest/s1/programme/imaesc/

More information: Dr. Konstantinos Makris, tel. +357-25002398, email: Konstantinos.makris@cut.ac.cy or https://www.cut.ac.cy/news/article/?contentId=127290

P A G E 3 I S S U E 1 0 1

Marie Curie Actions FP7 Fellow Certificates

Fellows who have completed a research period within one of the 7th Framework Programme, Marie Curie actions, may now request a “Marie Curie Award Certificate”.

During the Seventh Framework programme (FP7), the Marie Curie ac-tions funded around 50 000 fellows of 140 different nationalities involv-ing more than 19 700 host organisations. The fellows can now request a

Marie Curie award certificate covering the time of their fellowship. Marie Curie fellows will have the opportunity to add to their Curriculum Vitae the Marie Curie certificate as part of their research careers.

The certificate has to be requested by the project contact person or the legal entity authorised representative (LEAR) at the coordinating institution mentioned in the Grant Agreement, by completing an online form which can be obtained via the REA website. The information will be checked automatically against the information in the REA da-tabase and the certificate will be sent by e-mail to the project contact person.

Please note that, at the moment, Award Certificates can only be issued for FP7 projects. For H2020 projects, a sep-arate application will be made available in due time.

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/rea/secure/mc_certificates_en.htm

The goal of this new "Horizon 2020 Prize - Food Scanner" contest is to im-prove the quality of citizens' health and well-being by helping them to better monitor their food intake with the use of a food scanner. The technological solution(s) submitted should benefit a wide range of the EU population, from healthy citi-zens to citizens suffering from food intolerance, obe-sity or allergies, by providing meaningful information on their food consumption.

This Horizon 2020 Inducement Prize will be awarded to the most significant development towards a portable solu-tion that, alone or in combination with other devices (e.g. smartphones), will enable the European citizens to detect nutrition facts and allergens in several types of food in a

precise, efficient and timely manner, using a non-invasive and non-destructive ap-proach, with the goal to help them make optimal informed choices and to improve their health and well-being.

The contest is open to any legal entity (including natural persons) or group of legal entities es-tablished in an EU Member State or in a country associ-ated to Horizon 2020.

The total available budget for the contest is 1.000.000 EUR, while applicants must submit their proposal until 9

March 2016.

Horizon Prize - Food Scanner

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizonprize/index.cfm?prize=food-scanner

New analysis of ERC projects funded in 2007-2013

The European Research Council (ERC) has published an analysis of the portfolio of its projects funded from 2007 to 2013 under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for Re-search and Innovation (FP7). The report entitled "Science behind projects" provides a gen-eral overview of the research landscape of ERC projects in the domains of life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities.

The report gives information on the main scientific areas funded by the ERC in the Starting Grant (StG), Consolidator Grant (CoG) and Advanced Grant (AdG) calls launched under FP7. Until

2013 the ERC funded over 4,300 research projects from over 40,000 submitted proposals with a budget of €7.5 bil-lion.

More information: http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publication/files/ERC_Science_behind_the_projects_FP7-2007-2013.pdf

P A G E 4 I S S U E 1 0 1

On 15 September 2015, a new Joint Action addressing rare diseases, co-financed by the EU Health Programme, kicked off at a meeting in Luxembourg. All Member States are involved, as well as Norway, Iceland, Georgia, Armenia and Australia, giving the initiative a European as well as a global perspective.

In the EU, any disease affecting fewer than 5 people in 10.000 is considered rare. There are an estimated 5-8000 distinct rare diseases. Taken together, they affect 6-8% of the EU population - between 27 and 36 million people. In this context, the Joint Action will run until the end of May 2018, while its general objectives are,

among others:

To support the further development and sustainability of the Orphanet database on rare diseases. This database is the biggest repository of information about rare diseases globally, and is run by a large consortium of

European partners;

To contribute to solutions to ensure an appropriate codification of rare diseases in health information systems;

To continue implementation of the priorities identified in the 2009 Council Recommendation and the 2008 Commission Communication on Rare Diseases, and to support the work of the Commission Expert Group on Rare Diseases by gathering expertise and producing data necessary to its action.

