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The EPN Consulting Newsletter - 080 - April 2017
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Dear Colleague,
A few months ago it was common to find on paper and electronic newspapers articles on the so-called "fake news".
Many discussed the superficiality with which normal people and even journalists deal with pieces of news forwarded from one to the other, "liked" or "shared", without checking the authenticity of news and its source.
A lot of discussions were generated about the excessive velocity of our times where news must be immediately published to increase audience and, in some cases, also income. As a matter of fact, a great number of fake news are intentionally generated to promote the popularity of some websites, increase the number of "clicks" and the number of "likes" and, paradoxically, the authoritativeness of specific facebook profiles, blogs or sources of information.
Unfortunately, some pieces of fake news have undermined the respectability of some individuals, companies, businesses and the social media companies did little or nothing to fight this immoral behaviour.
In addition to fake news, nearly every day we can come across insulting messages towards certain individuals and, in particular, young women that sometimes were pushed to suicide as they thought their online reputation - more important than the real one - was irremediably destroyed.
In these cases, too, social media companies did little or nothing to fight this immoral behaviour.
We all recognise that social media are important in these days and that could also help businesses grow and acquire genuine visibility worldwide. What social media companies should improve is a tighter and timely control of what is published online. As a matter of fact, freedom of information does not mean anarchy.
By the way, in March 2017 I wanted to buy some days of advertisement on Facebook to increase visibility of the S.T.R.E.E.T. project, whose EPN Consulting is partner, that aims to train young people to become Mobility Managers for Sustainable Tourism and it is funded by the ERASMUS Plus programme (more info below in this newsletter). The ad was addressed to young people in the UK from 20 y.o. to 35 y.o. to make them register to the FREE online training courses the project has designed and published.
Facebook replied that my request was rejected because it was discriminating people with regard to age and nationality. No comment.
Founder, CEO
You receive this newsletter because you have been in touch directly or indirectly with EPN Consulting and/or its Founder & CEO.
Please be assured that all your data stored in our systems will never be given away/sold/disclosed as EPN Consulting enforces a strict privacy policy.
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Horizon 2020 & other calls close to deadline
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Europe leads number of Smart Cities Projects
16 Mar 2017 -
Europe is the region with the largest number of Smart City projects, according to a new study conducted by Navigant Research.
The report, Smart City Tracker Q1 2017, examines the current state of global smart city development, covering Smart Energy, Water, Mobility, Buildings, and Governments sectors, segmented by region.
Latin America featured as the region with the lowest number of smart city initiatives. The latest update of the report, first published in 2013, identified as many as 250 Smart City projects globally in more than 178 cities around the world with the majority focusing on Government and Energy initiatives, followed by Transport, Buildings, and Water goals
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EU 2014-2020 Multi-annual Financial Framework: Mid-Term revision
20 Mar 2017 -
The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) sets the maximum level of resources ('ceiling') for each major category of EU spending for the years 2014-2020.
Based on the compulsory mid-term review of the MFF, the European Commission proposes to modify the flexibility provisions and special instruments of the MFF Regulation.
The aim is to increase the capacity of the EU budget to address unforeseen events and new priorities, against a backdrop of persistent challenges inside and outside the EU.
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Clearer Energy Labelling: Improved Energy Efficiency
22 Mar 2017 -
The European Council reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on a regulation setting a framework for Energy Efficiency Labelling.
This agreement will have to be confirmed by the member states Permanent Representatives (
Coreper
).
The proposed regulation will replace the current legislation (Directive 2010/30/EU) retaining its main principles but further clarifying, strengthening and extending its scope.
The Energy labelling framework allows customers to be more aware of the energy efficiency and energy consumption of household appliances (such as dishwashers, televisions, fridges, etc.), which will help them to reduce their energy costs. This will also contribute to the moderation of energy demand and the achievement of the Union's 2020 and 2030 energy efficiency targets.
The regulation establishes deadlines to replace the current A+, A++, A+++ classes with an A to G scale.
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2016 Road Safety Statistics in the EU
28 Mar 2017 -
European Roads remain the safest in the world: in 2016, the EU counted 50 road fatalities per one million inhabitants, against 174 deaths per million globally.
Last year marked a turning point in reducing road fatalities: after two years of stagnation, the number of those who lost their lives on the roads was reduced by 2%. 25,500 people were killed in 2016, 600 fewer than in 2015 and 6,000 fewer than in 2010. This represents a 19% reduction over the last six years.
While reaching the strategic target of halving the number of road deaths between 2010 and 2020 is still an extreme challenge, it worth trying as every single saved life matters. As a comparison point, fatalities were cut by 43% between 2001 and 2010
Read more |
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Statement of the European Council (Art. 50) on the UK notification
29 Mar 2017 - It is known that t
he European Council received a letter from the British Prime Minister notifying the United Kingdom's intention to leave the European Union.
This notification follows the referendum of 23 June 2016 and starts the withdrawal process under Article 50 of the Treaty. For the European Union, the first step will now be the adoption of guidelines for the negotiations by the European Council. These guidelines will set out the overall positions and principles in light of which the Union, represented by the European Commission, will negotiate with the United Kingdom.
The EU's first priority will be to minimise the uncertainty caused by the decision of the United Kingdom for EU citizens, businesses and Member States. President Tusk convened the European Council on 29 April 2017.
Read more
Read: Art. 50 of the Treaty on EU - Q&A
Read: Leaving the EU, the UK Government's 12 Negotiating Objectives
Read: "London is Open"
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EPN Consulting News
EPN Consulting
is one of the partners of the
S.T.R.E.E.T. project (
Sustainable Transport Education for Environment and Tourism), co-funded by the
Erasmus Plus programme.
S.T.R.E.E.T. aims to define a new professional profile,
Expert for Sustainable Mobility and Tourism focused on two main fields: Alternative Mobility and Sustainable Tourism, which are
opportunities of economic growth, local development and employment, also according to the new EU policies.
Registration open until
30 APRIL 2017 !!
If you are between 20 y.o. and 35 y.o. register for FREE to the online training sessions of the Basic Course.
After and evaluation session, remote learning activities will be integrated with Study Visits in the project countries UK, Italy, Slovenia and Austria.
As EPN Consulting is based in the UK,
we encourage
Young Brits, freshly employed or unemployed
to register their profile
here by 30 April 2017.
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Upcoming Professional Events in Europe
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The Website of the Month:
The European Transport Innovation Challenge will reward Transport Innovators for their ideas for a cleaner and more efficient future in transport.
The EU is committed to cutting CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030 and by 80% by 2050. With transportation accounting for one quarter of CO2 emissions, there is a need to radically transform the way people and goods are transported.
This Challenge will help move the EU along the path of decarbonisation and sustainable growth. The 12 winners of the Challenge will get a free trip to Strasbourg (France) on 19, 20 and 21 June 2017 to follow the ITS Congress, Europe's biggest gathering of professionals working in intelligent transport systems.
To participate you just need a good idea for a product or service that will contribute to one of the following key European goals for transport: Better mobility, Better access to mobility, Less pollution, Less congestion or More safety and security.
Deadline for applications is 02 May 2017 at midnight.
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The EPN Consulting Galaxy
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EPN Consulting
Based in London. Engaged with Europe. |
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