Less red tape for EU funds - EUbusiness Week no 349

==========================================================
EUbusiness Week - Issue 349
30 March 2007
http://www.eubusiness.com
Your way through the EU information maze
==========================================================

This Week's Top Stories
=======================
1. EU relaunches stalled membership talks with Turkey
2. EU agrees to simplify payments rules
3. Finance ministers agree deal on bank merger rules
4. EU tells Poland, Czech Republic to cut emissions quotas
5. Spain, Poland, Italy get best catches from fish fund
6. Greece presses demand for one-euro notes

Publisher's Note
================
With the revelation this week of an investigation into
bribery and corruption in the award of EU funds, this may
be no bad time for the Commission to announce a modernised
set of rules for the EU's financial framework for 2007-2013.

New implementing rules promise greater transparency and
accountability, with a stipulation that the names of all the
beneficiaries of EU funds should now be made public. At the
same time, smaller businesses will benefit from easier
access to funding and less red tape.

With the launch of a new generation of EU funding programmes
totalling EUR 975 billion over a seven year period, the
effectiveness of EU spending and protection of taxpayers'
interests are paramount.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Finance/eu-funding-rules.74

Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

SPONSOR OFFER
**********************************************************
Viking Direct Office Supplies
Shop online with Viking Direct for the best business to
business office supplies service on the Internet!
http://www.eubusiness.com/viking
**********************************************************
Sponsor EUbusiness Week
For details of how to reach our membership of over 65,000
business professionals, please call Emma Kettle on +44
(0)20 7692 4848 or email us at sales_eub@eubusiness.com .
http://www.eubusiness.com/Advertise
**********************************************************

1. EU relaunches stalled membership talks with Turkey
-----------------------------------------------------
The EU relaunched membership talks with Turkey on Thursday,
ending a long hiatus caused by Ankara's refusal to respect
its trade obligations to Cyprus.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Turkey/eu-turkey.36

2. EU agrees to simplify payments rules
---------------------------------------
EU finance ministers unanimously backed plans on Tuesday to
create a single European retail payments market to drive
down costs to consumers through tougher competition.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Consumer/eu-payments.13

3. Finance ministers agree deal on bank merger rules
----------------------------------------------------
Finance ministers also backed plans to curb the powers of
national banking regulators to block mergers in the sector,
which have come under fire over concerns about protectionism.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Finance/bank-mergers.39

4. EU tells Poland, Czech Republic to cut emissions quotas
----------------------------------------------------------
The Commission on Monday told Poland and the Czech Republic
to slash greenhouse gas emissions quotas on their energy
intensive industries, but accepted French plans.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Environ/emissions.9

5. Spain, Poland, Italy get best catches from fish fund
-------------------------------------------------------
Spain, Poland and Italy reeled in the best catches from the
3.8-billion-euro European Fisheries Fund for 2007-2013.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Fisheries/fisheries-fund.35

6. Greece presses demand for one-euro notes
-------------------------------------------
Greece has urged the European Central Bank to replace one
and two-euro coins with notes as a measure to curb inflation
in the eurozone.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Euro/greece-euro.88

SPONSOR OFFER
**********************************************************
.eu and European Domain Names
Lowest prices and free DNS Services! Fast, Easy & Centralised
Registration! http://www.eubusiness.com/EUdomains
**********************************************************

Inside the EU Institutions
==========================

Council Watch
-------------
Treaty: EU leaders have set a tight deadline to adopt a new
treaty of badly-needed reforms, and divisions among member
states and leadership changes will make it tough to meet.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Institutions/eu-50-berlin.04
Ministers sanguine about economic outlook despite risks
http://www.eubusiness.com/Finance/eu-outlook.89
Poland warns constitution veto unless voting rules reformed
http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1175180407.16
http://www.eubusiness.com/European_Council

Commission Watch
----------------
Tax: the EU could introduce a common consolidated corporate
tax base by 2010 in at least 12 of its 27 member states.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Finance/eu-tax.26
EU official charged in corruption probe
http://www.eubusiness.com/Institutions/corruption.11
EC warns of illegal immigration surge from south, east
http://www.eubusiness.com/Living_in_EU/eu-immigration.77
EC chief renews aid offer to Belarus if it reforms
http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1174824001.94
http://www.eubusiness.com/Commission

