Danube region: six new scientific clustersSix scientific clusters will support economic, social and environmental development of the Danube region, home to some 100 European citizens. The EU initiative – presented in a press conference May 16 in Bratislava (Slovakia) brought together politicians, scientists and representatives of civil society – will focus on: water; land & soil; bio-energy; air; data exchange & harmonisation; and smart specialisation. The clusters “will provide scientific evidence to support the Danube Strategy” (launched 2011, including all the countries through which the river flows) and “and will also serve to foster scientific cooperation” across the region. The Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic said: “”The EU Strategy for the Danube Region aims to boost growth and jobs in the area through better policy making and funding. Science can really help by providing evidence-based data to policy makers, helping them to make informed decisions for a region that boasts enormous geopolitical and economic diversity.” Various sectors are expected to benefit from the clusters’ activity. These are: environmental protection, irrigation & agricultural development, energy, biodiversity, river morphology, flood and drought risks. Eurostat, the economy lags behind “GDP fell by 0.2% in the euro area1 (EA17) and by 0.1% in the EU271 during the first quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter.” The figures were released by Eurostat according to flash estimates based on macroeconomic data of recent months, that confirm the ongoing economic standstill, nearing recession, affecting most European economies. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP fell by 1.0% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2013. By comparison during the first quarter of 2013, GDP in the United States grew by 0.6% compared with the previous quarter. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP rose by 1.8%. Eurostat highlights national situations with positive trends despite the overall economic downturn. Germany registers 0.1% increase after a moderate growth in 2012; France is at -0.2%, in a state of recession; Italy registers -0.5% and is marked by a long-lasting recession (-2.3 at annual level); the United Kingdom is at +0.3% and Poland +0.1%. GDP is steadily increasing in small countries like Lithuania, Latvia and less relevant way in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. No recovery is yet foreseen for the strongly problematic situations of Greece and Spain.Multiannual budget, resuming the negotiations A “quality budget for growth and jobs”: the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, envisaging the allocation of sufficient resources for the adoption of the community policies over the next seven years, resumed on May 13 in a framework of open debate between EU institutions responsible for budgetary decisions, i.e. EU Parliament and Council, with the mediation of the Commission (trilogue). Eamon Gilmore, Irish vice-president and president-in-office of the EU council of ministers, commenting on the first meeting of the trilogue, said: “It was a good start. We listened to the requests forwarded by the European Parliament and there is the will to reach an agreement” over a 960 billion multiannual budget – consistently decreased compared to the previous one. “The Council and the Parliament agreed on both the scope and calendar of the negotiations; this shows the will from both sides to reach a swift agreement on the next financial period, which is what Europe’s regions, businesses, scientists, NGOs and students call for”, said EU Commissioner for financial programming and budget Janusz Lewandowski. The next trilogue is scheduled for 28 May.Emergency response centre”With the unfortunately increasing frequency and complexity of disasters, EU Member States need to cooperate even more closely”, said José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, during the launching of the Emergency Response Centre (ERC), May 15. The ERC “provides a state of the art platform that allows them to coordinate under the most extreme circumstances, enables them to tackle these challenges even more effectively and thus helps to protect our citizens”, Barroso underlined. “”Experience shows that no country in the world is completely immune to disasters, no matter how well prepared it is,” pointed out Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for Crisis Response. “Making a coordinated and immediate response is an essential part of any life-saving action.” The ERC will be capable of dealing with up to three simultaneous emergencies in different time zones: it will receive and analyse appeals for assistance from affected countries and serve as a hub to support coordination at various levels.