Joint Action for rare diseases

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_food-safety/dyna/enews/enews.cfm?al_id=1619

Better access to medicines in poorest countries

The European Commission agreed on 10 September 2015 to support the least developed countries' (LDCs) call for easier access to cheaper medicines by means of an indefinite ex-emption from World Trade Organization (WTO) intellectual property rules for pharmaceuti-cals. This exemption allows generic medicines to be imported, and produced locally. It means producers of generics can supply drugs like HIV treatment in affected countries

without fear of patent infringement suits.

The Council must now decide on the Commission's proposal (mid October). This will determine the position to be taken by the Commission on behalf of the European Union in the WTO special Council on intellectual property - the TRIPS Council.

More information: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5620_en.htm

More information: http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:346515-2015:TEXT:EN:HTML&tabId=0

The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission has published a call for tenders concerning a "Pilot project related to ‘Reducing health inequalities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) people".

The general objective of the study is to better understand the specific health inequalities experienced by LGBTI people, focusing in particular on overlapping inequalities stemming from discrimination (also unintentional) and unfair treatment on other grounds and the barriers faced

by health professionals when providing care to those groups. The objectives of the project are to raise awareness and to provide health pro-fessionals with specific tools to ensure that they have the right skills and knowledge to

overcome those barriers and contribute to the reduction of health inequalities.

The estimated value of this contract is from 350 000 EUR up to a maximum of 450 000 EUR. The deadline for sub-

mission of tenders is 16 November 2015.

Reducing health inequalities

Updating radiation safety standards in medicine

On International and European basic safety standards (BSS) that protect people from the dangers of radiation in medicine have recently been updated and the EU is now working hard in implementing them. That was the message emerging from a medical-focussed side event at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference held on 14 September 2015 in Vienna.

The use of nuclear techniques in medicine needs to be safe, keeping workers, patients, the public and the environment free from the hazards of radiation exposure. To prevent such harm, interna-

tional and European basic safety standards for radiation protection are vital. The key challenge facing the sector over the coming years is putting into practice the safety standards, which were recently updated in line with the latest sci-entific knowledge and the technological advances.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/news/updating-radiation-safety-standards-medicine

Evaluation of national actions regarding the transposition of Council

Directive 2013/59/Euratom's requirements in the medical sector

The Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission has published a call for tenders with the title “Evaluation of na-tional actions regarding the transposition of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom's require-ments in the medical sector”. The general objective of this study is to evaluate Mem-ber States' activities for the transposition and implementation of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom in the medical area. This evaluation shall facilitate the detection of issues, an exchange of first experiences and resolutions, and the identifica-tion of good practices.

The recently published new Basic Safety Standards Di-rective, (Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom's), modernis-es European radiation protection legislation. The new BSS Directive was given a broader scope and a com-pletely new structure improving coherence and clarity of both definitions and requirements. Additionally, the new

BSS Directive introduces strengthened require-ments on emergency preparedness and re-sponse, especially with a view to the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident. The Commission is aware that the transposition and implementation of this comprehensive piece of legislation will constitute a major challenge for the respective national legislators and regula-tors in European Union Member States, candi-

date States, and EFTA States. The Commission is there-fore planning to organise actions and activities to monitor the transposition of the BSS Directive into Member States' national legislation and to support its implementa-tion.

The total value of the contract has been estimated at 100.000 EUR. The deadline for submission of tenders is on 10 November 2015.

More information: http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:348981-2015:TEXT:EN:HTML

P A G E 5 I S S U E 1 0 1

Liquefied Natural Gas and gas storage

The European Commission hold on 22 September 2015, a conference to debate the EU's upcoming strategy for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and gas storage. The strategy is due to be published early next year and will be part of the EU's plans for Energy Un-ion.

