26.3.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 87/4

Euro exchange rates (1)

25 March 2014

2014/C 87/04

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,3789
JPY	Japanese yen	141,22
DKK	Danish krone	7,4647
GBP	Pound sterling	0,83480
SEK	Swedish krona	8,8576
CHF	Swiss franc	1,2197
ISK	Iceland króna
NOK	Norwegian krone	8,3400
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	27,395
HUF	Hungarian forint	311,81
LTL	Lithuanian litas	3,4528
PLN	Polish zloty	4,1983
RON	Romanian leu	4,4663
TRY	Turkish lira	3,0751
AUD	Australian dollar	1,5069
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,5413
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	10,6959
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,6138
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,7502
KRW	South Korean won	1 487,51
ZAR	South African rand	14,8605
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	8,5525
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,6625
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	15 736,58
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,5584
PHP	Philippine peso	62,224
RUB	Russian rouble	49,3027
THB	Thai baht	44,919
BRL	Brazilian real	3,1990
MXN	Mexican peso	18,1256
INR	Indian rupee	83,3530

(1) Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

26.3.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 87/5

Executive summary of the Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on ‘Firearms and the internal security of the EU: protecting citizens and disrupting illegal trafficking’

(The full text of this Opinion can be found in English, French and German on the EDPS website (http://www.edps.europa.eu))

2014/C 87/05

1. Introduction

1.1. Consultation of the EDPS

On 21 October 2013, the Commission adopted the Communication to the Council and the European Parliament on ‘Firearms and the internal security of the EU: protecting citizens and disrupting illegal trafficking’ (hereafter ‘the Communication’) (1). The EDPS welcomes the fact that he was consulted on this Communication prior to its adoption and that he was given the possibility to provide informal comments to the Commission.

1.2. Objective and scope of the Communication

The Communication establishes the strategy of the EU to tackle illegal firearms trafficking. To that extent, it proposes an integrated policy focusing on four priorities:

—	safeguarding the licit market for civilian firearms;

—	reducing diversion of firearms into criminal hands;

—	increasing pressure on the criminal markets;

—	building better intelligence.

To achieve these priorities, different tasks are envisaged some of which may involve the processing of personal data and, therefore, impact the right of individuals to data protection:

—	the establishment of an EU standard on marking: personal data could be part of the data marked on the firearm;

—

a simplification of the rules for firearms licensing and the eventuality to require medical and criminal checks as a condition for the lawful purchase and ownership of any firearm. Medical checks imply processing of health data on individuals. Health data is sensitive data in the meaning of Article 8 of Directive 95/46/EC, which requires specific protection (2), and is therefore subject to even stricter data protection requirements. Criminal checks imply the processing of data relating to offences, criminal convictions or security measures and access to criminal records, which may be carried out only under the control of an official authority (as set forth in Article 8(5) of Directive 95/46/EC);

—

the compulsory registration and screening of brokers: the creation of a new database including the processing of brokers' personal data shall respect data protection key principles including justification of the necessity of its creation and the proportionality of the processing as well as its intrusion into privacy;

—

the exploration of technological solutions, such as biometric sensors where personal data is stored in the firearm to prevent use by other people than the owner. The processing of biometric data is subject to strict data protection safeguards and security requirements that will be explained in this Opinion;

—

the promotion of cross-border cooperation to stop illegal possession and circulation of firearms through, amongst others, coordinated collection and sharing of information on firearms crime involving police, border guards and custom authorities. Access to police and customs databases is strictly regulated as will be recalled below;

—	the traceability of firearms used by criminals to identify them and those who acquired the firearm. This measure, if it involves the processing of personal data, will have to provide for specific data protection safeguards;

—

the gathering of more accurate and comprehensive data on firearms-related crime by using jointly existing IT tools such as the Schengen Information System II, the Customs Information System, Europol information sharing tools and iArms, Interpol's tool. As mentioned above, access to existing police and customs database is subject to strict data protection rules.

