• UV radiation limits for sunbeds were violated in one in seven sunbeds made available at tanning services;
• consumer guidance, including on the hazards of UV radiation or prohibiting their use by under 18s was not provided;
• there were insufficient warnings on the sunbeds themselves (e.g. that UV radiation may cause injury).

Authorities are intensifying their work to ensure compliance with all relevant safety legislation and the results of the 2008/2009 check will feed into a follow up project launched today by authorities in 12 Member States to train more inspectors and improve information to consumers. Authorities are also working more with the sunbed industry, which is itself developing training material for service providers such as tanning studios

John Dalli, Commissioner in charge of Health & Consumer Policy said : "I am concerned that a high percentage of sunbeds and sunbed services were found not to respect safety rules. This is an important health concern since the incidence of skin cancer is doubling every 15-20 years. Competent surveillance authorities in the Member States must ensure that these appliances are safe. I welcome the readiness of industry to do their part in raising the level of compliance and therefore safety in relation to their products"

The project aims to:

• Raise the market surveillance profile in the market where these products are used and thereby improve enforcement of the legislation on sunbeds;
• Increase experience and co-operation with industry in the market surveillance of such products;
• Share the information identifying such harmful products with all Member States so that such products can be used on the market in full compliance with safety rules.

ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pfp7ub//ict/docs/fet-open/201001-fet-open-portfolio-analysis_en.pdf
Next batch date for Short Proposals: 11 May 2010

Tell us about any proposal you are involved in which was submitted to ICT CALL 5 (and the ICT PPP calls that closed on 2 November) If you do this we can then tell you if we hear anything useful See

http://www.fp7uk.org/site/ThematicAreas/Information/Documents/projinf-Call5.doc .

Sadly if you are involved in an IP or NoE Proposal which has not now been called to Hearings in the next week or so then there is no crock of gold at the end of your rainbow.

Results It is anticipated that Evaluation Summary Reports for all proposals in these calls will become available to Coordinating partners in February 2010.

ICT - PSP Info Days:
Details from Commission see Here

Cambridge Cell Networks Ltd - with a strong expertise in Systems Biology and Toxicology, CCNet develops tools for scientists who need to better understand on- and- off target mechanisms of action of compounds and the links between genes, targets, chemicals and pathologies. Their flagship product Toxwiz is an ideal tool for anyone interested in predicting and analysing toxicity & pathology using chemicals, genes, hypotheses or some combination thereof. They are looking to join consortia working on any of the Alternate Testing Call topic.

Zyoxel Ltd - Zyoxel Ltd was formed in October 2008 as a spin-out company from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford. The business is based upon the "Tissueflex" microbioreactor technology, a small scale bioreactor system for 3D perfused cell culture, which provides a low cost, simple solution for the culture and testing of a wide range of human -bsed tissue constructs in an environment that more closely mimics the in-vivo stat.

Artelis - Artelis is a Belgian SME who have substantial expertise and know-how in process development, in cell culture and in product development. They have developed a complete range of scalable and disposable high-cell-density bioreactors based on their proprietary iCELLis" technology.

The Medical University of Vienna, whose research is focused on the following topics: 1. Functions of the skin barrier; 2. Molecular regulation of cell differentiation and programmed cell death in the skin; 3. Establishment and improvement of in vivo and in vitro models for the investigation of epidermal homeostasis; 4. Interactions of epidermis and dermis (in particular vascularization and nervous system); 5. Molecular and cellular processes associated with aging and stress in the skin. They apply a broad range of methods including molecular biology, cell and tissue cultures, and bioinformatics, and participate in the European Epidermal Barrier Research Network, the COST action on skin barrier in atopic diseases (BM0903).

A decision on opening membership talks with Skopje was delayed last December following pressure by Greece. Athens has problems with the name of its neighbouring country, since Macedonia also corresponds to a historical Greek region.

The parliament urged member states to take a decision "at the summit in March 2010" and "expects negotiations to begin in the near future."

Mr Fuele said the decision was not only in the interest of the Balkan country, but also of "strategic EU interest," since it would "enhance the EU perspective for the wider region" – a message he would convey to member states and Skopje.

Slovenian Socialist MEP Zoran Thaler, the parliament's rapporteur for Macedonia, warned of the negative regional consequences of this stalemate, comparing the Western Balkans to a bicycle: fine as long as it's moving, "but if it stays still, everything falls over."

"Greece should be a generous mentor," he said, urging the member state to sit down to try and work out a solution to the name issue.

Meanwhile, Greek and Cypriot MEPs said that it was not politically acceptable for any Greek government to give the nod to opening negotiations before the name issue was solved. They also warned against playing to what they called the "nationalistic" tune of the government in Skopje. Macedonian authorities had irked Athens with its decisions to name highways and airports after Alexander the Great, king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

The Spanish presidency, represented by EU affairs secretary Diego Lopez Garrido, gave a rather chilly evaluation of Macedonia's progress, reflecting the mood among member states. He was elusive on whether the EU would agree to open talks in March, talking of a "need for a timetable for accession negotiation and a solution to the name dispute."

