Key role for cohesion policy - EUbusiness Week newsletter 614 - EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 614 top stories: France wants audiovisual excluded from EU-US trade talks; Euro-MPs vote to cap ‘bling-bling’ banker bonuses; Flap-backed lorries to save lives, energy in Europe; MEPs reject plan to make polluters pay more; One in twenty beef meals tainted with horse: EU tests; EU nations warned to act as human trafficking worsens

This Week’s Top Stories

1. France wants audiovisual excluded from EU-US trade talks
2. Euro-MPs vote to cap ‘bling-bling’ banker bonuses
3. Flap-backed lorries to save lives, energy in Europe
4. MEPs reject plan to make polluters pay more
5. One in twenty beef meals tainted with horse: EU tests
6. EU nations warned to act as human trafficking worsens

Publisher’s Note

A useful snapshot of EU help for deprived regions this week, as the Commission issued a ‘Strategic Report’ on implementation of 2007-2013 Cohesion Policy programmes.

Cohesion programmes have invested in EU priorities such as broadband access, water supply projects, research and business-research projects and road and rail infrastructure – in regions where they are most badly needed.

This funding is increasingly important as a source of investment across the Union. Its support, as the economic crisis unfolds, for innovative business and creating sustainable jobs for the future, is invaluable.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. France wants audiovisual excluded from EU-US trade talks

France will not support the opening of EU-US free trade talks if audiovisual content is not excluded from the negotiations, French trade minister Nicole Bricq warned on Thursday.
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Key EU-India trade talks kick off with new momentum

2. Euro-MPs vote to cap ‘bling-bling’ banker bonuses

MEPs have voted by a wide margin to pass legislation to cap bankers’ bonuses that is considered hugely controversial in London, home to one of the world’s biggest financial centres.
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S&P expects EU borrowing to dip for first time since 2007

3. Flap-backed lorries to save lives, energy in Europe

Rolling out round-nosed lorries with aeroplane-style flaps at the back on Europe’s roads would cut fuel costs, reduce carbon emissions and save lives, while giving a boost to the struggling auto sector, the Commission said on Monday.
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4. MEPs reject plan to make polluters pay more

MEPs have defied the Commission to vote down controversial plans to make polluters pay more under a scheme designed to cut greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
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5. One in twenty beef meals tainted with horse: EU tests

Thousands of DNA tests on European beef products have revealed extensive food fraud across the EU, with almost one in 20 meals marketed as beef likely to be tainted with horse.
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6. EU nations warned to act as human trafficking worsens

Brussels has warned Member States to get a move on with adopting tough new rules against human trafficking or face sanctions as a first report on the problem showed “modern-day slavery” worsening across the bloc.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Tymoshenko: the release of jailed former premier Yulia Tymoshenko is a key objective of EU policy as it reviews ties with Ukraine and the possible signing of an association and trade accord, officials said after an in-depth trip to Kiev.
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Kosovo ex-rebel now MP goes on retrial for war crimes
Latest Court of Justice judgements
EU Law Firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

Kosovo: Kosovo and Serbia were to resume talks in Brussels on Friday following another failure to clinch a deal to normalise ties and ease tension in the Balkans.
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Ashton says Bosnia lacks progress on reform
Britain assures Bulgaria, Romania on job access: Sofia
Anti-euro party new wild card in German election year
Council …

Commission Watch

Hungary: the Commission flashed another warning past Hungary on Wednesday, threatening to launch EU-level legal attacks against controversial changes to the country’s constitution.
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Barroso offers hope of more aid for Cyprus
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Parliament Watch

Ship-breaking: the ship-breaking industry, which critics say harms the environment and exploits low-paid workers in developing countries, faces tougher controls if plans approved by Euro-MPs Thursday come into force.
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Croatia’s right-wing coalition wins first EU vote
In plenary this week, MEPs refused to approve the Council of Ministers’ 2011 accounts; called for a bolder and more accountable ECB to fight the Eurozone crisis; backed plans to open up ground-handling services at major EU airports to more competition; and approved a draft single set of rules to govern how Member States compile EU population data.
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EU diary

22-23 Apr, Agriculture and Fisheries Council
22-23 Apr, Foreign Affairs Council
29 Apr, Launch of EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change
1 May, European Solar Days
3 May, Spring 2013 economic forecast
8-9 May, European Parliament plenary session
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary