EUbusiness Week 524 top stories: Europe tells Portugal to slash spending; EU wants neighbours to match nuclear ‘stress tests’; EU regulator says banks to face ‘credible’ stress tests; China airlines to challenge EU carbon tax: report; Eurozone economic activity survey gives mixed signals; Coiled British sausage wins protected EU status
This Week’s Top Stories
1. Europe tells Portugal to slash spending
2. EU wants neighbours to match nuclear ‘stress tests’
3. EU regulator says banks to face ‘credible’ stress tests
4. China airlines to challenge EU carbon tax: report
5. Eurozone economic activity survey gives mixed signals
6. Coiled British sausage wins protected EU status
Publisher’s Note
The European Commission this week attempted to rise to the challenge of managing the growth of the online gambling industry with the launch of a Green Paper on the issue.
Online gambling, while not everybody’s cup of tea, is a fast developing business in Europe. Almost 15,000 websites are identified and total annual revenues are estimated at EUR 9bn.
The consultation focuses on how the various national rules – on licensing, payments, public interest objectives and the fight against fraud – might co-exist. Some suggest, however, that an EU regulatory framework for online gambling is absolutely necessary. Contributions by 31 July.
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Regards,
Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness
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1. Europe tells Portugal to slash spending
Rocked by expectations Portugal will call in a 75-billion-euro bailout, Europe told Lisbon on Thursday to slash spending as leaders bargained a deal to end a year-long debt rollercoaster.
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EU agrees how to fill permanent financial rescue fund
2. EU wants neighbours to match nuclear ‘stress tests’
EU Member States will ask neighbours such as Russia to conduct nuclear reactor “stress tests” similar to their own, re-examining safety in the light of the Japan crisis.
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Japan crisis deepens Europe’s nuclear rift
3. EU regulator says banks to face ‘credible’ stress tests
Europe’s banks face more stress tests that are designed to be more “credible” than the previous assessments last year that mostly gave them a clean bill of health.
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4. China airlines to challenge EU carbon tax: report
Chinese airlines plan legal action against a European Union plan to impose a carbon tax from 2012, claiming it could cost them millions of dollars a year, state media said on Thursday.
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5. Eurozone economic activity survey gives mixed signals
A closely-watched survey indicating the rate of growth across eurozone manufacturing and services sectors hit a two-month low in March.
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6. Coiled British sausage wins protected EU status
A famously coiled British sausage has joined Parma ham and champagne in having its name protected across Europe after being granted special status.
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EUROPEAN CASE LAW
GM crops: Europe’s top court adviser dealt a huge blow to the anti-GM foods lobby on Tuesday, saying states broke EU law by halting genetically-modified crop cultivation without first seeking action in Brussels.
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Britain opts in to EU rules on human trafficking 22-Mar
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Inside the EU Institutions
Council Watch
Libya: the EU has tightened the noose on the Kadhafi regime, slapping new sanctions on the Libyan oil sector and banning aircraft suspected of carrying mercenaries from EU airspace.
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Europe’s foreign policy in line of fire over Libya
EU names 17 new Belarus regime associates sanctioned
Council …
Commission Watch
China: Commissioner Michel Barnier urged China Tuesday to open its financial and insurance markets to companies from Europe and allow them equal treatment.
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Sanctions must stay in place: Myanmar’s Suu Kyi
Nuclear to stay, says EU despite battle over safety testing
Commission victim of eve-of-summit cyber attack
Commission …
Euro-Parliament Watch
Corruption: Romanian anti-graft prosecutors said Monday they had opened an investigation into corruption allegations against Euro-MP Adrian Severin.
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Slovenian MEP Thaler resigns amid corruption claims
Parliament urges help to Japan
This week, MEPs in plenary approved new rules on consumer rights to protect online shoppers and boost confidence in buying in other Member States; and backed equal treatment for foreign workers under a new EU single permit. The Budgets Committee has approved the estimates for Parliament’s own 2012 budget, well below inflation.
Parliament …
EU diary
24-25 Mar, European Council
24-26 Mar, Environment Council informal
26-28 Mar, Culture Council informal
28-29 Mar, Education Council informal
31 Mar, Transport, Telecoms and Energy Council
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary
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EU Decision-Making
Treaties of the European Union
Key EU Legal Terms
Other news on EUbusiness this week
Europe hits Japanese food imports with emergency tests 24-Mar
EU disburses loan instalment to Romania 24-Mar
The EU’s ‘grand bargain’ to seal euro defences 24-Mar
Nine in 10 Bosnians want EU membership: poll 24-Mar
Sweden freezes over a billion euros in Libyan assets 23-Mar
Bulgaria prepares ‘stress test’ at Kozloduy plant 22-Mar
ECB watching Japan impact ‘very carefully’: Trichet 21-Mar
Serbia might have to wait for EU candidacy after 2012 20-Mar
