EUROPEAN NEWS Eidiseis/2017/6-2017_EN.pdfOn 10-12 June 2017, the 4th Transnational Meeting of the...

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Ημερολόγιο ευρωπαϊκών εκδηλώσεων 9 IN THIS ISSUE : News from EOC 1 News from EOC’s members 2-3 Institutional issues 4 Research & Innovation 5 Health 6 Energy and Environment 7 Education 8 News of Enter- prise Europe Net- 9-10 Calendars September - October 2017 10-11 Ε UROPEAN OFFICE OF CYPRUS EUROPEAN NEWS JUNE 2017 ISSUE 122 On Friday 2nd of June 2017, the European Office of Cyprus’ (EOC) Annual General Assembly was held in Nicosia, during which the elec- tions for the new EOC Administra- tive Council for the 2017-2020 peri- od were held, as well as for the new Executive Director of the organisation. President of the Administrated Council was elected Mr. Christodoulides Christo- foros, Director of Administration and Fi- nance at the Open University of Cyprus(for the period from 2 June 2017 to 30 November 2018) and Dr. Fellas Konstantinos, Vice- Rector of Schools & Research, University of Nicosia (from 1 December 2018 to 31 May 2020). Dr. Konstantinou Andreas, Profes- sor at the Department of Biological Scienc- es of the University of Cyprus was elected as the EOC Executive Director. During the General Assembly, the new Action Plan of the Organisation for the next three years was present- ed, with the aim of further developing the EOC, strengthening the repre- sentation and promotion of its mem- ber organisations and their positions, the effective use of the financial opportunities offered by the EU and the support of interna- tional links and partnerships and participation in European networks. The amended Statute of the Organisation, which enhances the par- ticipatory and democratic structure, organisa- tion and operation of the EOC, was also pre- sented, providing all its member organisations with the opportunity to assert the Chairman- ship of the Administrative Council and the po- sition of Executive Director. More information: eoc@ucy.ac.cy EOC General Assembly - Appointment of New Executive Director and Administrative Council “EmpAct”: educational programmes for adults 50+ On 10-12 June 2017, the 4th Transnational Meeting of the «EmpACT: Empower Active Ageing» project, in which EOC is participating as a partner, took place in Piraeus. The meeting was organised by the University of Piraeus. The “EmpACT” project is aimed at improving low- skilled adults through formal and informal learning, vali- dating skills and competencies by issuing certification of acquired skills, competencies and knowledge, and in that way reduce the number of low- skilled adults over 50 years old and promote social inclusion and entrepreneurship. The partners of the project had the chance to get acquainted with the final version of the online learning portal “One stop shop” and attend the educational programmes for adults over 50 with low level soft, social entrepreneurship and ICT skills. The six partners of the project from Bulgaria (Step by Step Program Foundation – Coordina- tor), Greece (University of Piraeus), Italy (ECOLE - Enti Confindustriali Lombardi per l'Educa- tion), Cyprus (EOC, Enoros Consulting) and Portugal (Instituto Politecnido de Portalegre) will meet again in October, in Portalegre, Portugal, where the final results of the project will be presented). More information: http://empactproject.eu/ INFO DAYS “Save the Date: Industrial Innovation Information Days 2017” 3-4 October 2017 Brussels, Belgium http://tinyurl.com/y7p2e5ph “Save the Date: Info Day and brokerage event on the Horizon 2020 WP 2018-2020, Challenge "Climate Action, Environ- ment, Resource Efficiency & Raw Materials"” 8-9 November 2017 Brussels, Belgium http://tinyurl.com/yaphw4mh “Save the Date: Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 2 Info week” 14-17 November 2017 Brussels, Belgium http://tinyurl.com/y8ynxk47

Transcript of EUROPEAN NEWS Eidiseis/2017/6-2017_EN.pdfOn 10-12 June 2017, the 4th Transnational Meeting of the...

Page 1: EUROPEAN NEWS Eidiseis/2017/6-2017_EN.pdfOn 10-12 June 2017, the 4th Transnational Meeting of the «EmpACT: Empower Active Ageing» project, in which EOC is participating as a partner,

Ημερολόγιο

ευρωπαϊκών

εκδηλώσεων

9

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

News from EOC 1

News from EOC’s

members 2-3

Institutional

issues 4

Research &

Innovation 5

Health 6

Energy and

Environment 7

Education 8

News of Enter-

prise Europe Net-9-10

Calendars

September -

October 2017

10-11

Ε U R O P E A N

O F F I C E O F

C Y P R U S

EUROPEAN

NEWS J U N E 2 0 1 7 I S S U E 1 2 2

On Friday 2nd of June 2017, the European Office of Cyprus’ (EOC) Annual General Assembly was held in Nicosia, during which the elec-tions for the new EOC Administra-tive Council for the 2017-2020 peri-od were held, as well as for the new Executive Director of the organisation.

President of the Administrated Council was elected Mr. Christodoulides Christo-foros, Director of Administration and Fi-nance at the Open University of Cyprus(for the period from 2 June 2017 to 30 November 2018) and Dr. Fellas Konstantinos, Vice-Rector of Schools & Research, University of Nicosia (from 1 December 2018 to 31 May 2020). Dr. Konstantinou Andreas, Profes-sor at the Department of Biological Scienc-es of the University of Cyprus was elected

as the EOC Executive Director.

