Uncertainty over patenting computer-implemented inventions

On 20 February 2002, the European Commission presented a draft directive to harmonise national legislation concerning the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. The aim of the proposed directive was to ensure an effective, transparent and harmonised protection of computer-implemented inventions throughout the Community so as to enable innovative enterprises to derive the maximum advantage from their inventive activity and provide an incentive for investment and innovation. Existing differences in the administrative practices and the case law of the different Member States regarding the patentability of computer-implemented inventions could create barriers to trade and hence impede the proper functioning of the internal market.

A political agreement reached on this issue by the ministers of EU member countries in 2004 had not yet been formalised by the beginning of 2005 because the national parliaments of certain Member States (Poland, Germany and the Netherlands) eventually voted against the previously agreed common position on the so-called "software patents directive". On 7 March 2005, however, the EU's Competition Council went ahead and adopted its common position (as "Point A", i.e. without any debate) by qualified majority (with Spain voting against and the Austrian, Italian and Belgian delegations abstaining) in spite of the fact that Denmark, Poland and Portugal wished this issue to be discussed by the Council (as "Point B"). While recognising the reservations expressed by certain Member States as well as by the European Parliament and a large proportion of civil society, the Luxembourg EU Presidency concluded that the best solution was to follow the legislative procedure as planned, in order to avoid establishing a precedent. The Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Latvia and Cyprus therefore had to make do with issuing written statements explaining the position they will adopt at the second reading, during which amendments might be introduced in the draft directive.

As for the European Parliament - which in February requested the Commission to restart the legislative procedure from scratch in view of the controversy surrounding the proposed legislation - its reactions to the adoption of the common position by the Council have been swift and vocal. The Commission's rejection of the request made by the European Parliament to restart the legislative procedure is at the heart of the current tension between the two institutions. The European Parliament has up to four months to carry out a second reading of the draft directive. For further information, visit: http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/misc/84022.pdf.

 

News from the institutions

Cohesion and the Lisbon Strategy: A strong signal from the regions

On 3 March 2005, some 550 regional policy stakeholders and experts gathered in Brussels at the invitation of Danuta Hübner, the Commissioner responsible for regional policy, to take part in the conference "Cohesion and the Lisbon Agenda: The Role of the Regions". In the course of a far-reaching and lively debate, participants highlighted the need for the following: 1) The active involvement of European regions and cities, which is considered essential to "make Lisbon work". This involvement is to be based on a unique mechanism enabling the Community's priority objectives to be translated into concrete results on the ground and also making it possible to disseminate these results throughout the EU; 2) Adequate resources to promote cohesion. By proposing to maintain the budget at the current level of the EU's GNP in spite of the deepening of inequalities following enlargement, the Commission has put forward a prudent proposal, which however is the bare minimum to forestall a drastic reduction in EU aid; 3) Effective policies to promote growth in all regions, not only in the poorest. While financial priorities should target the regions where needs are greatest, the strategic priorities of the cohesion policy should apply to the EU as a whole. The cohesion policy should therefore continue to be implemented also outside the poorest regions, but investments should concentrate on well-defined priorities (particularly on innovation) in order to maximise the benefits in terms of employment and growth; 4) Less bureaucracy, better-quality programmes. Regional policies should be more flexible and more effective; their implementation should remain decentralised, strictly in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, and at the same time it should be based on quality criteria; 5) Policies that "speak" to European citizens. EU-supported projects are the most visible proof, in the eyes of citizens, that "Brussels" is actually doing something to improve their living standards. It would be unthinkable to deprive the European construction process of this positive appeal. Lastly, some participants addressed other issues such as Community aid for regions in the far north and in mountain areas, and the effects of the future reform of state aid for regional development. For further information: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/sources/docconf/lisbon/index_en.htm

New European Institute for Gender Equality

On the occasion of International Women's Day (8 March), European Commission President José Manuel Barroso announced the creation of a new European Institute for Gender Equality, one of whose aims will be to "make our consciousness evolve". Mr Barroso, who recalled that his team includes seven women, said that women's participation in the labour market was "a key element of our strategy to promote growth". Therefore, it is important to reduce the pay gap between men and women (which is still 15%) as well as to provide more childcare facilities and share domestic chores more equitably in order to help women balance family life and work. The Institute for Gender Equality will be an independent centre of excellence at European level. It will gather, analyse and disseminate reliable and comparable research data and information, and will have a documentation centre and a library which will be open to the public. Furthermore, the Institute will stimulate research and exchanges of experience and will develop tools for mainstreaming gender equality into all Community policies. The overall budget earmarked for the Institute in the 2007-2013 period amounts to €52.7 million. The location of the Institute's headquarters as well as its official name have not yet been decided, but according to the Commissioner responsible for equal opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, it would be preferable for the Institute to be based in one of the ten new member countries. For more information, read Press Release IP/05/266, available on RAPID.

