European Union News - Internal Market

The European Commission has delivered a feasibility study on a future initiative on European contract law made by an expert group. The study covers the most relevant practical issues in a contractual relationship, such as legal rights for faulty goods and rules on which contract terms may be unfair.

From May 2011, citizens from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia will have full right to work in any Member State.

A set of draft best practices aimed at fostering and facilitating information sharing between national competition authorities ("NCAs") within the European Union, has been made public by the European Commission. For drawing them up, the Commission is seeking the opinion of interested parties throughout the recently set up Merger Working Group.

The European Commission has approved the creation of the business travel joint venture BCD Travel Viajes Iberia by Orizonia and BCD Travel Business Spain the EU Merger Regulation.

The EP Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and Council reached an agreement on a new EU regulation on textile labelling. This new deal includes the clause that on garment labels will be stated that any use of animal-derived material has been used. 

Some EU countries participate in a common action which identifies solutions to implement the Single European Sky II (SES II) legislation and aims to improve safety, capacity, environmental performance, as well as reduce air transport costs.

The European Commission has set up a questionnaire regarding the broadband issues, such as the development of very high speed broadband technologies or how best to design the access conditions on subsidized next generation networks and has invited stakeholders to give their views on the forthcoming revision of EU rules on the public financing of broadband infrastructure.

The Communication 'Towards robust quality management for European Statistics' adopted by the European Commission proposes to reinforce the quality of European statistics by moving from correction to prevention. This objective is of a crucial importance in strengthening economic governance for the euro area and the EU as a whole.

The European Commission launches a public consultation to design a 'strategic innovation agenda' of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) fwhich the Commission is due to propose by the end of this year. The agenda will outline the Institute's main priorities until 2020, focusing on the Institute's mission and objectives, funding and future themes. It will be presented by the end of the year by the Commission.

The proposed regulations presented by the European Commission lay down the terms and conditions for obtaining unitary patent protection, its legal effects and the applicable translation arrangements. According to the Commission, this will radically reduce the cost of patents in Europe by up to 80%. EC also hopes that Spain and Italy, who are not yet among the participants, will join the enhanced cooperation.