European cool robots

The EU Robotics Week 2013 has just started!

The European Commission funds over 100 collaborative projects under the 7th Framework Programme on advanced research into robots. The projects aim at helping robots better understand the world around them through sensing, perception, understanding, reasoning and action.

Here are some examples of the best EU-funded Robotics projects:

•   RoboHow – Can a robot learn to make pancakes on its own? The project enables robots to learn on their own how to carry out tasks in human working and living environments by finding instructions online or by observing humans doing them. The goal is to develop robots that can help people in everyday activities, as well as to find out to what extent a robot can learn by itself. 

•   RADHAR – Self-Driving. Driving a wheelchair can be difficult and very tiring. As a result, the user may over-steer the wheelchair or not have enough strength to steer it. The RADHAR (Robotic ADaptation to Humans Adapting to Robots) project has developed an intelligent wheelchair that enables people with cognitive or physical challenges to independently drive around in an everyday-life environment.

•   Stiff-Flop - A Surgical Robot based on an Elephant's Trunk. This robotic arm could be used in keyhole surgery, as it is able to adjust its texture and stiffness to organs inside the human body; it can soften to get through narrow passages and then stiffen again when needed avoiding damage to soft tissue.

•   STRANDS - The Last Robot Standing Wins! STRANDS is an EU-funded project enabling robots to achieve robust and intelligent behaviour in human environments.

•   ROBOFOOT – Robots bring manufacturing back to Europe. The industry for hand-made fashion shoes is one of the important industries in Europe, which faced intense competition from low-cost countries. The EU-funded ROBOFOOT project showed that robots can also be introduced in traditional footwear industry, maintaining most of the current production facilities and help Europe's footwear industry.

I'll end with a quote from Emil Cioran: "Man is a robot with defects."

Court of Justice decided AGAINST the European Commission for the officials' salaries indexation!

Court of Justice of the European Union constitutes the judicial authority of the European Union and, in cooperation with the courts and tribunals of the Member States, it ensures the uniform application and interpretation of European Union law.

In the case open by the European Commission against the European Council the Court decided:

"The Council of the European Union was entitled to reject the Commission’s proposal... intended to increase the salaries of European officials by 1.7% in 2011."

• The story begins in 2011 when the Commission made the proposal to adjust the salaries on its employees with 1,7%.
• The Council, that is the Member States that should be paying for this indexation, rejected the proposal on the grounds of the profound deterioration in the economic and social situation in Europe.
• The Commission opened a case to the Court for the annulment of the Council's decision.
• However, this week, the Court validated the legality of this decision and mandated the Commission to submit a new proposal for the indexation method. 

So, there will be no raise given to the european civil servant's salary! 

We will be waiting for new strikes, manifestations and multiple calls for rise & "fight for our rights of European officials" shouted by the many employment syndicats flourishing in Bruxelles...see my blog post with strikes from 2012 (Greva la Comisia Europeana)


Find out more about the Judgment in Cases C-63/12, C-66/12 and C-196/12 in the press releases on the CURIA website: http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/Jo2_16799 
Some general info on salaries of European servants are in my blog post: Some info about our salaries :)

Europe - whenever you’re ready

Tourism has an important role in restoring economic growth in Europe. EU countries account for over 39% of global arrivals, making the EU the world's number one tourist destination. 

Europe – whenever you’re ready, is a campaign by the EU tourism to highlight the diversity Europe offers travellers and tourists, at any time of the year.


Check the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Europe.whenever.youre.ready

Do we want to improve Europe, or give it up?

This week EC president Barroso delivered the 4th State of the Union Address in the European Parliament, and what is being called the Case for Europe.

"My answer is clear', he continued: 'Engage! If you don't like Europe as it is: improve it!

As any human endeavor the EU is not perfect. Controversies about the division of labour between the national and European levels will never be conclusively ended. 

Not everything needs a solution at European level. Europe must focus on where it can add most value. It does not have to meddle where this is not the case. 