The conference demonstrated the need for new energy infrastructure, how to make better use of existing infrastructure, whether there are any regulatory, commercial or legal barriers, as

well as international aspects including energy diplomacy and barriers to trade. LNG is a growing market in Europe, with new suppliers including the US and Australia. Meanwhile, LNG prices are falling, creating more opportunities for LNG across the continent. Both gas storage and LNG play important roles in the diversification of gas supply sources and in creating more flexibility in Europe's gas system.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/news/conference-debates-eu-lng-and-gas-storage-strategy

The EU and the International Atomic Ener-gy Agency (IAEA) are continuing to ensure that the momentum to improve global nu-clear safety is maintained and increased. In fact, the European Commission, represent-ing EU countries, participated in negotia-tions to amend the IAEA Convention on Nuclear Safety. This is one of the most important re-marks from the IAEA's General Conference, which started on 14 September 2015, in Vienna.

Since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, nuclear safety has been enhanced, while in Europe, a revised nuclear safety directive was adopted in July 2014 and EU

countries have to transpose it in their national laws by August 2017. In addition the Com-mission assessed the progress made by the EU countries in implementing the 2009 safety directive and will soon issue its report.

Meanwhile, cooperation on nuclear issues has been enhanced between the EU and the

IAEA. Both organisations work closely to achieve com-mon goals on nuclear safety, security, and safeguards, on security of supply, and nuclear research and innova-tion. Last but not least, emergency preparedness and response is also a key area of work for the two bodies.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/news/boosting-nuclear-safety-eu-and-internationally

Boosting nuclear safety in the EU and internationally

P A G E 6 I S S U E 1 0 1

New priorities in education and training up to 2020

A draft joint report by the European Commission and the member states which was published on 1 September 2015 calls for strengthening cooperation in educa-tion and training up to 2020 and especially to promote social inclusion. The draft of a joint report by the Commission and Member States calls for making European education and training systems more socially inclusive, as part of the wider ef-forts to tackle radicalisation following the 2015 attacks in Paris and Copenhagen.

The Council is expected to adopt the report by the end of the year. The report also pro-poses to set the new priorities for 5 years, replacing previous 3 year cycles, to enable a longer-term impact. The six new priorities proposed by the Commission are:

1. Relevant and high-quality skills and competences, focusing on results, for employability, innovation

and active citizenship;

2. Inclusive education, equality, non-discrimination and promotion of civic competences;

3. Open and innovative education and training, including by fully embracing the digital era;

4. Strong support for educators;

5. Transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications to facilitate learning and labour mobility;

6. Sustainable investment, performance and efficiency of education and training systems.

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/education/documents/et-2020-draft-joint-report-408-2015_en.pdf

The European Commission published on 15 September 2015 the EU Youth Report 2015 that draws a full picture of the situation of young people in Europe and how policymakers have addressed it in the period 2013-2015. The Report reveals that generally young people are better educated than their predecessors and less young people drop out of school in the EU. Howev-er, 13.7 million are not in employment, education or training (NEETs) and close to 27 million are at risk of poverty or exclusion.

The EU Youth Report:

evaluates overall progress towards the objec-tives of the EU Youth Strategy, as well as pro-

gress on the priorities defined;

identifies good practices;

serves as a basis for establishing

priorities for the next work cycle.

The dire situation of young people and the need to counter risks of exclusion, marginalisation or violent radicalisation, calls for giving priority to inte-gration in society, with the ultimate purpose of allowing all young people to become active and engaged mem-bers in society. There is a particular need to reinforce links with sports and education in order to increase so-cial inclusion and increase youth competences and em-ployability.

Publication of the EU Youth Report

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/youth/policy/implementation/report_en.htm

Sport diplomacy and grassroots sport

The European Commission chose on 15 September 2015, the members of two new High-Level Groups, one on sport diplomacy and the second one on grassroots sport. Members selected include active and former athletes, academics, representatives of think tanks and media, personalities having exercised high-level responsibilities in the field of sport, representatives of major sport organisations, etc.

