European Syringe Collection and Analysis Enterprise (ESCAPE) – generic protocol

EMCDDA, Lisbon, February 2021

Summary

This protocol documents a new approach that has been developed to monitor substances injected by people who inject drugs through analytically confirmed data at the local level: the analysis of residual content of used syringes. Used syringes contain traces of drugs that can be analysed to inform public health professionals about injecting drug use, and to contribute to the understanding of drug addiction among people who inject drugs. Used syringes can be collected from low-threshold services where needle exchange programmes are in place. They can also be collected from automatic injection kit dispensers, combined with street bins (where people who inject drugs can obtain their new sterile injection kit in return of a used syringe), thereby obtaining injecting material from populations that might not be in contact with health and social services.

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Table of contents

  • Introduction
  • Objectives
  • Ethical considerations
  • Methods
  • Data management and analysis
  • References
  • Annexes

Main subject:

methodology



Media advisory – Press briefing ahead of Foreign Affairs Council of 22 February 2021

The off the record press briefing ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council will take place on Friday, 19 February 2021 at 14.30. The briefing will be given by a senior EEAS official.

Please note that this press briefing will take place remotely.

In order to participate and ask questions, EU accredited journalists should register using this link.

Those who already registered for previous press briefings on Foreign Affairs Council meetings do not need to do it again.

  • Deadline for registration: 19 February at 13:30

Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants after the deadline.



No more fax, no more CDs, no more attachments

February 17, 2021 About the EUIPO

No more fax, no more CDs, no more attachments

Improved technology heralds a new era in EUIPO communications

From 1 March 2021, a number of important changes will affect the way the EUIPO communicates with customers. The changes are reflected in two key decisions recently adopted by the Executive Director of the EUIPO.

100% eComm

  • No more fax: as fax communications prove less and less reliable the EUIPO has discontinued its fax service as a means of communication in EUIPO procedures.
  • Fully eComm: the EUIPO’s secure e-communications platform will be the accepted means of communication for account holders in all matters relating to EU trade marks and designs via the User Area. Users, who have not chosen eComm as their preferred means of communication, will be automatically switched to eComm.
  • File-sharing from the User Area: the ‘Fax alternative’ button, found in the User Area under the ‘Communications’ tab, will be renamed ‘Correspondence alternative’. While the usual terms and conditions will still apply, this will serve as a back-up in the event of malfunction of specific e-operations.
  • File-sharing from outside the User Area: a new option will be available for users who are unable to access their account. The file-sharing platform will be independent from the EUIPO’s website and will be available during the EUIPO’s business hours after contacting us.
  • Hyperlinks to supporting documents: attachments in documents sent by the EUIPO will be in the form of hyperlinks rather than physical documents, where appropriate. The hyperlinks will lead to the User Area from where the user can download the documents.

For more on communication by electronic means, see Decision No EX-20-09

No more CDs and DVDs

  • USBs and pen drives: users must submit documents or other items of evidence for use in proceedings using small portable storage drives, such as USB flash drives, and not external hard drives, such as CD-ROMs or optical discs.

For more on the technical specifications for annexes submitted on data carriers, see Decision No EX-20-10

 



Article – Big data: definition, benefits, challenges (infographics)

Opportunities created by the use big data

Big data presents great opportunities in a number of areas.

Industry

Big data enables companies to innovate, either through better analysing people’s needs and wants or by offering entirely new products. While personal data is central for the operation of apps and platforms that have become an important part of our lives and economy, better exploitation of industrial data could bring a new wave of innovation in the EU. Data can also boost productivity and help cut costs, for example by predicting sales or maintenance in smart factories.

Environment

Satellite data can improve research and help the EU reduce greenhouse emissions and help in preventing and responding to natural disasters such as wildfires. Improving production efficiency in ithe ndustry should lower emissions and waste.

Healthcare

The analysis of large clinical data sets – for example: anonymised health records or data entered by patients in apps – can enable better diagnostics, treatment and development of medicine, while reducing costs.

Agriculture

Farmers can use data from satellites and sensors to better use resources such as water or sunlight and adapt crops to changing circumstances.

Public sector

Data and advanced analytics can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, to improve transparency and offer better-tailored services.

Transportation

Big data collected from GPS and social media can help mitigate traffic jams. Better regulation of traffic flows also contributes to savings in time and fuel and lowers CO2 emissions.



An analysis of drugs in used syringes from sentinel European cities: results from the ESCAPE project, 2018 and 2019

EMCDDA, Lisbon, February 2021

Summary

This report presents new findings from the ESCAPE (European Syringe Collection and Analysis Project Enterprise) network, based on the chemical analysis of the contents of used syringes across sentinel sites in Europe. Syringes were collected in 2018 and 2019 from the bins of street automatic injection-kit dispensers and at harm reduction services in eight European cities: Amsterdam, Budapest, Cologne, Helsinki, Lausanne, Oslo, Paris and Vilnius.

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Table of contents

  • ESCAPE at a glance
  • Sudy rationale
  • Methods
  • Results
    • Detected drugs
    • Some patterns confirmed
    • Changing patterns
    • new sites
  • Limitations
  • Conclusions
  • References
  • Appendices

Main subject:

drug use