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Commission promotes delivery of long-term care at home 29 Apr 2008 Member states will need to adapt their national health systems to prepare for the expected increase in long-term health services due to the EU's ageing demographics, according to a new study published by the Commission. The report, presented on 28 April, highlights the need to consider new ways of delivering long-term care at home and in residential settings "as the preferred alternative to institutional care". This follows a Eurobarometer Survey published in 2007 which confirms that a majority (ca. 80%) of Europeans prefer long-term care to be supplied at home. There is also a "widespread consensus" on the need to devise "new ways of support towards family or informal carers" to enable dependent people to stay in their houses for longer, adds the report, entitled Long-term Care in the European Union . Guaranteeing near-universal access to long-term healthcare in the EU will be one of the main challenges to address as it will entail significant costs, the report says, adding that a combination of public and private financing will thus be needed. Furthermore, improved coordination between social and medical services will also be needed to make the system more effective.An international conference held under the Luxembourg Presidency in May 2005 confirmed that long-term healthcare is a public responsibility and should therefore rest with public authorities in member states. This premise was backed by the Eurobarometer Survey (as in above) , which showed that 93% of EU citizens believe public authorities should provide home or institutional care. However, current trends in several EU countries show that demand is outstripping supply , highlighting the fact that there is no wide-ranging system for long-term care services and that there is still room for the private sector. On the supply side, there is still a major shortage of professional staff dedicated to long-term healthcare. There are a number of approaches being instigated to plug the gap, including higher wages, improved working conditions and bringing informal carers into social security schemes. A conference on 'Intergenerational Solidarity for Cohesive and Sustainable Societies' hosted by the Slovenian EU Presidency will be held today, concentrating on the need to develop long-term care systems. LinksDossier: Healthy ageing Other related news: EU's new health chief promises cross-border care proposal Links to recent EC official documents (28 April 2008) :
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European Commission nominates high-level advisory group on research and science (ERAB) 11 Apr 2008 Janez Potočnik, Commissioner for Science and Research said: "The debate on the Green Paper on the future of science in Europe has shown that there is strong need and support for making research in Europe more European. This can only be done in partnership with Member States, the research community, business and many other stakeholders. I count on the new ERAB to advise me and the Commission services on how we can facilitate the development of a true European Research Area." ERAB is expected to play a key role in helping to develop, promote and evaluate policy initiatives and actions to meet the goals of the European Research Area. It underlines the importance the Commission attaches to drawing on independent expertise and advice in a policy area that is set to further climb on the EU's political agenda. One of ERAB's key tasks will be to provide the Commission with an annual report on "the state of the European Research Area". (read more...) |
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EU's new health chief promises cross-border care proposal 02 Apr 2008 During her grilling by the European Parliament, Androula Vassiliou, the Cypriot woman selected to replace outgoing Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou, promised that a controversial proposal on cross-border health care would be put on the table in June. Addressing patients' rights in cross-border health care, Vassiliou told a Parliament hearing yesterday (1 April) that she was "convinced that no one is against improving legal clarity and transparency under the existing rights provided by the Treaty, or against improving access to health care". The purpose of the hearing was to give the parliamentary committees an insight into the views of the future commissioner on the issues in her portfolio - namely public health and food safety. While answering MEPs' questions, she expressed her determination to submit the proposal on access to cross-border health care for adoption by the Commission in June 2008 . She revealed that the proposal would focus on patients' rights and increased access to health care. It will be part of a "social package" to be launched in cooperation with Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimír Špidla to promote access, opportunities and solidarity for all EU citizens, she explained.Vassiliou said that she knows that "some commissioners are sceptical" about the proposal, but expressed her desire to clarify confusion among those who think the issue revolves around services. "We are not talking about exchange of services or freedom of movement of services, this is about the rights of EU citizens and their right to have their health care in any part of the EU as the Treaty provides," she underlined. (read more...) |
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Commission sets EIT in motion: the "Identification Committee" starts its work 07 Feb 2008 The wheels of the "European Institute of Innovation and Technology" (EIT) were set in motion this week when Jan Figel', the European Commissioner for Education and Culture, announced the composition of the committee tasked with recommending members for the EIT Governing Board. Speaking to the European Parliament and the Council on 5 February, the Commissioner named four high-level scientists with strong private sector experience, who will now begin their work of selecting potential candidates to make up the Board of the EIT. The members of the Identification Committee are Professor Günter Stock, Chairman, President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities; Professor Miklos Boda, Advisor to the Rector at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics; Cecilia Schelin Seidegård, chairwoman of the Royal University of Technology in Stockholm; and Professor Ronan Stéphan, director for industrial affairs and technology transfer of the French CNRS, and executive director of France Innovation Scientifique et Transfert. The four will choose the 18 distinguished members of the future EIT Governing Board, drawn from the worlds of science, academia and business. Once approved, the Governing Board will begin its remit to steer the activities of the Institute. Its role will be to set the overall strategic priorities of the EIT, select the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) and evaluate and coordinate their work. The Commission is hoping the appointment of the Board's members will take place before the summer 2008, after the adoption of the EIT regulation by the Council in March 2008. The EIT could then be established in 2008 and the first KICs could be up and running in 2009. The physical location of the EIT has yet to be decided, but this is expected within 12 months after the regulation enters into force. The EIT will have the primary objective of contributing to the development of innovation capacity in the EU, bringing together beacons of excellence in higher education, research and competitiveness (the 'knowledge triangle'). The EIT will aim to facilitate and enhance networking and cooperation and create synergies between innovation communities in Europe. (read more...) |