During the General Assembly, the new Action Plan of the Organisation for the next three years was present-ed, with the aim of further developing the EOC, strengthening the repre-sentation and promotion of its mem-ber organisations and their positions,

the effective use of the financial opportunities offered by the EU and the support of interna-tional links and partnerships and participation in European networks. The amended Statute of the Organisation, which enhances the par-ticipatory and democratic structure, organisa-tion and operation of the EOC, was also pre-sented, providing all its member organisations with the opportunity to assert the Chairman-ship of the Administrative Council and the po-sition of Executive Director.

More information: [email protected]

EOC General Assembly - Appointment of New Executive

Director and Administrative Council

“EmpAct”: educational programmes for adults 50+

On 10-12 June 2017, the 4th Transnational Meeting of the «EmpACT: Empower Active Ageing» project, in which EOC is participating as a partner, took place in Piraeus. The meeting was organised by the University of Piraeus.

The “EmpACT” project is aimed at improving low-skilled adults through formal and informal learning, vali-dating skills and competencies by issuing certification

of acquired skills, competencies and knowledge, and in that way reduce the number of low-skilled adults over 50 years old and promote social inclusion and entrepreneurship.

The partners of the project had the chance to get acquainted with the final version of the online learning portal “One stop shop” and attend the educational programmes for

adults over 50 with low level soft, social entrepreneurship and ICT skills.

The six partners of the project from Bulgaria (Step by Step Program Foundation – Coordina-tor), Greece (University of Piraeus), Italy (ECOLE - Enti Confindustriali Lombardi per l'Educa-tion), Cyprus (EOC, Enoros Consulting) and Portugal (Instituto Politecnido de Portalegre) will meet again in October, in Portalegre, Portugal, where the final results of the project will be presented).

More information: http://empactproject.eu/

INFO DAYS

“Save the Date:

Industrial Innovation Information Days 2017”

3-4 October 2017 Brussels, Belgium

http://tinyurl.com/y7p2e5ph

“Save the Date: Info Day and brokerage

event on the Horizon 2020 WP 2018-2020, Challenge "Climate Action, Environ-

ment, Resource Efficiency & Raw Materials"”

8-9 November 2017 Brussels, Belgium

http://tinyurl.com/yaphw4mh

“Save the Date: Horizon 2020 Societal

Challenge 2 Info week” 14-17 November 2017

Brussels, Belgium http://tinyurl.com/y8ynxk47

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European Citizens for Solidarity - EUROSOL

The EuroSol project attempts to bring together citizens from different countries who may have different perceptions about asylum and migration and encourage them to re-negotiate the terms of asylum and migration. More analytically, citizens from 8 Member States will re-flect to and propose concrete solutions that can be found through EU cooperation in support to the initiatives carried out by the EU institutions in the field. Debates, cultural events and constructive dialogues among various stakeholders will strive for common accepted solu-tions at both the local and national level and will exchange thoughts and opinions at Europe-an level in an attempt to influence politicians and policy makers on promoting intercultural

dialogue, combating stigmatization of immigrants and fostering tolerance and empathy, which in turn will bring about more cohesive, respectful, peaceful and tolerant EU societies.

University of Nicosia Research Foundation under the coordination of Altius Francisco de Vitoria Foundation (Spain), and in partnership with General Directorate of Social Services and Social Integration - Community of Madrid (Spain), Ateneo Pontificio Regina Aposotolorum – UNESCO Chair in Bioethics & Human Rights (Italy), BIDA e.V Kultur und Bildung (Germany), European Information Centre (Bulgaria), Stowarzyszenie B-4 (Poland), Vilniaus verslo kolegija (Lithuania) and Diagrama Foundation (UK) will engage 750 direct and approx-imately 16.000 indirect beneficiaries to a number of different events in the field of solidarity, social engagement and volunteering at EU level.

More information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/eurosol/

Urbagri4women: integration of migrant women in the receiving

society within urban agriculture practices

Urbagri4Women is a European project funded by the European Commission Asylum, Migration and Integra-tion Fund (AMIF) [Proect Number: HOME_2015_AMIF_AG_INTE_9098]. It aims to foster the integration of mi-grant women, including asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection in the host society, ena-bling them to develop innovative and subsistence agricultural initiatives that contributes to urban rehabilita-tion.

In the absence of an effective policy of inclusion of migrants in the EU, the Urbagri4Women project implements sev-eral initiatives promoting the integration of migrant women in 7 European countries from 7 organisations: TAMAT – Italy (Leading Organisation); AIDGLOBAL – Portugal; AMSED – France; CARDET – Cyprus; GYROS – Eng-land; IED – Greece; and Südwind – Austria. Urbagri4Women promotes social inclusion and female empowerment through the rehabilitation of urban outskirts, currently in a situation of abandonment or decay, where the practice of urban agriculture is applied through practical laboratories that aim to foster intercultural dialogue and more sustaina-ble cities and communities.

