European Union News

According to the Commission's annual report on EU Customs enforcement of intellectual property rights published, the number of shipments stopped by customs were from 43,500 in 2009 to almost 80,000 in 2010. Moreover, the report also indicates the value of the goods detained which is estimated at over €1 billion. China continued to be the main source of IPR infringing products.

'Cravings last less than five minutes on average. To help distract yourself, try sipping a drink slowly until the craving is over' or 'This is it! - QUIT DAY, throw away all your fags. TODAY is the start of being QUIT forever, you can do it!' are some examples of supportive and encouraging messages used as a therapy to help smokers quit this habit. The study, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom, shows text messages are a very convenient way for smokers to receive support to quit smoking.

The European Commission presented a proposal with a radical approach to fisheries management in Europe. The reform will introduce a decentralised approach to science-based fisheries management by region and sea basin, and introduce better governance standards in the EU and on the international level through sustainable fisheries agreements. With regard the international fisheries agreements, the EU signed a new protocol with Morocco.

The European Commission published a Green Paper as the basis for a debate on whether and how the regulatory framework needs to be adapted to allow European audiovisual industry to develop new business models, creators to find new distribution channels and European consumers to have better access to content throughout Europe.

The European Commission adopted a Communication outlining the main options for establishing a European Terrorist Finance Tracking System (TFTS), which represents an initial response to the request to prepare a legal and technical framework for establishing such a system within the European Union. On the other hand, the Civil Liberties Committee at European Parliament asked for a counter-terrorism policy based on evidence, not on assumptions.

In a debate held with Commissioner Dacian Cioloş on the Commission's proposed multiannual EU budget for 2014-2020, EP Agriculture Committee asked for keeping the funding for European agriculture at 2013 levels in real terms.

The propensity for cardiac death has genetic components, according to an international team of researchers. The team has discovered a genetic variation that may be putting people at higher risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). The findings could help shed light on the genetic contribution of SCD susceptibility and offer key targets for functional studies to probe the aetiology and pathogenesis of SCD.

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) called on the European Commission to ensure that Article 5(3) of the e-Privacy Directive is fully respected on online advertising. According to the supervisor Peter Hustinx, systematic tracking and tracing of consumer behaviour online is a highly intrusive practice and is now rightly subject to more stringent requirements.

The Court of Justice of the European Union mentions certain matters concerning the liability of the operator of an online marketplace for trade mark infringements committed by users. L’Oréal complains that eBay is involved in trade mark infringements committed by users of its website. Furthermore, L’Oréal is of the view that eBay’s efforts to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods on its website are inadequate.

The majority of approved aid was aimed at promoting objectives of common European interest, such as research, development and innovation, regional cohesion or environment protection. In addition, in 2010 saw a near-record amount of fines imposed on companies for operating price-fixing and market-sharing cartels.

The Industry, Research and Energy Committee at the European Parliament approved by a large majority to ban energy market manipulation. With the new rules, the consumers will be more protected.

Four out of ten Europeans households are buying "bundled" internet, phone and TV services from a single provider. For the respondents, the main advantage of these packages was the convenience of having a single service provider and a single invoice. Moreover, the 33% believed that a bundle is cheaper than paying for each service separately.