As set out in its Work Programme for 2012 , the European Commission is considering a legislative initiative to improve the gender balance in the boards of companies listed on stock exchanges.
On the basis of the Progress Report "Women in economic decision-making in the EU" presented by Vice-President Viviane Reding on 5 March 2012, the Commission is launching a public consultation of stakeholders on possible measures in this context.
This consultation will feed into an assessment of possible EU-level measures to enhance female participation in economic decision-making, which will inform the Commission's decision on whether to propose action and on the form it should take.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/gender-equality/opinion/120528_en.htm
Il n'est pas souhaitable que dans le contexte du Marché Intérieur de l'UE, un contribuable soit l'objet d'une double non-imposition dans le cadre de son activité transfrontalière qui lui donnerait un avantage compétitif par rapport aux autres contribuables soumis à une fiscalité normale.
En lançant cette consultation publique, la Commission vous invite à présenter des cas concrets de double non-imposition dans l'Union Européenne et par rapport aux pays tiers. Nous souhaitons avoir une idée de l'ampleur du phénomène et de ses incidences financières. Les résultats de cette consultation vont être utilisés pour identifier et développer des réponses adaptées à la double non-imposition.
Pour en savoir plus:
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/common/consultations/tax/2012_double_non_taxation_fr.htm
Environment Action Programmes have guided the development of EU environment policy since the early seventies. During this period, environment legislation was consolidated and completed to cover almost all environmental media, with the exception of soil. With the 6th EAP in its final year, the Commission continues to pursue an ambitious environment policy aimed at ensuring a high level of environmental protection and guided by the principles enshrined in the Treaty of precaution, prevention, rectifying pollution at source and 'polluter pays'.
Against this background, the Commission is considering how a 7th Environment Action Programme could best provide added value in the rapidly evolving environment policy context.
The purpose of this consultation is to collect the views of all stakeholders, at EU and national level, and the public at large on the environment policy priorities up to 2020. Informed opinions are sought on the priority areas to be addressed and on the most effective tools for the EU to employ in addressing the challenges described in the consultation document.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/7eap_en.htm
The objective of this public consultation is to collect the opinions of stakeholders and EU citizens on the provision, where possible, of road safety related minimum universal traffic information free of charge to users. More precisely this questionnaire addresses issues related to the type of safety messages, the possible channels of communication, the geographical coverage, the expected impacts of such information…
The aim of the European Commission is to support the coordinated and coherent deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) within the EU and to set out the general conditions necessary for that purpose.
The present consultation will provide inputs for the development of specifications on road safety related minimum universal traffic information, and the impact assessment that will be carried prior to the adoption of the aforementioned specifications.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road/consultations/2012-06-05-its2012_en.htm#
This year, the European Commission will present a Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources. This document will assess the implementation and achievements of EU water policy as well as identify gaps and shortcomings. On the basis of this analysis, the Blueprint will identify actions to strengthen water policy and to address ongoing vulnerability of the water environment.
The European Commission is asking the public for its views on the most appropriate actions to improve water management in Europe and to safeguard our water resources for all users (consumers, agriculture, industry and nature itself). The public’s views will help to formulate the policy proposals to be included in a Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources planned for the end of 2012.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/blueprint_en.htm
The objective of this public consultation is to collect the opinions of stakeholders and EU citizens on the provision, where possible, of information and reservation services for safe and secure parking places for trucks and commercial vehicles. More precisely this questionnaire addresses issues related to the type of information to be collected and distributed for safe and secure parking, the geographical coverage of the distribution of parking spaces available, the possible channels of communication, the expected impacts, the challenges associated with providing such a service…
The aim of the European Commission is to support the coordinated and coherent deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) within the UE and to set out the general conditions necessary for that purpose.
The present consultation will provide inputs for the development of specifications on information and reservation services for safe and secure parking places for trucks and commercial vehicles,and the impact assessment that will be carried prior to the adoption of the aforementioned specifications.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road/consultations/2012-06-08-secureparkingplaces_en.htm
Audiovisual works, particularly films, play an important role in shaping European identities. They reflect the cultural diversity of the different traditions and histories of the EU Member States and regions. Audiovisual works are both economic goods, offering important opportunities for the creation of wealth and employment, and cultural goods which mirror and shape our societies.
Within the EEA, any assistance given by a public body to undertakings which has the potential to distort competition and affect trade between EU Member States is subject to the EU State aid rules. This generally includes public support for audiovisual works.
In 2001, the European Commission adopted a Communication which set out the State aid assessment criteria for support for producing films and audiovisual works. The validity of these criteria was extended in 2004, 2007 and 2009.
In view of a number of different trends which have emerged since 2001, the draft Communication published below aims to ensure that European audiences are offered a more culturally diverse choice of audiovisual works by:
The draft Communication draws from the issues paper published by the Commission on 20 June 2011 and the contributions received during the first consultation.