"HELP: For a life without tobacco"

The European Union has launched a new anti-smoking campaign called "HELP". The campaign will promote smoke-free lifestyles among young people, encourage existing smokers to quit and support the trend towards smoke-free public places. The new anti-smoking drive follows the success of the EU's 2002-2004 campaign, "Feel Free to Say No", which with its catchy slogans such as "Be cool - don't smoke", and by recruiting the help of famous footballers and music stars, effectively targeted some 1 billion young Europeans. Early in March, EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou kicked off the campaign at the Rond-Point Schuman in Brussels by unveiling the campaign slogan, "HELP: For a Life Without Tobacco", on a giant inflatable structure which will tour all 25 EU capitals. The new campaign has a budget of €72 million and was devised for the European Commission by a consortium of health experts and communication professionals. "HELP" consists of a road show and public relations campaign, an advertising campaign and a website offering advice on how to quit. At the same time, a European Tobacco Media Observatory will systematically collect and analyse European anti-tobacco communications in the media. All tobacco advertising on the radio, on the Internet and in the print media in EU countries will be prohibited as from 31 July 2005. The EU also prohibits tobacco sponsorship of cross-border events. Tobacco advertising is already banned EU-wide under the "Television Without Frontiers Directive" of 1989. For further information, visit: http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_determinants/life_style/Tobacco/help and http://www.help-eu.com (on line from 1st June 2005).

 

News from the networks

SINAPSE provides scientific information for policy-making

The European Commission has launched SINAPSE (Scientific Information for Policy Support in Europe), an e-network designed to make scientific advice more easily available for policy-makers at European and national level. It's a web-based communication platform that promotes and encourages the exchange of information between the scientific community and policy-makers. This tool is both useful to policy-makers, enabling them to consult the scientific community, and to scientists, who have an opportunity to share their concerns and knowledge. SINAPSE can help its members in many different ways: it is a library of scientific opinion and advice that enables members to indicate their areas of particular interests and to receive an automatic alert when a new document in that area is posted; it is a tool for the European Commission to consult the scientific community and to quickly draw upon a large pool of expertise; it constitutes an early-warning system for issues that could have a major impact across Europe; it contains a Who's Who and Yellow Pages of European Science; it is a portal for web searching and a forum for communication across Europe. Although it's an open network, SINAPSE will respect the level of confidentially required and expected by its members. This means that in the majority of cases users are able to decide who has access to the information published. The network members, individuals or organisations, can use different filters to help them control incoming messages. SINAPSE, which is already open for registration and use, will be as successful as its members make it. More than 150 organisations, universities and individuals have already signed up for participation in the "Yellow pages for scientific advice", and additional participation is welcomed, to create as broad a scientific base as possible. For more information: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/science-society/science-governance/sinapse_en.html.

Forthcoming events

17 March 2005, Brussels (BE)

The European Commission's proposal of 5 March 2004 for a Directive on services in the internal market [COM (2004) 2 final], aims to provide a legal framework that will eliminate the obstacles to the freedom of establishment for service providers and the free movement of services between Member States. Notably, the proposal provides for application of the country of origin principle to service providers, so that a provider is subject only to the law of the country in which he/she is established and Member States may not restrict services from a provider established in another Member State. This proposal, which has been widely debated (see Euclide 621), is the main theme of a conference organised by the Academy of European Law (ERA) on 17 March 2005, in Brussels. This event, to be held in English and French, is aimed at legal practitioners, in-house lawyers, judges and government lawyers. Participation fee: 400 EUR. For more information, contact: Nathalie Dessert, T: +49 651 937 37 21, F: +49 651 937 37 95, e-mail: ndessert@era.int, website: http://www.era.int.

19 March 2005, Nancy (FR)

On 19 March 2005, the Lorraine regional union of schoolchildren's parents' associations in the private education sector, URAPEL ("Union Régionale des Associations des Parents d'Elèves de l'Enseignement Libre"), will be holding a debate in Nancy on the theme "Education and teaching about Europe: How should we prepare our children?". More specifically, participants in the conference will address the following two issues: "Learning to be a European citizen" and "Living and working in Europe". Also on 19 March, a round table on the same theme will be held for business managers, heads of educational establishments and parents. To find out more about these events, contact: URAPEL de Lorraine, 32 avenue Foch, F-54 000 Nancy, T: +33 3 83 90 32 33, F: +33 3 83 28 84 96, E-mail: urapel.lorraine@wanadoo.fr.