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EC to hold e-health management workshop 28 Jan 2008 The European Commission is to hold a workshop on e-health management, organised by the ePractice.eu portal – the EC's web service for the professional community of eGovernment, eInclusion and e-health practitioners. The workshop will be facilitated by e-health experts and will be introduced by a high-level keynote speaker, still to be confirmed. Three different e-health cases will be introduced briefly, before the workshop divides into three breakout sessions in which each case is explored in further detail. A number of core issues and questions will be discussed throughout the day. Making up the three cases will be the Macro government level, centered on Britain's NHS service, Hospital Catalonia in Spain will look at the institutional hospital level, and a separate presentation will look at the clinical to patient level, focusing on electronic patient records . The aim of the workshop is to review IT management issues with a core focus on e-health. It is geared to two sets of people - those with a particular interest in e-health and those with a general interest in public services and their use of information and communication technologies. Especially welcome are health service managers and executives, public sector officials, civil servants, ICT managers, designers and implementers. Key questions relating to e-health and IT implementation will be discussed. These are:
The event will be held in July and is free of charge. For further information and registration, please visit: http://www.epractice.eu/workshop/eHealthmanagement . |
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Commission plans to accelerate e-health market 09 Jan 2008 The European Commission has published a new strategy aimed at accelerating the growth of the e-health market in Europe by removing legal and regulatory barriers and promoting interoperability over the next two years. The new paper, ‘Accelerating the Development of the eHealth Market in Europe', forms part of the Commission's new ‘Lead Market Initiative' (LMI) in e-health, designed to create a thriving pan-European e-health market. E-health is the first of six LMIs being carried out by the Commission, with similar initaitives to follow in protective textiles, sustainable construction, recycling, bio-based products and renewable energies. The aim is to maximise the potential of each of these markets and reduce the cost of bringing new products or services into the market. The e-health LMI paper says the e-health industry in the EU was estimated to be worth €21bn in 2006 and has the potential to be the third largest industry in the healthcare sector, with rapid double-digit growth anticipated by the end of the decade. (read more...) |
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Information of EC Latest & next steps on the EHRs ongoing issues
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Accelerating the Development of the eHealth Market in Europe Source: Infso-newsroom/ ec.europa.eu This report on lead market opportunities for eHealth proposes actions aiming at accelerating the development of the European eHealth market, increasing economic benefits and simultaneously developing the quality of health products and services. The prospective return on investment of eHealth is relatively high when compared to the costs inherent in the health sector. A "lead market" can be defined as a market for innovative products and services or technological solutions with high growth potential; a market where EU industry can develop com petitive advantage to lead in international markets; a market that requires action by the public authorities to deal with regulatory obstacles. (as in: " ehealthnews.eu ") The above definition of Lead Market is the backbone of this paper, which assesses the driving factors related to the eHealth market, its potential in terms of growing demand and market growth opportunities, changing demographics and disease patterns, and healthcare capabilities in eHealth. Subsequently, the paper illustrates the eHealth market's incoherent positioning throughout Member States as well as the latent market areas. Structural barriers delaying successful market breakthrough, such as market fragmentation, lack of financial support and procurement issues, which collectively affect the development of demand for eHealth products and services, are thoroughly considered. The paper points out the positive impacts to be expected from eHealth, including strategic (competitive advantage and interoperability leading to technology advances), economic (economies of scale) and social (improvements in service level and access to health services). Download "Accelerating the Development of the eHealth Market in Europe" Report |
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European Commission recently adopted a new Health Strategy Based on: eHealthNews.eu EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou says: "Migration, the mobility of health professionals and patients, the risks posed by pandemics and bioterrorism, all represent additional challenges. So do globalisation and climate change. The time has come for the EU to develop a strong and comprehensive strategy on health". The importance of research to the strategy, is also underlined by Kyprianou: "health policy must be based on the best scientific evidence derived form sound data and information, and relevant research". ( read more...) |
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The European Commission presented the preliminary results of the public consultation on the future of the European Research Area Source: IPR HelpDesk News The European Commission recently presented the preliminary results of the public consultation on the future of the European Research Area (ERA). The consultation identifies six priorities (i.e. knowledge-sharing, researchers, research infrastructures, research institutions, research programmes and international cooperation) that the Commission considers fundamental for the future of the ERA. The preliminary analysis also revealed that actions on all ERA dimensions are strongly supported at all levels of governance and that scientists prefer voluntary cooperation and networking rather than binding legislative action at the European level. However, as the Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik said on 8th October at the Lisbon Conference on the Future of Science and Technology in Europe, progress made since 2000 in building the ERA are still "too timid" and its achievement will require a higher and shared commitment by the parties concerned. Related Links : European Commission press release Speech of Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik: The Future of Science & Technology in Europe Stakeholder Consultation and related preliminary results on the Green Paper on the ERA Previous Related IPR-Helpdesk news items: |
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EU: the Commission and the Council have published new Calls for Proposals August 2007 The European Commission published the following calls in the Official Journal:
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EU: The Commission opens a new web portal on the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme Date: 31 July 2007 DG Enterprise and Industry recently launched a new web portal on the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). CIP aims to encourage the competitiveness of European enterprises through three specific programmes: the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (EIP), the ICT Policy Support Programme (ICT-PSP), and the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme (IEE). They will foster the competitiveness of enterprises, in particular SMEs, by promoting all forms of innovation and energy efficiency. The portal will provide detailed information on these programmes including related funding opportunities offered by the grants available. Further information on CIP and other EU funding opportunities can also be obtained from the Euro Info Centres and the Innovation Relay Centres. Related Links: Portal on the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme Related News: 13/11/2006. EU. Decision on the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme published |
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European Union. Switzerland signs an agreement to participate in the 7th Framework Programme From: IPR HelpDesk News The EU and Switzerland signed an agreement enabling Switzerland to join the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) at the Competitiveness Council in Luxembourg on 25th June. According to the agreement, Swiss research institutions, universities and private entities will be able to take part in all aspects of FP7 on the same terms as their counterparts in the EU Member States. This agreement constitutes a follow-up to the one signed in 2004 regarding the FP6. It is estimated that Switzerland's participation will bring an additional 1.4 billion euros to the FP7 budget of about 54 billion euros. Related Links : Related press release in the German EU Presidency web site. DG Research FP7 Web Site |
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Three Western Balkan countries and Turkey join FP7 Croatia, Serbia and Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey are now eligible to compete on an equal footing with EU Member States in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), following the signature of Memoranda of Understanding with the European Commission. |
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Reminder: ICT PSP 1st Call for Proposals 2007 Dead Line! The first call for proposals of the ICT Policy Support Programme (or ICT PSP) opened on 25 May 2007 and will close on 23 October 2007 . The call text, the Guide for Applicants and all relevant forms and templates for the submission of a proposal are available on the following page . Relevant documents have been uploaded into the Library of the site, under the section " Reference documents ". The opening of this first call follows the adoption of the Work Programme for 2007 by the Commission, as well as an Information Day held on 24 May in Brussels, which hosted over 450 interested participants. Click here to see the presentations of the Info Day. CIP - ICT PSP Leaflet (June 2007) |
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Call for Tender - Economic Impact of Interoperable Electronic Health Record and ePrescription in Europe EC- DG INFSO The European Commission's Directorate General for the Information Society and Media has issued a call for tenders for a study on the economic impact of interoperable electronic health record and e-prescription in Europe. The subject of the contract is provision of a study on economic aspects of e-health in general and more specifically in relation to electronic health records and e-prescribing solutions. The specific goals of the study are:
For further information, please visit : Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate: 13.August.2007 (16h00). To see the full details of the call , please consult the following web address :http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:122426-2007:TEXT:EN:HTML |
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The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have launched a new instrument to finance research and innovation
Source: IPR Bulletin ( www.ipr-helpdesk.org ) The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a cooperation agreement establishing a new risk-sharing finance facility (RSFF) to support research and innovation. Participants in RTD projects face problems obtaining financing due to the relatively high level of uncertainty and risk inherent to their field of activity. The RSFF will cover part of the financial risks assumed by the EIB when financing this type of activity. Initially, RSFF will mostly benefit medium and large innovative companies and public entities. However, RSFF will also be open to smaller entities contributing to FP7 objectives. The RSFF is part of the 7th Framework Programme and EIB's programme for Research and Innovation. Read more at IPR Bulletin |
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EC announces large scale eHealth pilot
04 Jun 2007 The European Commission has begun its tendering process for a large scale Pilot of an EU wide implementation of eHealth services to support continuity of care. |
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CALL FOR TENDER: Economic Impact of Interoperable Electronic Health Records & ePrescription in Europe (Deadline: 13/ August/ 2007) The objectives of this study are to contribute to those activities that deal with the collection, analysis and eventual dissemination of best practices in the domain of eHealth. This study will more specifically focus on economic aspects of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and ePrescription solutions. See : CALL for TENDER |
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ICT Policy Support Programme - The first Call for Proposals is now open (Deadline: 23/ Oct/ 2007 ) The first call for proposals of the ICT Policy Support Programme (or ICT PSP) opened on 25 May 2007 and will close on 23 October 2007. The call text, the Guide for Applicants and all relevant forms and templates for the submission of a proposal are available online. See all the refrence documents at Europa Info Society |
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Call for experts - ICT Policy Support Programme of CIP
Source: eHealth News - EC Call for expression of interest addressed to individuals for the establishment of a database of prospective independent experts to assist the Commission's services for tasks in connection with the ICT Policy Support Programme of CIP (Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme). |