4.	Data protection therefore appears as one of the core issues deriving from this Communication.

1.3. Objective and scope of the Opinion

In view of the Commission’s intention to present legislative proposals in 2015, the EDPS will, in this Opinion, highlight and explain the data protection implications of the measures envisaged in the Communication. In doing so, the EDPS wishes to ensure that data protection aspects are duly taken into account in future legislative proposals in this area. To this end, he will recall the applicable EU data protection legal framework, give indications on when its consideration is most relevant, and specify the consequences of the required compliance, measure by measure.

4. Conclusions

52.

The EDPS welcomes that the Communication mentions that the measures planned will be implemented in full compliance with the rights to privacy and to the protection of personal data. He emphasises, however, that the processing of personal data should be reflected upon at an early stage of the legislative process and, preferably, also at the stage when the Commission adopts communications. This would help ensuring that data protection issues are identified sufficiently in advance so that, in turn, the measures to be adopted comply with data protection requirements.

53.	The EDPS recommends that the data protection aspects that are relevant for the proposed measures relating to firearms are discussed during the stakeholder consultation to be carried out by the Commission. He also advises consulting the European Firearms Expert Group on data protection issues.

54.

As regards future legislative proposals to be put forward by the Commission further to this Communication, the EDPS recommends that an explicit reference to the applicable EU data protection law should be inserted whenever they involve the processing of personal data. This should be done in a substantive and dedicated provision of these proposals. Pursuant to Article 28(2) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, the EDPS must be consulted on those proposals that involve the processing of personal data.

55.

In this Opinion, the EDPS has highlighted the data protection requirements that apply to the fight against illicit firearms trafficking. He recommends that any future legislation in that area take account of data protection requirements such as necessity, proportionality, purpose limitation, data minimisation principle, special categories of data, data retention period, data subjects' rights and security of the processing. He also advises carrying out a data protection impact assessment, which will help specify the data protection safeguards to be inserted in each proposal, where necessary.

56.

More specifically, the EDPS recommends that:

(a)	any future legislative proposal concerning the establishment of an EU standard on marking should specify if any personal data will be processed, and if so, which ones and in relation to whom;

(b)

as concerns firearms licensing the necessity of processing medical and ethnic data as well as criminal checks is assessed, and the conditions under which those special categories of data may be processed are respected, as set forth in Article 6 of the Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA and Article 8 of Directive 95/46/EC. The future legislation should contain specific safeguards, such as: indicating the purpose of the processing, listing the exact types of data that can be processed, restricting access to the sensitive data only to relevant persons with a need to know and subject to professional secrecy obligations (e.g. a health professional, authorised official authorities), ensuring that the medical/ethnic/criminal grounds for refusing a license are clearly stated, and specifying the modalities for the exercise of data subjects’ rights;

(c)	the necessity and proportionality of the compulsory registration and screening of firearms brokers is sufficiently established before this measure is put in place;

(d)

as to the possible use of biometric sensors in smart guns, evidence of the risks to security justifying the use of biometric data is provided in the relevant proposal. The proposal should indicate the types of biometric data to be processed and the security measures governing access to the data, the prevention of data manipulation and the conditions for updating the biometric data in the case of a change of owner;

(e)

the update of the guidance to law enforcement officers should include references to the rules set forth in the Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA, in particular as regards the processing of special categories of data. He also advises assessing the necessity of processing data relating to the ethnic origin of the possessor of the firearm;

(f)	as regards cross-border cooperation, the cross-border exchange of information between official authorities in the EU should involve, as much as possible, the use of existing secure channels;

(g)	if a central online repository of factual information on ballistics and weapons types is created, it is specified in the relevant legislation that no personal data will be processed;

(h)

as concerns firearms data collection plan, it should be ensured that new functionalities to be introduced in national registers, SIS II and iArms are in compliance with existing rules on access to these databases. Any plan for extending the access to those databases to other entities/users should require amending the current legal base. Access to the search tool in those databases should be restricted to authorised users only and the results of these searches should be in the form of a ‘hit’ or ‘no hit’ reply.

Done at Brussels, 17 February 2014.

Giovanni BUTTARELLI

Assistant European Data Protection Supervisor

(1) COM (2013) 716 final.

