Influence the support given to innovative SMEs from the ICT sector in Horizon 2020

"If you are based in the EU or in an associated country, and are an innovative ICT company or an ICT association (network, alliance or platform), we want to hear your opinion!"

The European Commission is currently conducting a survey to know what drives innovative SMEs to participate - or not - the R&D projects funded under FP7-ICT. The results will provide recommendations for future program 2020. Answer the survey should take no longer than 15 minutes. The questionnaire is available in English, German and French.

More information about SME non participation . eu

Pan-European Forum on Media Pluralism and New Media

The new media revolution seems to have overturned many old certainties. But is the technological change matched by fundamental shifts of power and influence, or will the traditional big players continue to wield vast influence? Do the new media contribute to, or undermine, a pluralistic public sphere? Do new technologies overcome bottlenecks related to traditional media – do they create new information gatekeepers? The event will offer a forum to discuss opportunities and risks for media pluralism resulting from new media. It takes place in the European Parliament and will bring together politicians, traditional and new media, academics, NGOs, judges and leaders from the music, film and book industries. Deadline for registration is 12 June.

This event will definitely not be “yet another conference on the media”. It will offer a unique forum to discuss opportunities and risks for media pluralism resulting from new media. It will not only give a comprehensive update of recent developments in the field, but also bring stimulating speeches from people who do not have entrenched ideas and people speaking who are capable of saying things that change views, such as top politicians, judges and industry leaders from the traditional and new media.

The event will focus on media diversity with an emphasis on the new media:

-  Does the new media contribute to, or undermine, a pluralistic public sphere?

- Do new technologies overcome bottlenecks related to traditional media or do they create new information gatekeepers?

- Should existing media ownership regulations for traditional media be relaxed, or extended to new media?

- How have industries, such as music, books and film, faced the challenges presented by the new media?

- Is there a need for diversity obligations on online on-demand media and can they be imposed?

- Should the EU take an initiative in ownership regulation in this era of globalization?

- How do we assess the role of publicly funded media, specifically public service broadcasters (PSBs), but also, where relevant, subsidized press and online operations?

Brussels Hemicycle Debating Chamber, Place du Luxembourg/Luxembourg station

27 June 2012, 09.30-18.00

More information about this event

The Santiago Summit facing the present global challenges, 24 April, Brussels

Organized by IRELAC and the Belgo Chilean chamber of commerce, the seminar "The Santiago Summit facing the present global challenges" will take place the 24 April in Brussels.

The purpose of the event is to analyse the challenges of bi-regional relations, to evaluate the observed results with respect to the expected targets and to identify the contribution of these bi-regional summits to the global governance.

 The main theme chosen for the seventh EU-LAC Summit is "alliance for a sustainable development: promoting investment in social and environmental value added". IRELAC tool the initiative to gather experts and stakeholders for the preparation of the Santiago Summit in order to analyse and discuss the development in both regions as well as in their relationsips. The value added of the Summit diplomacy will be assessed, discussing the obtained results and the challenges that Santiago Summit could meet in the perspective of strengthening the common interests of both regional blocks. It is of crucial interest for bi-regional relationships that this Summit meets the expectations of both policy makers and civil societies by making more tangible to public opinions the purpose of building a strategic partnership and demonstrating the useful realizations of the Summit diplomacy

For registration, contact: irelac@ichec.be or  genevieve.francois@chileanchamber.be
Download the programme

EMF attended the e-Skills Week stakeholders opening conference

EMF as e-Skills Week stakeholder attended on 19 March 2012 the  e-Skills Week stakeholders opening conference in Brussels. The Conference bought together all stakeholders – such as high-level public authorities, key industry representatives and research organisations - to discuss the current situation and needs of the e-Skilled workforce.

The event featured a plenary session on e-Skills policy in practice, as well as panel debates on the topic of e-Skills with both young people and ICT professionals.

More events and activities are foreseen for the upcoming weeks, culminating in a dedicated e-Skills Week final conference on 30 March 2012.

Language needs of businesses - Round Table 30 Jan 2012

The CELAN project investigates the language needs of businesses and provides solutions to language strategies. The Round Table is geared at businesses, business representative organisations, language service and technology providers, training institutions, etc. It will discuss where market meets training and what should be done in the future to improve competitiveness and employability through language strategies.

The Round Table is followed by the meeting of the Business Platform for Multilingualism on Tuesday, 31 January morning. For more information, have a look at the programme.

Download the draft programme
See the list of speakers

Launch of the Joint Declaration to strengthen EU-LA cooperation

The Joint Declaration to strengthen EU-LA cooperation was launched yesterday at the “Fostering EU-Latin America ICT Policy Dialogue” event in Brussels in front of 120+ stakeholders from Latin America and the EU.

The ambitious programme gave an overview of EU-LA initiatives and showcased the steady development of the S&T relations of both regions. EMF presented the network of Project Angels of the Pro-Ideal Plus project. The event closed its first day of work with a discussion on collaboration priorities and instruments that will be part of the Joint Declaration.