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eHealth priorities and strategies in European countries Source: EC -INFSOWednesday, 04 April 2007 The European Commission, Directorate General Information Society and Media, supports the eHealth ERA Coordination Action project to contribute to the coordination of Member States' eHealth strategy formulation and implementation as well as eHealth-related research and technology development. The project surveys and analyses eHealth roadmaps and programmes across Europe, identifies common priority issues, and develops suggestions for joint actions. All results will consecutively be made available at the eHealth ERA website (www.ehealth-era.org). This report presents fact sheets of all European countries for which validated information about their eHealth strategies and implementation was available to the project by the end of January 2007. In countries not listed in this report, there may nevertheless be eHealth strategies and implementation activities ongoing or planned. The status of activities described is generally August 2006. The report is the outcome of research in the context of eHealth ERA, which is implemented by empirica GmbH (co-ordinating partner, Germany), STAKES (Finland), CITTRU (Poland), ISC III (Spain), CNR (Italy) and EPSRC (United Kingdom), based on a Coordination Action contract with the European Commission . Download "eHealth priorities and strategies in European countries" eHealth ERA Report, March 2007(pdf 3,39MB) |
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EC runs the last 30 Projects under the former eTEN Programme. Source: IST Results Newsletter (EC) The European Commission has launched 30 new eTEN projects to run over the next three years. These will be the last batch of eTEN projects and they will validate and deploy electronic services that serve the European public in areas including eHealth , eGovernment, eLearning, eInclusion, SME support, and trust and security. eTEN programmes aim to support the deployment of public-interest e-services across the EU , and in recent years have been adapted to encourage the emergence of large projects with high impact. Projects already supported include ePOLL, an electronic voting and polling system which is now being piloted in three member states; Netc@rds , a project preparing the electronic phase of the European Health Insurance Cards, which is expanding to cover 300 hospitals in 15 countries; and MICHAEL, a project developing simple, multilingual access to Europe's digital cultural heritage encompassing the on-line treasures of 13 national collections. From 2007 onwards, support for electronic services in areas of public interest will be provided by the ICT Policy Support Programme ( ICT PSP ), part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme ( CIP ) which will run until 2013. ( http://europa.eu.int/ ) Note: EHTO is preparing soon to disseminate the list of the eTEN funded Projects in the eHealth area. |
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How to Apply to the 1st FPT Published Call (22 December 2006)
- COOPERATION AREA - 42 calls for proposal open! Identifier: FP7-ERANET-2007-RTD Publication date : 22 December 2006 Deadline : 31 July 2007 at 17:00 (Brussels local time) Budget: € 28 900 000 Specific Programme : [Cooperation] OJ Reference: OJ C316 of 22 December 2006 Theme(s): [Energy] [Environment (including Climate Change)] [General Activities - Annex IV] [Health] [Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology] [Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies] [Socio-economic sciences and Humanities] [Transport (including Aeronautics)] Restrictions to Participation: see eligibility criteria in the Work Programme (read more...) |
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Commission announces date for first FP7 calls
Source: CORDIS News at DG Research Briefing Date: 24 Nov 2006 The European Commission has announced the date of the opening of the first calls for proposals under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/home_en.html |
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A Short Overview of FP7 – Tackling the Callenges
Source: Cordis-Europa http://cordis.europa.eu Date: 21 Nov 2006 IntroductionThe FP7 ICT Work Programme 2007 defines the priorities for the calls for proposals to be launched in 2007. The priorities are faithful to the FP7 Framework Programme and Specific Programme decisions and in line with the main ICT policy priorities as defined in the i2010 initiative. They reflect the input received from the Programme Committee and Advisory Group , the European Technology Platforms and a series of detailed consultations with the main stakeholders. Read more... The ICT Work Programme under FP7 is divided into seven ‘Challenges' of strategic interest to European society, plus research into ‘Future and emerging technologies' and support for horizontal actions, such as international cooperation:
Download 4-page overview of ICT in FP7 ( 172KB ) |
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Download the " ICT R&D Work Programme for 2007-08" Source: Cordis-Europa http://cordis.europa.eu The Draft Work Programme for ICT research in FP7 for 2007 and 2008 is now available online :
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EC Report on Connected Health - Safety and Quality for the EU Citizens Source: Europa Information Society Health Policy To read this PDF document click here |
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6th FWP Tender: Guidance on nuclear medicine installations and imaging (TED CALL) |
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Dutch, Danish and French enterprises win IST Grand Prize 2006 The winners of the European Information Society Technology Grand Prizes for 2006 have been announced in Vienna. The prizes were awarded for a computer memory that can survive radiation and temperatures up to 200°C , a security system that recognises your face , and a digital content ‘finger-printing' system to deter multimedia pirates . French, Danish and Dutch firms won the three Grand Prizes, worth €200,000 each . Seventeen more prizes, of €5,000 each, were awarded to ground-breaking technologies from 12 countries. The top 20 projects were selected by the European Commission on 16 March from a total of 213 applicants from 28 European countries. “Tonight we celebrate European enterprises that excel in information and communication technology innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Their products can be built into those of other firms in many industries, and so enhance the competitiveness of the EU economy as a whole,” said Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding, as she announced the winners on 23 March 2006. The European IST Prize is organized by the European Commission together with the European Council of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering (Euro-CASE). It is open each year to companies or organizations that present an innovative information technology product with promising market potential. |
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IST PRIZES 2006 Up to 20 European IST Prize Winners and up to 3 Grand Prize Winners will be celebrated at the European IST Prize Awards Ceremony in Vienna on 22 March 2006 20 Nominees for the 2006 IST Grand Prize have been proposed to the European Commission by independent experts from 16 European countries, nominated by Euro-CASE and agreed by the European Commission. |
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EC LAUNCHING 6th IST CALL (Ambient Assisted Living) (EC) The European Commission has launched IST Call 6, with a total indicative budget of €140 million and is covering Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), advanced robotics, search engines for audiovisual content and international cooperation. The call is launched under sixth framework programme and will close on 25 April 2006. (more) |