This two-years-project (December 2016 – November 2018) will focus on six main activities:

7 Urban Agriculture Lab

21 Focus Groups with regional communities with specific know-how

Transnational Workshop of Good Practices in Strasbourg, France

Transnational Gardening Contest

Green Paper and Manifesto on the integration of migrant women

Final Conference in Lisbon, Portugal

For joining Urbagri4women Focus Groups and for further information:

[email protected]

Integration of Migrant Learners, Asylum Seekers and Refugees

This briefing is a part of the Cross-Country Analysis report of a European Commission funded project called “Supporting Integration of Migrant Learners, Asylum Seekers and Ref-ugees” (SIMILAR) involving organisations from Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary and Cyprus. Based on the desktop research, literature review and interviews with migrants and experts in the context of the SIMILAR project, the fol-lowing recommendations can be delineated among others:

Need for the development and implementation of a concrete measure within the context of a National Plan (for all countries).

Generally initiatives that are for migrants and not with do not seem to be successful in the framework of integration.

A more transparent and rights-based labour migration system.

Uninhibited access of all migrants to education and promotion of a genuine intercultural and anti-

racial education.

Training for Professionals and Local authorities.

Orientation courses and language courses to all mi-grants.

More information: www.similarproject.eu.

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“You.Change.Com” Empowering Young Disadvantaged Individuals

The world is gradually becoming witness to the disenfranchisement of youth. The central aim of You.Change.Com is to promote em-powerment and active citizenship of young people, social entrepreneurship and high-quality of youth work. Its purpose is to recruit young people acting as “change makers” in their communities to conceive and carry out local strategies for socio-economic development, utilising disused spaces (land recycling). The project’s innovation and added value lies in the very fact that it does not merely seek to train young people and develop their skills on entrepreneurship and business principles. The project goes beyond by opening up ways in local communities in which young people can shape

their ideas and put them into practice.

Another innovative component of You.Change.Com stems from its potential for in-stigating wider public recognition of the value of youth contribution in local development process-es. It sets the example that young people can be active and positive agents within their own com-

munities, given the platform and supplies, and social in-clusion initiatives for disadvantaged youth can have a positive ripple effect for the broader community.

The Project is funded by the European Commission and

will run for 24 months (September 2016 – August 2018).

More information: https://you-change-com.eu/

Youth Empowerment and Innovation Project (YEIP)

Recognizing the urgent need to address the radicalization of youth, the Youth Empower-ment and Innovation (YEIP) project will give voice to young people from all over Europe, particularly those who tend to be marginalized and excluded, in order to address the un-derlying causes of radicalization among youth and the discrimination prevailing in today's

society. The project aims to design and implement a positive prevention model to address and prevent the marginalization and violent radicalization of young people in Europe. The project was formally launched on 28 February and will be implemented in three years, in cooperation with 20 organizations from all over Eu-rope, including four Ministries, regional and public universities, universities and NGOs from 7 partner coun-tries (United Kingdom, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Sweden and Romania).

Throughout the project, young people will work alongside leading researchers, national and region-al public authorities to design and test effective prevention strategies for the conversion of their counterparts to terrorism. The practical results of YEIP will be promoted through national and re-gional policies in cooperation with public authorities.

More information: http://yeip.org/

Identity and Diversity Picture Book Collections

On the 29th of June, the fourth and last meeting of the IDPBC consortium took place at the University of Nicosia, in Nicosia, Cyprus. CARDET presented to partners the web platform, along with the e-learning modules which has de-veloped, which are now available online at: www.diversitytales.com. Important issues such as the exploitation of the project, the final conference and sever-al project management and financial issues were discussed in detail. Part-ners from DDG (Lithuania), UPIT (Romania), INNOVADE (Cyprus), Dou-kas School (Greece), IPCB (Portugal) and CARDET (Cyprus) participated in this meeting.

The final conference of the project ‘Identity and Diversity Picture Book Collections Project’ took place on the 30th of June 2017! The final conference was successfully attended by more than 50 teachers, school principals, psychologists, parents, social

workers and students. Firstly, the key-note speaker Dr. Petros Panaou gave a really inspiring speech while after that, the partners of the consortium presented the IDPBC project and its outputs such as the IDPBC Annotated Bibliographic Catalogue and the guide for practitioners. At the end, three workshops followed and participants had the opportunity to engage with activities related to stereotypes, dis-crimination, use of open educational resources, multilingual and multicultur-al classrooms, and digital literacy.

More information: www.diversitytales.com

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More than EUR 200 billion in investments set to be triggered

Following June’s meeting of the European Investment Bank's (EIB) Board of Direc-tors, the Juncker Plan is now expected to trigger EUR 209 billion in investments across all 28 Member States. This represents two-thirds of the original EUR 315 bil-lion target of total investments to be mobilised by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

The operations approved under the EFSI now represent a total financing volume of just un-der EUR 39 billion. Given its continued success, President Juncker has made it clear that

the proposal to extend and reinforce the EFSI(the so-called "EFSI 2.0") is among the Commission's top legislative priorities. The Juncker Plan also aims to enhance the visibility of investment projects. To this end, the European In-vestment Project Portal(EIPP) acts as a match-making platform to connect project promoters with investors. In order to make it even easier for project promoters to highlight investment opportunities, the EIPP has now reduced the threshold for eligible projects from EUR 5 million to EUR 1 million and withdrawn the registration fee required to up-load projects.

