The European Parliament has overwhelmingly approved the appointment of the Croatian Neven Mimica as European Commissioner for Consumer Protection. Mimicry begins to perform his duties in July, when Crozia officially becomes the 28th Member State of the EU. His tenure will end 'on October 31, 2014, at the end of the mandate given to the team led by President Jose' Manuel Barroso.
Since June 1 became effective a new list of approved additives at EU level, which includes only those additives considered safe based on a scientific evaluation. The main advantage of the new rules is transparency: the additives will be clearly listed according to the category of foods to which can be added. The most important condition for their use is that they are safe and justified from a technological point of view, that is not misleading to the consumer and indeed the benefits make changes. To ensure that the additives continue to be used safely, the European Food Safety Authority has adopted a comprehensive re-evaluation program, currently in progress.
For the first time, millions of holiday-makers travelling in the EU this summer will be protected by comprehensive passenger rights – whether travelling by air or rail, and now also by ship, bus and coach. But research shows that two-thirds of passengers are not aware of their rights. For this reason, the Commission is launching a new campaign to inform the many people gearing up to travel this summer about their passenger rights, and how to claim them if needed.
In your city is taking place a good practice in terms of public transport and sustainable mobility? Participate in the collection of good practices initiated in Europe as part of the Mobility. The best experiences will be brought to the attention of the European institutions at the end of 2013. Do you want to report on Good Practice?
Almost two thirds (64%) of young Europeans intend to vote in the 2014 European Parliament elections whereas around one thirds (35%) say they are unlikely to do so, according to a Commission survey on youth participation in democratic life.
A Greek partner of Active Citizenship Network, Kathi Apostolidis has been appointed Vice President of the European Coalition of Cancer Patients. Congratulations and good luck!
The European Ombudsman dealt with more than 30000 complaints and opened almost 3500 investigations into alleged maladministration in the EU administration during his ten years in office. In 2012 alone, he received 2442 complaints (2510 in 2011) and opened a record number of 465 inquiries (396 in 2011). Most of the 2012 inquiries were about lack of transparency (21,5%), including refusal to release documents or information.
Ninety-four per cent of bathing sites in the European Union meet minimum standards for water quality, according to the European Environment Agency's annual report on bathing water quality in Europe. Water quality is excellent at 78 % of sites and almost 2 % more sites meet the minimum requirements compared to last year's report.
The European Commission has launched a new initiative to improve port operations and onward transport connections at 319 key seaports along Europe’s coastline. The guidelines and legal changes being proposed will help port operators upgrade their services and facilities as well as giving them more financial autonomy.
The project implemented by Active Citizenship Network "Future active citizens: volunteering as an exercise of democracy" has been identified as one of these 30 good practice projects in the field of Active European Citizenship by the E.N.T.E.R. (European Network for Transfer and Exploitation of EU-Project Results) on behalf of the European Commission. The project will be presented during the European Conference from 26-27 June 2013 in London, UK.