Friends of Europe
Trade: An India-EU Free Trade Agreement, under negotiations for the past three years, is expected to be finalised by the end of this year, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Thursday. The two sides are keen to remove trade barriers in goods and services and investments across all sectors of the economy and have set an ambitious target of more than doubling their bilateral trade to $US200 billion in the next four years. A fresh series of talks will take place in Brussels during August aimed at concluding the deal.
30/07/2010 Read more
Eurozone: The Economic Sentiment Indicator produced by the European Commission has demonstrated that confidence in the euro area is at its highest point in over two years. This boost in economic outlook comes on the back of rising demand for industry products, a surge in the German labour market and a dollar hampered by doubts about economic recovery in the USA.
30/07/2010 Read more

Greening Europe Forum
Friends of Europe - Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Friends of Europe is proud to announce the 'Greening Europe Forum'
There is no clear blueprint of how Europe’s sustainability transformation can be achieved. Several pieces of the “green economy” puzzle exist but putting these pieces together into a new political and social project for a prosperous EU future is still a very big challenge. The question is simple: what policies does Europe need to transform itself into the leading green economy of the 21st century in an age where resource-constraints are becoming the number-one global risk?

To help stakeholders and policymakers answer this question, Friends of Europe proposes a multi-annual programme of new activities to strengthen its already successful “energy and environment” pillar.

The Greening Europe Forum will seek to address the full range of topics concerning energy, the environment and the greening of Europe’s and global economy. Possible themes for debate include:

  • Climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Agriculture and climate change
  • The new economy and the greening of European business
  • Green and smart logistics and low-carbon transport policy
  • Green Banking
  • Education and skills for the new green economy
  • Green incentives and eco-taxation
  • New policy instruments for qualitative growth and prosperity
  • New business models for a resource-constrained world

If you want more information or if you want to become a partner of this new Friends of Europe initiative, please contact Greening Europe Director Willy De Backer via email (willy.debacker@friendsofeurope.org ) or telephone (+32 (0)2 739 1573).