Missing children: European hotlineA hotline will provide assistance to families of missing children. The initiative of the European Commission involves 17 Member States. "I you’re a parent whose child has gone missing all you have to do is dial 116 000 and you can connect to an experienced organisation able to provide support and practical assistance, whether psychological, legal or administrative", said Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda during a meeting in Brussels with Missing Children. Not all Community countries have adhered to the project, launched five years ago. One year after the deadline to implement 10 Member States have still not made the number operational. The service responds to a strong need expressed by Europeans in a survey showing that 91% support the initiative. "But that overwhelming support is not translating into awareness". In the last year progress was made to protect children, but the a long way lies ahead. "I proudly acknowledge the Commission’s commitment to step up children’s protection, for example, by making Internet a safer place for kids", concluded Neelie Kroes. The European Day for Missing Children is celebrated each year on May 25. EU Parliament, protecting the victims of stalking Victims of stalking, harassment or abduction who are granted protection in one EU Member State could get fully equivalent protection if they move to another by filling in a standard and multilingual certificate, under new rules approved by the Legal Affairs and Women’s Rights committees of the European Parliament a few days ago. The new law would eliminate all the formalities currently required to ensure recognition and enforcement of civil protection measures for people under threat who cross the EU’s internal borders. The draft legislation would add civil law protection to the criminal law rules already enforced under the European Protection Order (EPO) Directive, covering all cases of danger to people’s physical and moral integrity, including threats to dignity, security and personal freedom. MEPs also proposed that it should be possible to request the multilingual certificate online and that the cost of the recognition procedure should be waived for victims. The vote gives Antonio Lopez-Istùriz White and Antonyia Parvanova who are steering the legislation through the Parliament, a strong political mandate to negotiate with national governments an agreement that could be approved at the first reading by Parliament as a whole. Eurobarometer survey on tobacco and smoking 28% of European Union citizens smokes regularly. 70% of ex smokers started smoking before they turned 18. The findings, published to coincing with No Tobacco Day (May 31), provides detailed information on smoking habits and tobacco, the "single largest cause of avoidable death in the EU" accounting for around "700.000 premature deaths each year in the EU.the major single-cause of unavoidable deaths in the EU". Findings show that "the number of cigarettes smoked on a daily basis is 14.2"; which represents a slight decrease from the previous (2009) survey (14.4 cigarettes/day). Half of the EU population has never smoked; "61% of current smokers have already tried to quit smoking" to no avail. "Although there has been a 17% fall in the proportion of people exposed to tobacco smoke in restaurants and bars, 14% of EU citizens still reported that they were exposed to smoking in restaurants and 28% inside cafés and bars in the last 6 months". 73% of EU citizens are in favour of introducing security features to curb illicit trade of cigarettes, even if it makes them more expensive". Eurobarometer adds: "33% of smokers and ex-smokers in the EU say health warnings on tobacco packs have/have had an impact on their attitudes and behaviour towards smoking". Finally, "60% of citizens support measures to make tobacco less visible and attractive, such as keeping tobacco products out of sight in shops or curbing the use of attractive flavours and colours".
