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October is the “European Cybersecurity Month (ECSM )”
European Cyber Security Month (ECSM) is a European Union advocacy campaign supported by DG CONNECT and ENISA, the European Agency for Network and Information Security. Its purpose is to promote cyber security among citizens, to change their perception of cyber-threats and provide up to date security information, through education and sharing good practices.
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Food Contact Materials - 'Ensuring materials in contact with food are safe, to protect consumer health'
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The 28 Member State National "Drugs" Coordinators visited Abrigado Centre, a drug consumption room in Luxembourg
The 28 National "Drugs" Coordinators from the Member States visited the Abrigado Centre in Luxembourg on 29 September 2015, as part of their visit to Luxembourg. Established in 2005, this centre has offered a consumption room for drug users and a night shelter, medical care, washing machines and wardrobes. The concept is not yet widespread across the world: there are consumption rooms in five other EU Member States.
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EUNAVFOR Med - EU agrees to start the active phase of the operation against human smugglers and to rename it "Operation Sophia"
EU Ambassadors within the Political and Security Committee agreed to start the first step of the second phase of the operation as of 7 October 2015 and approved the corresponding rules of engagement. The EU naval operation against human smugglers in the Mediterranean will be able to board, search, seize and divert vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking on the high seas, in line with international law. The Political and Security Committee also agreed that EU NAVFOR Med should be renamed "Sophia" after the name given to the baby born on the ship of the operation which rescued her mother on 22 August 2015 off the coast of Libya.
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EU National Drug Coordinators Meeting - "Drug prevention: a global concept with converging objectives"
Under the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the National Drug Coordinators from the 28 Member States met in Luxembourg on 28 and 29 September 2015. Under the heading "Drug prevention: a global concept with converging objectives", the forum is calling for the diversification of efforts to combat drug use which continually poses new challenges. The forum was opened on Monday 28 September by Minister for Health, Lydia Mutsch, and chaired by Luxembourg's National Drug Coordinator, Dr Alain Origer.
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On the invitation of the ENVE Commission of the Committee of the Regions, Camille Gira defends the "Habitat" and "Wild Birds" Directives in light of the REFIT programme assessment
On 28 September 2015, Luxembourg's Secretary of State for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, Camille Gira, was invited by the Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE) Commission of the Committee of the Regions to take part in a round table dedicated to the "fitness check" of the "Habitat" and "Wild Birds" Directives made by the European Commission as part of the "Regulatory Fitness and Performance programme" (REFIT). This round table was organised while the Committee of the Regions is drawing up an opinion on the quality assessment of these two directives, for which Roby Biwer is the rapporteur. For Camille Gira, a challenge to the directives within the framework of the REFIT programme would send a "devastating political message" and be a "sign of surrender".
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European Youth Conference – Youth representatives together with representatives from the Member States adopt Final Joint Recommendations on Empowerment of young people for political participation
Following an 18-month work cycle and two European Youth Conferences held in Rome (October 2014) and in Riga (March 2015), youth representatives, together with representatives from European Union (EU) Member States meeting in Luxembourg from 22 to 24 September 2015 for the fourth cycle of Structured Dialogue, adopted 15 Joint Recommendations on “Youth Empowerment for political participation in the democratic life in Europe”. Luxembourg Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch, gave the closing speech of this conference organised by the Luxembourg Presidency and called on young people to "stand up and express their views".
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Luxembourg Sustainability Forum 2015 - Jeremy Rifkin calls for the Third Industrial Revolution
The Luxembourg Sustainability Forum 2015, organised in the context of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU, was held in the Grand Duchy on 24 September 2015. A number of experts discussed the concept of responsible finance, as well as the means to revamp territories and digital technology for sustainable development. The highlight of the conference was the presentation by American economist and futurist, Jeremy Rifkin, who spoke on his theory of a Third Industrial Revolution.
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Etienne Schneider concluded the SET Plan 2015 conference by insisting on the "urgency to progress faster" in research and innovation in the energy field
On 22 September 2015, the second day of the 8th SET Plan conference held in Luxembourg, which sought to strengthen work on the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan), concluded with two speeches: one by the Luxembourg Minister of the Economy, Etienne Schneider, and one by the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete. Etienne Schneider stressed that the EU has "a lot to gain" from research and innovation in the energy field, before insisting on "the urgency to progress faster" in this field. Miguel Arias Cañete highlighted the importance of strengthening cross-border and cross-sector integration in research and innovation in the energy field.
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Xavier Bettel encourages young people to participate more in democratic life, at the opening of the European Youth Conference
At the opening of the European Youth Conference held in Luxembourg from 22 to 24 September 2015, the Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, encouraged young Europeans to "participate more, be interested in their own future and in the development of society". The European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, appealed for young people from all backgrounds to participate in democratic life.The conference held under the Luxembourg Presidency will close the current cycle of the structured dialogue which focuses on the political participation of young people and seeks to finalise the conclusions adopted at the previous conference held in Riga in March 2015. These recommendations will be submitted to Ministers for Youth at the Education, Youth, Culture and Sports Council in November 2015.