The aim of the sport diplomacy group will be to assess the value of sport in EU external policies, and in public diplomacy in particular. It will identify how sport can help the EU reach its external political ambitions (e.g. fostering relations with partner countries) and be an element of dialogue with third countries and regions as part of EU public diplomacy. The aim of the grassroots sport group will be to evaluate the place and role of grassroots sport in European society and provide ideas on how the EU could better support grassroots sport. It will also analyse the role of grassroots sport in the promotion of tolerance and social inclusion. Each of the groups has been asked to produce a report and a set of recommendations before summer 2016

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/sport/news/2015/0911-working-groups-grassroots-diplomacy_en.htm

Europe takes action for 12 million long-term unemployed

The European Commission has proposed on 17 September 2015, a guidance frame-work to Member States in order to better help long-term unemployed return to work. Following the re-launch of the Youth Employment Initiative in May, this is another concrete initiative in the con-text of the broader economic and social agenda of the Juncker Commission, which seeks to strength-en job creation, economic recovery and social fair-ness in Europe.

The proposal foresees that all jobseekers, who have been out of work for more than 12 months, receive an individual assessment and that they receive a job inte-gration agreement, offering them a concrete and per-sonalised plan back to work, before reaching 18 months of unemployment. The Commission's proposal looks into the services that are offered to long-term unem-

ployed to help them to re-enter the labour market and proposes specific actions to strengthen them.

The proposal puts forward three key steps:

1. Encourage the registration of long-term unemployed with an employment service;

2. Provide each registered long-term unemployed with an individual in-depth assessment to identify their needs and potential at the latest at 18 months of unemployment;

3. Offer a job integration agreement to all registered long-term unemployed.

The proposal calls for the active involvement of employ-ers through partnerships with the public authorities, en-hancing the range of services they can receive, as well as offering them targeted financial incentives.

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=2319&furtherNews=yes

P A G E 7 I S S U E 1 0 1

Challenges and opportunities of free movement of workers

Four cities, Frankfurt, Leeds, Milan and Rotterdam, examined during 2014-2015, the impact of free movement of EU workers at a local level. Each city drafted a report on the challenges and opportunities facing both workers from other EU countries wishing to integrate in the local labour market, as well as local workers and communities.

The reports present some interesting results, like among others:

mobile EU workers are a very diverse population, ranging from highly skilled globalised professionals to work-ers taking up temporary contracts in low-skilled jobs;

mobile EU workers can benefit the local economy by bringing entrepreneurial energy, purchasing goods and services, and helping to revitalise the housing market;

mobile EU workers can be at risk of exploitation, especially in the case of low-skilled workers, which can lead to negative consequences for local wages and working conditions.

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=2311&furtherNews=yes

A new report has been published on 11 September 2015, on the performance of the European Union Programme for Em-ployment and Social Innovation (EaSI), which consists of three axes: the Pro-gress, EURES, and Microfinance and So-cial Entrepreneurship axis.

With 25% of the overall Progress axis budg-et, EaSI supported the development and dissemination of high-quality comparative analytical knowledge, such as studies, periodicals, databases, methodologies and classifications. The outputs contributed for example to the country-specific recommendations, the Youth Guar-antee and the Social Investment Package. EaSI also facilitated effective and inclusive information sharing,

mutual learning and dialogue through net-works of experts, peer reviews, learning exchanges, trainings, seminars, confer-ences, communications campaigns and other methods.

Thanks to EaSI many job vacancies and applications with the corresponding infor-mation were made transparent for potential

applicants and employers, mainly through the EURES job mobility portal. 33% or € 5.2 million of the overall budget under the EURES axis was used for this pur-pose, while 67% or € 10.6 million was invested in EaSI supported services ranging from pre-recruitment prepa-ration to post-placement assistance ensuring a jobseek-er's successful integration in the labour market.

