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"The commission is closely monitoring the use of behavioural advertising to ensure respect for our privacy rights,"
Source: EUobserver [edited]
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – There is a dark side to some of the impressive new online technologies that are appearing, from social networking to behavioural advertising to RFID ‘smart chips’, the European Commission’s internet chief has warned.
While such technologies offer great vistas of opportunity, the commission is monitoring their development “closely” for the very real potential threats to privacy they contain, information society commissioner Viviane Reding said on Monday at a debate on the future of the internet in Brussels.
The future of the internet contains pitfalls as well as possibilities, warns Brussels. Ms Reding threatened that if social networking sites such as Facebook themselves do not make moves to ensure the profiles of minors are kept private, she would intervene with legislation to force them to do so.
“Privacy must, in my view, be a high priority for social networking providers and for their users. I firmly believe that at least the profiles of minors must be private by default and unavailable to internet search engines,” she told the meeting in the European Parliament, organised by Icomp, an industry initiative backed by Microsoft to discuss the online marketplace.
“The European Commission has already called on social networking sites to deal with minors’ profiles carefully, by means of self-regulation,” she continued. “I am ready to follow this up with new rules if I have to.” But she said she worries about all users of social networking, not just children, and fears that most users of such sites are unaware of the dangers to their privacy.
“Social networking has a strong potential for a new form of communication and for bringing people together, wherever they are,” she said. “But is every social networker really aware that all pictures and information uploaded on social networking profiles can be accessed and used by anyone on the web?”
Advertising concerns
The EU’s internet chief also said that behavioural advertising – those ads that appear that seem to know exactly the sort of books or vacations or concerts you would be interested in – was “another privacy concern repeatedly mentioned to the European Commission these days.”
Behavioural adverts are able to do this by keeping track of internet users’ web browsing to better target them with advertisements. Ms Reding said that the EU executive was watching this development for infringement of privacy: ” European privacy rules are crystal clear: a person’s information can only be used with their prior consent.”
“The commission is closely monitoring the use of behavioural advertising to ensure respect for our privacy rights,” she added. “I will not shy away from taking action where an EU country falls short of this duty.” The commissioner also warned of the perils contained within the “internet of things” – the use of radio frequency identification (RFID), or smart chips, that could be attached to any product.
There is enormous potential from a world in which all mugs, containers, shoes or airplane parts are attached with tiny identifying devices. Analysts predict that common events that plague businesses and individuals such as running out of stock, product wastage, and theft. Losing your keys could be a thing of the past, if we know where a product is at all times.
But there are also great privacy pitfalls in such a world, noted Ms Reding. “I am convinced [RFID] will only be welcomed in Europe if they are used by the consumers and not on the consumers,” she told the crowd.
“No European should carry a chip in one of their possessions without being informed precisely of what they are used for, with the choice to remove or switch it off at any time.” “The “Internet of Things” will only work if it is accepted by the people.” Her speech also focussed on the need for a single online market for digital content, which she has repeatedly argued is fragmented, a competitive disadvantage for Europe when compared to the United States.
Before the end of the current commission’s mandate, she said, she and internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy would publish a “reflection paper” over a set of possible legislative options to create such a single digital market.
Ms Reding would also like to see the development of a European Rights Registry to ease the digitalisation of books. Such a registry would aim to overcome the current problem of books republishing online books that are out of print, but whose copyright ownership remains cloudy.
Although the Luxembourgish Ms Reding has expressed an interest in returning to Brussels as part of President Jose Manuel Barroso’s second college of commissioners, it is not clear that if she returns, she would be awarded the same dossier. She underlined that in making her comments on the future of the internet, she did not want to “pre-empt the new commission.”
Money should be divided between key low-carbon technologies that can move Europe from 80% dependence on fossil fuels to 80% emissions cuts by 2050
Source: EurActiv [edited]
The European Commission revealed its long-awaited blueprint for tripling Europe’s energy research funding within the next decade, in a bid to shift monies towards supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy in the next EU budget. The EU executive calls for the energy research budget to be increased to €50 billion over the next ten years. This would require yearly flows from both the public and private sectors to jump from their current €3bn to €8bn, it calculated.
