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The Exploratory opinion on "More sustainable food systems" (Rapporteur: Mindaugas Maciulevičius), requested by the Netherlands presidency of the EU, was adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee at its plenary session on 26 May 2016. The opinion calls for the development of a comprehensive food policy in the EU and for an implementation plan to promote sustainable, resilient, healthy, fair and climate-friendly food systems, integrating food-related policy objectives and involving all relevant stakeholders in the food supply chain.

Research and innovation are changing rapidly. Digital technologies are making science and innovation more collaborative, international and open to citizens. The Open Science goal is materialising in the development of a European Science Cloud and open access to scientific data generated by Horizon 2020 projects

A project development workshop under the EU Design Days aims to match European designers with projects applying for EU funding – in sectors such as Energy, ICT and Smart Cities. Design is not just about the way things look, it is also about the way they work – and how they are developed. The Commission aims to increase the use of design for innovation and growth across Europe and recognizes that design is a key discipline to bring ideas to market, in other words to amplify project impact.

The European Commission joins forces with Member States and stakeholders in a further step to fight social dumping and to ensure fairness on the European labour market. Today, a new European Platform on undeclared work has been launched. The network aims at turning undeclared into declared work, thus ensuring social protection for millions of Europeans who lose out through various kinds of risky job arrangements, including dependent work relationships hidden as self-employment.

On 25 May 2016, the European Commission tabled a package of measures to allow consumers and companies to buy and sell products and services online more easily and confidently across the EU. Delivering on its Digital Single Market and Single Market strategies, the European Commission has presented a three-pronged plan to boost e-commerce by tackling geo-blocking, making cross-border parcel delivery more affordable and efficient and promoting customer trust through better protection and enforcement.

Urgent overhaul is needed to ensure that the EU’s. European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is once again an effective tool for cross-border cooperation. The ENP – which was launched in 2004 to build on common interests and values with the EU’s southern and eastern neighbours and promote political and economic cooperation – has been overtaken by current events.

A social enterprise recruits homeless people to work as tourist guides and uses the web to raise awareness about homelessness. Another one supports welfare beneficiaries by training selected individuals living with long-term conditions to help others with similar needs through a dedicated online platform.

The first summit of the Blue Economy Business and Science Forum will take place in Hamburg on 12-13 September 2016 at the International Maritime Museum Hamburg. The International Maritime Museum Hamburg is selected as a venue for event for its historical importance for marine and maritime industry, research and finance.

The European Commission is organising the conference, 'Single Market for Products: Fresh ideas to unleash the full potential' as part of the Single Market Strategy. The event aims to gather collective intelligence from participants on how mutual recognition in the Single Market for products can be improved and on how the number of non-compliant products in the Single Market can be reduced.

On Monday, May 9^th, 2016  Business and Cultural Development Centre's (KEPA) President and Administrative Committee members held a meeting with the delegation of the European Investment Fund (EIF) who are visiting Thessaloniki, in KEPA's premises. During the meeting, the participants discussed about microcredit issues, the EIF's role in provision of  technical assistance in microloan providers and the financial instruments that EIF provides to SMEs.

The objective of this study is to identify, map and describe retail-specific operational restrictions (including ones related to e-commerce) in the 28 EU countries at national, and where relevant, regional level. The Single Market Strategy adopted in October 2015 proposes actions to address the remaining obstacles to a better functioning Internal Market in services.

The COSME agreement will enable Diorama Investments to invest in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), following the European Investment Fund's (EIF) EU-funded contribution of growth and expansion capital. The fund will target companies with a strong international angle. By mobilising other investors, including funds from the private sector, this is expected to result in an overall investment of more than €125 million in Greek SMEs.