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October
2005 - Issue 6
Go to EuropaBio home page
Getting Ready for Framework 7
EuropaBio and
Hyperion (www.hyperion.ie ) is
organising half-day training courses entitled: Getting Ready
for Framework 7. The course will be held in the Hotel Leopold,
Rue du Luxembourg, Brussels. Europabio has negotiated a special
rate for our members (200 euro per person instead of the normal
fee of 250 euro per person).
For more details of the courses and booking go to:
http://www.europabio.org/events/FP7/EuropaBio%20-%20Hyperion.htm
Great news - European Commission develops its plans for future
research programme
The European Commission has set out the details of its proposal
for a new programme to fund research and development from 2007
to 2013. The document sets out what the research content and
topics will be for red, white and green biotech. Health will
include research for rare diseases including rare forms of
widespread diseases, advanced therapies and lots, lots
more. These programmes will be discussed with the European
Parliament, before being decided on by the Council. Governments
are threatening to reduce these research budgets, it will be
important for you to encourage them against cutting the research
budget; they should find the cuts elsewhere!
Detailed programme (includes info on what you might expect to
see covered in future calls for proposals – careful it’s 90
pages!)
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/future/pdf/specifc_programmes/fp7sp_cooperation_en.pdf
Commission Press Release
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/1171&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en
Biotech Policy Day - Industry leaders meet Commissioners
More than 22 CEOs and VPS of biotech and life science companies
met with Commissioner Potocnik and Commission Vice President
Verheugen to propose and discuss policy measures to improve the
environment for biotech in Europe. Both Commissioners gave very
encouraging signals. Commissioner Potocnik said that he is
convinced of the important role biotech is playing and will play
in building the knowledge based economy and called on the
industry to lobby national governments to support an increase in
research funds under the new Framework Programme. Commissioner
Verheugen told the industry that better Regulation and Biotech
were his two top priorities and that the industry could count on
his support
Article -
Biotechnology debate must remain science-based, says
Verheugen
Biotech industry healthcare manifesto published
At a press lunch in Brussels on September 22, EuropaBio launched
the healthcare manifesto, setting out the industries policies
and demands and calling for implementation of EU rules by Member
State Governments. Andrea Rappagliosi, Chair of the Healthcare
Council and VP Health Policy Serono presided at the lunch which
was attended by some 20 people.
This event gave also the opportunity for journalists to meet
CEOs of Biopharmaceutical companies and to exchange the
healthcare biotech industry 's views on the European political
and legislative agenda.
Press kit
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http://www.europabio.org/ne_HCmanifesto.htm
Article -
EU regulation on the biotech sector hinders innovation
Article -
Patients need innovative medicines, says biotechnology Industry
EuropaBio SMEs interactive with the EMEA, Belgium,
Brussels
New legislation including reduction of fees to ease the access
of SMEs to the EMEA is expected to be adopted shortly by the
EMEA
Before it is officially adopted, EuropaBio organizes an
interactive session for SMEs at CORDIA to tell the EMEA about
their special needs and expectations. Come and be heard!
Meanwhile the Agency has asked EuropaBio and members of National
Associations to complete a questionnaire in order to help the
Agency better understand the specific needs and expectations of
SMEs.
Contact – Healthcare Council Manager – Aurelie Vandeputte
a.vandeputte@europabio.org
National Associations led 'Young Innovative Company' project
gets EU funding
The project led by EuropaBio member Per Vretblad head of
BioteknikForum and a number of EuropaBio's National Associations
(SwedenBIo, Norwegian Bioindustry Association, Estonian Biotech
Association France Biotech, FinBIo) has been approved for
funding and starts October 1st. The project aims to
develop a plan to introduce the Young Innovative Company Status
(YIC) for biotech companies in four Nordic/Baltic countries and
to disseminate the experience gained to other parts of Europe.
EU
court overturns law to ban GM crops
On October 5th The Court of First Instance has ruled
on the case brought by Upper Austria and Austria against the
Commission in regard to the former's Article 95 ban on the use
of GMOs. The court rejected all four of the applicant's legal
pleas, having found them to be misplaced, unfounded, or
irrelevant. The court dismissed all of the actions brought by
the applicants.
EuropaBio press release -
http://www.europabio.org/articles/PR_Austria_051005_FINAL.doc
Council fails to vote on biotech maize
On 20th September the EU Agriculture Council of
Ministers was unable to reach agreement on the import and
processing of 1507 maize, including animal feed use in the
European Union.The product is already approved in 12 other
countries around the world and meets all the EU’s regulatory
requirements, including three positive safety opinions from the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for all its intended uses
in the EU.
EuropaBio press release
http://www.europabio.org/articles/EuropaBio%20PR_maize1507_%200509153.doc
EU Energy Commissioner confirms EU looking at fuel situation:
The impact of Hurricane Katrina on
world fuel supplies & prices has prompted the Commission to
outline a 5-point plan to address the situation. Outlining the
measures in Strasbourg after Commission College meeting, EU
Energy
Commissioner Andris Piebalgs confirmed that the Commission will
concentrate attention on reducing energy
demand, but reaffirmed
Brussels’ commitment to increasing other forms of energy as a
major long-term
priority. In this context, he reiterated the Commission’s
intention to publish a Biomass Action Plan by the end
of the year and a Communication on biofuels tabled by early
2006.
Source:
AgraFacts
Food
labelling simplification
Commission President José Barroso mentioned in an interview with
the Financial Times that the Commission will look at scrapping
several draft EU laws including “laws on food labelling
and advertising” which have been clarified by DG SANCO
officials. In fact, the Commission President was
referring to withdrawing a Commission proposal from January 1997
on “amending Directive 79/112/EEC on the approximation of
the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling,
presentation and advertising of foodstuffs”
[COM1997/0020], which has not been discussed in Council since
1997.
Acting EFSA chief
The Management Board of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
decided that Dr. Herman Koëter will act as Executive Director of
the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) from November 26 until
a permanent successor to outgoing boss Geoffrey Podger is
appointed. Currently EFSA’s Deputy Executive Director and
Director of Science, the Dutchman previously headed the OECD’s
Environment, Health & Safety Division in Paris. The Management
Board also appointed Dr. Diane Benford, principal toxicologist
of the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), to the EFSA Panel dealing
with Contaminants in the Food Chain.
For more details, see
http://www.efsa.eu.int/index_en.html
Money Show,
Athens, Greece
BIONOVA Ltd, the National Representative of EuropaBio
in Greece, is proud to just have won the 2005 Money Show Prize.
Money Show (MS) is a major Greek financial convention (30,000
participants) which the Hellenic-German Chamber of Commerce &
Industry organizes in Athens every December since 1992. MS 2005
will take place from December 3- 4 at the Athens Hilton
Hotel. The MS Prize distinguishes companies developing
innovative concepts with significant economic potential. The
award acknowledges BIONOVA's efforts to champion bio-business
awakening, recruit local biotech players under the EuropaBio
association, and ultimately catalyze biotech value creation in
Greece. For further details visit www.moneyshow.org.
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