Bad Hofgastein, 4 June 2010 – At the forefront of its annual congress which takes place this year from 6 to 9 October, the European Health Forum Gastein has again initiated the European Health Award worth 10,000 Euro. “The purpose of this award is to promote initiatives which have made a significant contribution to major challenges facing the health systems in more than one European country“, says the EHFG President, Dr. Günther Leiner.

Reacting to yesterday's Ecofin Council deal on monitoring and coordination of economic and budgetary policies in the European Parliament today, Portuguese GUE/NGL Miguel Portas said the drive for coherence between national budgets prompted an important question: "What about democracy?"

 Brussels, 8 September 2010

Accelerating the deep renovation rate of Europe’s existing building stock will deliver a significant percentage of the 3 million “green jobs” that European Commission President Barroso said he would like to see created by 2020 in his first “State of the Union” address to the European Parliament.

 EurActiv’s blog platform, Blogactiv.eu, keeps on expanding as it closes in on its third anniversary, in October 2010. Besides the over 7,500 posts, which represent a milestone in the field, Blogactiv hosts nine of the 40 most influential EU bloggers, according to the Waggener Edstrom study released this summer. Bloggers with an interest in EU affairs are invited to join the platform.

After today’s State of the Union address by Commission President Barroso and the ECOFIN ministers’ meeting, European Institutions failed to deliver a clear message on a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). The Party of European Socialists (PES) had demanded a speedy decision on a FTT to help raise new revenue, as the effects of public budget cuts begin to be felt.