Category Archives: Law

Law Press Releases & News distributed via EuropaWire

Fighting tax evasion: stronger EU rules enter into force on 1st January

Posted on 18, December 2012 by

Brussels, 18-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — New EU rules which will improve Member States’ ability to assess and collect the taxes that they are due will enter into force on 1 January 2013. The Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the field of taxation … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, European Union, Financial, Government, Law, Society

Environment: New rules on cleaner fuels for shipping will deliver benefits for people’s health

Posted on 18, December 2012 by

Brussels, 18-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — New environmental rules on marine fuels, entering into force today, will substantially reduce air pollution and its impacts on human health. Air pollutants from maritime shipping are transported over long distances and as a result contribute increasingly … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, Energy, Gas & Oil, Environment, European Union, Government, Law, Society, Transportation & Logistics

New VAT rules to make life easier for businesses from 1st January 2013

Posted on 17, December 2012 by

Brussels, 17-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — From 1st January 2013, new EU VAT rules enter into effect, which will make life much simpler for businesses across Europe. First, electronic invoicing will have to be treated the same as paper invoicing, enabling companies to … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, Business, European Union, Financial, Government, Internet & Online, Law, Small Business

Commission proposes a new framework for marine equipment

Posted on 17, December 2012 by

Brussels, 17-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The European Commission has proposed a revision of the Directive on marine equipment, a sector fundamental for ship safety and in which the EU has been a world leader. With the newly proposed regime, the Commission aims … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, European Union, Government, Industrial, Law, Security & Safety, Transportation & Logistics

State aid: Commission temporarily approves rescue aid for Italian bank Monte dei Paschi

Posted on 17, December 2012 by

Brussels, 17-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The European Commission has temporarily approved, under EU State aid rules, a €3.9 billion recapitalisation of Italy’s third largest bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A (“MPS”) for reasons of financial stability. The measure will enable the … Read the full press release →

Posted in Banks, Belgium, Business, European Union, Financial, Government, Investment, Italy, Law, Society

Unitary patent protection: a big leap towards innovation for EU companies

Posted on 17, December 2012 by

Brussels, 17-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The Council today¹ adopted two regulations with a view to implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection (PE-COS 72/11) and its translation arrangements (18855/2/11 REV 2). The lack of a unitary patent … Read the full press release →

Posted in Business, European Union, Government, Law, Science, Small Business, Technology

EU and Singapore agree on landmark trade deal

Posted on 17, December 2012 by

Brussels, 17-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, today completed final negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and Singapore. The agreement reached today is … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, Business, European Union, Government, International Trade, Law

No change to telecoms and internet governance – EU Member States amongst dozens not signing proposed new International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR) Treaty, remain 100% committed to open internet

Posted on 17, December 2012 by

Brussels, 17-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — Delegates from the 193 member countries of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) have concluded the “World Conference on International Telecommunications” (WCIT) conference in Dubai. Negotiations to review the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs) failed to reach consensus agreement. … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, Business, European Union, Government, Internet & Online, Law, Society, Technology, Telecom

European Medicines Agency recommends approval of medicine for reduction of alcohol consumption

Posted on 14, December 2012 by

Selincro offers treatment in conjunction with psychosocial support 14-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended the granting of a marketing authorisation for Selincro, a medicinal product intended for the reduction … Read the full press release →

Posted in European Union, Government, Healthcare, Law, Pharma & Biotech

Taxation: Clarifying EU rules on car taxes

Posted on 14, December 2012 by

Brussels, 14-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — Today the Commission presented a Communication clarifying EU rules on car taxation and recommending measures to strengthen the Single Market in this area. The aim is to minimize the problems encountered by citizens and businesses moving cars … Read the full press release →

Posted in Automotive, Belgium, Business, European Union, Financial, Government, Law

Antitrust: Commission accepts legally binding commitments from Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Hachette, Holtzbrinck and Apple for sale of e-books

