EU Company News

Latest European company news from EUbusiness.com, with business commentary and analysis on companies in Europe.

Russia's Gazprom should play by EU rules: Lithuanian PM — 10 September 2012, 12:50 CET

Gazprom must play by the EU's competition rules, Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said Monday after Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted Brussels' probe of the energy giant.

Putin blasts EU's 'unconstructive' Gazprom probe — 09 September 2012, 21:09 CET

President Vladimir Putin has condemned as "unconstructive" an EU anti-trust probe against Russian energy giant Gazprom, saying Moscow is no longer prepared to subsidise eastern Europe.

EU wants women to have 40% share on company boards — 06 September 2012, 10:58 CET

The European Commission wants women to have at least 40 per cent representation on the boards of listed companies but the plan has reportedly run into opposition from some EU Member States.

Lithuania hails EU's Gazprom anti-trust probe — 05 September 2012, 17:03 CET

Lithuania on Wednesday hailed an anti-trust probe launched by the EU against Russian energy giant Gazprom, saying Moscow had punished it with higher prices over an EU-piloted gas market reform.

Gazprom defends pricing after EU probe — 05 September 2012, 17:02 CET

Russian gas giant Gazprom on Wednesday denied any wrongdoing on the European gas market and said it expects the Commission's anti-trust probe to respect its rights and interests.

EU launches anti-trust case against Gazprom — 04 September 2012, 23:34 CET

The European Commission has opened an anti-trust probe against Russian energy giant Gazprom on concerns it is hindering competition in central and eastern European gas markets.

EU clears GKN takeover of Volvo aero engine unit — 03 September 2012, 18:12 CET

The European Commission on Monday cleared the takeover by British engineering group GKN of Volvo's aero engine division in a deal worth GBP 633 million (790 million euros).

Bank of Cyprus posts EUR 134m H1 post-tax loss — 31 August 2012, 00:11 CET

The Bank of Cyprus, the island's largest lender, said on Thursday it posted post-tax losses of 134 million euros in the first six months because of provisions for bad loans and a Greek debt write-off.

World's oldest bank posts EUR 1.6bn first-half loss — 28 August 2012, 21:47 CET

Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world's oldest bank, on Tuesday posted a loss of 1.617 billion euros for the first half of 2012 after taking writedowns on troubled assets.

Unilever sees 'return to poverty' in Europe: newspaper — 27 August 2012, 13:06 CET

Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever expects poverty to rise in Europe as a result of the eurozone crisis and is rethinking its marketing, according to a newspaper report Monday.

Japan Tobacco says facing EU probe over Syria — 22 August 2012, 23:27 CET

Japan Tobacco says it is being probed by the European Union after a report it broke sanctions by shipping cigarettes to a firm linked to the Syrian regime, but denies any wrongdoing.

Deutsche Bank axes 1,900 jobs in EUR 3.0bn cost-cut drive — 31 July 2012, 15:46 CET

Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest lender, said Tuesday it planned to slash 1,900 jobs, mainly outside Germany, as part of a 3.0-billion-euro ($3.7-billion) cost-cutting programme.

Europe's top banks feel pain from debt crisis — 31 July 2012, 19:57 CET

Europe's biggest banks on Tuesday took massive hits on their second-quarter profits as the eurozone debt crisis sliced into earnings and added to pressure to boost their capital defences.

Paris Ritz closes for EUR 140m face-lift — 31 July 2012, 13:28 CET

The Paris Ritz closes Wednesday for a two-year face-lift to bring the city's best known luxury hotel into the 21st century and keep its mega-rich clientele coming back in an ever more competitive market.

Campaign group says kept in the dark about Facebook case — 30 July 2012, 20:31 CET

An Austrian group fighting for clearer privacy policies on Facebook complained Monday that the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) was keeping it in the dark about proceedings.

EU industry chief sees no difficulty with French auto aid — 30 July 2012, 20:31 CET

French government plans to aid the country's auto sector appear to conform to European Union requirements, the bloc's industry commissioner Antonio Tajani said on Monday.

Campaign group says kept in the dark about Facebook case — 30 July 2012, 15:22 CET

An Austrian group fighting for clearer privacy policies on Facebook complained Monday that the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) was keeping it in the dark about proceedings.

Renault earnings hit by euro crisis — 27 July 2012, 11:36 CET

Renault said Friday its first-half earnings had been hit hard by the economic downturn in Europe but a strong international performance enabled the French car-maker to avoid the heavy losses incurred by its rival Peugeot.

EU clears buy-out of aerospace firm Goodrich — 26 July 2012, 22:50 CET

The European Union's antitrust watchdog Thursday approved United Technology Corp's $18.4bn (EUR 13.8bn) bid to take over Goodrich Corp, both US aerospace firms, but set conditions.

Brussels widens anti-trust probe over generic medicines — 26 July 2012, 00:34 CET

The European Commission has extended an anti-trust probe into French pharmaceutical maker Les Laboratoires Servier to include the Danish laboratory Lundbeck.

Siemens wins EUR 400m contract in South Korea — 25 July 2012, 12:23 CET

German engineering giant Siemens has won a contract worth some 400 million euros to build three power plants in energy-hungry South Korea.

Spain's El Pais publisher posts EUR 53m quarterly loss — 23 July 2012, 20:23 CET

Spain's top media group Prisa, publisher of leading daily El Pais, reported Monday a net loss of 53 million euros in the second quarter of 2012 due in part to falling advertising revenue.

State-rescued LBG bank clinches deal to sell branches — 19 July 2012, 11:04 CET

Britain's retail bank sector faced further shake-up Thursday as state-rescued Lloyds Banking Group agreed to sell 632 branches at a loss to The Co-operative Group after an EU competition ruling.

Microsoft apologises over web browser 'error' in EU — 17 July 2012, 13:47 CET

Microsoft apologised on Tuesday after the European Commission opened a probe over its failure to provide customers a web browser choice, saying it was a mistake.

EU threatens Microsoft with antitrust fine over web browser — 17 July 2012, 16:21 CET

The European Commission has threatened Microsoft with another big fine after the US software giant failed to give 28 million European customers the ability to choose their web browser.