European Union News

António Vitorino, Mediator on private copying and reprography levies, presented its recommendations to the European Commission. He proposed to foster increased reliance on licences and contractual arrangements as the best way to ensure that right holders are properly remunerated for their creative efforts and investments; and he recommends measures aimed at reconciling disparate national levy systems within the Single Market.

The European Commission seeks experts to examine legal obstacles to cross-border trade in insurance products caused by different contract laws in the EU’s Member States. Experts will take part in a group that will report at the end of 2013, after which the Commission will decide on any possible follow-up actions.

The report published by the European Court of Auditors shows that although in almost all the regions selected some improvements in the management of waste were observed, the effectiveness of structural measures funding for municipal waste management infrastructures was hampered by the poor implementation of supporting measures.

The European Commission launched a public consultation to identify and eliminate any gaps in the Single Market legislation for industrial products, in particular if there are any obstacles to the trade of new products and new technologies, such as key enabling technologies or 3-D printing. This public consultation is open to a wide stakeholder audience and the deadline for submissions is 17 April 2013.

The European Commission presented a European Retail Action Plan to avoid a number of barriers that hinder the smooth functioning of cross-border sourcing, consumer access to cross-border retail services and market entry for retailers. At the same time, the Commission launched a public consultation on unfair trading practices in the business-to-business food and non-food supply chain.

The European Mobile and Mobility Industries Alliance (EMMIA), a scheme boosted by the European Commission, aims to develop more sustainable solutions in the field of mobility by enhancing transnational cooperation and access to mobile services.

UPS which is a US-based global provider of specialised transportation and logistics services proposed to acquire TNT Express, a Dutch company also active in the global logistics sector. Now, the European Commission prohibited the proposed acquisition because the take-over would have restricted competition in 15 Member States when it comes to the express delivery of small packages to another European country.

The European Commission published that in January 2013, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) increased by 1.4 points in both the EU and the euro area. For the same month, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area remained broadly unchanged at -1.09.

The new 'multi-dimensional' listing will rate universities according to a broader range of factors, in five separate areas: reputation for research, quality of teaching and learning, international orientation, success in knowledge transfer (such as partnerships with business and start-ups), and contribution to regional growth.

The European Commission presented proposals for a Fourth Railway Package to encourage more innovation in EU railways by opening EU domestic passenger markets to competition, as well as substantial accompanying technical and structural reforms.

The European Commission launched a public consultation on the review of two programmes, the European School Milk Scheme and School Fruit Scheme, respectively providing dairy products and fruits and vegetables to children in schools. The consultation will run until 22 April 2013.

The European Commission announced that the EU will allocate €50 million to support an African-led peace operation (AFISMA). The EU’s financial support for AFISMA will come from the African Peace Facility, which is used to support peace operations conducted by the African Union and African regional organisations.