The EU needs to be big on big things and smaller on smaller things."

The key messages are ready for your dissemination and/or debate!

Gluma oficiala Europeana

Paradisul european:

Esti invitat la un pranz oficial. Esti intampinat de un englez, bucatarul e francez, un italian se ocupa de buna dispozitie a mesenilor, in timp ce de intreaga organizare s-a ocupat un neamt.

Iadul european:

Esti invitat la un pranz oficial. Esti intampinat de un francez, mancarea a gatit-o un englez, de buna dispozitie se ocupa un neamt, dar nu te speria inca - totul a fost organizat de un italian.

Un belgian a propus ca aceasta sa devina Gluma Oficiala Europeana, pe

care s-o invete la scoala toti copiii. Gluma va imbunatati relatiile

dintre popoare, va stimula autoironia si cunoasterea interculturala.

Consiliul European s-a intrunit pentru a lua o decizie: va fi gluma

oficiala sau nu?

Reprezentantul britanic a anuntat, cu o figura foarte serioasa si fara

a-si misca buzele, ca gluma este de-a dreptul colosala.

Cel francez a protestat, deoarece Franta a fost descrisa intr-o

maniera negativa. A explicat ca o gluma nu poate fi buna daca este la

adresa francezilor.

Polonia a protestat, de asemenea, deoarece nu este prezenta in gluma.

Luxemburgul a intrebat cine va detine drepturile de autor asupra glumei.

Suedezul n-a scos o vorba, dar s-a uitat la toti cu un zambet stramb.

Danemarca a intrebat unde este referinta sexuala explicita. Daca este

o gluma, ar trebui sa contina una, nu-i asa?

Olanda n-a inteles gluma, iar Portugalia n-a inteles ce este o

"gluma". Este un concept nou?

Spania a explicat ca gluma este amuzanta doar daca stii ca pranzul a

fost programat la ora 13, cand de obicei se ia micul dejun.

Grecia s-a plans ca n-a fost anuntata despre pranz si a ratat astfel ocazia unei

mese gratuite

Romania intrebat ce este un "pranz".

Lituania si Letonia s-au plans ca traducerile lor au fost inversate,

ceea ce este inacceptabil, desi se intampla tot timpul.

Slovenia le-a spus ca n-a primit deloc traducere, dar nu face caz.

Slovacia a spus ca, din moment ce in gluma nu apar o ratusca si un

instalator, inseamna ca traducerea este gresita.

Reprezentantul britanic a spus ca si povestea cu ratusca si instalatorul pare foarte

amuzanta.

Ungaria a anuntat ca n-a terminat de citit traducerea de 120 de pagini

in maghiara.

Apoi, reprezentantul Belgiei a intrebat daca belgianul care a propus

gluma este vorbitor de flamanda sau de franceza. Deoarece, intr-unul

din cazuri va sprijini cu certitudine un compatriot, dar in celalalt

caz va trebui sa refuze, indiferent de calitatea glumei.

In inchiderea lucrarilor, reprezentantul Germaniei a anuntat ca a fost

placuta dezbaterea de aici, de la Bruxelles , dar ca acum trebuie sa

ia toti trenul si sa mearga la Strasbourg pentru a lua decizia. A

cerut ca unul dintre cei prezenti sa-l trezeasca pe italian, ca sa nu

piarda trenul si sa se poata intoarce la Bruxelles pentru a anunta

decizia.

"Care decizie?", a intrebat reprezentantul Irlandei.

Si toti au fost de acord ca este timpul pentru o cafea.

Bulgarii, ca de obicei, n-au inteles nimic.

preluare anonima...

Romania is the country with the lowest penetration level in the EU ;)

Yes, it's confirmed!

The European Commission considers that: Romania is the country with the lowest penetration level in the EU.In January 2012, the penetration rate of fixed broadband is 15.2% of the population below the EU average of 27.7% and Mobile broadband penetration in Romania (14.1%) is the lowest in the EU!

