European Union News - Internal Market

The Internal Market Committee at the European Parliament backed the public procurement "concession" contracts in a vote held the 24 of January. According to MEPs, these "concession" contracts enable public authorities to transfer the economic risk of projects such as building roads bridges or sports arenas to the private sector. MEPs stressed that the attribution of a concession is not synonymous with privatisation of public services.

A fine of €66 894 000 on Telefónica and of €12 290 000 on Portugal Telecom were imposed by the European Commission for agreeing not to compete with each other on the Iberian telecommunications markets, in breach of the EU antritrust rules.

The decision authorising 11 member states to proceed with the introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT) through "enhanced cooperation" was adopted by the Council. 11 member states supports the Commission's proposal that involved a harmonised minimum 0.1% tax rate for transactions in all types of financial instruments except derivatives (0.01% rate).

According to Eurostat, the EU held Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stocks of €4,983 billion in the rest of the world at the end of 2011, while stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU amounted to €3,807 billion, meaning that the EU is a net investor in the rest of the world.

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) published his 2013 work programme in the area of legislative consultation, including his strategic planning document, which is so-called the Inventory. This document identifies issues of strategic importance that will form the cornerstone of his consultation work for 2013.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion which calls for a speedy implementation of the measures proposed in the Communication on the Governance of the Single Market published by the European Commission and for swift and high-quality legislative responses to improve the overall implementation of EU rules.

The European Parliament endorsed the EU's first economic partnership with an African region deal that grants Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe duty- and quota-free access to the EU market.

From January 19th 2013, all new driving licences issued across the EU will have a standard European format and tougher security protection. Existing licences are not affected, but will be changed to the new format at the time of renewal or at the latest by 2033.

The European Parliament objected to the European Commission's plans to withdraw the proposed "made in" regulation. MEPs stressed that the EU must make the use of "made in" origin labels on goods imported from third countries mandatory.