(2) See Court of Justice cases C-62/90 of 8 April 1992, Commission/Allemagne, para. 23, and C-404/92 of 5 October 1994, X/ Commission, para 17; ECHR 17 July 2008, I v Finland (appl. No 20511/03), paragraph 38 and ECHR 25 November 2008, Armonas v Lithuania (appl. No 36919/02), paragraph 40.

26.3.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 87/8

Notice from the Ministry of Economic Development of the Italian Republic pursuant to Article 3(2) of Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conditions for granting and using authorisations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons

2014/C 87/06

The Ministry of Economic Development has received an application (ref. d 92 F.R-.EN), from Enel Longanesi Developments S.r.l. for a hydrocarbon exploration licence in respect of an area in Offshore Zone F (Ionian Sea, Gulf of Taranto), delimited by the meridian and parallel arcs connecting the points indicated below by their geographical coordinates:

Points	Geographical coordinates
	Longitude E Greenwich	Latitude N
a	17°20′	39°49′
b	17°23′	39°49′
c	17°23′	39°48′
d	17°24′	39°48′
e	17°24′	39°47′
f	17°25′	39°47′
g	17°25′	39°44′
h	17°28′	39°44′
i	17°28′	39°41′
l	17°32′	39°41′
m	17°32′	39°42′
n	17°39′	39°42′
o	17°39′	39°29′
p	17°26′	39°29′
q	17°26′	39°30′
r	17°25′	39°30′
s	17°25′	39°31′
t	17°24′	39°31′
u	17°24′	39°33′
v	17°22′	39°33′
z	17°22′	39°34′
a′	17°21′	39°34′
b′	17°21′	39°35′
c′	17°19′	39°35′
d′	17°19′	39°36′
e′	17°17′	39°36′
f′	17°17′	39°37′
g′	17°15′	39°37′
h′	17°15′	39°41′
i′	17°20′	39°41′

The above coordinates have been plotted using the nautical map of the Italian coastline drawn up by the Italian Navy's Hydrographic Institute on a scale of 1:250 000 — Map No 919.

On the basis of these boundaries, the surface area is 748,7 km2.

In accordance with the Directive mentioned above, Article 4 of Legislative Decree No 625 of 25 November 1996, the Ministerial Decree of 4 March 2011 and the Director-General's Order of 22 March 2011, the Ministry of Economic Development must publish a notice to enable other interested parties to submit applications for hydrocarbon exploration licences for the same area as that described above.

The competent authority for granting the relevant exploration licence is the Directorate-General for Mineral and Energy Resources at the Ministry of Economic Development.

The rules for granting the mineralogical licence are laid down in more detail in Law No 613 of 21 July 1967, Law No 9 of 9 January 1991, Legislative Decree No 625 of 25 November 1996, the Ministerial Decree of 4 March 2011 and the Director-General's Order of 22 March 2011.

The deadline for submitting applications is three months after publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Applications must be sent to the following address:

Ministero dello sviluppo economico

Direzione generale delle risorse minerarie ed energetiche

Via Molise 2

00187 Roma RM

ITALIA

Applications may also be submitted by e-mail to the following certified e-mail address: ene.rme.dg@pec.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it. The requisite documents must be submitted in electronic format with the digital signature of a legal representative of the applicant company.

In accordance with point 2 of Annex A to Prime Ministerial Decree No 22 of 22 December 2010, the overall duration of the procedure for the grant of exploration licences must not exceed 180 days.

26.3.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 87/10

CALL FOR PROPOSALS — EACEA/13/14

Under the Erasmus+ Programme ‘National Authorities for Apprenticeships’

2014/C 87/07

1. Objectives and description

The objective of the Call is to support the introduction or modernisation of apprenticeships within initial VET systems.

The Call encourages the development of high-quality apprenticeship-type training and excellence in work-based learning in VET through partnerships between National Authorities responsible for education, employment and economic affairs, social partners, relevant intermediary bodies (such as chambers of commerce, industry and crafts, professional and sectoral organisations), VET providers and other relevant stakeholders.

