"With the European unemployment rate approaching 10%, the national budget's difficulties to allocate resources to combat the crisis and the importance of promoting human capital, drive to a need to promote actions and targeted strategic policies at European level. With this objective, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was conceived", said Barbara Matera MEP, Standing Rapporteur for the European Parliament on the EGF today in Brussels.

This situation provides Japanese companies with an unfair advantage when responding to tenders in Europe, and is unacceptable. With no competition to face in their home market, such companies are then able to submit highly competitive offers in EU countries, and are supported by the Japanese government to do so.

Brussels, 2 March 2011 – PV LEGAL partners conclude that it is time to act and remove administrative barriers and to ease grid connection processes in Europe. In the past semester the national partners of the PV LEGAL project have organised a road show in 7 EU countries including the organisation of national conferences in Italy, Germany, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, France and Poland.

The plans of the Greek government to build a 12 km wall along its land border with Turkey in the region of Evros as a measure to curb illegal immigration have been received with mixed feelings. Illegal immigration is indeed a big problem for a country of 11 million, ridden by debt and which became the main entry point for illegal immigrants after the tightening of control in the Mediterranean. Figures show that 9 out of 10 immigrants to the EU enter through Greece and that the number of those arrested has increased by 535 percent between 2009 and 2010...

Responding to reports about missing Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and suggestions of official detention, Green MEP and chair of the EP's Iran delegation Barbara Lochbihler said: