European Union News - Internal Market

The Official Journal of the European Union publishes in its issue dated June 29th the notification of proposed concentration between the German transportation company  Deutsche Bahn and British Arriva. The Commission invites any interested party to send its comments over this operation until 10 days after publication in the OJ.

About 450.000 international successions occur every year in the European Union representing more than 120 billion Euro. The legal fact originated from the succession of EU citizens owning properties in different member states has now a new tool which provides relevant information both for citizens and legal practitioners.

New proposals to encourage cross-border e-trading by building consumer trust have been approved by the Internal Market Committee of the European Parliament. Among the measures proposed by the Parliament is the establishment of a European trust label to guarantee the reliability and quality of goods placed on the cross-border electronic market and encourage consummers to buy in this market.

The Official Journal of the European Union publishes in its issue dated June 24th the announcement of a prior notification of concentration between the German company SAP and American Sybase. Interested parties are invited to present their opinion on this operation no later than ten days from publication.

This competition was a first step in a larger public awareness campaign that is being launched by the European Union to make Europeans more aware of the dangers of counterfeit and pirated goods and their harmful effects on consumers and the economy. The winners, students between 10 and 15 years old, were invited to a grand awards ceremony at the European Parliament, in Brussels held in June 23rd.

The meeting of the European Council taking place in Brussels on Thursday June 17th 2010, which ended up Spanish Presidency of the European Union, achieved the adoption of a new 10-year strategy for jobs and growth. European leaders also reinforced their determination to ensure fiscal sustainability, committing to ensure financial stability and agreed on the need to reinforce coordination of economic policies.

Palma de Mallorca, in Spain, is hosting the Seminar on Consumer Safety in Palma de Mallorca, which was attended by the European Commission's Director of Consumer Affairs, Jacqueline Minor.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek will attend the celebrations in Luxembourg to mark the 25th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement.

Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki has warned EU member states around the Mediterranean that the measures adopted through the Mediterranean Regulation in December 2006 should be fully implemented at this stage, and they aren't. Over 54% of the Mediterranean fish stocks which have been analysed by scientists are found to be overfished.