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Healthy Life Years - In the core of the Lisbon Strategy The Healthy Life Years indicator (also called disability-free life expectancy) measures the number of remaining years that a person of a certain age is still supposed to live without disability. Healthy Life Years is a solid indicator to monitor health as a productivity/economic factor. Healthy Life Years introduces the concept of quality of life. It is used to distinguish between years of life free of any activity limitation and years experienced with at least one activity limitation. The emphasis is not exclusively on the length of life, as is the case for life expectancy, but also on the quality of life. |
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Commission Adopts New EU Public Health & Consumer Protection Programme |
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The new EU health and Consumer Protection Strategy On 6 April, the Commission adopted a strategy and programme proposal setting out a number of ambitious targets for EU health policy from 2007 until 2013. The strategy and programme proposal brings EU health and consumer protection policies together under a single framework. This will give more weight and visibility to two policies at the heart of citizens' concerns that share important objectives such as health protection and citizens' information. It will also develop positive synergies in terms of economies of scale and streamlining of administrative procedures. |
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VIVIANE REDING opening speech Introduction to the Ministerial Round Table It is my great pleasure to join you here today at this third high-level European conference on e Health. I am proud to introduce this Round Table – at which the European Ministers responsible for e Health are meeting. eHealth is a priority for the European Commission. We are convinced that information and communication technologies can help to achieve more efficient, effective, and responsive health systems in Europe. This conference forms part of the e Health action plan. This plan – adopted by the European Commission a year ago – aims to create, by 2010 a borderless European health information space. (more) |
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The European IST Prize Awards Ceremony is announced The European IST Prize Awards Ceremony will take place on Tuesday 26 April 2005, 18.00-20.00, at the Palace of the Academies in Brussels. The three Grand Prize Winners will be awarded the European IST Prize Trophy and a Prize of each 200,000 € by Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Mrs Viviane Reding, and Mr Guy Demuynck, Chairman of the European IST Prize Executive Jury. |
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Anticipating future IST The recently launched IST BEYOND-THE-HORIZON project aims to provide input about IST-related emerging trends and strategic research areas that require support, through a well-organised, extensive and systematic consultation of the relevant research community throughout Europe, involving the main actors and experts in the related fields. It is critically important for Future and
Emerging Technologies' visionary ambition to regularly receive from the
IST-related European research community focused and structured input, based
on shared understanding, about emerging trends and strategic areas that
require support, in order to build up European excellence, develop a
scientific critical mass and keep European research a step ahead. |
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IST project wins 2004 EU Descartes Prize |
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EC announces Open Standards Definition Barbara Held from the European Commission's IDA (Interchange
of Data between Administrations) Unit announced the definition of Open
Standards, which require the intellectual property - i.e. patents possibly
present - of (parts of) the standard to be made irrevocably available on a
royalty-free basis. It also calls for no constraints to be imposed on the The event was organised by MERIT, University of Maastricht under the IST FP6 project FLOSSPOLS and the Dutch Ministries of Economic Affairs and of the Interior. Open standards and Free/Libre/Open Source software is of critical importance to governments across Europe, which was reflected by keynote speakers. Furthermore, the need for collaboration between governments and citizens has been emphasised as well
as the urge to the open source community to make technical matters easier to
understand for decision-makers. |
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European Commission To Evaluate E-Health The EU is to investigate 'best practices' in e-health across the continent, the European Commission has announced. The aim of the study is to provide the Commission's Information Society Directorate with a report on the impact of e-health services in Europe. |
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The MODINIS
Workprogramme The multi-annual Community programme MODINIS was adopted on 17th November 2003 for the period 2003 to 2005, by the common decision of the Council and the European Parliament. The programme provides financial support for the implementation of the eEurope 2005 Action Plan. |
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eEurope 2005
Action Plan |
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e-Health Ministerial
declaration - 22 March 2003 Source: eEurope site The impact of e-Health is, as diverse as the sector itself,
encompassing the quality of health-related Web content, patient data security,
‘telemedicine’ technologies, tackling administrative headaches
for hospital staff, doctors and patients, and much more. (more) |
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EU moves to
Sever Microsoft's Media Player from Windows In an accusation reminiscent of Microsoft's
U.S. antitrust case -- which See the Full Story: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/33071.html
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eContent Update of
the Workprogramme for the year 2004 The eContent programme supports the increased availability, use and distribution
of European |
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Ireland 2004 Presidency
of the European Comission Tánaiste's Welcome Speech for CORDIS Irish Presidency Website (more) |
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e-Europe 2005 e-Health The Information Society offers new possibilities for improving almost every aspect of healthcare, from making medical systems more powerful to providing better health information to everyone. (more) |
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Commission drafts
guidelines on financing electronic communications infrastructure In the context of the mid-term review of structural funds interventions, the Commission has announced that it is to prepare guidelines to facilitate regional and local authorities in their appraisal and selection of investment projects related to electronic communications. (more) |
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Commission
outlines actions to combat spam The Commission has outlined a number of actions to combat the growth of unsolicited e-mail, otherwise known as spam. (more) |
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Commission:
improving financial management of RD projects The Commission has adopted an action plan aimed at improving and clarifying the financial management of shared cost research projects.
