Tomorrow, December 1st, is World AIDS day.
The Commission’s World AIDS Day activities last year included a media competition to identify an original script for an anti-HIV/AIDS TV spot. It was addressed to young people, aged 15-25, who sent their scenarios for an innovative 30-second clip to the “AIDS - remember me?” website. The prize provided [...]
On 20th November, I put my ideas on the table on how to further improve, modernise and streamline the Common Agricultural Policy.
The Health Check is a chance to build on the reforms introduced since 2003 and prepare both the CAP and farmers for new challenges and opportunities.
And here I don’t only mean market opportunities, although [...]
blogs.ec.europa.eu/fischer-boel/the-cap-health-check-%e2%80%93-yo
The Kyoto protocol will come to an end in 2012 and the current plan is to decide on a new agreement in Copenhagen 2009. The debate has already started at UN level and in December there will be a meeting in Bali that will discuss a roadmap for an agreement in Copenhagen.
I am convinced that [...]
Some readers of this blog may think that the following is a “very European” reaction after a recent visit to the US – but:
Why do they continue to serve these grotesquely huge portions of food?”!! Especially considering that so many Americans suffer from obesity and that we already generate too much waste! The salad we [...]
blogs.ec.europa.eu/wallstrom/the-council-of-women-world-leaders/
Thank you “Juliette” for your sensitive comment on all the hatred and twisted ideas about conspiracies that sometimes fill my blog! And if people can not come up with something more substantial than insults to Helen Duffet – think again! When she says that she got interested in politics when politics took an interest in [...]
A FAIR day for European research infrastructures
Last week the new Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research was launched in Darmstadt in Germany.
FAIR, as it is known, is a great example of the new approach to research infrastructures that the European Commission is promoting for the EU: making the best possible new world-class research infrastructure available [...]
blogs.ec.europa.eu/potocnik/a-fair-day-for-european-research-infr
I have just returned from 10 fascinating and eye-opening days in Argentina and Brazil.
Even before I went, I had a pretty clear idea in my mind of the enormous potential these countries have to increase their agricultural production.
But nothing could prepare me for the reality.
The farms I visited were on a totally different scale to [...]
blogs.ec.europa.eu/fischer-boel/feed-and-fuel-from-argentina-and-
I received an email recently from a UK citizens who had participated in one of our Plan D projects this year. It’s always nice to get positive feedback and in this case the lady in question was so eloquent about her experience that I asked her if she would write a guest entry in my [...]
The EU is proud of its excellent research centres and infrastructures where European and international scientists gather together to breach new boundaries. But who would have guessed that one of Europe’s top scientific installations is to be found in the middle of the desert in Chile! This is exactly what I had the good fortune [...]
Today is Blog Action Day. Today thousands of bloggers around the world will talk about one issue â?? the environment. I think this is interesting for at least two reasons â?? firstly it shows how the environment has become a serious issue for debate, discussion and direct action. Secondly, it shows how important the [...]
We are hosting a conference this week in Brussels about rare diseases. I unfortunately can’t attend, though I have sent a video message to the participants. But I wanted to make this a theme of the week, because I think the issue of rare diseases illustrates perfectly why we need a European research effort.
Rare diseases [...]
blogs.ec.europa.eu/potocnik/rare-diseases-%e2%80%93-a-perfect-exa
As many of you probably know, research can be fun. It can even be so attractive that it is decisive when determining the choice of destination for your holidays. Jana, our secretary and a very reliable member of my cabinet team, experienced this philosophy in practice - this year, this summer. Here is her storyâ?¦
“Summer, [...]
Permanence â?? the week one is on duty while the rest are enjoying vacations. Not exactly the dictionary definition but an explanation that, as we in the Commission would tend to say, is close to the citizens. If nothing unexpected happens, which is of course the wish of all of us who are [...]
There’s a lot of debate about climate change - the recent report from the International Panel on Climate Change said it’s 90% sure that humans have contributed to the mess we’re in, but there are still scientists who say that this is all just part of a cycle of nature. When you see the evidence [...]
Thanks to advances in air travel, the world has become smaller and more accessible for all of us. Flying is safe and fast. But we know that aircraft emission and noise have an effect on our environment. And so we need to think about this in the context of our efforts to tackle climate [...]
I often like to say that knowledge and science can remove borders. This week I have yet again seen that this is true.
Last week I received special guests â?? the science ministers of three western Balkan countries. They were here to sign an agreement associating them with the Seventh Research Framework Programme. A representative of [...]
blogs.ec.europa.eu/fischer-boel/staying_competitive_by_producing_
I’m travelling again this week, and this time it’s something of a Mediterranean odyssey- Cyprus on Wednesday, Greece on Thursday and Slovenia on Friday. Even if we Slovenes only have less than 50k of Mediterranean coast, we connect with our Southern neighbours in many ways-many ways - food, wine, musicâ?¦all the important things really!
The Mediterranean [...]
