At the end of October 2002, the Commission set up the Enwise Expert Group to study and report on the situation facing women scientists in Eastern and Central European countries and in the Baltic States.

On 23 October 2009 the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which CVC Capital Partners SICAV-FIS S.A. and its affiliates (‘CVC’, Luxembourg, part of the CVC group, UK), acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Council Regulation control of the whole of certain companies active in the beer sector in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and certain other non-EEA central European countries (together ‘Target Group’, Luxembourg, currently part of the Anheuser-Busch InBev group, Belgium) by way of purchase of shares.

Moreover, in the Northern and Central European countries, herbicides are predominant, whereas in the Southern and Western countries insecticides and fungicides dominate.

The NARIC (Network of national academic recognition information centres), operational since 1984, currently comprises 32 national centres, including the Member States of the European Union, the EFTA countries, central European countries, as well Cyprus and Malta.

(2) Council Decision 97/15/EC of 9 December 1996 on a third multiannual programme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union (1997 to 2000)(2) adopts a programme for Community policy for SMEs, including craft and very small enterprises, for a period of four years from 1 January 1997, and Article 7(1) thereof provides that this programme is to be open to the participation of the associated Central European countries.

[9] European Energy outlook to 2020: figures based on the seven Central European countries, excluding Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania.