European Union News - Internal Market

The European Commission sent Statement of Objections to suspected participants in a cartel for the supply of computer CD and DVD drives. The Commission has concerns that those suppliers may have coordinated their behavior in bidding events organised by two major original equipment manufacturers for optical disk drives used in personal computers (desktops and notebooks) and in servers.

A report published by the European Commission shows that in 2011, EU Customs detained almost 115 million products suspected of violating intellectual property rights (IPR). The number of intercepted cases increased by 15% compared to 2010. Products for daily use and products that could be potentially dangerous to the health and safety of consumers accounted for a total of 28.6% of the total amount of detained articles.

The European Commission launched a public consultation in order to know experiences and EU possible responses to cyber incidents which cause disruption to essential Network and Information Systems (NIS), including the internet. The consultation runs until 12 October 2012.

The European Commission launched a public consultation on preservation of the open internet (net neutrality); more particularly, it is seeking answers to questions on transparency, switching and certain aspects of internet traffic management, with a view to its commitment to preserve the open and neutral character of the Internet.

According to the European Commission, a trade deal with Japan could boost the EU's GDP by almost one per cent and EU exports to Japan could increase by one third. Therefore, the European Institution decided to ask the Member States for their agreement on opening negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with Japan.

Thanks to the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) many food safety risks have been averted or mitigated and safety controls ensure our food is safe, according to the European Commission. The results drawn from the RASFF 2011 report shows that in 2011 9157 notifications in RASFF related to non-compliances with EU food legislation were reported, of which 617 concerned serious risks.

The European Commission presented new measures to regulate fishing for deep-sea species and their habitats in the North-East Atlantic. Among the measures, the Commission proposes a reinforced licensing system and a gradual phase-out of those fishing gears that specifically target deep sea species in a less sustainable manner.