http://www.eubusiness.com EUbusiness Guides are background information and Questions & Answers about topical EU business issues. daily 1 2007-11-26T18:44:53Z http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/trade/india-12 The 12th EU-India Summit takes place on 10 February 2012 in New Delhi. The EU will be represented by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will also be present. India will be represented by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. No publisher eub2 India 2012-02-09T22:14:00Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/sme/funds-access Since the presentation of its proposal for the next multi-annual financial framework (MFF) last June, the European Commission has proposed over 120 changes to simplify the rules governing EU funding for Small and Medium Enterprises, towns and regions, students, scientists and others. Today's communication "A simplification agenda for the 2014-2020 MFF" brings them altogether in one single document. The key question now is whether the European Parliament and the Member States are ready to make the life of EU funds' beneficiaries easier by reducing the administrative burden on them. No publisher eub2 SMEs Finance 2012-02-08T22:28:16Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/food/organic-wine New EU rules for “organic wine” have been agreed in the Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF), and will be published in the Official Journal in the coming weeks. With the new regulation, which will apply from the 2012 harvest, organic wine growers will be allowed to use the term “organic wine” on their labels. The labels must also show the EU-organic-logo and the code number of their certifier, and must respect other wine labelling rules. Although there are already rules for “wine made from organic grapes”, these do not cover wine-making practices, i.e. the whole process from grape to wine. Wine is the one remaining sector not fully covered by the EU rules on organic farming standards under Regulation 834/2007. No publisher eub2 Food & Drink Agriculture 2012-02-08T21:55:58Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/single-market/foundation-2 The European Commission has presented a proposal for a European Foundation Statute to make it easier for foundations to support public benefit causes across the EU. No publisher eub2 Single Market SMEs Social 2012-02-08T21:49:13Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/europe/romania/progress-12 When they joined the EU on 1 January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria still had progress to make in the fields of judicial reform, corruption and organised crime. To smooth the entry of both countries and at the same time safeguard the workings of its policies and institutions, the EU decided to establish a special "cooperation and verification mechanism" to help them address these outstanding shortcomings. In December 2006, the Commission set criteria ("benchmarks") for assessing progress made on these issues (consult the reports). The decision to continue assessing Bulgaria and Romania shows the EU's commitment to see the two countries develop the effective administrative and judicial systems they need to deliver on the obligations of membership as well as enjoying the benefits. Progress on judicial reform, corruption and organized crime will allow Bulgarians and Romanians to enjoy their full rights as EU citizens. No publisher eub2 Romania 2012-02-08T16:30:15Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/europe/bulgaria/progress-12 When they joined the EU on 1 January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria still had progress to make in the fields of judicial reform, corruption and organised crime. To smooth the entry of both countries and at the same time safeguard the workings of its policies and institutions, the EU decided to establish a special "cooperation and verification mechanism" to help them address these outstanding shortcomings. In December 2006, the Commission set criteria ("benchmarks") for assessing progress made on these issues (consult the reports). The decision to continue assessing Bulgaria and Romania shows the EU's commitment to see the two countries develop the effective administrative and judicial systems they need to deliver on the obligations of membership as well as enjoying the benefits. Progress on judicial reform, corruption and organized crime will allow Bulgarians and Romanians to enjoy their full rights as EU citizens. No publisher eub2 Bulgaria 2012-02-08T16:25:22Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/research/innovation-2 This memo provides an overview of the research and innovation performance of the different EU Member States, and associated and neighbouring countries, as measured by the Innovation Union Scoreboard 2011. The Scoreboard is prepared by the Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (MERIT), in collaboration with the Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC). No publisher eub2 Research & Technology 2012-02-07T23:06:17Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/trade/zeroing In 2004 and 2007, the EU launched WTO disputes against the US for the use of a methodology called "zeroing" in the calculation of anti-dumping duty rates. The EU's initiative was followed by a number of countries including Brazil, China, Ecuador, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam who lodged similar cases. The WTO Appellate Body has consistently condemned the practice of zeroing over the past decade as unfair. The US now finally committed itself to comply with the main elements of the WTO ruling, by removing zeroing in all ongoing and future cases. No publisher eub2 USA Trade 2012-02-06T20:16:58Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/finance/treaty-stability-12 At the informal summit on 30 January a new Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union was finalised by all EU Member States with the exception of the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic. The Treaty aims to strengthen fiscal discipline through the introduction of more automatic sanctions and stricter surveillance, and in particular through the "balanced budget rule". No publisher eub2 Finance Institutions 2012-02-02T22:36:48Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/finance/euronext-1 The European Commission has prohibited, on the basis of the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, as it would have resulted in a quasi-monopoly in the area of European financial derivatives traded globally on exchanges. Together, the two exchanges control more than 90% of global trade in these products. The Commission says its investigation showed that new competitors would be unlikely to enter the market successfully enough to pose a credible competitive threat to the merged company. The companies offered, in particular, to sell certain assets and to provide access to their clearinghouse for some categories of new contracts, but overall, the commitments were inadequate to solve the identified competition concerns. No publisher eub2 Finance mergers 2012-02-01T17:55:03Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/trade/china-materials The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 30 January confirmed the findings made by a Panel in July 2011 that China's export restrictions on several industrial raw materials are in breach of WTO rules. The WTO found that China's export restrictions are not justified for reasons of environmental protection or conservation policy. Today's final ruling was welcomed by Europe's trade chief. No publisher eub2 China Trade 2012-01-31T22:19:15Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/eulaw/extending-ctm A Community Trade Mark (CTM) application or a registered CTM can be used as the basis to extend protection internationally via an International Registration (IR). This is governed by the Madrid Protocol system, which offers CTM owners/applicants the possibility to have their trade marks protected in several countries besides the EU member states by simply filing one application directly with their own national or regional trade mark office. No publisher Ina Dimireva trademark company SMEs EU Law - IP 2012-01-30T23:46:07Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/education/erasmus-25 Erasmus, the world's most successful student exchange programme, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Nearly three million students have benefited from a study period or work placement abroad since the creation of the Erasmus programme in 1987. Under the slogan, 'Erasmus: changing lives, opening minds for 25 years', the silver anniversary celebrations will be launched today by Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. Erasmus mobility is at the heart of the Commission's strategy to combat youth unemployment by focusing more on skills development – an issue which will be discussed by heads of state and government at today's Informal European Council. No publisher eub2 Education 2012-01-30T15:03:12Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/internet/data-12 The European Commission has today proposed a comprehensive reform of the EU's 1995 data protection rules to strengthen online privacy rights and boost Europe's digital economy. Technological progress and globalisation have profoundly changed the way our data is collected, accessed and used. In addition, the 27 EU Member States have implemented the 1995 rules differently, resulting in divergences in enforcement. A single law will do away with the current fragmentation and costly administrative burdens, leading to savings for businesses of around €2.3 billion a year. The initiative will help reinforce consumer confidence in online services, providing a much needed boost to growth, jobs and innovation in Europe. No publisher eub2 Consumer Data protection Internet 2012-01-25T14:13:19Z Guide http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/consumer/animal-welfare-12 The European Commission has adopted a new four-year strategy (2012-2015) that aims to further improve the welfare of animals in the European Union. No publisher eub2 Consumer Agriculture Health 2012-01-19T16:32:07Z Guide