The Communication on Financing the Development of Low-Carbon Technologies sets out how this money should be divided between key low-carbon technologies that can move Europe from 80% dependence on fossil fuels to 80% emissions cuts by 2050. The research priorities were identified in the 2007 Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) that intended to reassert Europe’s competitiveness by putting declining EU energy research budgets back on track.
The financing plan, which was originally due out last year, was partly delayed due to the financial crisis, which required new thinking on how to reactivate growth, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told journalists. Furthermore, drawing up roadmaps for the various technologies took time, he added.
The final plan earmarks €6bn for research into wind energy, which the Commission believes could produce a fifth of the EU’s electricity by 2020. The money would help to fund developments offshore, where winds are stronger, by investing in next-generation turbines and new structures.
Solar energy would get €16bn for developing new photovoltaic concepts and large industrial concentrating solar power (CSP) installations to contribute 15% of EU electricity in ten years’ time. Bioenergy research would also get €9bn so that it could provide 14% of EU energy while respecting sustainability criteria.
In order to integrate renewables and implement the internal energy market, electricity grids would get €2 billion so that half of the networks can operate along a “smart grid” principle. Apart from renewables, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is set to receive €13bn for up to 12 demonstration projects. Nuclear research would also get €7bn for putting the fourth generation into operation.
The financing proposal also foresees €11bn for a ‘Smart Cities’ programme, in order to counter criticism that the SET-Plan disregards energy efficiency. Between 25 and 30 cities are to be upgraded with low-carbon houses and transport so that they emit 40% less greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 than they did in 1990.
In addition, the Commission is calling for more money for future breakthrough technologies, such as motors fuelled directly by sunlight or batteries which store power at ten times their current density.
Public partnering with private money
The Commission believes that public-private partnerships are the most credible way to go about funding energy research. However, it did not spell out how the financial burden should be shared between the two. Currently, energy research funding is 70% private and 30% public, excluding nuclear research. The EU executive argues that a “significant rise” in the public share will be necessary in the short term to give businesses incentives to work towards public climate and energy supply goals at a time of recession.
In projects where the risks are higher, public funding should assume a greater role, the Commission says. To optimise the level of intervention, it advocates the use of European programmes, particularly where there is a clear added value of EU-level action, for example in the case of programmes that are too expensive for a single member state to fund. Currently, 80% of public investment in non-nuclear energy research is made at national level.
Although the communication does not announce any new EU funds, it argues that “an increase in the proportion of the public investment at Community level may need to be one of the options explored in the budget review”.
launched on 20 November, 2008. Europeana is a multi-lingual online collection of millions of digitised books, journals, films, maps, photographs and music from European museums, libraries, archives and multi-media collections. It is accessible to every citizen with an internet connection. It also preserves the items for future generations.
Source: EuroParliament [edited]
You can now access books, journals, films, maps etc from across Europe via the EU’s online library, Europeana. It’s a great idea but it’s not all plain sailing: web copyright rules are not the same in all EU countries, there are issues about paying for items that are still under copyright and should there be a minimum standard for content? The Culture Committee discussed the future challenges for Europeana Tuesday morning.
German Green Helga Trüpel will draft parliament’s report. “We have to find means to encourage Member States to provide more funding for digitisation…My big political goal is to achieve the balance between making books available and rewarding the authors. Google scanned a lot of books under copyright and then the authors complained and went to court,” she told us.
About Europeana
- currently has 4.6 million digital item
- includes paintings, maps, photos, books, newspapers, letters, music, radio broadcasts, films, TV broadcasts
- 47% of contributions are from France
- will re-launch in 2010 with over 10 million digital objects
- funded by the European Commission and EU countries
- hosted by the National Library of the Netherlands
“Europeana might never be as rich as Google Books, because it will not be financed through advertisements,” she said. “But it is very important for us to show that there is another possibility: to do it with public funding. If we want to defend our European social model and go for cultural diversity, we need Europeana.”