Today, in the afternoon, the Joint Declaration will be presented to the Members of the European Parliament in Brussels.

Open publication - Free publishing

The Joint Declaration is based on the results of studies, activities, meetings and discussion brought forward by stakeholders partnered in a number of project initiatives and follows the identification of common challenges, synergies and future opportunities in EU-LAC cooperation in the field of ICT.

The Joint Declaration is an evolving document and all stakeholders active in ICT international cooperation for R&D+i between Europe and Latin America are invited to support and/or give their contributions based on their specific experience and interest.

Support and/or give your contribution to the Declaration

More information

European e-Skills Conference, 13 December 2011, Brussels

The European e-Skills 2011 Conference will be a kick-off for the preparation of the European e-Skills Week, which will be held on 26-30 March 2012. As an initiative of the European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry, the European e-Skills Week Conference will feature the presentation of the roadmap for the European e-Skills Week campaign in 2012, together with presentations from industry leaders, policy makers and key note speakers from universities and an overview of different national activities.

The conference is organised by the European Commission Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry, in partnership with DIGITALEUROPE, EUN Schoolnet and other leading stakeholders.

More information and registrations

Roundtable "Cyberspace: opportunity and challenge for Languages", 22 November, Brussels

The roundtable "Cyberspace: opportunity and challenge for Languages", will be held in Brussels the 22 November 2011 to disscuss on new opportunities and challenges for Languages in the Cyberspace. The debate will be moderated by Quentin DICKINSON, Director of Radio France for European Affairs in Brussels.

Maragretah Marzura, Secretary General of EMF will participate in the event to share knowledge acquired in the META and CELAN EU projects.

If you are interested please register at: bxl-europe@skynet.be

“Europeans for Fair Roaming”, a new initiative for lower roaming charges across the EU

The roaming charges currently levied by mobile operators within the EU are detrimental to European integration and the competitiveness of the European market - it essentially means that virtual borders remain for communication inside the EU where real borders have become invisible.

“Europeans for Fair Roaming” call for a faster reduction in prices, free receiving of calls when roaming and the extension of consumer protection mechanisms to other countries outside the EU. The initiative considers that price caps for data roaming are still much higher than they should be to allow consumers to use their phones abroad. The proposed price caps (500-900 EUR / gigabyte) are still unduly high considering that the cost for operators to provide one gigabyte of data today is in the region of 1 EUR.

“Europeans for Fair Roaming” already expanded to a network of more than 1500 individuals, 10 MEPs from different political groups and 11 organisations (including big organisations such as JEF and ZDNet) representing/reaching about 125.000 people.

You may find out more and join the initiative here

A directive for better protection of consumer rights, particularly when shopping online

The Council of the European Union adopted a new directive the 10th of October to increase the consumer protection in distance (including on-line) and off-premises purchases across the European Union.

The new directive fully harmonises the list of information to be given to consumers and the right of withdrawal for distance and off-premises purchases. Subject to certain exceptions, the consumer will have the right to withdraw from a distance or off-premises contract within a period of fourteen days without giving any reason and without any costs.

Top 10 benefits for consumers in the new Directive:
1) The proposal will eliminate hidden charges and costs on the Internet
2) Increased price transparency
3) Banning pre-ticked boxes on websites
4) 14 Days to change your mind on a purchase
5) Better refund rights
6) Introduction of an EU-wide model withdrawal form
7) Eliminating surcharges for the use of credit cards and hotlines
8) Clearer information on who pays for returning goods
9) Better consumer protection in relation to digital products
10) Common rules for businesses will make it easier for them to trade all over Europe.

More information

Forum on Mexico - EU ICT Cooperation & Policy Dialogue

On 10 October 2011, a Forum on the cooperation in the ICT sector between the EU and Mexcio will be held in Mexico City. Organised by the partners of the PRO-IDEAL PLUS project, supported by the European Commission, ICT stakeholders from research, industry, academia as well as policy makers will discuss the S&T policy dialogue between the two regions and the opportunities to enhance cooperation. For more information, have a look at the FORUM PROGRAMME.

For registration, please contact mgonza [at] itesm.mx.

Report on "Orientations for EU ICT R&D and Innovation beyond 2013" has been published

The Information Society Technology Advisory Group (ISTAG) has published a report reaffirming the importance of pursuing and strengthening EU investment in ICT research and innovation.

According to the document, ICT has become a key transformative force in social innovation processes enabling and facilitating socio-economic and human development. ICT infrastructure is also a critical resource in today's globalised economy whose reliable and dependable operation is absolutely essential. ISTAG also considers essential to develop a more comprehensive view of the whole value chain of ICT and ICT-enabled services, bridging the gap between pre-competitive research, product development and service deployment.

The document contains 10 key recommendations and it is open to comments and feed backs until the 30 September 2011.