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=2291&furtherNews=yes

Evaluation of EaSI Programme

P A G E 8 I S S U E 1 0 1

Capital Markets Union: an Action Plan to boost business funding and

investment financing

The European Commission launched on 30 September 2015 the Capital Markets Union Action Plan to help build a true single market for capital across the 28 EU Member States. It also published the first and most urgent steps in that Plan, such as relaunching sound securitisation markets

The Capital Markets Union (CMU) aims to tackle investment shortages head-on by in-creasing and diversifying the funding sources for Europe’s businesses and long-term pro-jects. Alternative sources of finance, complementary to bank-financing - including capital

markets, venture capital, crowdfunding and the asset management industry - are more widely used in other parts of the world, and should play a bigger role in providing financing to companies that struggle to get funding, especially SMEs and start-ups.

Having more diversified sources of financing is good for investment and business but is also essential to financial stability, mitigating the impact of potential problems in the banking sector on companies and their access to finance. For this reason, CMU is also an important part of the work on the completion of the European Economic and Mone-tary Union.

The CMU is a medium-term project but with some important early initiatives. The Commission unveiled a first set of measures to relaunch high-quality securitisation, and to promote long-term investment in infrastructure. In addition, the Commission will announce proposed changes to the Prospectus Directive before the end of the year, with a view to making it easier and less expensive for small and medium-sized companies to raise capital.

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/finance/capital-markets-union/index_en.htm#action-plan

More information: http://tinyurl.com/p7dt6af

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to help identify ways to simplify the Value-Added Tax (VAT) payments on cross-border e-commerce transactions in the EU.

The Commission is seeking to receive a wide range of views from business owners and other interested parties before it drafts its legislative proposals on the topic in 2016, as part of the Digital Single Market strategy.

This consultation is also part of the ongoing assessment of the new rules for VAT payments on cross-border tele-

communications, broadcasting and electron-ic services which came into force last Janu-ary. The Commission is keen to garner feed-back on the associated Mini-One Stop Shop (MOSS), the tool that allows businesses that sell digital services to customers in more than one EU country to declare and pay all their VAT in their own Member State.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks and end on 18 De-cember 2015.

Modernising VAT for cross-border e-commerce

News for Small and Medium-sized

Enterprises (SMEs)

P A G E 9 I S S U E 1 0 1

The European Commission is re-launching the Virtual Tourism Obser-vatory (VTO), a repository of statisti-cal information, reports and infor-mation on policy and legislation rele-vant for the EU tourism sector.

The portal acts as a single entry point to a broad collection of information, data

and analysis on current trends in the tourism sector.

It has recently been improved with an interactive chart that provides direct access to short-term statistical indica-tors on the state of tourism in the EU and specific EU countries.

Re-launch of the Virtual Tourism Observatory

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/vto/home

Development of an Online Guide on Access to Financing and

Funding for Small Retailers

The Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission has published a call for tenders con-cerning the "Development of an online guide on access to financing and funding for small retailers".

The contract aims to develop an online guide for small retailers across Europe on how to access financing and funding to modernise, with particular focus on fi-nancing and funding to acquire and use digital technologies. This shall be devel-

oped on the basis of an extensive background analysis of existing and available sources of financing and funding, and their use.

In this framework, the selected contractor shall produce: a) A report including in particular an identification of available sources of financing and funding for small retailers, their use, the difficulties small retailers face in ac-cessing financing and funding and an identification and analysis of actions to address the difficulties faced, and b) An online, easily printable guide aimed primarily at small retailers on access to finance and funding.

The estimated budget for this tender is 350.000 EUR, while the deadline for submission of tenders is 5 November

2015.

More information: http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:337665-2015:TEXT:EN:HTML&src=0

Manufacturers of construction products who are planning to CE-mark their products or seeking advice on a 'to-do list' now have a useful new tool at their disposal. The guide is available in all EU languages.

The Guide also explains what to do if there are any changes to the product (its processes, raw mate-rials, testing, etc.) which makes it necessary to revise associated documents.

The rules for CE marking for construction products have changed since 1 July 2013. Therefore, the manufactur-

ers may need to update the CE mark-ing of your products.