More information: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-17-1725_en.htm

Political agreement on the establishment of the new

European Public Prosecutor's Office

In the Justice council of 8 June 2017, 20 Member States reached a political agreement on the establishment of the new European Pub-lic Prosecutor's Office under enhanced cooperation. The European Parliament will have now to give its consent. Once in place, the in-dependent EU public prosecutor will be equipped with the power to investigate and prosecute criminal cases affecting the EU budget, such as corruption or fraud with EU funds, or cross-border VAT fraud. It will be a strong, independent and efficient body specialised in fighting financial crime across the EU.

Why a European Public Prosecutor? Every year at least 50 billion euro of revenues from VAT are lost for na-tional budgets all over Europe through cross-border fraud. Transnational organised crime is making billions in profit every year by circumventing national rules and escaping criminal prosecution. Outside the area of VAT, in 2015 the Member States detected and reported to the Commis-sion fraudulent irregularities for an amount of around EUR 638 million. National prosecutors' tools to fight large-scale cross-border financial crime are limited. The new EU prosecutor will conduct swift investiga-tions across Europe and real-time information exchange. This will be a game-changer.

How will the European Public Prosecutor work?

An independent office

The European Public Prosecutor's Office will operate as a single office across all participating Member States. It will be a highly specialised and independent office, set up outside the existing EU institutions and ser-vices. The European Public Prosecutor's Office will act in the interest of the EU and will not seek nor take instruc-tions from EU institutions or national authorities.

An efficient cooperation with national authorities

The European Public Prosecutor will be organised with a central office at EU level and a decentralised level consist-ing of European Delegated Prosecutors located in the Member States, who will also continue their function as na-tional prosecutors ("double hat"). The central level will supervise the investigations and prosecutions carried out at national level, to ensure effective coordination and a uniform approach throughout the EU. In this way, it will bring in a wide range of expertise and experience about national legal systems while maintaining independence. If the Office takes up an investigation, national authorities will not exercise their competences for the same criminal activity.

A power to conduct swift investigations and prosecution activities

The European Public Prosecutor will be able to investigate efficiently crimes against EU budget and VAT fraud, such as fraud involving EU funds over 10 000 euro and cross-border VAT fraud over 10 million euros.

More information: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-17-1551_en.htm

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A European Defence Fund: €5.5 billion per year

On 7 June 2017 the European Com-mission launched the European Defence Fund to help Member States spend taxpayer money more efficiently, reduce duplications in spending, and get better value for money. The Fund will coordinate, supplement and amplify national investments in defence research, in the development of prototypes and in the acquisition of defence equip-ment and technology.

The European Defence Fund has two strands: 1. Research: The research aspect of the Fund is already delivering. Starting in 2017, the EU will for the first time offer grants for collaborative research in innovative de-fence technologies and products, fully and directly fund-ed from the EU budget. Projects eligible for EU fund-ing will focus on priority areas previously agreed by Member States, and could typically include electron-

ics, metamaterials, encrypted software or robotics.

This will be financed with:

€90 million until the end of 2019, with €25 million allocated for 2017. A call for proposals was launched on 7 June 2017 for projects in the areas of unmanned systems in a naval environment and sol-diers systems. The signature of the first grant agree-ments is expected by the end of this year.

€500 million per year after 2020. In 2018, the Com-mission will propose a dedicated EU defence research

programme with an estimated annual budget of €500 million making the EU one of the biggest defence research investors in Europe.

2. Development and acquisi-tion: The Fund will create incentives for Member States to cooperate on joint development and the acquisition of defence equipment and technology through co-financing from the EU budget and practical support from the

Commission. Member States may for example jointly invest in developing drone technology or satellite communication, or bulk buy helicopters to reduce costs. Only collaborative projects will be eligible, and a proportion of the overall budget will be earmarked for projects involving cross-border participation of SMEs. The EU will offer co-financing with:

€500 million in total for 2019 and 2020, under a ded-icated defence and industrial development pro-gramme.

€1 billion per year after 2020. A more substantial programme will be prepared for post-2020, with an estimated annual budget of €1 billion. The programme will leverage national financing with an expected multi-plying effect of 5. It could therefore generate a total investment in defence capability development of €5

billion per year after 2020.

More information: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-17-1476_en.htm

Pioneering partnership of 19 countries to tackle water and

food shortages in the Mediterranean

A new Partnership on Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) will soon start to develop much-needed solutions for a more sus-tainable management of water and agro-food systems. A proposal to set up PRIMA was adopted on 13 June 2017 in a vote in the European Parlia-ment plenary meeting in Strasbourg.

The main objective of the ten-year initiative (2018 – 2028), which is partly fund-ed by EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, is to develop solutions to improve water availability and sustainable agriculture production in a region heavily distressed by climate change, urbanisation and population growth.

The partnership currently consists of 19 participating countries: Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. As the initiative is evolving over time, more participants, from both EU and non-EU countries are expected to follow. The partnership will be financed through a combination of funding from participating countries (currently €269 mil-lion), and a €220 million contribution from the EU through Horizon 2020, its research and innovation funding pro-gramme (2014 – 2020).

The first PRIMA calls for proposals will be published in early 2018.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=prima

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New Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance On the 29

th of June the European Commission adopted a new Action

Plan to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) – a growing threat that is responsible for 25,000 deaths and a loss of €1.5 billion in the EU every year. The Action Plan is underpinned by a One Health approach that addresses resistance in both humans and animals. In parallel, the Commission adopted the first deliverable of the plan: EU Guidelines on the prudent use of antimicrobials in human health.

