At the start the second edition of the generations @ school 2013, on the occasion of the European Year of Citizens, invites teachers, students and people of older age to organize debates on Europe, on its past but also about what adults and children can do together to build the Europe of the future. The deadline for application is June 30.
In the framework of the European Alliance for the "European Year of Citizens 2013", key organizations and civil society groups in Italy have created their own national network in order to share best practices, coordinate activities that will be held during the year , facilitate dialogue between citizens and institutions, prepare proposals to be submitted to the European Commission, the European Parliament and to the Italian government in view of the EU's rotating six-month presidency (second half 2014). Among those who have joined, even Cittadinanzattiva.
The European Commission launched at the end of March a scoreboard to compare the justice systems of member states in a bid to assess how courts can affect economic growth. The justice scoreboard will focus on the business and investment climate, such as the efficiency of EU courts to resolve civil and commercial disputes.
The European Commission is making accessibility an essential requirement for rail infrastructure when newly built, upgraded or renewed. Accessibility can be achieved by preventing or removing barriers and through other measures such as provision of assistance. The rules apply to infrastructure (e.g. obstacle-free routes, ticketing, information desks, toilets, visual and spoken information, platform width and height, and boarding aids) and to rail carriages (e.g. doors, toilets, wheelchair spaces, and information).
The Services Directive was adopted in 2006 and is seen as a key tool to removing barriers to operating in Europe's internal market. Currently, only 5-10% of EU GDP is generated by providing cross-border services. Implementing the Services Directive could rise economic output by some 2.6% in five to 10 years, said MEP Anna Maria Corazza Bildt.
The European Commission outlined a series of actions to tackle aggressive commercial practices across the EU such as fake ‘free’ offers, ‘bait and switch’ advertising for products which cannot be supplied, and exhortation of children. Five years after it entered into force, the Commission reviewed the application of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and announced plans to step up enforcement of the rules to increase citizens' trust when shopping in Europe’s internal market.
EU shoppers will get easier access to rapid, cheap and impartial mediation in disputes with traders over goods or services thanks to two new laws voted by Parliament on March. They aim to help shoppers to avoid long and costly court cases, especially over on-line or cross-border purchases.
The Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 on bus and coach passenger rights became applicable on March, providing bus and coach travellers throughout the EU with new rights. The regulation lays down travellers' basic rights, and imposes a number of obligations on bus and coach companies and terminal managers concerning their responsibility towards the passengers. Every year about 70 million passengers travel by buses and coaches in the EU.
12 students on Public Relations from West Virginia University are in Italy to work on the communication plan of the 7th European Patients' Rights Day, organized by Active Citizenship Network on the 16th of May 2013 in Brussels.
The European Commission has called on Member States to prioritise social investment and to modernise their welfare states. The Social Investment Package (SIP), adopted by the European Commission, aims to help Member States use their social and health budgets more efficiently and effectively. The investing in health component asserts that health, as well as being a value in itself, is a precondition for economic prosperity. It makes the case for smart investments for sustainable health systems - spending smarter, but not necessarily more, investing in people’s health - particularly through health promotion programmes, and investing in reducing inequalities in health as a means of tackling social exclusion.