The plan follows observation by some Directors-General in 2001 and was requested to address “the complexity of financial management of indirect actions through simplification and enhanced consistency between the different systems currently in place and through improved contract management.” (more) |
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French government
launches eContent web service Following the European Commission's call for proposals for the eContent programme on 20 December 2003, the French government has launched an eContent web service. eContent is a market-oriented programme, which aims to support the production, use and distribution of European digital content and to promote linguistic and cultural diversity on the global networks. (more) |
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Commission
publishes latest R&D figures for Europe The European Commission has published a new booklet entitled 'Towards a European Research Area. Science, Technology and Innovation - key figures 2002'. The publication lists statistics from the EU Member States, and where relevant, third countries, under the following headings: - R&D [research and development] investment for the knowledge-based
economy; |
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Enhanced
security is crucial for successful ICT, says Commissioner Liikanen Enhanced security is a key element for the success of information and communication technologies (ICT), said Commissioner for Enterprise and Information Society Erkki Liikanen as he launched a proposal to establish a European network and information security Agency, on 10 February. The European network and information security agency's main objective would be to coordinate computer emergency response teams across Europe. They will then respond to emergency network issues by distributing warnings and publicising security-related standards. (more) |
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E. C.-
Recommendation for regulatory framework on electronic communications In an effort to harmonise diverging national approaches, the European Commission adopted a final recommendation for a new regulatory framework on electronic communication networks and services on 11 February. The new framework outlines the rules that network operators and service providers need to follow when dealing with other operators, providers and customers. National regulatory authorities will be responsible for implementing the framework which is scheduled to come into force from July 2003. (more) |
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E.C., "e-Content"
Programme - Partner Search The third Call of the "e-Content" programme was launched on
December 20th 2002. Being myself the national contact point for France,
we propose helping you to find french partners for the projects you would
like to submit for this programme. First, to help you find an additional (complementary) French partner
to complete your own project. This e-mail will then be forwarded to interested parties who will in
turn contact you to continue to exploit the existence of a mutual interest. |
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Commission
calls for experts On 4 December the Commission published two calls for experts to assist in evaluating and selecting proposals for research projects to be funded within the Sixth EU Research Framework Programme (FP6 2002-2006). Under FP6, proposals will continue to be evaluated and selected for funding with the help of independent external scientists. This "peer review" system will be further streamlined to ensure the procedure is even more transparent and efficient. Within the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5 1998-2002) the Commission's database containing over 35,000 experts was used to select some 10, 000 experts to assess 60,000 proposals. (more) |
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European
IST Prize - 20 winners announced The 20 winners of the most competitive European Information Society Technology (IST) prize in the contest's history have been announced. (more) |
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E.C Proposal for
a Directive of the E.P. and the Council on the Exploitation and Re-Use
of Public Sector Documents
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Pharmaceuticals
in Europe Getting the Future Legal Framework Right (Mr. Erkki Liikanen) Ladies and gentlemen, Before I discuss the Commission's proposal for the future legal framework governing pharmaceuticals I would like to consider the context of the proposal. What are the challenges that face us today and for the foreseeable future? There are many challenges including:
One of the most important developments at a European level is the ongoing review of European pharmaceutical legislation. The Pharmaceutical Review The focus on patients and the social imperative to provide medicines and care for all are deeply-held convictions in Europe. These convictions have inspired the adoption of the entire European pharmaceutical legislation by the Community institutions since the adoption of the first directive of 1965 in the field of human medicinal products. (more) |
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eTEN
Call and Information Day A new
eTEN Call for proposals (2002/1) is to be launched at end
June with a budget around 12 Million €. Stephan Pascall, Head of Unit |
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Towards
the Sixth Framework Programme- Figures, General Objectives (EC Presentation,
Research DG) Visit the official website at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/nfp.html Or download the presentation in pdf format: |
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Bratislava
Conference : Addressing Ethics in Research and Science Ethics in research and science: situation and perspectives in the
candidate countries to the European Union' will be the topic of discussion
at a conference organised by the European Commission, to be held in Bratislava,
