A full agenda after the summer After the pause for summer holidays, the EC’s institutions agenda is full of engagements in different sectors: energy, public health, consumers, transportation, economics and industrial policies, enlargement, multilingualism, migrations…September will begin with a plenary meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (September 1-4), the European Civic days will be held from on 4-6 September, and the Romanies Continental Summit on the 16th. Other September events include: the anti-narcotics action plan, a Note on the research and innovation committee, the European Language Day (September 26). The European Week of Regions and Cities will take place on October 6-9, the Day against capital punishment on the 10th, while the EU Council will meet to discuss the ratifications of the Lisbon Treaty on Oct. 15-16. The fight against Alzheimer’s disease will be equally debated along with natural disasters prevention, the Energy and Maritime Package. On November 3 the autumn economic forecasts will be issued while the 18th will be the closing date of the Year of Intercultural Dialogue. On December 5, the 2009 programme of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation will be presented to the media. On December 11-12 will be held the final 27-EU summit led by French presidency. European Institute of Technology Next September 15th Budapest will stage the first reunion of the executive committee of the European Institute of Technology. The Institute was set up by the EU to step up scientific and economics-applied research in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy. In the past days, 18 personalities from different Countries were appointed as Committee members. The team of experts “represent the different areas of enterprise, research and university education in Europe”. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso claimed, “the institute will finally become a reality. Europe needs a strong commitment in the fields of innovation and technology”. The members of the team were selected by a purposely-designed Commission. EIT regulations came into force in April while the Hungarian seat was designated in June. The fist activities are scheduled for mid-September. In the next months the Institute will identify the issues to be broached and its modus operandi. The Committee includes, amongst others, João Caraca (Portugal), Manuel Castells (Spain), Bertrand Collomb (France), Giovanni Colombo (Italy), Anders Flodstrom (Sweden), Daria Golebiowska-Tataj (Poland), Julia Elizabeth King (United Kingdom) and Linnar Viik (Estonia).Anti-discrimination campaignThe European Truck Tour 2008 continues during the summer. The EU’s initiative is designed to “raise public-awareness over right-equality and countering prejudice”. The yellow truck, bearing the logo “Respect”, is crossing the eastern regions of the Old Continent. Visitors will be given literature regarding the five-year EC campaign launched in 2003 and called: “Yes to diversity”. The tour started off on June 21 in Prague, in the Czech Republic. The Truck will continue its journey until October, stopping in 20 different sites throughout 9 Countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. The campaign will address the different forms of discrimination based on ethnicity, religious belief, age and handicaps. Further information on the website www.stop-discrimination.info. Culture: European theatre performancesThe initiative of the rotating presidency of the EU Council is called “Traits d’Union”. Its purpose is “to enable spectators to discover the richness and the diversity of contemporary European plays”. Twenty-seven dramatic works by contemporary authors were translated into French and bound together in a slipcase. The plays will be recited on three different occasions: at the Festival of Avignon (July 12-21), which was attended by a large audience; at the Mousson d’Eté Festival ( (abbaye des Prémontrés, Pont-à-Mousson; August 22-28); at the Odéon – Théâtre de l’Europe (November 1-29). “In addition to the reading scheduled in France – the promoters explained – also the cultural network abroad will be involved, with the French cultural centres participating in the project”. The Louvre Museum in Paris will entrust to six plays read at the Odéon the assignment of writing a short work based on the Museum’s exhibits”. The programme can be downloaded from the rotating EU presidency website (www.eu2008.fr).
