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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Commission have published The Missing Entrepreneurs 2015, which examines the potential of inclusive entrepreneurship policies and programmes in the European Union. Target groups are those who are under-represented and disadvantaged in entrepreneurship and self-employment, including youth, women, seniors, the unemployed, ethnic minorities and immigrants, people with disabilities and other groups.

Today, the Employment and Social Policy Ministers have reached an agreement during the EPSCO Council on the Commission's proposal for a Recommendation on long-term unemployment. Member States have committed today to strengthen support to more than 11 million people who have been unemployed for over a year. This will focus efforts towards offering a clear pathway towards employment. The Recommendation will lead to simplified and more effective access to support for those out of work for long periods.

The Commission adopted a new Regional Policy programme for the Italian region of Campania, worth over €4 billion, with more than €3 billion coming from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). As for all programmes adopted for the 2014-2020 period, investments under the Campania programme are strategically focused on four key growth-generating areas: research and innovation, digital technologies, support to small businesses and to the low-carbon economy.

This new Eurobarometer survey of 2015 gives a picture of how businesses in the EU, neighbouring countries and the US are reacting to the green market and resource efficiency. According to the survey, cost efficiency is still the biggest reason for undertaking resource efficiency actions. And resource efficiency pays off: 4 out of 10 SMEs say that resource efficiency actions have cut production costs in the last two years. 8 out of 10 are also satisfied with the return on their resource efficiency investments.

Almost half of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocations are channelled into the real economy through public procurement. The new legislation on Cohesion Policy has conditioned the channelling of the funds to Member States upon the existence of an effective and sound public procurement framework. The approach used by the Commission is both preventive and corrective.

Today the European Commission adopted an ambitious new Circular Economy Package to stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy which will boost global competitiveness, foster sustainable economic growth and generate new jobs.The Circular Economy  Package will help European businesses and consumers to make the transition to a stronger and more circular economy where resources are used in a more sustainable way.

The European Commission today proposed a European Accessibility Act, which will set common accessibility requirements for certain key products and services that will help people with disabilities at EU level to participate fully in society. The products and services covered have been carefully selected in consultation with citizens and civil society organisations as well as businesses.

Following the success of the conference and workshops we organised last year on the theme of social entrepreneurship as part of our EUNIC Thessaloniki activities, we're delighted to invite you to a new series of workshops and open discussions, which we are again organising under the umbrella of EUNIC Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Anna Lindh Foundation with the participation and support of other major organisations in Thessaloniki.

Sit-in beekeeping foundation Apiform, peer-to-peer homestay model for older people The Freebird Club, and accessible car sharing platform Wheeliz have been named the winners of the 2015 European Social Innovation Competition. Selected out of 1,400 applications from over 40 countries, the winners represent this year’s theme, ‘New Ways to Grow’.

New Directives on public procurement and concession contracts will enter into force on 18 April 2016. This new EU-wide legal framework provides an opportunity to turn public procurement into a strategic policy instrument. They allow environmental and social considerations, as well as innovation aspects to be taken into account when awarding public contracts. Under the new rules, it will also be easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in public tenders.  

MICROSTARS project's website has been put into full operation. The project is implemented n the framework of the "Greece – The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia IPA Cross-Border Programme 2007-2013". The website of the project is www.microstarsproject.eu.