The added value of CE marking is that all EU countries must allow the selling of construction products bear-ing the CE mark. This means that public authorities cannot ask for any additional marks or certificates, let alone additional testing. Therefore the manufacturers or the distributors of a product are able to trade it in any country of the European Internal Mar-ket with the same documentation.

CE marking for construction products 'step-by-step' guide

More information: http://tinyurl.com/q9rlsdd

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CALENDAR NOVEMBER 2015

World Science Forum: The Enabling Power of Science More information: http://www.sciforum.hu/

4-7 November Budapest, Hungary

Info Day on the Horizon 2020 Work programme 2016-2017 'Smart, green and integrated transport' More information: http://tinyurl.com/ptwdbg3

5 November Brussels, Belgium

Info Day on Smart Cities & Communities - Horizon 2020 ‘Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy’ More information: http://tinyurl.com/qjccjgy

6 November Brussels, Belgium

Conference on Quality Assurance of Cross-Border Higher Education More information: http://tinyurl.com/oxx8tu6

5-6 November Paris, France

First International Conference on anticipation More information: http://tinyurl.com/on35rc3

5-7 November Trento, Italy

Gender Summit 7: Mastering gender in research performance, contexts, and outcomes More information: http://www.gender-summit.com/gs7-about

6-7 November Berlin, Germany

Bioeconomy Investment Summit More information: http://tinyurl.com/q9tgpvp

9-10 November Brussels, Belgium

Horizon 2020 Space Information Days 2015 More information: https://www.b2match.eu/h2020-space-infoday

9-10 November Brussels, Belgium

Building Next Generation e-Infrastructures through Communities More information: http://cf2015.egi.eu/

10-13 November Bari, Italy

European Conference on Ambient Intelligence More information: http://www.ami-conferences.org/2015/

11-13 November Athens, Greece

European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Diseases Epidemiology More information: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/ESCAIDE/Pages/ESCAIDE.aspx

11-13 November Stockholm, Sweden

International Conference ICT for Language Learning 2015 More information: http://conference.pixel-online.net/ICT4LL/index.php

12-13 November Florence, Italy

European Tourism Indicators System conference and Accessible Tourism workshop More information: http://tinyurl.com/p2fzge7

16-17 November Brussels, Belgium

European Data Forum 2015 More information: http://2015.data-forum.eu/

16-17 November Luxembourg

The 3rd European Health Literacy Conference More information: http://tinyurl.com/p545sq4

17-19 November Brussels, Belgium

5th Global Innovation Forum More information: http://tinyurl.com/or76ncu

18-19 November London,

United Kingdom

Social Innovation 2015: Pathways to Social Change More information: http://www.si-drive.eu/?page_id=1135

18-19 November Vienna, Austria

Striving for Excellence in Higher Education: Bringing Education and the World of Work Together More information: http://phexcel.eurashe.eu/conference/

18-19 November London,

United, Kingdom

10th European Quality Assurance Forum: Taking stock and looking forward More information: http://www.eua.be/events/upcoming/EQAF-2015/Home.aspx

19-21 November London,

United, Kingdom

Innovation for Growth - Public conference More information: http://tinyurl.com/ogba3gh

20 November Barcelona, Spain

Erasmus+ Info Day 2015 Knowledge Alliances and Sector Skills Alliances More information: http://tinyurl.com/oaeq6yo

23 November Brussels, Belgium

Heritage Meets Innovation More information: http://www.heritagetourismhospitality.org/

26-27 November Amsterdam, Netherlands

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30 November - 1 December

London, United Kingdom

Mediterranean Microwave Symposium (MMS) More information: http://www.electromagnetics.unisalento.it/mms2015/

30 November - 2 December Lecce, Italy

H2020 Info Day: Smart Cyber-Physical Systems, Digital Automation, Smart Anything Everywhere and ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs Initiatives More information: http://tinyurl.com/nzdj63n

1 December Brussels, Belgium

Joint Digital Healthcare 2015 Symposium More information: http://tinyurl.com/pzllzld

1-2 December Brussels, Belgium

European Nanoelectronics Forum 2015 More information: http://www.nanoelectronicsforum.org/