Slovak Republic on 17 to 19 March. The conference is particularly relevant as ethics was the only issue on which Research Ministers could not fully agree when they adopted a common position on the Sixth Framework programme (FP6) at the Research Council on 10 December 2001. The event will focus on ethical issues in research, such as gene banking, the safety of nuclear power and animal welfare, which will be relevant for researchers and science administrations under FP6. Researchers participating in FP6 must be informed of laws, directives and international regulations, as they will be relevant for the review of ethically sensitive research projects submitted under FP6. The conference aims to initiate a dialogue whilst creating or extending networks. Open discussions and round tables will provide an opportunity to discuss issues relating to ethics in science and research, and to examine how they are being handled by administrative structures. All 13 candidate countries will be represented in Bratislava, by both national experts and members of the national science ministries. The event will address how each of the candidate countries deals with ethics in research. The conference will begin on 17 March with a free public event with prominent speakers such as journalist Alison Abbott from the science journal 'Nature'. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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INNOVATIVE
REGIONS TO BE RECOGNISED AT EUROPEAN FORUM FOR INNOVATIVE ENTERPRISES Innovative regions will be rewarded at the third European forum for
innovative enterprises, organised by the European Commission, in Stockholm,
Sweden on 8 and 9 April 2002.
The forum will highlight the experience of PAXIS (pilot action of excellence of innovative start-ups) areas of excellence, of European cities and of internationally recognised innovation specialists, and will focus on local aspects of start-up creation. The conference will address the opportunities that current economic developments are providing for start-ups, the ways in which universities can influence economic growth and what is needed to make cities favourable business environments. Awards of excellence for innovative regions will be presented at the event and PAXIS projects and networks will be presented at an exhibition of video and interactive presentations. Data Source Provider: European Commission Contact Person: For further information, please consult the following web address: http://www.thirdforum.org |
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ENTERPRISE
GROUP SETS OUT VISION FOR BARCELONA SUMMIT Conditions for innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises need to be
improved if the European Union is to attain its goal of establishing the
world's most competitive knowledge-based economy in 10 years. This was
one of the conclusions of the first joint meeting of the two chambers
of the European Commission's enterprise policy group, held in Brussels
on 7 February.
The discussions focused on the obstacles to innovative entrepreneurs and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) . These included regulatory complexity, dissuasive tax systems, rigid labour markets and lack of recognition of SMEs' social contribution. Members of the chambers recognised that EU policy needs to be more alert to the needs of these actors for the situation to improve. In its evaluation of the progress in improving the EU business environment, members of the chambers emphasised that more internationalisation, further benefits from the internal market and tackling sustainable development issues were needed. The internal market was seen as providing benefits on goods, but an internal market services is still not complete. The meeting aimed to assist in clarifying issues that will need to be tackled at the European Council in Barcelona in March. Data Source Provider: European Commission Contact Person: For further information, please consult the following web address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/epg/index.htm |
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Consultation
on the FP6 and the IST Programme The aim of this page is to keep you informed of the latest developments in IST in FP6. It provides a central access point to the most up to date information on IST in FP6 and includes latest developments and presentations.(more) |
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TRAIN-IT TO HOLD IST WORKSHOP
TRAIN-IT, which provides information to European entrepreneurs
working in information society technologies (IST) on writing
business plans, and is funded by the Fifth Framework programme's IST
Programme, is holding an information day and workshop in Paris on 7 to 8
March.
The event will bring together TRAIN-IT alumni, IST participants
and junior companies from Supelec, a leading engineering institute from
France. Supelec focuses on R&D (research and development) and
promoting practical applications such as start up training and the
fostering of 'junior companies'.
Data Source Provider: TRAIN-IT
Contact Person: For further information, please consult the following web address: http://www.train-it.org |
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INNOVATIVE REGIONS TO BE
RECOGNISED AT EUROPEAN FORUM FOR INNOVATIVE ENTERPRISES
Innovative regions will be rewarded at the third European forum for
innovative enterprises, organised by the European Commission, in
Stockholm, Sweden on 8 and 9 April 2002.
The forum will highlight the experience of PAXIS (pilot action of excellence of innovative start-ups) areas of excellence, of European cities and of internationally recognised innovation specialists, and will focus on local aspects of start-up creation. The conference will address the opportunities that current economic developments are providing for start-ups, the ways in which universities can influence economic growth and what is needed to make cities favourable business environments. Awards of excellence for innovative regions will be presented at the event and PAXIS projects and networks will be presented at an exhibition of video and interactive presentations.
