The European Commission has today launched a public consultation on ‘Science 2.0’, in order to gauge the trend towards a more open, data-driven and people-focused way of doing research and innovation. Researchers are using digital tools to get thousands of people participating in research, for example by asking them to report if they catch flu in order to monitor outbreaks and predict possible epidemics. Scientists are being more open too: sharing their findings online at an early stage, comparing...

Data collection and exploitation is a growing phenomenon; in response to industry and grassroots demands the European Commission is today calling on national governments to wake-up to this “big data” revolution. Vice President Neelie Kroes said "It’s about time we focus on the positive aspects of big data. Big data sounds negative and scary, and for the most part it isn’t. Leaders need to embrace big data.” The main problems identified in public consultations on big data are: Lack of cross-border coordination Insufficient...

Each six months, according to a pre-established order, a new Member State takes the helm of the Council of the EU. The Presidency's role encompasses chairing Council meetings, taking charge of the agenda, promoting legislative and political decisions, and brokering compromises among Member States. Starting today, July 1st 2014, Italy holds this position through December 31. The presidency trio programme is on line Italy, Latvia and Luxemburg: from 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2015 Member states holding the six-month presidency work...

At a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council today the euro area member states adopted a recommendation approving a proposal that would enable Lithuania to become the 19th member of the currency union on 1 January 2015. They agreed with the Commission’s assessment that Lithuania has achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence with the euro area, and that it therefore fulfils the conditions for adopting the euro as its currency. The proposal will be referred to the European...

The EU promoted Albania from “potential candidate” to full “candidate” status last week, reflecting Albania’s progress toward implementing necessary reforms. The enlargement process is one of the EU’s most powerful policy tools, having helped many countries over the years transform into functioning democracies and prosperous societies. From the fall of the Berlin Wall, the EU has promoted democratic transitions and market-oriented reforms to former communist states in Europe, offering EU access once applicant countries meet the required political and economic...

Guidelines to help business users save money and get the most out of cloud computing services are being presented to the European Commission today. Cloud computing allows individuals, businesses and the public sector to store their data and carry out data processing in remote data centres, saving on average 10-20%. The guidelines have been developed by a Cloud Select Industry Group as part of the Commission’s European Cloud Strategy to increase trust in these services. Contributors to the guidelines include...

At the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting the ministers agreed an amendment to EU tax rules that will close a loophole which had allowed cross-border corporations to profit from double non-taxation. At the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting on 20 June the ministers agreed an amendment to EU tax rules that will close a loophole which had allowed cross-border corporations to profit from double non-taxation. The agreed amendment to the parent-subsidiary directive (2011/96/EU) will put an end to the...