The present Call addresses National Authorities in charge of apprenticeship systems, embedded in the initial vocational education and training (VET) systems in each Erasmus+ programme country, or an organisation designated by them.

The direct involvement of the competent National Authorities is to make sure that the projects can effectively contribute to national reforms, building high-quality apprenticeship schemes, and can be linked to the work of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships and the follow-up of the Bruges Communiqué. Each project will draw on practices in one or more other Erasmus+ programme countries, thus benefiting from the transfer of knowledge and experience. The active involvement of national apprenticeship stakeholders such as social partners (employers' and employees' organisations), VET schools, individual companies and intermediary organisations will be an important element of the quality of the proposal.

This Call constitutes one of the actions in support of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships and supports Member States' policy reform efforts in this respect.

2. Eligible applicants

The present Call addresses National Authorities in charge of apprenticeship systems, embedded in the initial vocational education and training (VET) systems and seeking their reform in each Erasmus+ programme country.

Grant applications must be submitted by at least two entities from at least two different programme countries.

The eligible leading applicant (co-ordinator) must be a National Authority or an organisation designated by the National Authority responsible for VET and for defining, monitoring and potentially revising the legislative framework for apprenticeships and located in a programme country.

Eligible co-applicants may be ministries and other stakeholders, such as social partners, businesses, chambers of commerce, VET providers, etc.

Where the leading applicant (co-ordinator) is an organisation designated by a National Authority, the National Authority designating it must be included in the application either as co-applicant, or as an affiliated entity or as an associated partner participating in the implementation on a no-cost basis.

Natural persons are not eligible.

Eligible countries are:

—	the 28 Member States of the European Union,

—	the EEA EFTA States: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway (1),

—	EU candidate countries: the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey (2),

—	Potential EU candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2).

3. Eligible activities

The activities implemented in the project need to have a clear link to and be strongly embedded in on-going or planned reforms for setting up or strengthening apprenticeship schemes. The activities shall engage relevant national stakeholders, as well as drawing on the advice and expertise of peers from one or more Erasmus+ programme countries with well-established apprenticeship systems or which are going through similar reform processes.

The following types of activities are eligible under this Call for proposals:

—	reviews of national draft legislation, feasibility studies (including for pilot sectors to be involved in apprenticeships), cost-benefits analysis;

—	detailed action plans for developing and implementing apprenticeships reforms;

—	evaluations of pilot schemes and design of evaluation methodologies, including quality indicators;

—	organising and/or participating in conferences, seminars and working groups;

—	training activities, including a strategy for becoming in-company trainers;

—	awareness-raising campaigns, valorisation and dissemination actions; activities that support project's sustainability (promotion vis-à-vis the target population and potential future partners).

—	exchanges of good and/or innovative practices;

—	research activities;

—	communities of practice.

The duration of the projects is 24 months. Applications for projects scheduled to run for a shorter or longer period than that specified in this Call for proposals will not be accepted.

4. Award criteria

Eligible applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

1.	Relevance of the project (maximum 40 points — minimum threshold 20 points)

2.	Quality of the project design and implementation (maximum 20 points — threshold minimum 10 points)

3.	Quality of the project consortium and the cooperation arrangements (maximum 20 points — threshold minimum 10 points)

4.	Impact and dissemination (maximum 20 points — threshold minimum 10 points)

5. Budget

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at maximum EUR 4 million.

Each grant will amount to between EUR 100 000 and 300 000. The Agency expects to fund around 16 proposals.

The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-financing rate of 75 % of eligible costs.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

6. Deadline for submission of applications

Applications must be submitted no later than the 26 June 2014 12:00 midday (Brussels time).

Applications shall comply with the following requirements:

—	they must be submitted exclusively using the correct official online application form;

—	they may be drafted in any EU official language.

Please note that only applications submitted online using the e-form will be considered.

Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.

7. Full details

The guidelines together with the application form can be found at the following Internet address:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus_en

Applications must comply with all the terms of the guidelines.

(1) The participation of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway is subject to an EEA Joint Committee Decision. If, at the time of the grant award decision, the Erasmus+ Regulation has not been incorporated in the EEA Agreement, participants from these countries will not be funded and will not be taken into account with regard to the minimum size of consortia/partnerships.