Data Source Provider: European Commission
Contact Person: For further information, please consult the following web address: http://www.thirdforum.org |
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ENTERPRISE GROUP SETS OUT VISION
FOR BARCELONA SUMMIT
Conditions for innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises need to be
improved if the European Union is to attain its goal of establishing the
world's most competitive knowledge-based economy in 10 years. This was
one of the conclusions of the first joint meeting of the two chambers of
the European Commission's enterprise policy group, held in Brussels on 7
February.
The discussions focused on the obstacles to innovative entrepreneurs and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) . These included regulatory complexity, dissuasive tax systems, rigid labour markets and lack of recognition of SMEs' social contribution. Members of the chambers recognised that EU policy needs to be more alert to the needs of these actors for the situation to improve. In its evaluation of the progress in improving the EU business environment, members of the chambers emphasised that more internationalisation, further benefits from the internal market and tackling sustainable development issues were needed. The internal market was seen as providing benefits on goods, but an internal market services is still not complete. The meeting aimed to assist in clarifying issues that will need to be tackled at the European Council in Barcelona in March.
Data Source Provider: European Commission
Contact Person: For further information, please consult the following web address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/epg/index.htm |
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Consultation on the FP6 and the
IST Programme The aim of this page is to keep you informed of the latest developments in IST in FP6. It provides a central access point to the most up to date information on IST in FP6 and includes latest developments and presentations.(more) |
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TEN-Telecom call for proposals 2001/2 This call for proposals is open until 31 January 2002. |
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IST 2001: "Techonologies Serving
People" The four volumes of this work are available for download on the links below in Acrobat (pdf) format: |
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IST Work Programme 2002 The IST Workprogramme 2002 is available for download in both Acrobat (pdf) or MS Word (doc) formats. |
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High-level Conference
on eGovernment Applications The Belgian Presidency and the European Commission will jointly organise a European conference on eGovernment applications, 29-30 November 2001, in Brussels. The aim of the conference is to illustrate eGovernment in practice and how citizens and businesses can reap real benefits from interactive... (more) |
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Work
Programme 2002 DRAFT version 10.10.2001
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Opportunity to Sponsor IST 2001
event
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IST2001 Düsseldorf: Open Call
for Tenders B-Brussels: preparation, setting up and organization of the IST 2001 (Information Society Technologies) event to be held at the ''Congress Center Düsseldorf'' from 3.12.2001 to 5.12.2001... (more) |
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IST Programme Advisory Group / ISTAG ISTAG provides the Commission with independent advice concerning the
strategy, content and direction of research work to be carried out under
the IST Programme. The following links will provide details of all FP5
Advisory groups, their mandate and membership. ISTAG's work and recommendations have been guided by the "vision" that they formulated in their first meetings in 1999. Subsequent IST workprogrammes aim to underpin and implement this vision which is also embedded into the planning for IST in the Sixth Framework Programme. The following text is quoted from ISTAG's first report :- "Start creating the ambient intelligence landscape for seamless delivery of services and applications in Europe relying also upon test-beds and open source software, develop user-friendliness, and develop and converge the networking infrastructure in Europe to world-class". ISTAG Activities: The table below provides fast links to "annual activities sections" of this page and the set of "reports and recommendations" that ISTAG has published.
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Join the select European IST Prize Winners' Club Make your IT product and your company benefit from the global fame of the European IST Prize. A total amount of €700,000 is awarded:
The application period for the 2002 European IST Prize is now
open in 31 countries. |
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The socio-economic dimension
of the IST programme
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Euro-China 2002 Co-operation Forum on Information Society |
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IST KA1: "Systems and Services for the Citizen" 6th Call Information Day - Friday 2nd of February, 2001 |
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IST Programme directorates |
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| IST Workprogramme 2001 |
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| Framework
Programme is not enough Evaluation Report on EU research programmes |
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Eurobarometre 80 - MIS Special Medecins Generalistes
(in French/en Français) A poll by EOS Gallup Europe on assignment of EC-DG Education and Culture - June 2000
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| "The
Emerging European Health Telematics Industry" - Market Analysis
(by Deloitte & Touche) on assignment of European Commission-Directorate General Information Society - February 2000 This report results from a study realised on behalf of DG Information Society of the European Commission. This study had as objective to make an assessment (current status and short to medium time forecast) of the level of usage of IT&C products and services in the healthcare sector within Europe. The main orientation is to detect major technology trends and identify key user requirements in the healthcare sector as a basis for further community actions. The study focuses on all types of healthcare environments (hospital, healthcare professionals, home care and community services and healthcare management, ...). For further information, contact: |
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| Spotlight on results of IST99 in Helsinki |
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| Information from the 6th Concertation Meeting |
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| European Commission:
Preparing a Technology Business Plan
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| eEurope 2002
Action Plan (Feira, 19/20 June
2000)
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| "eEurope" - Information Society for All | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Biomedicine and Health Publications now available on-line | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| IST Pages
Non-IST Pages
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