Professionals back EU-wide action on cross-border health emergencies: A new cross-border Health Security initiative should refine EU preparations for, and response to, health crises ranging from terrorist attacks to SARS epidemics, experts reported at the European Health Forum Gastein. If Europe was to be serious about facing up to major threats a real change of mind-set was of the essence, according to specialists.  

Prime case of death: More than 63% of all deaths in the world are caused by so- called non-communicable diseases. In the WHO-region of Europe it’s even higher – 86%. The direct and indirect economic costs are huge – to the point of posing a real threat to growth in crisis-hit economies. Therapy alone is not enough, World Bank strategist Dr. Armin Fidler told the European Health Forum Gastein. Effective prevention should concern every area of policy-making, not only that of public health.

EuropaBio has announced the top five finalists for its 2011 Most Innovative EU Biotech SME Award. The judging panel composed of G. Steven Burrill, Founder and CEO of Burrill & Company, Tom Saylor, CEO of Arecor and Chairman of EuropaBio’s SME Platform, Paul Ruebig, MEP and Chair of the SME Union and Nathalie Moll, Secretary General of EuropaBio, faced an arduous task in selecting the top five candidates among the many excellent submissions received from across the EU.

Brussels, 3 October 2011 - ‘Norma’, ‘standardite’, ‘normas’, ‘norem’, ‘προτύπων’, ‘standarder’: standards affect enterprises and consumers all over Europe. This is especially true for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), as they account for over 98% of all European enterprises, employing almost 81 million people, providing 66% of Europe’s total employment. Furthermore, SMEs are present in most sectors.

The European Commission today presented proposals to account for the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from oil from tar sands (1), which would effectively rule out imports of this environmentally-damaging fuel source. The Greens welcomed the proposals and called on EU governments to swiftly adopt them, with Green MEP Satu Hassi stating: