European Union News

As part of the Small Business Act implementation, the Commission in close cooperation with Member States has established the new ‘Your Europe - Business’ portal, which gives entrepreneurs easy access to information on doing business in other EU Member States. This new portal has been re-launched in the occasion of the 7th European Business Summit which was held in Brussels between March 26th and 27th.

The internet provides a previously unimaginable level of access to information about people's private lives, which unfortunately, can be abused by companies, intelligence services or even identity thieves. The European Parliament has issued a report highlighting actions against cybercriminals, but also ensuring guarantees for fundamental rights and privacy for internet users.

EU citizens must be helped and encouraged to learn languages other than their own if they are to derive full economic, social and cultural benefit from freedom of movement, says a report adopted by the European Parliament. An alternative resolution was adopted with 335 votes in favour, 279 against and 69 abstentions replacing the original report from the Culture Committee.

The European Parliament adopted on March 25th 2009, the second legislative package for the Single European Sky (SES II), as a result of very fruitful discussions with the Czech Presidency. These measures will deliver safer, greener and more performing flights, with annual savings for airlines calculated around four billion euros by 2020. After EP's agreement, the Council should formalise the final adoption of the legislative package very soon.

The European Commission has published in the Official Journal of the European Union on March 26th 2009, its Communication on on the treatment of impaired assets in the Community banking sector. In this Communication, the Commission puts forward its recommendations for Member states, highlighting the different envisageable approaches to deal with impaired assets, specially by assets purchase or assets insurances schemes.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are increasingly financing operations in the same geographical areas, including Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus, Russia, the Western Balkans, and soon, Turkey. In light of this, European Parliament calls for increased cooperation between the two institutions.

The Court of First Instance has confirmed OHIM's decision not to register the word “Budweiser” as a community trade mark, inter alia for beer, for the American brewer, Anheuser-Busch, as the commercial right to use such term for beer is already held in Germany and Austria by the Czech brewery, Budějovický Budvar.

In a report publisehd on March 25th, the European Commission gives an overview of Europe’s Telecom market as well as the state of competition in the 27 EU countries. According to that report, EU Telecom sector is doing well despite the economic crisis. The sector, worth about 3% of EU GDP, continued to grow in 2008 with revenues estimated at above €300 billion, up 1.3% compared to 2007 and outperforming the rest of the economy, which only grew by 1%.

The European Commission has launched a call for tenders for a framework contract for the evaluation of CAP measures applied to the starch, sugar and cotton sectors. The indicative budget for the framework contract is 1.6 M€, and interested operators must submit their offers by June 8th 2009.

The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) have issued a joint statement providing further clarification so as to encourage the European Payments Council (EPC) to launch the SEPA Direct Debit scheme (SDD) on November 1st 2009. In particular, the Commission makes clear that a general per transaction multilateral interchange fee (MIF) for direct debit transactions does not seem justified for efficiency reasons and therefore does not appear compatible with EU antitrust rules.

The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has criticised the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) for not respecting the principle of the presumption of innocence in an investigation. This follows a complaint from a British consultant, who argued that letters which OLAF had sent to his former and current employers implied that he was responsible for serious irregularities in the framework of EU funded projects in which he was involved, seriously damaging his reputation.

ince Council Regulation (EC) Nº 40/94 of December 20th 1993 on the Community trade mark has been substantially amended several times, the Commission has considered necessary, for the sake of clarity and rationality to be consolidated. For that reason Council has issued Regulation (EC) Nº 207/2009 of February 26th 2009, with the codified version on the Community trade mark.