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Microsoft on defence
- US software giant Microsoft submitted to the European Commission on Monday (23 April) its defence of the prices it charges rivals for data allowing them to run their products with Windows. Microsoft was responding to a statement of objections, the formal charges from the European Commission over the royalties it charges for access to information protocols for its workgroup servers. The Commission said that the information lacked "significant innovation" and therefore that the prices the company was asking were unreasonable.
MEPs press for faster payment services
- MEPs press for faster payment servicesn MEPs on Tuesday (24 April) agreed a deal to cut the cost and speed up the pace of EU cross-border payments. In a plenary vote, the payment services directive was approved by a clear majority, with an amendment calling for more data protection than provided for in the text agreed by governments last month. It provides a legal base for a single European payments area (SEPA).
Dutch warned about ABN AMRO protection
- The Commission on Tuesday warned the Netherlands against discriminating between bids to take over Dutch bank ABN AMRO. The warning follows fears that the Dutch central bank is opposed to a takeover bid from the Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Banco Santander, which is attempting to unseat an agreed takeover of ABN AMRO by Barclays.
Investment services warning
- Charlie McCreevy, the European commissioner for the single market, warned on Tuesday that 24 member states face infringement procedures over their failure to adopt the investment services legislation MiFID on time. Only Britain, Ireland and Romania have not been sent a legal warning for missing the January deadline.
Green state aid
- Subsidies for environmental and research projects, as well as risk capital, would be exempt from standard EU state aid rules, under plans set out by the Commission on Tuesday. New rules for block exemptions would simplify existing schemes, as well as extending the scope to cover new types of aid. A consultation on the draft rules will run until 3 June. Under the existing rules, the Commission on Wednesday (25 April) authorised Slovenian ‘feed-in’ tariffs for renewable electricity.
Deficit down
- Government deficits across the 13 eurozone countries fell from 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 1.6% last year, according to annual figures released by the EU statistics office Eurostat on Tuesday. Across the 27 member states, the deficit fell from 2.4% to 1.7% over the same period. Government debt rose slightly for both the eurozone and EU27 in 2006.
Any chief executive of a European company which faces international competition at home or abroad who has not been preparing for the US dollar to fall sharply this year should be fired. The key question facing business and economic policymakers today is will the decline in the dollar - it hit a 26-year low against the once forlorn pound last week (18 April) - be orderly, or will the greenback pancake?
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