%3

The European Committee for Standardization, is organising its sixth StandarDays on 19 and 20 May 2009.

The European Commission plans to release a proposal that would enable Member States to reduce the amount of Value Added Tax (VAT) applied to greener products as a cost-effective means of promoting the production and use of energy-saving materials and energy-efficient appliances and equipment.

Too little progress is being made if the EU is to meet its objective of a 20% energy efficiency improvement by 2020, says the European Commission.

Projects to help curb greenhouse gas emissions in the developing world may be abandoned because of the global financial crisis.

The global economic downturn could cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 50%, the Congress on Climate Change has heard.

Helping industry prosper in difficult economic times was discussed in the Competitiveness Council earlier this month, in preparation for the Spring European Council.

Commission proposals for an eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) do not go far enough, says Rapporteur Linda McAvan (Party of European Socialists, UK).

For the first time since the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty on 1 May 1999, no agreement could be reached at the conciliation stage of a piece of legislation.

EUPAVE, the European Concrete Paving Association, plans to hold a Technical Seminar entitled Concrete Safety Barriers – New Insights and Developments on Safety and Environment in Brussels on 9 June.

The Council will adopt the Proposal for a Directive establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy related products in July or September 2009.