EU firms 'flagging on research'
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The European Union's vision of building a hi-tech economy is under threat, according to a European Commission report.
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A 54bn-euro (Â£36bn) plan to boost science research in Europe is set to go before the EU Parliament for approval.
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By Helen Logan  Firms were today warned to start gearing up for Europe's biggest- ever single piece of legislation.   Euro-MPs have given the green light to new laws on the testing of thousands of chemicals in daily use.
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Political naivety and national protectionism were blamed for quashing the latest attempt to forge a single patent regime for the European Union, according to members of Europe's business community.
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The European Commission yesterday hit back at claims that British firms are being shut out of lucrative European public procurement contracts, saying the UK has itself failed to introduce laws guaranteeing fair play.
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Software on the Seine, anyone? Backup in Budapest? VTL from Vienna? And why not. Europeans have far more experience when it comes to dealing with data regulatory issues than we do.
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(InfoWorld) - In a bid to speed up the dissemination of scientific discoveries, the European Commission said Thursday it plans to shake up the old-fashioned world of scientific publishing by throwing its weight behind a move to make scientific research results freely available on the Internet. Until now, results have been published in journals along with peer reviews of the research. Publishers of scientific, technical, and medical journals argue that the peer review system wouldn't work as reliably if results were published willy-nilly online. "Nobody will benefit if a major European industry is undermined and with it the peer review system upon which science and society depend," said the International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers (STM) in a statement ahead of Thursday's announcement by the Commission. The publishers, which include giants like Reed Elsevier and McGraw-Hill, cosigned a petition to Europe's lawmakers dubbed the Brussels Declaration, calling for leniency. The Commission is hosting a two-day conference starting Thursday with the publishers as well as with advocates of a free, Internet-based model for scientific publishing. In its statement, the Commission made it clear that it favors freer access to research results. It is planning to spend about â¬85 million ($111 million) over the next two years improving the digital storage and online accessibility of scientific results. Digital technologies are reshaping how research information is viewed, analyzed, and eventually published, the Commission said. For example, about 90 percent of all science journals are now available online, often by subscription. But digital technologies are also leading to more "open access" publishing. This provides free and wide access to publications online. Better access to research data also opens the way to new types of uses and services, often through the reusing of past results as the raw material for new experimentation. However, the Commission added that online access to current scientific information does not guarantee its future availability. Digital information has a limited lifetime and needs to be maintained over time. Better tools and organizational steps are necessary to ensure digital preservation and thus prevent the loss of important scientific information, the Commission said. "The digital revolution has led the European scientific community to suggest that an alternative publishing model with better access to research publications could further stimulate research excellence and innovation," Commissioner for Research Janez Potocnik told delegates at the conference. Publishers association STM had argued that it would be wrong for the Commission to favor one business model over another and urged it to back off from the scientific publishing sector. But the association changed its tune Thursday, after learning how serious the Commission is about taking action. "I am pleased that the Commission has recognized the complex issues that surround the publication and preservation of scientific information and has seen fit to initiate a dialogue rather than prematurely imposing a policy that could undermine STM publishing, which is such an important industry for Europe," said Michael Mabe, CEO of STM in a statement released Thursday. The STM welcomes the Commission's action plan "in the area of creating a level playing field for publication business models, recognizing that further research on preservation and economics is essential before adopting any policy positions," the association said in its latest statement.
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The European Union has launched a new drive to reduce its regulatory burden on companies, in a bid to tackle one of the most frequent complaints made by business.
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Business & money: Â·  European parliament blocks EC initiative Â·  Businesses and unions unite in denunciation
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European Commission is looking into claims that Intel has been pressuring Europe's largest computer chain.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing biotechnology companies as part of a wider effort to ensure that companies don&#39;t mislead investors
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Britain's scientific community fuels controversies by shunning colleagues with rebel ideas, research suggests.
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com. In a signal from the European Commission that it is stepping up its investigation into possible illegal business practices by Intel, the commission is asking four European countries why they
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As EU charter proclaims respect for data rights The European Parliament has condemned the EU's fondness for collecting personal information, mining and generating profiles in a resolution slamming the EU and national governments' approach to fighting terrorism.â¦
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Ill will for shills Business people who write fake reviews of their own products will fall foul of new European laws from next year. Laws banning businesses from misleading consumers will bar the act.â¦
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European governments should focus more of their efforts on boosting their countries' technological prowess by funding large - oenational champions - rather than small companies whose expansion possibilities are ...
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A survey of hospital review boards that watchdog experiments on patients shows that one in three members takes money from companies that make drugs and medical devices that come under study.