(2) The participation of Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia in the present call for proposals is subject to the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission and the competent authorities of each of these countries respectively. If, at the time of the grant award decision, the Memorandum of Understanding has not been signed, participants from this country will not be funded and will not be taken into account with regard to the minimum size of consortia/partnerships.

26.3.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 87/13

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.7083 — John Wood Group/Siemens/JV)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2014/C 87/08

On 17 March 2014, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which John Wood Group PLC (‘WG’ of USA) and Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (‘Siemens’ of Germany) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture (‘JV’).

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for WG: provides a range of engineering, production support, maintenance management and industrial gas turbine overhaul and repair services to the oil and gas, and power generation industries worldwide,

—	for Siemens: is a global engineering and electronics conglomerate with activities in a number of sectors, including the energy sector,

—	for JV: will provide services for a range of rotating equipment, including mature technology gas turbines, steam turbines, generators, pumps and compressors.

3.	On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number COMP/M.7083 — John Wood Group/Siemens/JV, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

(1) OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

26.3.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 87/14

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.7178 — Suntory/Beam)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2014/C 87/09

On 17 March 2014, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which Suntory Holdings Limited (‘Suntory’, Japan) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Beam Inc. (Beam, U.S.A) by way of purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	Suntory: production and sale of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, including spirits such as Scotch and Japanese whiskies, cognac and liqueurs,

—	Beam: production and sale of spirits, including Scotch whisky, bourbon whisky, cognac and liqueurs.

3.	On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

(1) OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

26.3.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 87/15

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.7134 — Volvo Construction Equipment/Terex Construction Limited)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2014/C 87/10

On 18 March 2014, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which Volvo Construction Equipment AB (of Sweden) and certain other subsidiaries and affiliates, each ultimately 100 % owned by AB Volvo (of Sweden), will acquire control over Terex Equipment Limited (of the UK) and other assets related to the off-highway dump truck business of Terex Corporation (of the United States).

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for Volvo Construction Equipment AB: production of construction equipment,

—	for Terex Equipment Limited: production of off-highway dump trucks.

3.	On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number COMP/M.7134 — Volvo Construction Equipment/Terex Construction Limited, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

(1) OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

		ISSN 1977-091X doi:10.3000/1977091X.C_2014.087.eng
Official Journal of the European Union		C 87

English edition	Information and Notices	Volume 57 26 March 2014

Notice No	Contents	page
	II Information
	INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	European Commission
2014/C 087/01	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case COMP/M.7165 — GVI/LBEIP/OHL/Phunciona) ( 1 )	1

2014/C 087/02	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case COMP/M.7139 — GDF SUEZ/Omnes Capital/Predica Prevoyance/FEIH) ( 1 )	2

	IV Notices
	NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	Council
2014/C 087/03	Notice for the attention of the persons and entities subject to the restrictive measures provided for in Annexes II and IV to Council Decision 2011/137/CFSP and in Annex III to Council Regulation (EU) No 204/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Libya	3

	European Commission
2014/C 087/04	Euro exchange rates	4

	European Data Protection Supervisor
2014/C 087/05	Executive summary of the Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on Firearms and the internal security of the EU: protecting citizens and disrupting illegal trafficking(The full text of this Opinion can be found in English, French and German on the EDPS website (http://www.edps.europa.eu))	5

	NOTICES FROM MEMBER STATES
2014/C 087/06	Notice from the Ministry of Economic Development of the Italian Republic pursuant to Article 3(2) of Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conditions for granting and using authorisations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons	8

	V Announcements
	ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
	European Commission
2014/C 087/07	Call for proposals — EACEA/13/14 — Under the Erasmus+ Programme National Authorities for Apprenticeships	10

	PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY
	European Commission
2014/C 087/08	Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.7083 — John Wood Group/Siemens/JV) ( 1 )	13

2014/C 087/09	Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.7178 — Suntory/Beam) ( 1 )	14

2014/C 087/10	Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.7134 — Volvo Construction Equipment/Terex Construction Limited) ( 1 )	15