The Commission will be guided by comments on the draft Communication submitted during the 3-month consultation period ending on 14 June 2012. The final Communication is due to be adopted by the Commission in the second half of 2012.
For more information :
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2012_state_aid_films/index_en.html
The Commission would like to find out what obstacles EU citizens face when they move to another EU country as an Erasmus or exchange student and try to open a bank account.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2012/exchange_student_bank_account_en.htm
What is the problem? Companies which dominate the ICT sector achieve wide market penetration of their products and services. If their products are incompatible with those of other brands, users feel locked into the dominant company's product range, for fear that any new devices they purchase will not be compatible with their existing equipment.
Why is EU action required? Companies should provide interoperability information about their devices and applications. With this information available, smaller enterprises have the opportunity to develop applications and services compatible with those offered by dominant market players. The end result will be an extremely competitive market and a happy consumer.
What will the Commission do? The Commission will analyse how the market situation could change if the significant market players were legally forced to disclose interoperability information and if necessary will draft Commission Communication or a Directive by 2012.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/fiche-dae.cfm?action_id=183&pillar_id=44&action=Action%2025%
This consultation will provide input for the drafting of a strategy to reduce the severity of injuries caused by road traffic accidents. The questionnaire addresses general issue related to road safety and more specific issues on how to improve the data available on victims of accidents and their collection at EU level, and on how to target some specific groups of road users. The European Commission will take stock of all the relevant information on this subject with a view to to develop the comprehensive strategy on road traffic injuries.
For further information:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/take-part/public-consultations/road_injuries_en.htm
L'objectif de la consultation est de réunir les points de vue sur les modalités d'appréciation de la qualité des stages, envisagée comme tremplin entre l'éducation et la première expérience professionnelle.
Pour en savoir plus:
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=333&langId=fr&consultId=10&visib=0&furtherConsult=yes
La Commission européenne a lancé le 12 avril une consultation publique sur la gouvernance de « l’Internet des objets », un concept en pleine expansion qui concerne la connexion sans fil à Internet d’objets du quotidien pour leur permettre de collecter et de transférer des informations. Les parties intéressées peuvent se prononcer sur les implications de ces nouveaux systèmes. L’institution se basera sur les résultats obtenus pour présenter une recommandation en la matière à l’été 2013.
Selon les chiffres de la Commission, un individu possède actuellement au moins deux objets connectés à l’internet. Ce nombre devrait passer à sept d’ici à 2015 signifiant la connexion à l’Internet de 25 milliards de dispositifs sur la planète au moyen de puces intelligentes. Ce phénomène devrait toucher de plus en plus les objets que les individus utilisent au quotidien (voitures, appareils électroménagers, vêtements ou encore aliments). Par exemple, indique la Commission, si un professeur ne donne pas cours pour raisons personnelles, les réveils de ses étudiants pourraient être automatiquement reprogrammés. Ou encore, si une personne oublie de prendre un médicament qui lui est indispensable, une alerte pourrait être envoyée à un proche. Cette évolution technologie pourrait également permettre à une voiture de communiquer des informations en vue d’un diagnostic et d’un entretien à distance. Et les exemples sont nombreux.
La consultation, qui se divise en six parties, interroge les parties prenantes sur la manière de garantir les principes en matière de respect de la vie privée dans la mesure où ces systèmes collectent de façon automatique des données qui peuvent contenir des informations sur les individus, leurs habitudes ou encore leurs intérêts.
Pour en savoir plus :
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/360&format=HTML&aged=0&language=FR&guiLanguage=en
A l'heure actuelle, de nombreuses initiatives publiques et privées sont prises afin de définir les principes et critères que doivent appliquer les acteurs du secteur européen du tourisme pour garantir le développement et la prestation de services touristiques de qualité au sein de l'UE. Or, ces systèmes de qualité manquent souvent de cohérence et de coordination car ils sont généralement axés sur des objectifs sectoriels ou territoriaux, sans approche européenne intégrée. Cette fragmentation constitue un obstacle potentiel à l'établissement de conditions égales pour offrir des services touristiques de qualité à travers l'Europe, ce qui risque de porter préjudice à la compétitivité du secteur européen du tourisme. La présente consultation publique a pour objectif de recueillir l'avis d'un large éventail de parties intéressées des secteurs public et privé, ainsi que de citoyens, sur une éventuelle action de l'UE dans ce domaine. La Commission pourrait éventuellement proposer, dans ce contexte, un label européen pour des systèmes de qualité dans le secteur du tourisme, afin d'apporter davantage de transparence et de cohérence dans l'évaluation de la qualité à l'échelle européenne. Le label européen distinguerait les systèmes de qualité des services touristiques, actuels ou à venir, qui respectent les critères communs européens.
Pour en savoir plus:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/public-consultation-etq/index_fr.htm
