By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Nov. 28 (Greenpost)– The Council of the European Union today gave the go-ahead for a directive on representative actions. The aim of the directive is to strengthen consumer rights, according to news reaching here from the EU presidency office in Finland.

Representative actions are intended to increase the consumer’s chances to receive compensation for losses they suffer as a result of traders infringing consumer rights legislation. The idea is to strengthen the enforcement of consumer rights in situations where the same product or service has caused harm to several consumer.

Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson said, “I am pleased that the Council reached agreement on the directive on representative actions. The opportunity to claim compensation by bringing a representative action is a pioneering step at EU level, and it should enable consumers to stand up for their rights more effectively.”

Under the compromise proposal approved by the Council, qualified entities (such as consumer organisations or public bodies) could bring an action on behalf of a group of consumers. This would avoid individual consumers having to defend their interests alone. The consumers’ representative would have the right not only to apply for an injunction against the infringing trader, as is already the case, but also to seek compensation for defects or to require the trader to repair or replace the defective product.

From the trader’s point of view, the directive would help prevent abusive litigation and strengthen legal security. It would also contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by ensuring a level playing field for all traders.

There are currently major differences in member states’ national legislation on access to class actions or other forms of collective redress. Some countries do not recognise any kind of collective action.

As the next step before adoption, the Council and the European Parliament will start negotiations on the proposal during Croatia’s Presidency of the Council in the first half of 2020.

The Directive on representative actions is part of the Commission’s “New Deal for Consumers”.

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 28(Greenpost) -EU ministers responsible for industry and the internal market met in Brussels on 28 November chaired by Minister of Employment Timo Harakka and Minister of Economic Affairs Katri Kulmuni. The Competitiveness Council agreed a general approach on the directive on representative actions to strengthen consumer rights. This means that negotiations can be launched with the European Parliament.

News reaching here from EU rotating presidency Finland says the directive obliges Member States to include in their legal systems a representative action procedure that meets the requirements of the directive. Under the directive, qualified representatives could launch actions on behalf of consumers in cases where the collective interests of consumers have been violated.

Minister Harakka said: “I’m very pleased that we agreed a general approach on the directive on representative actions. The directive would allow consumers to defend their rights more effectively throughout the EU, while at the same time protecting entrepreneurs.”

The Competitiveness Council also discussed another legislative proposal, a directive concerning disclosure of income tax information by large international companies.

Minister Harakka said: “Unfortunately, we did not reach agreement on the issue. I hope that progress can be made in further negotiations.”

Minister Harakka added: “In 2016, when the Panama Papers were made public, EU policy-makers vowed to take action against tax evasion. I’m disappointed that we were unable to deliver on the promises made to EU citizens. I hope that this issue will be actively promoted both by the new Commission and by future presidencies.”

Ministers also discussed the external dimension of EU competitiveness, which is closely linked to the strategy for sustainable growth prepared by the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Minister Harakka said: “From the point of view of EU external competitiveness, it’s important that the EU has a functioning single market, an ability to innovate, sufficient competence and a business environment that helps companies grow and attracts investments. In addition, we must ensure that the global market is a level playing field. The debate will inform the new Commission as it prepares EU policies for the next five-year period.”

Over lunch, chaired by Minister Katri Kulmuni, ministers discussed SME policy and the priorities of the future SME strategy

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Nov. 28(Greenpost) — Experts from several European countries and organisations met in Helsinki to explore how to accelerate the fight against work-related cancer. The cooperation will be further strengthened by continuing the Roadmap on Carcinogens campaign, which aims to raise awareness about carcinogens and reduce exposure to them. An agreement on the continuation of the campaign was signed in Helsinki on 28 November 2019.

The Roadmap on Carcinogens Conference is one of the official meetings of Finland’s Presidency of the EU Council.

Towards common, binding limit values

Every year in Europe, around 120,000 workers develop work-related cancer and 80,000 die as a result of it. Work-related cancer causes more than half of all deaths associated with working conditions.

“These figures are alarming. We must work more effectively to prevent exposure to carcinogenic substances. By increasing our knowledge about carcinogens, how to manage them and how to prevent exposure to them, we are already taking an important step forward. This makes the Roadmap on Carcinogens an extremely important communication campaign. This information is vital to employers and employees alike,” said Minister of Social Affairs and Health Aino-Kaisa Pekonen when she opened the conference on 27 November.

The goal is to limit exposure to carcinogenic substances at work in the EU by setting binding limit values to be complied with at workplaces. The European Commission is in the process of amending the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive with four separate proposals, The Commission has already published the first three proposals amending the Directive, and they are now being implemented by the Member States. The Commission is currently preparing the fourth proposal for a directive and is expected to adopt it in early 2020.

