European Commission

Czech interim PM among candidates to join European Commission

The Irish Times (Free subscription) | yesterday

PRAGUE – Czech interim prime minister Jan Fischer is among candidates to join the European Commission, Czech media reported yesterday.

Staveley Head: European Commission Law Sets Unrealistic Co2 Emission Target for Vans

Market Wire (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009

FLINT, UNITED KINGDOM (MARKET WIRE) One of the country's leading van insurance providers, Staveley Head, has openly supported the opinion of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) that the tough new law from the European Commission setting a target for van emissions at 175g CO2/km or 42.8 mpg by 2014 is too much too soon. The SMMT states that the industry is committed to a programme...

European Commission plans to end cash refunds on shoddy goods

Ellee Seymour (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009

It seems we could lose our right to a cash refund on shoddy goods as there are plans afoot to harmonise EU legislation as refunds are not offered in other European countries. My MEP Robert Sturdy has objected to European Commission plans which would abolish consumers’ rights to a refund for faulty goods, bringing legislation [...]

Czech premier turns down nomination for EU executive

The Earth Times Online Newspaper (Free subscription) | 9 hours ago

Prague - Caretaker Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer on Saturday indirectly turned down an offer by two major Czech political parties to become the Czech Republic's nominee for the European Commission. The premier confirmed that the two largest partie...

European Regulators Target Another American Tech Company

OpenMarket (Free subscription) | yesterday

The European Commission is once again targeting an American tech company with an antitrust investigation. This time the EC has its sights set on Oracle and it’s $7.4 billion bid for Sun Microsystems. In short, the worry is that if Oracle…

Sun Microsystems narrows first-quarter loss

Market Watch (Free subscription) | yesterday

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sun Microsystems Inc. said late Friday that its fiscal first-quarter loss narrowed to $120 million, or 16 cents a share, from $1.68 billion, or $2.24 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $2.24 billion from $2.99 billion last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimated a quarterly loss of 25 cents a share on revenue of $2.31 billion. In April, Oracle...

Former CEO: MySQL's Installed Base Will Keep it Independent

eWeek (Free subscription) | yesterday

In an interview with eWEEK, former MySQL CEO Marten Mickos says there is there's no rational argument for preventing Oracle from acquiring all of Sun, including MySQL with its open source relational database software. The competitive pressure that MySQL exerts on the market will preserve the independence of the database no matter who owns the product, Mickos asserted. - While Oracle tussles with the...

Microsoft Will Be Challenged By Google, Opera, Mozilla on EU Settlement

eWeek (Free subscription) | yesterday

Microsoft and the European Commission may be close to a deal on packaging Internet Explorer 8 with Windows 7, with Redmond agreeing to offer users an automatic ballot screen from which they can choose a rival browser. Such an agreement would alleviate the Commissions antitrust concerns, but Google, Opera and Mozilla plan on asking the regulatory body for as-yet-unannounced changes to the agreement....

EUROPE: EC logs conclusions on shoe duties investigation

Just Style (Free subscription) | yesterday

The European Commission has been accused of ignoring feedback about anti-dumping duties on imports of leather shoes from China and Vietnam, after sending Member States its final conclusions into the investigation the day after industry concerns were filed.

EU agrees on rules to reform telecommunications markets

JURIST (Free subscription) | yesterday

[JURIST] The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers on Thursday unanimously reached an agreement on rules to increase competition between telecommunications providers and protect the consumer rights of Internet and mobile phone users. The agreement on the European Union (EU) Telecoms Reform package was reached after intense negotiations by the conciliation committee, which was arranged by...

EU Could Issue Legal Objection Against Oracle-Sun Deal

ITProPortal (Free subscription) | yesterday

Oracle could face legal objection from the European Commission for its proposed $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems, the Financial Times reported.

A more research-intensive and integrated European Research Area: Science, Technology and Competitiveness key figures report 2008/2009

Docuticker (Free subscription) | yesterday

A more research-intensive and integrated European Research Area: Science, Technology and Competitiveness key figures report 2008/2009 (PDF; 9.1 MB) Source: European Commission Directorate-General for Research From the Executive Summary: In 2000, the EU Member States responded to the challenge of globalisation with the Lisbon Strategy for a competitive knowledge-based economy and, as part of this strategy,...

EU tramples on India's poor | David Cronin

The Guardian (Free subscription) | yesterday

The EU is pushing an unsavoury free trade deal that would force India to give up control of its banking sector and drugs industry The punishing schedules that world leaders follow don't leave much room for reflection. So I suspect that senior EU figures visiting New Delhi today are not dwelling on the enduring relevance of Mahatma Gandhi's teachings, even as they lay a wreath in his honour at the...

Rivals call for changes to anti-trust settlement on IE 'ballot screen'

Bink (Free subscription) | yesterday

Opera, Mozilla and other browser developers are calling for Microsoft to tweak its antitrust settlement offer to the European Commission in a bid to restore fair competition to the internet browser market. Their concerns about the settlement are echoed by ECIS, a trade group representing Oracle, IBM, Red Hat and others, as well as by consumer organizations following the Microsoft antitrust case. Microsoft...

• Microsoft Rivals, Trade Groups Want Browser Offer Changed - PC World
• Rivals to Challenge Microsoft Browser Settlement - New York Times
• See the 9 articles on the same subject

Turkey, EU agree to cooperate in fight against irregular migration

People Daily (Free subscription) | yesterday

Turkey and the European Union (EU) agreed to intensify cooperation to overcome the common problem on migration flow and to fight irregular migration, said a joint statement on Thursday. The statement was released after the meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and visiting European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot and Swedish Migration Minister Tobias Billstrom in the...

Commission to provide €200 million for nearly 200 new LIFE+ projects

patrickguillard | 10/30/2009

196 new projects will be funded by the European Commission under the second call for the LIFE+ programme (2007-2013), the European fund for the environment. The projects covet all the EU and include actions in the fields of nature conservation, environmental policy, and information and communication. Overall, they represent a total investment of €431 million, of which the EU will provide €207.5 million....

European Globalisation Adjustment Fund

patrickguillard | 10/21/2009

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF)will allocate €9.8 million to 1500 Volvo workers made redundant in the motor industry in order to help them to return to employment. This request has been approved by the European Commission and will now be put before the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for decision.

Pharmacy Liberalisation in Europe: Prospects and Implications

aarkstore | 10/21/2009

Very little in the pricing environment in Europe is predictable to pharmaceutical companies and only rarely is much notice given of change. But before the end of 2009, if the European Court of Justice accepts the arguments put to it forcefully by the European Commission and by DocMorris, revolutionary reform among industrys main customer group, the community pharmacist, in several of the main countries,...