EU policy news

On 22 and 23 April, the European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn is in Athens, where she will attend the Fourth Transport Research Arena (TRA) – the most important event in Europe dedicated to surface transport research. During this event, the Commissioner will open the conference and exhibition and will deliver a speech at the plenary session on ‘EU 2020 objectives on transport innovation: from research to deployment’. In this context, she will also meet with Constantinos Kokkinoplitis, Secretary General for Research & Technology of the Ministry for Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs and Industry leaders to discuss the future of transport research under Horizon 2020. Transport industry and transport equipment manufacturing together represent 6.3 % of the European Union’s GDP.

The meeting of Energy ministers in Denmark on Friday 20 April 2012 concluded by reaching an agreement on the approach recommended by the European Commission in its energy roadmap to 2050. Europe’s energy future will involve higher efficiency, more renewables and infrastructure upgrades, they said. The ministers backed the roadmap’s ‘no regret’ options, which the commission says would apply to all decarbonisation scenarios envisaged in the document, regardless of the choices made by member states. The agreement means energy ministers recognise the basic principles that the commission believes should underpin Europe’s transition towards a low-carbon energy system. 

MEPs will today vote  on the proposal for revision of the 2003 Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) following a report by Astrid Lulling (EPP, Luxembourg) in Strasbourg last night.