The plan includes guidelines to promote the prudent use of antimicrobials in people. The guidelines target all actors – doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hos-pital administrators and others who play a role in antimicrobial use. They complement infection prevention and control guidelines which may exist at national level. In addition, the plan foresees more than 75 actions built on

three main pillars:

Pillar 1: Making the EU a best-practice region

Making the EU a best-practice region will require better evidence, better coordination and surveillance, as well as better control measures. This will support Member States to establish, implement and monitor their national One-Health Action Plans on AMR in line with the commitment they made at the 2015 World Health Assembly. The action plan will be extended to include environmental aspects as one of the major contributors to the development and spread of AMR.

Pillar 2: Boosting research, development and innovation

Actions under this pillar aim to boost research and further incentivise innovation, provide valuable input for science-based policies and legal measures to combat AMR and address knowledge gaps such as the role of AMR in the en-vironment. The Commission will work in partnerships with Member States and industry, including small and medium enterprises, to address AMR in bacteria, fungi and parasites. Special attention will be given to the WHO priority list of pathogens as well as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria and neglected infectious diseases. Funding and partnership programmes will focus on improving knowledge on effective infection control and surveillance including new diagnos-tics, and developing new therapeutics and preventive vaccines.

Pillar 3: Shaping the global agenda

Whereas areas of action have been agreed upon internationally, the EU will work towards reinforcing engagement and collaboration with multilateral organisations, and intensifying cooperation with the most affected developing countries. As one of the largest markets for agricultural products, the EU can play a major role by promoting its standards and measures for addressing AMR with its trade partners. In the research arena, the EU will build upon its successful large-scale international initiatives, such as the European and Developing Clinical Trial Partnership and the Joint Programme Initiative, and further develop a stronger and interconnected AMR research landscape with global outreach.

More information: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1762_en.htm

5th Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Natural Products,

Pharmaceuticals and Traditional Medicines The 5th Euro-Mediterranean Confer-ence will be held on 28-30 November 2017 in Larnaca, Cyprus, and this year focuses on Natural Products, Pharma-ceuticals and Traditional Medicines.

Representatives of the academic commu-nity and the business world and have the opportunity to participate as speakers, workshop facilitators or present a poster by sending an abstract until 15 September 2017.

Participants will have the unique opportuni-ty to connect with leading world experts, as well as with coordinators of major research programmes.

More information: Http://bionats.org/guidelines-information/

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Clean Energy package top of the agenda for EU Energy Council

The European Commission's 'Clean Energy for All Europeans' package was the main theme of meeting of the European Energy Council on the 26th of June 2017, which brought together EU energy ministers, European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, and European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action Miguel Arias Cañete.

The Council members focused in particular on the package's proposals for a revised Energy Efficiency Directive and a revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The aim of the

discussions were to agree on a general approach so that negotiations with the European Parliament on these pro-posals can begin as soon as possible. The Energy Council also adopted the new Regulation on energy efficiency labelling for products, which will mean consumers are better informed about how much energy is used by the appli-ances they buy. The Ministers were also updated on the progress of the proposals for the Governance of the Energy Union, a revised Renewable Energy Directive, and a revised Regulation on the European electricity market.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/news/clean-energy-package-top-agenda-eu-energy-council

The European Commission is taking action to modernise European mobili-ty and transport. The aim is to help the sector to remain competitive in a so-cially fair transition towards clean en-ergy and digitalisation. 'Europe on the Move' is a wide-ranging set of initia-tives that will make traffic safer, en-courage fairer road charging, reduce CO2 emissions, air pollution and congestion, cut red-tape for businesses, fight illicit employment and en-sure proper conditions and rest times for workers. The long-term benefits will extend far beyond the transport sector by promoting jobs, growth and in-vestment, strengthening social fairness, widening

consumers’ choices and firmly putting Europe on the path towards low emis-sions.

The long-term strategy adopted on the 31st of May is accompanied by a first se-ries of 8 legislative initiatives specifically targeting road transport, a sector which contributes to almost a fifth of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions and directly

employs 5 million Europeans.

The initial proposals put forward will be complemented by other proposals over the next 12 months, including on post-2020 emissions standards for cars and vans and the first ever CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehi-cles.

Europe on the Move: Action for clean and competitive mobility

More information: http://tinyurl.com/ycyuxno5

Call for expressions of interest for member of the Coordination

Group of the Circular Economy Platform

Following the Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference held in Brussels on 9-10 March 2017, the European Commission and the EESC jointly launched the Europe-an circular economy stakeholder platform. The European circular economy stake-holder platform will be a 'network of networks' going beyond sectorial activities and highlighting cross-sector opportunities and challenges. The Platform will be a hub gathering knowledge on circular economy and a place for dialogue between stakeholders. It will be structured as follows:

Pillar I: Policy dialogue gathering stakeholders' input and views.

Pillar II: Coordination group for circular economy-related civil society, business and trade union organisations and think-tanks as well as existing, national and regional platforms gathering together civil society, public bodies, business and trade unions active in circular economy.

Pillar III: Website as a virtual venue for dissemination of circular economy-related content such as national strat-egies and good practices. The website will also feature a dynamic database with contacts, published studies and events relevant to circular economy.