Download the report
Feedbacks can be sent to the ISTAG Secretariat (INFSO-ISTAG@ec.europa.eu)

Call 8 information day: Intelligent Information Management, 26 September, Luxembourg

The Information Society and Media Directorate General, within the European Commission, is organising an Information Day to better support the preparation of proposals for the 8th FP7 Call concerning objective ICT-2011.4.4 "Intelligent Information Management". The event will inform about the scope of the call, assist preparing project proposals and facilitate sharing experiences. The information day will give participants the chance to network, to find partners for their projects and get feedback on proposal ideas from officials of the European Commission.

The event will take place on 26 September in Luxembourg, Jean Monnet Conference Centre, Luxembourg.

More information and registrations

Fe:male, an initiative for women entrepreneurs

The Fe:male project, funded by the European Commission, supports women who plan to set up their own business.

Across Europe, women are half as likely to set up a business as men. One of the main reasons is that there are many barriers that block women from setting up a business, such as being unemployed, having a disability, being over fifty, or coming from an ethnic minority.

Fe:male will support women who face all these difficulties to foster female entrepreneurship spirit through an exchange of experiences and best practice in adult education. You can subscribe to their Newsletter to receive continuous information.

More information

Green Paper on the online distribution of audiovisual works

The European Commission has launched a new consultation on how best to seize the opportunities for the audiovisual industry online. The consultation will serve as the basis for a debate on how the regulatory framework needs to be adapted to allow European industry to develop new business models, how creators will find new distribution channels and how European consumers could have better access to the content.

The Green Paper focuses in particular on the copyright licensing framework, and discusses a number of regulatory approaches to licensing. In addition, it looks at the remuneration of authors and performers for the online use of their works; and deals with certain special uses of audiovisual works.

The consultation is open from now until 18 November 2011 and all citizens and organisations are invited to participate.

Go to the consultation

Languages mean business - a new website for languages & business initiatives

The European Commission have launched the "Languages mean business" platform to offer information on the benefits of languages when doing business and give tips and tools for better language management.

The site contains several sections with interesting information such as results from studies on the use of languages in European SMEs, success stories of small businesses that really made it thanks to a thorough language strategy, tips for success, a support service and much more.

Visit the website

Debate on the definition of SMEs

The European Commission announced last week, in a review of the SmallBusiness Act (SBA) held in the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), its intention to open a consultation on the definition of SMEs in the course of 2012.

At present SMEs are defined by the following 3 parameters:

-Micro-entities are companies with up to 10 employees;
-small companies employ up to 50 workers, whilst;
-medium-sized enterprises contain up to 250 employees.

However the definition of a company for specific tax or regulatory purposes may change as a range of other criteria are also taken into account under different rule

The announcement received diverse reactions from stakeholders, some of which ask what the purpose of such a consultation will be.

More information

Innovation Union Competitiveness Report 2011

The Innovation Union Competitiveness Report 2011 provides an in-depth statistical and economic analysis about the strengths and weaknesses of national research and innovation systems. The document also provides solid facts on which to base national policy choices.

The Key findings from this report point out that:

- Europe needs to accelerate investment in research and innovation.
- In times of economic crisis, accumulated investment in research and innovation has a counter-cyclical effect.
- Investments in innovation have to be "smarter".
- The development of highly-skilled people needs to be matched with the needs of business.
- Integration and internationalisation of research increases returns on investments.
- Weak framework conditions prevent knowledge being transformed into marketable products and services.
- Europe has strong potential in technological inventions tackling societal challenges.
- EU needs more innovative and fast-growing SMEs.

Download the full report
More information

Prices for voice, SMS and data roaming to be cut down to level of national tariffs by 2014

A new EU roaming regulation is expected to be announced this Wednesday 6 July to resume the fight against high mobile phone prices.

The European Commission will propose to cap voice, SMS and data roaming at levels similar to national tariffs by 2014, as well as end the price gap between national and cross-border mobile services.

The proposed rules will introduce innovative ways to structurally reform the supply of mobile services, proposes to slash the wholesale prices that operators pay to use each other's networks, implement measures to enable new "virtual" operators to enter the market, and much more.

Before being applied, the regulation will have to pass the scrutiny of the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers.

More information
Download the legal text of the EU roaming proposal

14 new e-Job descriptions to improve training offers in EU

The e-Jobs Observatory platform now includes a new section on e-Jobs Profiles to provide information about ongoing work on e-jobs descriptions. The sections contains descriptive information about each job profile as well as the option to comment it. You can find here below the names of the first 14 new e-Job descrptions:

• Digital animator /2D-3D specialist
• Digital Media Designer
• e-Learning Designer
• Internet e-Comerce specialist
• Internet Hotline Operator
• Online Community Manager
• Usability specialist
• Webmaster
• Web and multimedia master
• Web content manager
• Web content / multimedia developer
• Web designer
• Web Marketer
• Web Seller

Visit the website