"The EU institutions believe the future of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia is in the EU", he said, while also stressing a series of shortcomings regarding the fight against corruption, proper implementation of laws, gender inequality and minority rights.

Macedonian authorities have indicated they expect to start and complete the talks within five years.

Croatia on track, Turkey stalling

Croatia, the most advanced of the candidates, could still finish accession negotiations this year, as expected, if it keeps up with reforms and fully co-operates with the international war crime tribunal in the Hague, MEPs said.

They also called on the commission to open the remaining seven chapters, which the Spanish presidency deemed as "the most difficult," such as justice and home affairs, environment and competition.

"We are encouraged by recent developments in the fight against corruption and hope that investigations will lead to concrete results. I trust Croatia will be able to seize the moment and intensify efforts to solve outstanding issues," Mr Fuele said.

As for Turkey, progress is piecemeal, lawmakers and EU officials said. MEPs criticised Ankara for keeping airports and harbours closed to Cypriot vessels, for the fourth year in a row. This is something that could " seriously affect the process of negotiations," they warned.

Outstanding human rights issues and the banning of a political party for the Kurdish minority were also flagged up by MEPs. On the positive side, they noted the thaw in Turkish-Armenian relations and a law removing restrictions on broadcasting in Kurdish. Twelve out of the negotiation 35 chapters have so far been opened with Turkey since 2006 when accession talks started.

Following the sentencing, OLAF's Acting Director General Mr. Nicholas Ilett said "This is another fantastic result in this large-scale, complex international investigation which has been coordinated by OLAF. As well as the USA, this investigation spanned nine EU Member States and several countries in Central and South America. 43 million cigarettes were seized in the EU and 11 arrests were made. We are particularly grateful for the excellent cooperation and support we have received from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US Department of Justice in respect to the American aspects of this case. Not only must Mr. Vidal spend the next 2 years in jail, he must also pay back his share of the illegal profits”.

Mr. Ilett added that he would also like to congratulate the Irish Revenue and Customs Service, German Customs, the Guardia Civil in Spain and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs UK which have all played a significant role in ensuring the successful outcome in this investigation and preventing further financial losses.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/100205-01.html

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "Compliance with EU legislation is essential if we are to achieve the overarching goal of EU waste legislation, which is to protect the health of European citizens and the environment. We must look at all the options, including setting up an EU agency or body which could enable EU legislation to deliver the maximum benefits for citizens, the environment and the EU economy."

Further details see http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/113&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

The commission on Thursday, also the continent's official Data Protection Day, "warned that data protection rules must be updated to keep abreast of technological change to ensure the right to privacy."

Underscoring its new powers under the Lisbon Treaty and the legal basis given to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the commission said it wants to create "a clear, modern set of rules" guaranteeing a high level of personal data protection and privacy.

Earlier legislation was also limited in that it was restricted to issues concerning the European Community - the so-called first pillar of the EU, but not foreign policy or policing and judicial affairs - the second and third pillars.

Mentioning Facebook, Myspace and Twitter by name, Ms Reding said she will start this year with a revision of the 1995 Data Protection Directive, in a speech that outlined the main principles and goals of her upcoming work as Europe's top fundamental rights watchdog. It is clear that privacy issues are at the forefront of her ambitions.

"Innovation is important in today's society but should not go at the expense of people's fundamental right to privacy," she said.

"Whether we want it or not, almost every day we share personal data about ourselves. These data are collected, processed and then stored out of our sight. By booking a flight ticket, transferring money, applying for a job or just using the Internet we are exposing our private lives to others. Sometimes it is necessary," she continued. "Data are being collected without our consent and often without our knowledge. This is where European law comes in."

She said that people should have the right "to say no ...whenever they want."

The commissioner is frustrated that companies are tackling privacy issues - or, more commonly being forced to tackle privacy issues - only after a product or service has been developed.

"We need a change of approach: Businesses must use their power of innovation to improve the protection of privacy and personal data from the very beginning of the development cycle," she said.

Ms Reding finished by saying that Europe must set the global agenda in terms of privacy protection.

The commissioner also warned that body scanners at airports have not escaped her gaze. "I am convinced that body scanners have a considerable privacy-invasive potential. Their usefulness is still to be proven. Their impact on health has not yet been fully assessed. Therefore I cannot imagine this privacy-intrusive technique being imposed on us without full consideration of its impact."

The forceful speech comes just two weeks after Facebook's CEO made his own speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which has been widely interpreted as announcing "the end of privacy."

"People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that's evolved over time," Mr Zuckerberg said in a speech on 11 January, referring to the company's recent privacy policy change that made user's main information accessible by default. He described these changes as merely reflecting "current social norms" wherein young people have a much more relaxed attitude to privacy.

Across the Atlantic on Wednesday, Canada's privacy commissioner also announced a fresh investigation of Facebook after receiving complaints about the company's new privacy policy.

EU Observer

Enterprise Europe network (EEN) brokerage events are typically held at trade fairs. They are always planned many months in advance.  Each will usually be organised by a host partner together with the help of partners from particpating regions. The logistics behind runing an event like this are complex. Several hundred registrations, each with multiple profiles, have to be catalogued prior to the event on a website. Participants then get the chance to request and accept meetings with each other. The meetings then all have to be scheduled in advanceand managed on the day. EEN Partners use sophisticated web application technology to help with this process. Furthermore, EEN consultants will work with companies months before the event to focus and refine ideas, and create succinct, descriptive profiles (in English), which communicate their request or offer. During the event live updates on meetings (such as rescheduling or late arrivals), are viewable on screens.

Events almost always will be sectorally focussed and usually will present a range of profiles:

• Technology opportunities (such as licensing, or joint development)
• Commercial opportunities (such as searches for distributors)
• R&D collaboration possibliities

Heathcare Sector Brokerage Event at MEDICA

MEDICA is one of the biggest fairs in the healthcare sector. It is held every November in Dusseldorf.  Every year the EEN Healthcare Sector Group (of which Invest NI is a member) organise a brokerage event there. Half of a large mezzanine area in one of the halls was utilised.

Our event in Novemeber 2009 had excellent attendance figures, with 161 partcipants, and 502  meetings. 322 individual profiles were registered by counrties from all around Europe and beyond. Particpants were present from Russia and the USA as well.

Northern Ireland was very well represented, with 6 organisations taking part, posting 20 profiles between them. This resulted in over 40 meetings for our local clients and as of January 2010 negotiations have started concerning 4 of those.

One of the local organisations represented was the University of Ulster. Tim Brundle and Jennifer Cook from the Office of Innovation (left)

Another local company represented was Orthodocs  Ltd, who are suppliers of Products for drug free lower back pain relief, elderly & infirm care and  dementia care. - see www. orthodocs.co.uk

Brian Anderson, the MD, had  5 meetings with German, Belgian and UK companiesand is currently continuing negotiations with 2 of them.. 

Future Events

Every months several EEN  brokerage events are happening around Europe. A full list is always maintained on the central EEN website and key events are also published here on the N.Ireland EEN site.

This network has over 12,000 member companies across the UK and in the past two years has helped companies in Northern Ireland reduce waste by 10,000t, reduce CO₂ emissions by 115,000t, save £650,000, increase sales by £6m and create 30 jobs. With such impressive figures it is not surprising that the programme is gaining widespread recognition and the number of new members continues to grow – however there are still so many more prospects for engagement between the NI construction sector and NISP. Case studies are on our website (www.nisp.org.uk/regional_case_study_index.aspx?regionid=13)

We have developed resource efficiency and NISP engagment opportunities based on the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work Stages. This shows how NISP could be a great benefit to you. All groups from the NI Construction Sector: Developers, Contractors, Architects, Recyclers, Manufacturers and Technology Providers stain to gain by engaging with NISP now-not later.

We have prepared a short questionnaire for the groups mentioned above with the intention of getting businesses to consider what resource requirements/surpluses they may have both now and into the future.

 The potential for NISP to create genuine, profitable resource matches will depend on being involved as early as possible in the process so that a conclusive search can be conducted to find solutions for your business.

How do we plan to implement the NISP: CRN?

The overall aim of NISP Construction Resources Network (NISP: CRN) is to give stakeholders in the NI construction industry an opportunity to think about and report resources ‘arising’ and ‘required’ to NISP at an earlier stage in any given project’s lifecycle – thereby greatly increasing potential for cost savings, improved profits and environmental gains.

The CIP financial instruments are implemented for the Commision by  the European Investment Fund (EIF) on a trust basis.They cover diferent needs depending on the stage of development of the small business:

The high growth and innovative SME facility (GIF) provides 

-risk capital for innovative SMEs in their early stages (GIF1). EIF can usually invest 10 to 25% of the total equity of the intermediary venture capital fund or up to 50% in specific cases.

-risk capital for SMEs with high growth potencial in their expansion phase (GIF2). EIF can invest 7.5 to 15% of the total equity of the intermediary venture capital fund or, exceptionally, up to 50%.

GIF1 and GIF2 are committed to specialised funds faciliting finance for eligible small businesses (SMEs) which are in their early stages, aiming to stimulate the growth and expansion of innovative SMEs with a high growth potencial.

SMEs wishing to apply for an equity investment need to contact the funds that have signed an agreeement with the European Investment Fund (EIF). The list of funds is published on the Access to finance website.

An overview of this activity can be found in the EIF's venture capital website, as well as a list of deals until February 2008. These funds make investement decisions based on normal commercial criteria.

Financial institutions interested in participating in the programme should contact the European Investment Fund (EIF) that manages the instruments or visit its CIP venture capital website.