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Consumer and Competition Day - Digital Single Market and Geoblocking at the centre of the first round table
The Consumer and Competition Day took place in Luxembourg on September 21, 2015. This was an event organised by the Luxembourg Presidency. The conference, which was focused on strategic priorities for a digital market, put forward by the European Commission on May 6, 2015, brought together representatives from the Commission, the European Parliament, competition authorities and Member State authorities , business representatives and also consumer associations. Geoblocking and improvements to access to digital goods and services for consumers and businesses were at the centre of this first round table.
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Consumer and Competition Day – Online platforms and their growing role as marketplaces at the heart of the second round table
After a first round table devoted to geoblocking, the second part of the Consumer and Competition Day, held on 21 September 2015 in Luxembourg, focused on online platforms and their role as "marketplaces". Such platforms, the importance of which is found to be growing for the future digital single market, fulfil a variety of functions (online shops, social networks or price comparison sites) but raise questions about their nature (retailers, intermediate service hosts), their liability in the case of disputes and possible distortions of competition.
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Xavier Bettel stresses the importance of accelerating the energy transition at the opening of the SET-Plan Conference 2015
At the opening of the SET-Plan conference on the transformation of the energy system, held on 21 September 2015 in Luxembourg, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel stressed the importance of accelerating the energy transition, noting that the EU imports half of the energy it consumes. The European Commissioner Carlos Moedas for his part, called for increased investment and innovation.
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Debate on road safety for cyclists and pedestrians, organised by the Ministry for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure and the European Transport Safety Council
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Jean Asselborn qualifies the demonstration of the far right French party Front national against free movement in Schengen in Luxembourg as a “provocative and cynical action”
Saturday, September 19th of 2015, the vice president of the Front national (FN), MEP member of the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group, Florian Philippot, traveled to Schengen (Luxembourg) to lay a wreath, he claimed, to the memory of free movement and to celebrate the return of national borders within the European Union. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, condemned this provocative and cynical action.
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European Tourism Forum - Francine Closener highlights the challenges the tourism sector is facing at European level
On 17 and 18 September 2015, the 14th European Tourism Forum was held in Luxembourg, an event organised by the European Commission in the context of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union. For the 2015 edition of the European Tourism Forum, the speakers chose to focus on the important issues the tourism sector is facing today: digitalisation, promoting Europe through transnational and pan-European thematic products, skills and training and also streamlining the regulatory and administrative framework. Francine Closener, Secretary of State for Economy, delivered the welcoming remarks of the forum "intended to shape the future of European tourism".
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Meeting of the “High-Level Group on Gender-Mainstreaming" in Luxembourg
In the context of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the "High Level Group on Gender Mainstreaming" (HLG) met in Luxembourg on 17 and 18 September 2015 for its half-yearly meeting. The HLG comprises senior officials from the 28 European Union Member States which all have an extensive expertise in the field of gender equality. The meeting enabled, among other things, a review of the priorities concerning equality in the context of the declaration of the Trio of Italian, Latvian and Luxembourg Presidencies.
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Digital services interoperability programme ISA² - The Luxembourg Presidency of the Council finalised an agreement with the European Parliament
On 16 September 2015, the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament finalised an informal deal on a programme to help member states' public administrations provide interoperable digital services for citizens and businesses (ISA²). The new ISA² programme is set to run from 2016 to 2020, with a budget of about €131 million. The quick agreement should ensure that ISA² will be ready to kick in by the time the current ISA programme expires at the end of 2015.
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Climate conference - Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment, is due to be received by Pope Francis on 16 September 2015
Carole Dieschbourg, president of the Council of Ministers for the Environment, is due to be received by Pope Francis on 16 September 2015. The Minister will lead an official delegation of around twenty environment ministers. As part of her role as the head of this delegation, she will deliver a common message to the head of the Catholic Church. The meeting with Pope Francis takes place within the context of preparations for the 21st United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 21), which will be organised in Paris in December.
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Climate Conference : Carole Dieschbourg received by Pope Francis
Carole Dieschbourg, current President of the Council of Ministers for the Environment, was received by Pope Francis at the Vatican on September 16, 2015. The Minister headed an official delegation of around twenty EU Ministers of the Environment and in that capacity conveyed a common message for the head of the Catholic Church. During the audience, the delegates discussed Pope Francis's encyclical on the environment ("Laudato Si’"), the challenges of the Climate Conference and the Special Summit on Sustainable Development which will be held in New York at the end of September.