1-2 December Berlin, Germany

Principles of Pharma Market Access in Europe More information: http://tinyurl.com/o3fah3y

1-2 December Brussels, Belgium

PATHOLOGY 2015 More information: http://lifescienceevents.com/pathology-2015-1st-3rd-dec-2015/

1-3 December London,

United Kingdom

The Healthcare IT Exchange More information: http://tinyurl.com/p8dwmu7

2-3 December Birmingham,

United Kingdom

8th annual Consumer Behaviour in Tourism Symposium - CBTS2015 More information: http://www.cbts2015.org/

2-4 December Munich, Germany

Annual Conference in Financial Supervision in the EU 2015 More information: http://tinyurl.com/no6a3x7

3-4 December Brussels, Belgium

4th International Congress on Tourism More information: http://tinyurl.com/p4d2ut2

3-5 December Guimaraes, Portugal

International Research Conference on Health and Medical Sciences More information: http://mcmscience.org/index.php/conference-2015/irchms-2015

4 December Tirana, Albania

Launch of the Covenant on demographic change More information: http://tinyurl.com/nwfshvn

7 December Brussels, Belgium

7th European Innovation Summit More information: http://tinyurl.com/ptaerdj

7-10 December Brussels, Belgium

4th Annual Medical Device Access Leaders Forum More information: http://medicaldeviceaccess2015.nextlevelpharma.com/

8 December Berlin, Germany

Roles of sleep and circadian rhythms in the origin and nutritional management of obesity and metabolic disease More information: https://www.rsm.ac.uk/nutrition2015

8-9 December London,

United Kingdom

Public Safety Communications Europe (PSCE) conference More information: http://www.psc-europe.eu/index.php?id=429

9 December Oxford,

United Kingdom

The 6th Annual European Data Protection & Privacy Conference More information: http://www.eu-ems.com/summary.asp?event_id=266&page_id=2397

10 December Brussels, Belgium

8th International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technology More information: http://www.iccsit.org/

10-11 December Amsterdam, Netherlands

2nd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence More information: http://www.icoai.org/

10-11 December Amsterdam, Netherlands

Info and stakeholders' day on Smart Wearables More information: http://tinyurl.com/olzx2rd

11 December Brussels, Belgium

European Tourism Day 2015 More information: http://tinyurl.com/olm7o7x

16 December Brussels, Belgium

Macro - Trend Conference on Technology and Engineering More information: http://macrojournals.com/paris/technology_and_innovation

21-22 December Paris, France

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CALENDAR JANUARY2016 7th International course on Ophthalmic and Oculoplastic reconstruction and trauma surgery More information: http://tinyurl.com/onf6arx

13-15 January Vienna, Austria

Energy Efficient Construction 2016 More information: https://www.b2match.eu/energydaysgraz2016

14 January Graz, Austria

Information and Networking Days on Horizon 2020 Big Data topics More information: http://tinyurl.com/qcdsr3s

14-15 January Brussels, Belgium

World Congress on Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (WCRPL 2016) More information: http://tinyurl.com/p8n99p6

14-17 January Cannes, France

The Shoulder - International Conference Shoulder Revision Arthroplasty 2016 More information: http://www.shoulderconference.org/

15-16 January Hamburg, Germany

3rd International Workshop on Lung Health. Asthma and COPD: converging More information: http://www.lung-health.org/

15 - 17 January Monaco

Graphene Study Workshop 2016 More information: http://graphene-flagship.eu/graphenestudy/

17-22 January Chamonix Valley,

France

Bridging the Digital Divide: Ensuring High-Speed and Quality Internet in Europe Beyond 2020

More information: http://www.publicpolicyexchange.co.uk/events/GA19-PPE2 19 January

Brussels, Belgium

15th International Electronics Recycling Congress IERC 2016 More information: http://www.icm.ch/ierc-2016

19-22 January Salzburg, Austria

Unlocking the Potential of Mobile Health in Europe: Removing Barriers to the Empowerment of Citizens More information: http://www.publicpolicyexchange.co.uk/events/GA20-PPE2