Posted on 14, December 2012 by

Brussels, 14-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — What were the Commission’s concerns? In December 2011, the Commission opened proceedings against Apple and five international publishers: Simon & Schuster (CBS Corp.), Harper Collins (News Corp.) both headquartered in the US, Hachette Livre (Lagardère Publishing) … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, Business, European Union, Germany, Government, Internet & Online, Law, Media, Technology, United Kingdom

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Antitrust: Commission welcomes General Court judgments on appeals in calcium carbide cartel

Posted on 14, December 2012 by

Brussels, 14-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The European Commission welcomes today’s judgments by the EU General Court (GC) upholding the fines imposed in 2009 on Novácke chemické závody (NCHZ) (T-352/09), Ecka Granulate (T-400/09) and Almamet (T-410/09) for participating in a cartel in the sector of calcium carbide and … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, Business, Chemicals, European Union, Government, Law

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Investigation against Telenor Norge AS and Telenor ASA by the Competition Authorities

Posted on 13, December 2012 by

13-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) and the Norwegian Competition Authority have today initiated an investigation against Telenor Norge AS and Telenor ASA regarding possible abuse of dominant market position and/or possible anti-competitive practices. The investigation is carried … Read the full press release →

Posted in Business, European Union, Government, Law, Norway, Telecom

ECB President Mario Draghi welcomes the agreement on the SSM

Posted on 13, December 2012 by

13-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), welcomes the agreement on the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) reached by the ECOFIN in unanimity. The agreement marks an important step towards a stable economic and monetary union, … Read the full press release →

Posted in Banks, European Union, Financial, Government, Law

Statement on commitments from Apple and four publishing groups for sale of e-books

Posted on 13, December 2012 by

Statement at Midday Briefing / Berlaymont press room / Brussels Brussels 13-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The European Commission has just accepted the commitments offered by Apple and four top international publishing groups in relation to suspected infringements on the market for ebooks … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, Business, European Union, Government, Internet & Online, Law, Media, Technology

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Ban exports of information technology to repressive regimes

Posted on 13, December 2012 by

13-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — Parliament calls for bans on EU exports of information technology that can be used by repressive regimes to censor information, conduct mass surveillance and track people’s movements in two separate resolutions voted on Tuesday and Thursday. In … Read the full press release →

Posted in Business, European Union, Government, International Trade, Law, Technology

Council agrees position on bank supervision

Posted on 13, December 2012 by

Brussels, 13-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The Council today¹ set out its position on two proposals aimed at establishing a single supervisory mechanism (SSM) for the oversight of credit institutions. Agreement in the Council will enable the presidency to negotiate with the European Parliament with … Read the full press release →

Posted in Banks, Belgium, Business, European Union, Financial, Government, Law, Politics

EU takes key step to provide legal certainty for investors outside Europe

Posted on 13, December 2012 by

Brussels, 13-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The European Commission today welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament and Council of new legislation on bilateral investment agreements. This is a key step in respect of foreign direct investment, which has become an exclusive EU … Read the full press release →

Posted in Belgium, Business, European Union, Financial, Government, Investment, Law

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Airports: groundhandling rules need further debate, say MEPs

Posted on 13, December 2012 by

13-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — New rules governing decisions on how best to protect local residents against aircraft noise and allocate take-off and landing fairly and flexibly were approved by MEPs on Wednesday. A proposal to further increase competition among groundhandling service … Read the full press release →

Posted in Aviation & Aerospace, European Union, Government, Law, Transportation & Logistics, Travel

Druga szansa dla uczciwych przedsiębiorstw: Komisja proponuje nowoczesne prawo upadłościowe

Posted on 13, December 2012 by

Strasburg, 13-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — Dla przedsiębiorstw, które ucierpiały wskutek kryzysu gospodarczego, „deską ratunku” będzie propozycja unowocześnienia europejskiego prawa dotyczącego transgranicznych postępowań upadłościowych. Komisja Europejska przedstawiła dziś projekt dający „drugą szansę” firmom, które w normalnych warunkach byłyby rentowne. Komisja proponuje uaktualnić obecne przepisy … Read the full press release →

Posted in Business, European Union, Financial, France, Government, Law, Small Business