7-8 April 2005, Clermont-Ferrand (FR)

Energie-Cités, the association of European local authorities promoting intelligent local energy policies, will soon be holding its 10th Annual Conference, whose theme this year will be "Assessing local energy policies?". The aim of this event is to provide support to local authorities in the field of Energy and Climate in order to make them more aware of the need for a proper assessment of their actions and policies as well as to enable them to choose the most appropriate actions and enhance their capability to set up an effective evaluation policy. The conference is intended for local authorities' elected representatives from all over Europe, municipal administration officials, networks of professionals and local authority associations, members of national and Community institutions, energy companies, manufacturers of energy saving equipment, energy service companies, banks, consultants, etc. Simultaneous translation will be provided in both French and English. To find out more about the conference and/or register, contact: The Secretariat of Energie-Cités, 2 chemin de Palante, F-25 000 Besançon, T: +33 3 81 65 36 81, F: +33 3 81 50 73 51, E-mail: cf@energie-cites.org, http://www.energie-cites.org/conference/index.php?lang=en.

Publications

Green Paper on the cultural policies of local and regional authorities in Europe

"Les Rencontres", a European network to promote cooperation between local and regional authorities responsible for culture, currently brings together some 300 members from 28 European countries. The network has just published a "Green Paper on the cultural policies of local and regional authorities in Europe". The document is the fruit of over two years' labour that has involved hundreds of hours of thought, discussion and debate. The paper is divided into four main themes: the place of local and regional authorities in the cultural sector in Europe; cultural policy in Europe; the implementation of cultural policy at local level; and suggestions for the future. Available in French, English, Spanish and Serbian. To read a summary of the Green Paper, visit: http://www.lesrencontres.org/en/index.php?param=actus&num=1. For additional information, contact: Cécile Provôt, T: +331 56 54 2636, E-mail: cecile.provot@lesrecontres.org.

Child poverty rising in richest countries

UNICEF's Innocenti Research Centre in Florence has recently published a report entitled "Child Poverty Rising in Richest Countries". According to the report, the proportion of children living in poverty has risen in 17 out of the 24 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) over the past decade. In only four countries - Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States - has there been a significant decrease since the early 1990s. For their part, Denmark and Finland have the lowest child poverty rates, at less than 3%, while Norway is the only country where child poverty can be described as "very low and continuing to fall". The report examines the available data from all countries, and asks what is driving child poverty rates upward in some OECD countries while in other nations more progress is being made. According to the survey, three fundamental forces - social trends, labour market conditions, and government policies - are the key determinants of child poverty rates. Available in English, French, Italian and Spanish at the following website: http://www.unicef-icdc.org/presscentre/indexNewsroom.html.

RECOFORME website

The RECOFORME project, "Structuring Networks and Cooperative Action Concerned with Mediterranean Forests", seeks to encompass all aspects related to natural land areas and forests around the Mediterranean, with the aim of promoting sustainable management of such woodlands and the environment and in this way ensure that they are properly taken into account in land use and development policy. The underlying principle for cooperation at the heart of the RECOFORME project is the fact that extensive scientific, technical and practical knowledge and understanding are most often to be found in the field in the areas where projects are effectively under way and that such knowledge can be shared with other groups confronted with identical problems elsewhere. In order to facilitate such exchanges, the project publishes a website in five languages (English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish), which includes a presentation of the project itself, information on its partners and sponsors as well as on the six pilot sites, a section on forthcoming events, documentation on each of the pilot areas, etc. To find out more, visit: http://www.recoforme.net.

 

Partners search

Vidin University

A group of scientists from Bulgaria and Germany, together with a number of political figures, are in talks with Dr. Ivan Tsenov, Mayor of the city of Vidin, Bulgaria, over the possibility of creating a University of Vidin. The proposal is for initially, a Faculty of Social Sciences, followed by further faculties in the future. The aim is to create a multicultural and interdisciplinary research and teaching environment that would attract a number of international lecturers and students, interested in liberal arts and sciences. Research will be conducted in a wide variety of areas (e.g. spatial-planning, tourism, agriculture, environment, culture, linguistics, history, philosophy, anthropology, etc). International cooperation, vocational training and a problem-solving approach to research and teaching will be strongly encouraged. Anyone interested in contributing as a staff member, in participating in the joint research/teaching or in sponsoring the project, should contact: Professor B.V. Toshev, Head of the Departments of Physical Chemistry, and Chemistry Education, University of Sofia, 1 James Bourchier Blvd. 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria, T: +359 2 8629049, F: +359 2 9625438, website: http://khimiya.org.

 

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Responsible at Law: William Van Dingenen - Editor in Chief: Isabelle Mirambet - Editors: Monique Braem, Stephen Gardner, Wendy Jones, Eirini Nikolaïdou, Verónica Catediano.