Detailed statistics for Romania are being published in the context of the Digital Agenda programme implementation.

The Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) programme aims to reboot Europe's economy and help Europe's citizens and businesses to get the most out of digital technologies. It is the first of seven flagships initiatives under Europe 2020, the EU's strategy to deliver smart sustainable and inclusive growth.

some European social statistics from Eurostat pocketbook

• EU citizens living in another Member State accounted for 2.7% of the EU population in 2012

Among the EU Member States, the highest proportion of foreign citizens in the population was observed in Luxembourg (44% of the total population), followed by Cyprus (20%), Latvia3 and Estonia3 (both 16%). The percentage of foreign citizens was less than 1% in Poland, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Lithuania.

• There were 123 female students per 100 male in the EU27 in 2011

• The higher the education level, the lower the risk of poverty

The largest differences in the at risk of poverty rate between persons with low and high levels of education were recorded in Bulgaria (44% for those with low education and 4% for those with high education), Croatia (38% and 5%), Romania (35% and 2%) and Cyprus (29% and 4%), and the smallest in the Netherlands (12% and 6%) and Denmark (17% and 9%).

Eurostat pocketbook “European social statistics” is available free of charge in pdf format on the Eurostat website.

3 million Erasmus students in Europe !!!

More than 3 million students have benefitted from EU Erasmus grants since the exchange scheme's launch in 1987. The statistics, covering the 2011-2012 academic year, also show that the programme enabled more than 250 000 Erasmus students – a new record – to spend part of their higher education studies abroad or to take up a job placement with a foreign company to boost their employability.

Erasmus is considered one of the most successful programmes of the European Commission!!!

The average monthly Erasmus grant, designed to cover part of the additional costs of living abroad and travel, was €252. The grant, which has remained stable for the past three years, is topped up in some countries by national, regional or institutional funds.

Erasmus+, the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport, due for launch in January 2014, will build on the legacy of Erasmus by offering opportunities for 4 million people to study, train, teach or volunteer abroad by 2020. The programme is expected to have a budget of around €14.5 billion for 2014-2020 - 40% more than funding for the current education and training mobility programmes.

There is also an ERASMUS programme for Enterprises.

Trivia: a student leaving on an Erasmus exchange has 15% chances to find its mate and form an "Erasmus couple"!

In Romania numarul de studenti care pleaca cu burse Erasmus a ramas relativ constant, 4568 pe an.

Studentii prefera sa plece in cele mai multe cazuri in Franta, Spania si Germania, si ne vin in general studenti francezi si spanioli. Mai multe statistici se gasesc in raportul Erasmus in Romania.

euro-barometrul "Esti cetatean european si ai drepturi!"

The EC published the Flash Euro-barometer regarding this famous information campaign on consumer rights in Romania.

This report analyses whether consumers in main Romanian cities recall the consumer information campaign, how they evaluate the campaign messages and measures possible changes in awareness of and trust in consumer organisations and in perceived respect of consumer rights in Romania.

The campaign "It's your right! Take Action!" was launched by European Commissioner for Health and Consumers in June 2012.

The three main campaign subjects are product guarantees, shopping online, and package travel. Campaign activities include TV, print and online advertising, campaign official website www.consumatoreuropean.ro and a programme of round tables with the business community and public events in airports, shopping centres, supermarkets and maternities, that will unfold over the course of the next 12 months.

Similar consumer rights information campaigns were conducted in other countries that joined the European Union as of 2004. The contract for the campaign was awarded after a competitive public procurement process to a consortium of companies led by Saatchi & Saatchi Romania. 

European Mobility Week

European Mobility Week 2013, under the theme Clean air - it's your move! is focusing on air quality, with a particular emphasis on the role of citizens. Air quality has a major impact on our health and our environment.

No city from Romania registered the program yet...but last year Romania had 48 cities enrolled!!!

fun fact: this year CHINA has joined the week with 152 cities!!! how European is that?