33. Welcomes the steady but timid progress towards a more balanced gender participation in FP7, since diversity is important for creativity and innovation; points out that female researchers tend to work on smaller, less profiled research projects and tasks and that a highly problematic ‘glass ceiling’ seems to exist for female researchers, leading to a decrease of the share of female researchers with seniority, as also indicated by the low number of female researchers selected for the ERC advanced investigator grant; agrees that measures to boost female participation should be reinforced throughout project lifecycles (with particular ...[+++]attention to flexible working hours, improved child-care facilities, social security provisions and parental leave) and that the Commission should reinvigorate its approach to promoting female scientists and should aim to galvanise Member States to address gender gaps; underlines that the 40% target for female participation in the Programme and Advisory Committees should be sensitively implemented; calls on the Commission to establish a cross-cutting committee to monitor and advice on the representation of female researchers and to develop a Gender Action Plan as recommended by the FP6 Ex Post Evaluation; calls on universities and EU Institutions to promote science as an interesting field for both sexes from early stages of education on, by promoting female researchers as role models;

33. Welcomes the steady but timid progress towards a more balanced gender participation in FP7, since diversity is important for creativity and innovation; points out that female researchers tend to work on smaller, less profiled research projects and tasks and that a highly problematic ‘glass ceiling’ seems to exist for female researchers, leading to a decrease of the share of female researchers with seniority, as also indicated by the low number of female researchers selected for the ERC advanced investigator grant; agrees that measures to boost female participation should be reinforced throughout project lifecycles (with particular ...[+++]attention to flexible working hours, improved child-care facilities, social security provisions and parental leave) and that the Commission should reinvigorate its approach to promoting female scientists and should aim to galvanise Member States to address gender gaps; underlines that the 40% target for female participation in the Programme and Advisory Committees should be sensitively implemented; calls on the Commission to establish a cross-cutting committee to monitor and advice on the representation of female researchers and to develop a Gender Action Plan as recommended by the FP6 Ex Post Evaluation; calls on universities and EU Institutions to promote science as an interesting field for both sexes from early stages of education on, by promoting female researchers as role models;

The feeling I have upon returning from Tunisia is an ambiguous one. On the one hand, it forces us to bear in mind that, in actual fact, Tunisia is a relatively advanced country, and even a very advanced one in a whole range of areas, as has been pointed out here, whether in terms of equality between men and women, social security or sickness and invalidity insurance, and that, as regards the economy too, there is undoubtedly momentum, but that, alongside this, the government is unable to take on board the slightest criticism or challenge with regard to what is carried out.

N. whereas in parallel to this Communitisation of criminal law through jurisprudence, the Commission, without any mandate or any basis under the Treaties, had already begun work on a draft 'European Civil Code', which is being prepared by something called the 'Von Bar' group and is funded to the tune of EUR 4 400 000 under the Cordis programme; whereas, wherever it would doubtless make sense to establish an indicative reference framework to facilitate the comparison of national laws (along the lines of the 'restatements' used in the USA), preparations are instead being made under this unification project to do away with bodies of national civil law in ar ...[+++]eas as diverse as contracts, liability, the family, legal guarantees, etc.,

This is reflected in lower performances in e.g. research funding, links to industry, patenting rates and spin-off creating rates than in the USA and Japan [14].

In related case-law in the insurance field, the ECJ has applied a reasoning which recognises that professional or expert agents require less protection than retail consumers (C-220/83).