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In the EU27, the proportion of the population having completed higher education, i.e. tertiary level education of at least two years, has increased steadily through the generations. In 2007, 30% of those aged 25-34 had graduated from tertiary education, compared with 25% of those aged 35-44 and 19% of those aged 45-64.

Together with the adoption of the Communication "An EU Strategy for Youth - Investing and Empowering", outlining a new youth cooperation framework in the European Union, the Commission is also publishing a Youth Report. The Youth Report is a compilation of data, statistics and brief analyses on the situation of young people in Europe. It provides an overview of the situation in the EU Member States in a range of different areas and outlines as well the differences between countries.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ (LEI) for the Euro Area increased 0.2 percent in March to 92.4 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent decrease in February and a 0.7 percent rise in January. Positive contributions from the interest rate spread and the business expectations (services) index more than offset a negative contribution from stock prices.

All EU Member States should agree to exchange full information on interest earned on saving accounts by July 2014, says MEPs in a report adopted on Friday. Members also called for an end to tax havens.

The offer of e-money services should be enhanced by boosting innovation and improving consumers' confidence, according to a report adopted by the European Parliament.

The European Commission welcomes adoption by the European Parliament of its proposal to push ahead the shift towards a low-carbon economy. The legal framework has been enlarged to all energy related products. So far eco-design requirements were restricted to energy-using product, such as boilers, water heaters, computers, televisions or industrial fans.

The European Commission has welcomed the respective approvals from the European Parliament and from the Council on the proposed Regulation on credit rating agencies (CRAs). The Regulation will have a major impact on the activity of credit rating agencies, which issue opinions on creditworthiness of companies, governments and sophisticated financial structures. Credit rating agencies will be expected to comply with strict standards of integrity, quality and transparency and will be subject to ongoing supervision of public authorities. Users of credit ratings in the EU will be in a better position to decide if the opinions of a specific credit rating agency are trustworthy and to what extent those opinions should impact their investment choices.

In February 2009 compared with January 2009, the euro area (EA16) industrial new orders index fell by 0.6%. In January the index decreased by 2.0%. In the EU27 new orders declined by 1.4% in February 2009, after dropping by 3.5% in January. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders fell by 1.3% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU27.

A text message sent from abroad in the EU will cost no more than €0.11 as of 1 July, instead of €0.28 today. The times where consumers had to expect "bill shocks" for downloading a picture or a movie with a mobile phone while roaming in the EU are over. The European Parliament, in its plenary session in Strasbourg, voted by a large majority in favour of new EU rules on SMS and data roaming, proposed by the European Commission in September 2008.

Unlimited computing power, computers mimicking the brain, mind-controlled wheelchairs and friendly robotic companions are part of a new European plan to boost visionary research, unveiled by the European Commission. With more investment and cooperation in high-risk research on future information technologies, Europe can lead the way in turning bright research ideas into future technologies. The Commission proposed to boost Europe's high-risk research into future technologies by doubling research investment at national and EU level in this area by 2015. The Commission will lead by example, increasing the current funding of € 100 million per year by 70% by 2013.