As part of the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a two-day meeting of senior civil servants was held on the subject of cybersecurity. On Thursday, State Secretary for Security and Justice Klaas Dijkhoff opened the conference by talking with a robot on opportunities and risks associated with cybersecurity. On 12 May, over 30 private parties signed a Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure Manifesto, an initiative of Rabobank and the CIO Platform. By concluding this manifesto, the private parties...

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Since it was launched in 1991, the EU MEDIA programme has invested over €2.4 billion in European creativity and cultural diversity. It has supported the development of thousands of films in Europe and their international distribution. This year's Cannes Film Festival is a great occasion to celebrate the 25th anniversary of MEDIA, the EU's support programme for the European audiovisual industry. MEDIA-funded films once again feature very strongly in the selection: 10* of the 21 films in competition for the Palme...

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This week, President Obama and Congress helped American companies and innovators protect their intellectual property by passing and signing the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016. This new law provides yet another arrow in the quiver of IP protections by creating a federal civil cause of action for trade secret theft, including the availability of a uniform, reliable and predictable means of protecting valuable trade secrets anywhere in the country. Historically, trade secrets have been protected by a patchwork...

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The EU is backing €150 million of investment in Greek small and medium-sized companies and signed the first financing agreement for a project backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments in Greece: Creta Farms. Investing in Greek small and medium-sized companies Three deals were signed between the European Investment Fund and Greek intermediary banks and funds providing €150 million of additional investment to very small, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in Greece. Each agreement is backed by European Commission programmes. The...

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Harmonised EU entry and residence rules to make it easier and more attractive for people from third countries to study or do research at EU universities were approved by Parliament on Wednesday. The new rules clarify and improve conditions for non-EU interns, volunteers, school pupils and au pairs. The new rules merge two existing directives (one on students and one on researchers) to ensure that: students and researchers may stay at least nine months after finishing their studies or research in...

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The Eurogroup welcomes the completion of a policy package, which should pave the way for a successful completion of the first review of the ESM programme, upon the adoption of the agreed prior actions. Greece will implement as part of the prior actions for the first review: a first package of fiscal parametric measures amounting up to 3% of GDP by 2018; this package includes a pension reform, a reform of the personal income tax and additional fiscal parametric measures, such...

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The European Investment Fund (EIF) and ProCredit group have signed a guarantee agreement to increase lending to innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small mid-caps in Greece. This transaction benefits from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe. Under the new agreement ProCredit group will provide EUR 20 million of loans to innovative companies in Greece over the next two years. The loans will be supported by an EIF...

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