Finland is now passing the baton to Germany, which will continue the Roadmap on Carcinogens campaign until the end of 2020.

At the conference, we heard a presentation by Christa Sedlatschek, Executive Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, on cancer risks at workplaces. According to her, there is still a need for better risk assessment at workplaces, in addition to more information. Practical tools, good practices and examples would help in getting rid of the most dangerous substances or replacing them with less harmful ones.

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Nov. 28(Greenpost)–The International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) recognized professor Herbert Gleiter with the prestigious Advanced Materials Laureate 2019. Professor Gleiter is awarded for his substantial contributions towards research perspective, expanding education, promoting materials research and its application at a global standard. The award ceremony was held on November 1st during the Asian Advanced Materials Congress, on the Voyager of the Seas, RCC, Singapore. It was the 30th assembly of the flagship event Advanced Materials Congress and it was graced with the participation of researchers and industry decision maker from over 40 countries.

– I think it’s a very good idea to organize events om cruise ships. Keeping people together and putting them all in a pleasant atmosphere will create high networking opportunities. Science comes out from discussions, it will not come from papers or telephone calls, says Prof. Herbert Gleiter.

Herbert Gleiter is a pioneer in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, especially in nanoglasses and non-crystalline nanomaterials. He has a Ph.D. in physics from the Technical University of Stuttgart, Germany and obtained his D.Sc. in material science at the University of Bochum, Germany. He was the Professor/Director of the Institute of Material Science, University of  Saarland, Germany during 1973–1994. He was also the founding director of the Institute of New Materials, Saarbruecken, Germany aswell as director of the Institute of Nanotechnology, Research Center Karlsruhe, Germany. Prof. Gleiter has almost six decades of experience in this field and has been widely recognized by many countries and scientific organizations including the Leibniz, the Max Planck Prize, the Humboldt, Heisenberg, von Hippel and the Blaise Pascal Medal as well as four honorary doctorates and several honorary professorships. In order to promote research in advanced materials and innovation in the Asian continent, he established the Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience at Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China in 2012.

Every year, IAAM honors the pioneer researchers with the Advanced Materials Laureate for their notable and outstanding contributions to the advancement of materials for global excellence.
– Advanced Materials Laureate is considered one of the highest honors for a researcher working in a diverse background, either from physical, chemical, biological, engineering, mathematical and medical sciences along with their substantial contribution towards research perspective, expanding education, promoting materials research and its applications at a global standard, mentoring professionals and series of advancements on the related topics. We are very happy to award Professor Gleiter for Laureate of 2019, says Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, founder of IAAM.

IAAM is engaged in promotion of the rapidly expanding field of advanced materials science, engineering and technology all over the world. The association also offers the highest honors to scientists and young technocrats to inspire them to develop innovative technology for social empowerment.  During the 30th Advanced Materials Congress, IAAM recognized the innovative ideas of researchers, scientists, and technocrats from all over the world to give them an impetus to progress in their respective research areas. The selections for these IAAM awards are done by a duly constituted awards committee and are given to the awardees at the AMC assemblies.

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Nov. 28(Greenpost) — Finland’s Foreign Minister Haavisto highlighted the importance of human rights-based foreign policy in his speech to the Paasikivi Society in Helsinki on 27 November.

According to Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, the world is undergoing fundamental change, and Finland cannot be just a bystander. In addition to geopolitics, there is also a fight for ideologies and ideas. According to the Foreign Minister, we must ensure that a country such as Finland has a living space in the world and that we have partners who understand our way of thinking and interests.

“Values and interests can also be merged in foreign policy, and this is how I feel about human rights. We defend a world order where we have room for manoeuvre and where it is possible for us to maintain peace, stability and prosperity,” Haavisto says.

The Government Programme describes the promotion of human rights, the rule of law, democracy, peace, freedom, tolerance and equality as the value base for Finland’s foreign policy. The value base will also be reflected in the Government Report on Finnish Foreign and Security Policy, the work on which began this autumn.

“Values are not a postscript of our activities, but at the heart of everything. Values that are important to us can and must be defended. It is worthwhile to apply actively for play positions in order to promote international cooperation,” Foreign Minister Haavisto says.

Comment: Many people believe geopolitics is the source or the reason why the world has war because someone always likes to interfere in others affairs and go beyond their border to get their own benefit. Guarding the human rights, the rule of law democracy peace, freedom, tolerance and equality are the values for every country. It is a goal for every body to strive for. Only that due to historical reasons, western power got a step forward by launching many wars in history so that the world is divided by developed countries and developing countries.

Now the words fighting the battle are used everywhere and that sounds very frightening.