The Commission and the EESC are calling for applications for the selection of existing networks (or similar grouping organisations) as members of the coordination group of the European circular economy stakeholder

platform. The deadline for the submission is 31 August 2017.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/cesp-coordination-group-cei

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Teaching staff at universities and other higher education institutions are rarely provided with high quality training fo-cusing on teaching skills. This is one of the findings of the 'Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Academic Staff 2017' report published on 15 June 2017 by the European Commis-sion's Eurydice network.

This report is a first mapping of the situa-tion of academic staff in higher education institutions across 35 European countries. Other key findings point to a lack of national strategies for human resource plan-ning in higher education leading to mismatches between

staff and student numbers; an increase in job insecurity among academic staff; im-balances in the opportunities open to jun-ior academics compared with their more senior colleagues; and underrepresenta-tion of women in the academic world, es-pecially among the higher ranks. In terms of internationalisation of higher education, academics increasingly participate in joint international programmes or teach in oth-

er languages, but there is a long way to go as regards the use of accessible online resources, concludes the report.

More information:http://tinyurl.com/ybwd5spd

Need to better support teaching in higher education

Mobile Application to mark 30 years of Erasmus exchanges

On 13 June 2017, the EU celebrated 30 years of its 'Erasmus' programme. From Erasmus to Erasmus+, 9 million people have now benefited from exchanges abroad. To mark the occasion, the Commission is also launch-ing a new Erasmus+ mobile application. Designed for students, vocational learners and participants in youth exchanges, the app will make young people's Erasmus+ experience easier.

The Erasmus+ Mobile App will allow participants to:

Easily track their progress in the different administrative steps before,

during and after their stay abroad. Through the app, students will also be able to agree and sign their study agreements online with both sending and receiving universities;

Share and vote for their preferred tips to help others integrate into the local community; and

Improve their language skills via a direct link to the Erasmus+ Online Linguistic Support platform, offering

online tutored courses and interactive live mentoring.

More information: http://tinyurl.com/y9hl7sb2

More information: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1603_en.htm

On the occasion of the World Refugee Day, the European Commission is re-leasing the 'EU Skills Profile Tool for Third-Country Nationals'. It is an off – and online web editor that will make it possible for non-EU nationals to pre-sent their skills, qualifications, and ex-periences in a way that is well under-stood by employers, education and training providers and organisations working with migrants across the whole European Union.

The Skills Profile Tool will be a first instrument for recep-tion centres, integration services, public employment ser-

vices and other organisations offering ser-vices to non-EU nationals to make sure their skills and education are recognised, and to further guide them to training, edu-cation or employment. In addition to giving an overview of a non-EU national's skills profile – comparable with a CV – the tool helps migration organisations to identify individuals' specific needs for integration into the labour market. Ultimately this will

simplify the process of matching jobseekers to vacancies.

The Skills Profile Tool is part of one of the ten actions defined under the New Skills Agenda for Europe.

New Skills Profile tool to help non-EU nationals

enter the labour

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News for Small and Medium

Enterprises (SMEs)

Report: Protectionism on the Rise,

EU Successful in Countering Barriers

European exporters reported a 10% increase in the number of trade barriers they encountered in 2016 alone. 372 such barriers were in place at the end of last year in over 50 trade destinations across the world. The 36 obstacles created in 2016 could affect EU exports that are currently worth around €27 billon. According to the Report on Trade and Investment Barriers released the 26th of June by the European Commission, thanks to its effective Market Access Strategy, the Com-mission succeeded in 2016 in removing as many as 20 different obstacles hinder-ing European exports.

The Trade and Investment Barriers Reports are published annually since the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis. This year's edition is fully based on concrete complaints received by the Commission from European companies. They concern a wide range of products covering everything from agri-food to shipbuilding industries.

G20 members figure prominently among countries having created the highest number of import obstacles. Russia, Brazil, China and India top the list. Most of the new protectionist measures reported in 2016 appeared also in Russia and India, followed by Switzerland, China, Algeria and Egypt.

The Commission strongly defends European businesses against rising protectionist tendencies. Its efforts brought tangible results in 2016. The Commission managed to restore normal trading conditions in 20 various cases affecting EU exports worth €4.2 billion. South Korea, China, Israel and Ukraine top the list of countries where the EU succeed-ed in tackling barriers.

The EU food and drink, automotive and cosmetics sectors are those who benefited the most from the recent EU ac-tion. To give a few examples, following an EU intervention, China suspended labelling requirements that would oth-erwise affect the €680 million-worth EU cosmetics exports; Korea agreed to bring its rules for the size of car seats in line with international rules and Israel enabled companies from the whole of the EU to request market authorisation and export their pharmaceutical products.

All this was made possible thanks to the effective cooperation between the Commission, EU Member States and European business representatives through the EU Market Access Strategy and improved relations with trading partners under the recent EU's trade agreements. The Market Access Strategy is a pivotal part of the EU's efforts to create the best possible conditions for European firms to export around the world and to ensure an effective enforce-ment of international trade rules.

The measures targeted in the report do not cover the trade defence measures. Anti-dumping or anti-subsidy duties, imposed in line with WTO requirements, are tools that serve to restore fair trading conditions. They are used by the EU and many of its partners to ensure a level-playing field.

