[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Competitiveness Council met on 2 and 3 December in Brussels. Ministers adopted the "Horizon 2020" programme for research and innovation for the years 2014 to 2020 (PE-CO_S 67/13). Horizon 2020 will replace the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7), which runs until the end of 2013. Compared with...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Guidelines to enable trainees to acquire high-quality work experience under safe and fair conditions, and to increase their chances of finding a good quality job, have been proposed today by the European Commission. The proposal for a Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The car is cruising noiselessly along a busy highway on the crispest of autumn mornings in Tokyo. The vehicle, a Lexus hybrid, is relatively unremarkable but inside hangs an air of expectation. The moment has arrived: time to take the hands off the wheel. The driver’s palms...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]EU member states would have to ensure that specified numbers of electric vehicle recharging points and hydrogen and natural gas stations are built by 2020, under a draft directive endorsed by the Transport and Tourism Committee on Tuesday. The draft rules aim to reduce dependence...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Saab's new owner, National Electric Vehicle Sweden, will begin series production of the 9-3 mid-sized sedan at its plant in Trollhattan, Sweden, almost two years to the day since the company was forced to file for bankruptcy. The last cars produced by the automaker rolled off...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Council's Permanent Representatives Committee today confirmed the agreement reached with the European Parliament on the 2020 reduction of CO2 emissions from new passenger cars. The text still needs to be formally approved by the Parliament, whose vote in plenary is expected to take place in...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]An informal agreement on new rules to achieve the 2020 CO2 emission target of 95g/km for new cars was reached by EP and member state negotiators on Tuesday afternoon. The file had to be reopened after EU ministers failed to endorse a previous informal deal...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The European Parliament approved the EU’s budget for 2014 on Wednesday. This budget is the result of the deal struck with the Council in last week’s negotiations. For payments €500 million were added to the 2014 budget, bringing the total compared to the initial Council...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The European Commission welcomed today's adoption of the programme COSME by the European Parliament. COSME aims to ease the access to credit problems that small businesses currently face. With a € 2.3 billion-budget over the period 2014-2020 the Programme for the Competitiveness of Small and...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For the first time since 2004, an EU company – the German carmaker Volkswagen – is the world’s largest private sector R&D investor. Volkswagen tops the European Commission's 2013 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard with an investment of €9.5bn in 2012. Overall, EU-based firms (527...