Euro-Parliament Watch
---------------------
Maritime safety: MEPs on Thursday adopted two bills on
maritime safety meant to better control ships flying EU flags
and put more onus on shipping companies in case of accidents.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Transport/erika2.03

In plenary this week, Euro-MPs adopted a proposal for reform
of the own-resources system to emphasise equality between
member states; sent proposed rules on organic food products
back to the Agriculture Committee; said the 2008 Budget
should focus on "boosting confidence in EU institutions";
called for a clearer legal status of football; and adopted
a written declaration on Hepatitis C.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Europarl

EU diary
--------
16-17 Apr, Agriculture and Fisheries Council
19-20 Apr, Informal Meeting of Health Ministers
19-20 Apr, Justice and Home Affairs Council
20-21 Apr, Informal Meeting, Economics and Finance

The Week Ahead: http://www.eubusiness.com/events/EUcalendar
Long-term diary: http://www.eubusiness.com/events/eu-diary

Community Resources
===================

EUpress
-------
Transition measures key to success of new payments regime -
UEAPME European craft and SME employers' organisation
http://www.eubusiness.com/SMEs/ueapme.2007-03-29

Europe needs more skilled EU project managers - "Managing EU
Projects"
http://www.eubusiness.com/SMEs/managing-projects

Join PressZONE and publish your organisation's policy papers
and news directly onto EUbusiness.
http://www.eubusiness.com/press

EUevents
--------
25 Apr, Sofia: Bioenergy forum for South East Europe
http://www.eubusiness.com/Energy/bioenergy-forum

31 May, Paris: Anti-Avian influenza 2007
http://www.eubusiness.com/Health/bird-flu-conference
Events: http://www.eubusiness.com/events

EUbooks
-------
EU - Caribbean partnership for growth & development
http://www.eubusiness.com/Trade/eu-caribbean-partnership

Science, technology and innovation in Europe
http://www.eubusiness.com/Rd/science-tech-europe
Books: http://www.eubusiness.com/EUbooks

EUlinks
-------
EU funding rules information pack
http://www.eubusiness.com/Finance/funding-infopack

Quarterly report on the euro area
http://www.eubusiness.com/Finance/quarterly-report
Links: http://www.eubusiness.com/links

EUguides
--------
EU financial rules 2007-2013
http://www.eubusiness.com/SMEs/eu-financial-rules

Roaming Regulation: questions & answers
http://www.eubusiness.com/Telecoms/eu-roaming-qa.11
Guides: http://www.eubusiness.com/guides

EUjobs: http://www.eubusiness.com/jobs
EUfunding: http://www.eubusiness.com/funding
Resources: http://www.eubusiness.com/resources

Other news on EUbusiness this week
----------------------------------
EU warns of 'looming risks' to eurozone growth 29-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Finance/eurozone-growth.24
Turkey refuses to budge on Cyprus trade 29-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Trade/turkey-cyprus.15
Most Cypriots disagree with euro entry: poll 29-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Euro/cyprus-euro.28
EU must cut tuna fishing by half to save bluefin: WWF 29-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Fisheries/eu-tuna.49
ECB calls for more financial integration in eurozone 28-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Finance/ecb-euro.89
EMEA guidelines on clinical trials for high-risk drugs 28-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Health/emea.2007-03-28
EU launches second lawsuit against Spain over Endesa 28-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Energy/eu-endesa.83
EU seeks 'deeper partnership' with Ukraine 27-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Ukraine/eu-ukraine.19
Bird flu spread around world by poultry trade 27-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Health/bird-flu.66
Nine EU members ready to join no-border zone December 27-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Living_in_EU/schengen.75
EU gives Microsoft 3 weeks to justify breach of order 26-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/Competition/microsoft-eu.15

Newswire

==========================================================
EUbusiness Week is a free service - please help us keep it
that way. Pass it on to your colleagues and friends and
suggest they register for their own copy.
==========================================================

Subscription Information
========================
To subscribe:
Register at http://www.eubusiness.com/Newswire

To unsubscribe:
To change your subscription options, go to
http://lists.eubusiness.com/mailman/listinfo/newswire

Any problems email service@eubusiness.com

Privacy Statement
http://www.eubusiness.com/privacy

----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2007 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved.
May be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes
as long as attribution is given.
==========================================================
EUbusiness Ltd
Westminster House, Kew Road
Richmond, Surrey TW9 2ND, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7692 4848
http://www.eubusiness.com
==========================================================
Registered in England and Wales number 3803196