The public sector possesses extensive information such as satellite images, judicial decisions or statistics ("Public Sector Information" - PSI), all of which can serve as raw material for products and services offered by private providers such as navigation systems, weather forecasts or financial services. The Directive 2003/98/EC (“PSI Directive“) is to remove barriers to the private use (“re-use”) of PSI in the internal market. The aim of the Communication is to review the impact thus far of the PSI Directive and to show new ways to tap the full economic potential in re-using PSI.

The EU Commission is of the opinion that EU financial supervision needs to be adjusted. According to the Commission, particularly the system of national supervisory models is no longer capable of keeping pace with the challenges emerging from financial firms operating across borders. To this end, the Commission wishes to establish a European system of financial supervisors (ESFS) and a European systemic risk council (ESRC).

The Commission expects a dramatic increase in public spending for pension, healthcare and the care of elderly people within Member States by 2060. Therefore, it is urging for necessary structural reforms of social insurance systems. Furthermore, it promotes higher education budgets and target-oriented measures to activate the job market.

The financial crisis has led to a controversial public debate about bonus payments to staff members of the financial industry. The EU-Commission is responding by submitting a Recommendation which has public appeal but is legally non-binding and which is to be regarded above all as a political signal. However, for the banking sector the Commission announced that it would be proposing in June 2009 amendments to the Directive on capital requirements for banks (“Basel II”), which should allow the inclusion of remuneration practices into capital requirements for financial service providers.

According to the Commission the potential of liberalisation of the electricity and gas markets should be further tapped. Competitive solutions are to increasingly enjoy priority over price regulation. Moreover, the Commission is making statements on the frequency of supplier switching.

In the end there seemed to be too much political pressure. Shortly before the EU-Elections the Commissioner for the Single Market McCreevy presented a proposal for the regulation of alternative investment funds (AIF), in particular of hedge funds and private equity funds.

The concept of a “European maritime transport space without barriers“ aims to eliminate or simplify administrative procedures in intra-EU maritime transport. Thus it is to be made “more attractive, more efficient and more competitive“ and more environmentally friendly.

According to the Commission climate change requires adaptation measures in key policy sectors such as health and social affairs, agriculture and infrastructure. In order to supplement the expenses of Member States and to share burdens, adaptation measures could be financed through EU spending programmes.

In response to the financial crisis the EU-Commission strengthens CEBS-, CESR- and CEIOPS-Committees and provides to them additional funding. The Committees are to enhance closer cooperation between national supervisory authorities and to strengthen the stability of the financial system.

The EU-Commission has fundamentally revised the EU Codex for Medicinal Products in its Pharmaceutical Package presented in December 2008. The focus lies on informations for patients, the protection against falsified medical products and the monitoring of authorised medical products (pharmacovigilance). For the latter, essential improvements are the obligation for an implementation of a risk-management-system for all newly authorised medical products and the option for authorities to impose requirements even after authorisation.