More information: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1765_en.htm

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Capital Markets Union: Banks to provide feedback to SMEs

on access to funding

After the publication of the Mid-Term Review of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) Ac-tion Plan on the 8th of June, the Commission is intensifying its efforts to improve the funding environment for small businesses. Currently, small and medium-sized busi-nesses (SMEs) often fail to get funding from banks yet they do not receive proper feedback as to the reason why, which hampers future attempts. The Commission has been working to address this problem by getting the financial industry to do more to help small businesses navigate the complex financial landscape. Five major EU

banking federations have now agreed to provide SMEs with the feedback they need so that they can ulti-mately increase their chances of getting loans.

The Commission also published a report that maps national and regional initiatives to help small businesses identify a wider range of sources of finance, as well as providing investors and lenders with reliable information about com-panies, in a bid to help tackle information barriers in the SME funding market and improve access by innovative SMEs to alternative forms of finance.

More information: http://europa.eu/rapid/midday-express-6-6-2017.htm?locale=en#2

The European Commission has launched a single platform to access company in-formation in the EU. Linking national business registers will facilitate cross-border trade and increase confidence and transparency in the EU Single Mar-ket.

Thanks to this new system, citizens, busi-nesses and national authorities will be able to search for information filed by companies in the national registers. In addition, the new system will improve the communication be-tween registers by allowing them to ex-change trustworthy information on compa-nies between each other.

New online tool to exchange information on companies

More information: https://e-justice.europa.eu/content_find_a_company-489-en.do?m=1

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has published on the 31st of May an ac-tion plan for small and medium-sized en-terprises (SMEs), which aims to foster innovation and support SMEs in the de-velopment of novel human and veterinary medicines. In the pharmaceutical sector SMEs are a motor of innovation and play a major role in the development of new medicines.

The action plan builds on the experience gained and ad-dresses the challenges identified by SMEs in a report published by EMA on the 10th Anniversary of the SME initiative. It also takes into account EMA’s new framework for collaboration with academia, which aims to strengthen its interaction with the academic world in light of its role in pharmaceutical innovation, and the new EU Innovation Network. The plan covers four key areas and lists a se-ries of new and enhanced actions:

Awareness of EMA’s SME initiative: actions include stepped-up engagement with actors in the pharma-

ceutical innovation environment such as in-cubators, universities and investors.

Training and education: actions include training for SMEs and academia, and ex-panding the EU Network Training Centre.

Support the development of innovative medicines: actions include maximising the

use by SMEs of regulatory tools to support the devel-opment of and access to medicines for unmet medical needs; providing assistance to academia; and en-hancing cooperation with EU partners on projects sub-ject to EU funding.

Engagement with SMEs, EU partners and stakehold-ers: actions include contributing to the development of the EU Innovation Network, EU initiatives supporting SMEs and start-ups in relation to funding and adminis-trative, and interacting with international regulatory authorities.

More information: http://tinyurl.com/y7fswx67

New action plan to support SMEs as drivers of pharmaceutical

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CALENDAR SEPTEMBER 2017 CAP 2020. Towards sustainable agriculture" Conference More information: http://elfond.ee/cap-conference

1-2 September Tallinn, Estonia

International Conference on Field-Programmable Logic and Applications More information: https://www.fpl2017.org/

4-8 September Ghent, Belgium

INSPIRE a Digital Europe - Thinking out of the box More information: http://inspire.ec.europa.eu/conference2017

4-8 September Khel, Germany

JRC-SAS-INGSA Evidence and Policy Summer School More information: http://tinyurl.com/ycjkletc

6-8 September Senec, Slovakia

European energy dialogue on the Energy Union: Progress, governance, and civil so-ciety participation More information: http://tinyurl.com/ych2s8ee

7 September Brussels, Belgium

Cedefop policy learning forum (PLF) on apprenticeships More information: http://tinyurl.com/y8damevt

7-8 September Thessaloniki,

Greece

BigData Analysis and Data Mining More information: http://datamining.conferenceseries.com/

7-8 September Paris, France

Regional Polarisation and Unequal Development in CEE More information: http://tinyurl.com/yaxmundt

10-13 September Cluj-Napoca

Romania

2017-3 CEF Telecom call Virtual Info Day More information: http://tinyurl.com/y74jvcbb

12 September webstreaming

Social sustainable development – from policy to practice More information: http://tinyurl.com/yb7q3rto

12 September Brussels, Belgium

2nd

Young Researchers Event (YRE) 2017 - Human Brain Project (HBP) More information: http://tinyurl.com/ybj6q85k

12-13 September Geneva,

Switzerland

Judicial protection and free movement of workers More information: http://tinyurl.com/ydd6fmag

15 September Florence, Italy

9th International Conference on Structural Biology More information: http://structuralbiology.conferenceseries.com/

18-20 September Zurich, Switzerland

The Fourth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Pattern Recognition More information: http://tinyurl.com/ycap795r

18-20 September Lodz, Poland

International Conference on Advanced Computational Methods in Engineering More information: http://www.acomen.ugent.be/

18-22 September Ghent, Belgium

From excellent research to excellent innovation – are universities ready for the fu-ture? More information: http://tinyurl.com/y9xbbmdt

20 September Brussels, Belgium

RemTech Europe - European Conference on remediation markets and technologies More information: www.remtechexpo.com

