European Union News - Internal Market

The Commission has proposed new rules for cross-border inheritances with the aim of simplifying the proccess. The proposed legislation offers greater legal certainty and flexibility.

The European Commission has presented a Progress Report outlining the achievements of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) over the past two years and looking out into its future. Alongside this, the Commission has tabled concrete proposals on two major IMP issues – the integration across sectors and countries of maritime surveillance and the international dimension of Europe’s maritime policy.

The coordinators of the Trans-European Transport Network have presented Vice-President Antonio Tajani with their fourth and final report for their first mandate giving a detailed state of play of the priority projects for which they are responsible.

The European Commission confirmed that in September 2009 it has sent a Statement of Objections to British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia, members of the oneworld airline alliance, in relation to their proposed cooperation on passenger air transport services on transatlantic routes which the Commission considers may be in breach of European rules on restrictive business practices. The procedure was opened formally in April 2009.

The Official Journal of the European Union has published the information related to the state aids for France Télévisions. It is an invitation to submit comments pursuant to Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty. The European Commission authorized only 450 out of 2,000 meuros.

The Official Journal of the European Union has published on the second October a Directive amending Council Directives 77/91/EEC, 78/855/EEC and 82/891/EEC, and Directive 2005/56/EC as regards reporting and documentation requirements in the case of mergers and divisions. The objective of the new Directive is to reduce administrative burdens relating in particular to publication and documentation obligations of public limited liability companies within the Community.

The Commission has issued a new call for proposals under  MEDIA 2007 programme to support the European audiovisual sector. The convocation, with a budget of 12.25 million, aims to foster linkages between sectors of production and distribution.

There are widespread problems with the way banks inform and advise their customers according to a European Commission report on retail financial service published today. Specific problems include information which in many cases is difficult to understand, opaque bank fees, problems with advice and low levels of switching. The report describes the price structures of current accounts as "very opaque making it almost impossible for consumers to know how much they are paying and to compare different offers".

The European Commission will present the first EU Ecolabel Communication Award at a ceremony in Brussels. The award recognises outstanding achievement in increasing public awareness of the EU Ecolabel – the European Union's label for environmentally-friendly products and services. The fast-growing label can now be found on almost 20,000 products and tourist accommodation services throughout the European Union and beyond

Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, has been put before Parliament a series of measures in the campaign to help the dairy industry launched by Commission. The aim is that the milk producers of the European Union to emerge from the crisis plaguing the market.

More needs to be done to prevent future disruption and early-warning mechanisms (which proved ineffective in the 2009 Russia-Ukraine energy crisis) need to be reviewed, MEPs told the European Commission in a resolution. MEPs also say that gas storage capacity needs to be expanded and interconnections improved.