European Call for Smarter cities/communities

A smart city/community combines diverse technologies to increase the efficiency of how a city functions. Cities and industries join forces to develop a joint technology agenda.

The call for proposals will be open to industry-led consortia operating in the three sectors: energy, ICT and transport. The consortia will need to include partners coming from three Member States and/or Associated Countries teaming up with at least two cities. These criteria should ensure that the demonstration projects presented and selected are market-oriented and that they can be replicated in different cities.

One of the greatest challenges facing Europe is how best to design and adapt cities into smart, intelligent, sustainable environments:

• Cities create some 80% of the EU's gross domestic product with their concentration of trade, business and "people expertise". Cities are a driving force in generating Europe's economic growth.
• They will become even more important as the proportion of Europeans living in urban areas grows from just over two-thirds today to a forecast 85% by 2050.
• 68% of the EU population lives in urban areas, which consume 70% of energy. This accounts for 75% of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
• The information and communications technology (ICT) sector will require more and more electricity by 2020.
• Urban transport is responsible for one-quarter of all the emissions from road transport.
• Congestion costs Europe about 1% of GDP every year – most of if it from urban areas.

More information about this initiative.

European Union & Argentina : business in trouble ?

The European Union launched a challenge to Argentina's import restrictions 4 days ago at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. It is first requesting consultations with Argentina in a bid to have these measures lifted.

The restrictive measures which negatively affect the EU's trade and investment include Argentina's import licensing regime and notably the procedures to obtain an import licence as well as the obligation on companies to balance imports with exports. Consultations give the EU and Argentina the opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without resorting to litigation. If no solution is found within 60 days, then the EU can request a WTO Panel to be established to rule on the legality of Argentina's actions.

Three measures which run contrary to WTO rules for a transparent, free and fair trading system will be discussed in particular :

▪ Argentina subjects the import of all goods to a pre-registration and pre-approval regime, called the "Declaración Jurada Anticipada de Importación" applied to all imports.

▪ Hundreds of goods also need an import license and are systematically delayed or refused on non-transparent grounds on the basis of these procedures.

▪ Argentina requires importers to balance imports with exports, or to increase the local content of the products they manufacture in Argentina, or not to transfer revenues abroad. In addition, this practice seems to be a condition for obtaining the license allowing imports of their goods. 

More information about this challenge

More information about the relations between EU & Argentina