21 September Ferrara, Italy

EU4FACTS: Evidence for policy in a post-fact world More information: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/eu4facts

26 September Brussels, Belgium

EIP water conference on water innovation More information: http://tinyurl.com/y94xvrpv

27-28 September Porto, Portugal

6th European Conference on Corporate R&D and Innovation More information: http://iri.jrc.ec.europa.eu/concord/2017/index.html

27-29 September Seville, Spain

Modern biotechnologies in agriculture More information: http://tinyurl.com/yd8xmo2q

28 September Brussels, Belgium

EUA European Learning and Teaching Forum More information: http://tinyurl.com/yd8xmo2q

28-29 September Paris, France

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CALENDAR OCTOBER 2017

12th Conference on Advanced Building Skins More information: https://abs.green/home/

2-3 October Bern, Switzerland

Floating Wind Power Forum More information: http://www.fwp-atlanticforum.fr/en/home/

2-4 October St. Nazaire, France

Save the Date: Industrial Innovation Information Days More information: http://tinyurl.com/y7p2e5ph

3-4 October Brussels, ,Belgium

IOT Solutions World Congress More information: http://tinyurl.com/l8oaz77

3-5 October Barcelona, Spain

Smarter Region - International Conference and Brokerage Event More information: http://tinyurl.com/y8mursmm

5 October Ostrava,

Czech Republic

Our Ocean 2017 More information: https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/content/our-ocean-2017_en

5-6 October Malta

European Week of Regions and Cities More information: http://tinyurl.com/y7r2q8vq

9-12 October Brussels, Belgium

Workshop on Silver Economy More information: http://tinyurl.com/yaayh9wg

10 October Brussels, Belgium

GENCAD Conference 2: Gender and health – awareness, facts, and European per-spectives More information: https://ec.europa.eu/health/social_determinants/events/ev_20171011_en

11 October Brussels, Belgium

Agri-Innovation Summit 2017 More information: https://europa.eu/newsroom/events/agri-innovation-summit-ais-2017_en

11-12 October Lisbon, Portugal

Training on citizen engagement in Policy relevant Science, Technology and Innovation More information: http://tinyurl.com/y9aubp46

12-13 October Sarajevo, Bosnia

Herzegovina

Supporting Europe’s Coastal Communities More information: http://barcodeconf.onetec.fr/emff/savethedate.html

12-13 October Tallinn, Estonia

eHealth Tallinn 2017 More information: http://tinyurl.com/y8jwb23k

16-18 October Tallinn, Estonia

2017 Innovation Procurement conference More information: http://tinyurl.com/ybmvz68v

17-18 October Tallinn, Estonia

2EC3-ENISA internet of things security conference More information: http://tinyurl.com/y8q5dopq

18-19 October The Hague, Netherlands

Madrid Forum More information: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/events/madrid-forum

19-20 October Madrid, Spain

Energy Info Days 2017 More information: http://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/news-events/events/energy-info-days-2017

23-25 October Brussels, Belgium

Lisbon Addictions 2017 More information: https://europa.eu/newsroom/events/lisbon-addictions-2017_en

24-26 October Lisbon, Portugal

Nature Based Solutions: from Innovation to Common Use More information: http://tinyurl.com/yccnnsp4

24-26 October Tallinn, Estonia

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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

FREDERICK UNIVERSITY

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

University of Nicosia

http://www.unic.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

NICOSIA MUNICIPALITY

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

PARALIMNI MUNICIPALITY

http://www.paralimni.org.cy/index.php?lang=el

CYPRUS SPORT ORGANISATION

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

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

http://www.cardet.org/

PwC

http://www.pwc.com.cy/

Full Members

International Members UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY http://www.uth.gr/en/index.php

HELLENIC OPEN UNIVERSITY

https://www.eap.gr/en/

TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF ATHENS

http://www.teiath.gr/?lang=en

MICHAEL CACOYANNIS FOUNDATION

http://www.mcf.gr/en/

ERGASIA EKPEDEFTIKI S.A

http://www.ergasiakek.gr/en/

ATHINA EDUCATIONAL NETWORK

http://www.athinaedunet.org/

HOUSE OF CYPRUS (SPITI TIS KYPROU)

http://spititiskyprou.gr/

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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/

PAPHOS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

http://www.pcci.org.cy/

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY CYPRUS

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

CYPRUS INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

http://www.ciim.ac.cy/

ΙΜΗ

http://www.imhbusiness.com/

AGLANTZIA MUNICIPALITY

http://www.aglantzia.com/

STROVOLOS MUNICIPALITY

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

CONTACT ADVERTISING AGENCY LTD

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

THE CYPRUS INSTITUTE

http://www.cyi.ac.cy/

Associate Members

Editing: European Office of Cyprus - Brussels Office

For more information: [email protected]

Rosemary Strevinioti Head of Brussels Office E-mail: [email protected]

European Office of Cyprus

www.eoc.org.cy

Brussels: Rue du Luxembourg 3, B-1000, Brussels, Tel./Fax: +32 (0) 2 280 22 85 Nicosia: 1, University Avenue, 2109 Aglantzia, Nicosia, Τel.: +357 22 89 4278, Fax:+ 357 22 89 5005

Athens: Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, Xenophontos 2A, 105 57, Athens - Syntagma, Τel.: +30 210 373 4833