20 January Brussels, Belgium

5th Annual Pharmaceutical Microbiology More information: http://tinyurl.com/nklr374

20-21 January London,

United Kingdom

CDDF – ITCC – SIOPE 4th Paediatric Oncology Conference More information: http://cddf.org/4th-cddf-paediatric-oncology-conference/

20-21 January Brussels, Belgium

Social Media in the Pharmaceutical Industry More information: http://tinyurl.com/nsk9u2p

20-21 January London,

United Kingdom

Cultural and Creative Industries in Europe: Promoting Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

More information: http://www.publicpolicyexchange.co.uk/events/GA21-PPE2

21 January Brussels, Belgium

Second Sustainable Nanotechnology School More information: http://www.sun-fp7.eu/events/upcoming-events/2nd-nanoschool/

24-29 January Venice, Italy

CfP Knowledge, Policymaking and Learning in European Metropolitan Areas: Experi-ences and Approaches More information: http://tinyurl.com/o6ed844

25-26 January Brussels, Belgium

Viruses 2016 - At the Forefront of Virus–Host Interactions More information: http://sciforum.net/conference/viruses-2016

26-28 January Basel, Switzerland

Accelerated Computing in Discrete Optimization More information: https://www.sintef.no/projectweb/collab/collab-ii-workshop/

28-29 January Oslo, Norway

I S S U E 1 0 1 P A G E 1 3

Members of the European Office of Cyprus

UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS

http://www.ucy.ac.cy/goto/mainportal/en-US/HOME.aspx

OPEN UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS

http://www.ouc.ac.cy/web/guest/home

CYPRUS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

http://www.cut.ac.cy/?languageId=2

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY CYPRUS

http://www.euc.ac.cy/

FREDERICK UNIVERSITY

http://www.frederick.ac.cy/

NEAPOLIS UNIVERSITY PAFOS

http://www.nup.ac.cy/

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE - CYPRUS (UCLAN CYPRUS)

http://www.uclancyprus.ac.cy/

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE

http://www.moec.gov.cy/en/index.html

CYPRUS SPORT ORGANISATION

http://www.sportskoa.org.cy/

AGLANTZIA MUNICIPALITY

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NICOSIA MUNICIPALITY

http://www.nicosia.org.cy/english/greekhome.shtm

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EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF ERASMUS COORDINATORS (EAEC)

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CENTRE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF R&D IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY (CARDET)

http://www.cardet.org/

PwC

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CONTACT ADVERTISING AGENCY LTD

http://www.contact.com.cy/

Full Members

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Μembers of the European Office of Cyprus

COOPERATIVE CENTRAL BANK LTD

http://www.coopbank.com.cy/

CHURCH OF CYPRUS

http://www.churchofcyprus.org.cy/index.php?lang=en

CYPRUS TOURISM ORGANISATION (CTO)

http://www.visitcyprus.biz/

CYPRUS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (CCCI)

http://www.ccci.org.cy/

UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA

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CYPRUS INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

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ΙΜΗ

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STROVOLOS MUNICIPALITY

http://www.strovolos.org.cy/default.asp?id=24

THE CYPRUS INSTITUTE

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Associate Members

Editing: European Office of Cyprus - Brussels Office

For more information: eoc.brussels@ucy.ac.cy

Rosemary Strevinioti Christos Katsalis Head of Brussels Office Officer

E-mail: strevinioti.rozamaria@ucy.ac.cy E-mail: katsalis.christos@ucy.ac.cy

European Office of Cyprus

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Brussels: Rue du Luxembourg 3, B-1000, Brussels, Tel./Fax: +32 (0) 2 280 22 85 Nicosia: University of Cyprus, University House “A.G. Leventis”, P.O. Box 20537, 1678 Nicosia,

Tel.: +357 22894294 - Fax: +357 22895005

FACULTY OF MEDICINE, NATIONAL AND KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS http://www.aueb.gr/index_en.php

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International Members