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?

Did you pick the right mean of transport? Do the right mix of urban mobility!

The European Commission’s Sustainable Urban Mobility campaign, launched in July 2012, is a three-year initiative aiming to support sustainable urban mobility campaigners in the European Union’s 28 Member States, plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

The central objective of this campaign is to promote the advantages of combining different modes of transportation. 

The campaign bears the slogan ‘Do the Right Mix’, and aims to highlight and advertise the fact that by using different modes of transportation for each journey as appropriate, people can improve their health, their finances and the environment.

Check out the Mobility Map!

Romania are un proiect inscris pe harta pentru Bucuresti - I like bike! 

asa sa fie oare ?...

60 seconds movie on EU Blue Belt: Commission eases customs formalities for ships

European Union start surveilling the US surveillance programmes!

The European Parliament started the fight against the American spying practices (e.g. PRISM) and passed this week a resolution to investigate the (in)compatibility of these programmes with the EU law.

The resolution includes multiple directions:

• Civil Liberties Committee inquiry
• Protecting whistleblowers
• Suspend air passenger and bank data deals?
• Trade talks should not undermine data protection
• Stronger data safeguards urgently needed

Read more on EP press release.

PS: oare si blogul asta este urmarit?

the truth is out there...

EU-career: 2010 Administrators (AD) competition re-OPENED

The AD competitions (for Administrators, these are Mid-Management positions) for careers in the European institutions have become rare opportunities in the last years (due to EU  budget and administration rationalisation), and in the best case there is only 1 "concours" organised each year.

 

In 2013, EPSO will not organize any new AD competitions!

 

However, some old AD competition are reopened: EPSO/AD/177/10, EPSO/AD/178/10 and EPSO/AD/179/10.

 

A corrigendum was published and new tests are being organised for those candidates who were excluded from the selection process in 2010 on the basis of their results in the admission tests, either because they did not reach the pass mark, or because they were not amongst the highest-scoring candidates who could be admitted to the selection based on qualifications phase

 

The person that triggered all these rehearsals is a candidate named Dimitrios Pachtitis that challenged EPSO responsibilities and initiated a legal battle. The General Court confirmed the Tribunal’s ruling, and EPSO re-affirmed its pledge to allow participants of the 2010 general AD5 level Administrator competitions to re-take their exams in 2013.

 

So he is the one to be congratulated (in case you ere positively impacted by this decision) or blamed (in all the other cases, as you will not have a chance for an AD competition this year).

 

In my case it's a bravo Dimi ;)

 

Note: Don't forget that you can prepare for these exams by practicing Abstract Reasoning and Situatiational Judgement tests on your iPhone or iPad.

European "Silicon Valley": Skype, Spotify and Angry Birds creators promote Digital Europe

Web entrepreneurs worldwide have an enormous impact on the economy and society: the majority of new jobs are created by start-ups and 45% of Europeans would like to be their own boss if they could. 

With this mind set, the European Commission wants that young Europeans to be inspired by home-grown entrepreneurs, so their bright ideas start and stay in Europe!

So, to give a living proof example for web businesses, the EC launched the 

European "Silicon Valley" of  online entrepreneurship.

The Digital Leaders of Europe are nominated on the Startup Europe Leaders Club - the first part of Startup Europe initiative (Digital Agenda priority).

...nici un roman, din pacate...