What is Europeana?
It was launched on 20 November, 2008. Europeana is a multi-lingual online collection of millions of digitised books, journals, films, maps, photographs and music from European museums, libraries, archives and multi-media collections. It is accessible to every citizen with an internet connection. It also preserves the items for future generations.
Europeana’s collection has doubled since its launch and there are now more than 4.6 million items. The aim is to have 10 million digitised objects by 2010 and the Commission has launched a public consultation about the future challenges, which ends 15 November, to get the views of libraries, rights holders, IT companies and consumer organisation, as well as the European Parliament.
The final result shows 67.1% of the electorate voted in favour of the Treaty, with 32.9% voting against. This represents a 20% swing towards the 'yes' campaign compared to the 2008 referendum.
Source: Euractiv [edited]
Irish voters have approved the EU’s reform treaty by a margin of two to one, lifting the EU out of institutional limbo after years of democratic setbacks and blockage. All eyes now turn to Eurosceptic Czech President Václav Klaus to sign the treaty.
The final result shows 67.1% of the electorate voted in favour of the Treaty, with 32.9% voting against. This represents a 20% swing towards the ‘yes’ campaign compared to the 2008 referendum. Turnout was 58%, an increase of around 6%.
Pressure on Prague and Warsaw
In Brussels, political parties from across the spectrum are turning up the heat on Czech President Václav Klaus to sign the Lisbon Treaty into law, with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso saying all Europeans had now backed the Lisbon Treaty, either directly or indirectly.
Speaking on Saturday (3 October), the Czech president declined to say how he would proceed with ratification after the Irish results. “The question does not exist today. Today I have a ban [...] until the Constitutional Court releases something,” he told reporters.
Final ratification is also due in Poland, where President Lech Kaczyński had said he was willing to ratify the charter if Ireland voted ‘yes’.
Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said he believes the country will complete ratification by the end of the year, a government statement said. “The prime minister [...] is convinced that ratification will be completed in a way that the Lisbon Treaty can take effect by the end of 2009,” the statement said.
Many political analysts expect Klaus will be forced under heavy EU pressure to sign the treaty into law before the end of the year, helping the bloc to forge a bigger role for itself as the global balance of power shifts following the financial crisis.
EU summit on 29 October
A summit of EU leaders is planned in Brussels on 29 October, at which Klaus is expected to come under heavy pressure to ratify. “We have a summit at the end of October and that might be perfect timing for this kind of discussion,” said Fredrick Reinfeldt, prime minister of Sweden and current holder of the European Union presidency.
With the ‘yes’ vote due to be confirmed, the chances of Europe taking a great steps to become a better organised Union with a stronger voice in world affairs dramatically increase. The treaty would give the EU a long-term president and stronger foreign policy chief.
Economic crisis bolstered ‘yes’ vote
Many voters were thought more likely to back the treaty second time around because of the economic crisis, the impact of which EU aid has helped to curb. The European Commission offered 14.8 million euros to help workers at Dell’s Irish plant on 19 September, just weeks before the vote (EurActiv 21/09/09).
The mood at the main Dublin counting centre was a far cry from last year, when officials watched in disbelief as voters rejected the reform charter, holding up the foreign policy ambitions of a bloc representing 495 million people.
The atmosphere was calm after fraught campaigning that pitched Ireland’s main political parties against anti-abortion groups, pacifists and British Eurosceptics. Irish approval represents be a boon for the former ‘Celtic Tiger’ economy, which was spared an Icelandic-style collapse because of its membership of the euro zone. It is still reliant on goodwill from Brussels and Frankfurt for its future recovery. Many people in Ireland are struggling to come to terms with unemployment, higher taxes and the possibility of lower social welfare payments in the next austerity budget.
Irish borrowing costs would likely drop and its banking stocks rise on Monday if the result on Saturday is a ‘yes’, according to predictions prior to the ballot.
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