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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 12-12-13Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
performance EU Commissioner [01] FM addresses EP on EU foreign affairs issuesForeign Minister Erato Kozakou - Marcoullis presented the EU Council's position on a number of foreign affairs issues before the European Parliament (EP) plenary, in Strasbourg, on Wednesday.According to an official press release issued here today, Marcoullis, who was representing the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton discussed human rights, the situation in Egypt, the Israeli government's decision to expand settlements and briefed the EP on the 2012 progress report on Albania and the possible influx of asylum seekers from Syria. "Human rights are not only at the heart of the EU`s founding principles," said Marcoullis addressing the EP plenary, adding that they run through all our external policies. Briefing the EP on the work undertaken so far on human rights across the world, she noted that more needs to be done. In this context Marcoullis reiterated that the EU stands ready to support the democratic transition in the Arab world to provide assistance in addressing crises such as the ones in Syria and Mali/Sahel. [02] Cyprus one of the innovation followers with an above average performanceCyprus is an innovation follower based on the results of the European Innovation Scoreboard Report for 2011 and its average annual growth in innovation performance reached 4,7%, which is one of the highest in Europe for 2011.The Joint Research Center of the European Commission, the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation and the Planning Bureau of Cyprus organised on Thursday a Conference titled "Scientific support to innovation in the services sector". Innovation in the services sector, a sector that accounts for about the two thirds of GDP in Europe, is particularly important for stimulating economic growth and for creating new jobs, said Interior Minister Eleni Mavrou who addressed the Conference. The size and the wide spectrum of the services sector affirms the enormous potential existing for bringing in innovations that could improve significantly the way we are doing businesses, enhancing Europe's competitiveness, and contributing to the creation of jobs and the employment of young people, who suffer the most during this economic crisis, she added. [03] Agreement on SSM a major step towards the banking union, says EU CommissionerEU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier has described the agreement on the Single Supervisory Mechanism as a first major step towards the goal to create a banking union.Barnier welcomed the agreement reached by the Council of Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) under the Cyprus EU Presidency to create a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) for the oversight of credit institutions. [04] EU Council discusses use of new technologies in educationThe application of new technologies may serve the purposes of education and training, while promoting critical thinking, the development of skills and the dissemination of knowledge, Education and Culture Minister Giorgos Demosthenous has noted.Demosthenous was speaking during the Ministerial Council, that took place from December 9 to 11, in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. The Council was chaired by Demosthenous and his Norwegian counterpart, Kristin Halvorsen, in the presence of European Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |