Author: JRC – European Commission – HEADLINES

This week, the 15th GeoCAP Annual Conference is gathering around 350 European experts to discuss the latest innovations in remote sensing technologies and their application for supporting agricultural subsidies controls. Since the introduction of remote sensing controls EU regulations in 1992, satellite images have proved to be an efficient tool to verify that agricultural subsidies are correctly paid to farmers. In 2008, on a total of 8.3 million declarations made by farmers, 629,000 checks were performed on the spot, of which 55% were done using remote sensing imagery. The same figures are expected for 2009. Very High Resolution satellites or aerial orthophotos allow to accurately check the size of the parcel, their cover type and possibly cover status, thus reducing considerably the need of physical checks in the farms and consequently contributing towards a more effective and efficient management of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The 2009 EU R&D Industrial Investment Scoreboard is now available. Worldwide corporate R&D investment has increased by 6.9% in spite of the economic crisis, according to the report. With an 8.1% increase, the R&D investment growth of EU companies, defined as companies having headquarters within the EU, is significantly higher than US ones for the second year, at 5.7%, and Japanese ones, at 4.4%.

Two EU companies feature in the top ten: Volkswagen in the 3rd place with an R&D investment of €5.93 billion and Nokia in the 8th. The world’s biggest investor in R&D was Toyota Motor, with €7.61 billion. The report also shows that companies from emerging countries have the highest R&D investment growth.

The 2009 EU R&D Industrial Investment Scoreboard is now available. Worldwide corporate R&D investment has increased by 6.9% in spite of the economic crisis, according to the report. With an 8.1% increase, the R&D investment growth of EU companies, defined as companies having headquarters within the EU, is significantly higher than US ones for the second year, at 5.7%, and Japanese ones, at 4.4%.

Two EU companies feature in the top ten: Volkswagen in the 3rd place with an R&D investment of €5.93 billion and Nokia in the 8th. The world’s biggest investor in R&D was Toyota Motor, with €7.61 billion. The report also shows that companies from emerging countries have the highest R&D investment growth.

A new test protocol for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), developed by scientists at the JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) in cooperation with experts from the United States and Japan, has been adopted as a global technical regulation by the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE).

Internationally harmonized test protocols for emission control contribute to reducing pressures on the environment and to more efficient use of energy. They also facilitate innovation and competitiveness by allowing manufacturers to develop engine models that can meet internationally consistent emissions regulations.

The European Commission has opened a public consultation in order to receive input from all people and organisations involved or interested in nanosciences and nanotechnologies research in Europe, and notably researchers, policy makers, industry, media and civil society organisations.

The METIER final conference, co-organised by the JRC and the Partnership for European Environmental Research (PEER), was held 4-6 November in Brussels. The event was attended by 89 young scientists and 30 lecturers from all over the world discussing their latest research results on how to tackle the complex challenges of climate change, water availability, biodiversity and sustainable land use. One of the main purposes of the event was to provide training in entering into dialogue with practitioners and policy makers, getting to know their needs and how to respond to them.

Improving tax procedures for cross-border trading of securities could raise European GDP by more than 37 billion Euro over a ten-year period. This is the key finding of a study jointly carried out by the JRC’s Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC) and the Commission’s Directorate General Internal Market and Services which analyses the costs and benefits of the proposals made by the EU Clearing and Settlement Fiscal Compliance Experts Group (FISCO) for improving and simplifying withholding tax relief procedures.

Based on the FISCO proposals and backed up by the economic impact study, the European Commission adopted on 19 October 2009 a Recommendation that outlines how EU Member States could make it easier for investors resident in EU Member States to claim withholding tax relief on dividends, interest and other securities income received from other Member States. The Recommendation also suggests measures to eliminate the tax barriers that financial institutions face in their securities investment activities while at the same time protecting tax revenues against errors or fraud.

The Trans-Atlantic Science for Policy Workshop at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra brought together a unique group of 22 individuals with pertinent experiences of real-life scientific support to policy-making. These parliamentarians, science advisers, heads of European and international organisations, leaders of science foundations and academies, plus senior NGO representatives and CEOs from industry, represent all aspects of science-policy interaction from conception and development to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the JRC’s Institute for Energy (IE) strengthened their ongoing collaboration yesterday with the official signing of a ‘Practical Arrangement’ which will allow both partners to further develop scientific and technical co-operation in the fields of nuclear safety, nuclear technology and energy planning issues.

In practical terms this will result in increased support of JRC-IE to the IAEA, enhanced co-operation and co-ordination of their mutual activities in the field of energy policy support.

Dr Alan I. Leshner, Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Executive Publisher of the Journal Science, is giving the inaugural JRC Annual Lecture this evening in Brussels.

The title of the lecture is "Europe and the United States, a crucial moment for science cooperation". European Commissioner for Science & Research, Janez Potočnik and JRC Director-General Roland Schenkel are also speaking at the event, which marks the 50^th anniversary of the opening of the European Commission’s first research site in Ispra (Italy) and today’s signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the JRC and AAAS.

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