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Finance merger rules
- EU finance ministers on Tuesday (27 March) backed proposals to set standards for assessing mergers and acquisitions in the financial services sector, modifying an existing law that lets national supervisory bodies oppose bids in cases where management of the target institution is threatened. The proposals aim at greater objectivity in the assessment and set stricter deadlines for decisions.
Spain sent to court
- The European Commission decided yesterday (28 March) to refer the Spanish government to the European Court of Justice for failing to comply with its ruling on conditions placed on German energy group E.ON’s bid for Endesa. The Commission had decided in September that the conditions imposed by Spain in July and November 2006 were illegal under article 21 of the EU merger regulation.
Road vignette U-turn
- Yves Leterme, the head of the Flemish regional government, indicated on Monday (26 March) in talks with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende that he is against a proposed road charge or ‘vignette’, which the Commission fears could be in breach of EU?rules. Michel Daerden, budget minister in the Walloon regional government, complained that the loss of the ‘vignette’ project would deprive his administration of €24 million per year.
UK faces phone clash
- The Commission has said it will "examine closely" a decision by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom on the amount mobile phone network operators can charge for connecting a call. The Commission had initially criticised Ofcom’s plan because the calculation of the charges took into account prices paid by operators for 3G licences when they were auctioned in 2000. An Ofcom spokesman said that the regulator had taken the Commission’s views "fully into account" when it revised its decision.
China is top exporter
- China has overtaken the US as the largest exporter of goods to the EU, said EU statistics agency Eurostat on Thursday. EU imports from China went up by 21% to €191.5 billion last year. Imports from the US in the same period of time went up by 8% to €176.2bn. Exports from the EU to China last year rose by 23% to €63.3bn.
Open skies warning
- EU transport ministers on Thursday (22 March) approved a first phase ‘open skies’ deal with the US. The deal, which sets conditions for liberalisation of the transatlantic aviation market, would open Heathrow-US routes to competition. Douglas Alexander, the UK transport secretary, warned that unless the US agreed to open its domestic market to European companies by 2010, the EU could "automatically withdraw traffic rights unless the Council decides unanimously not to do so".
The euro would have to rise in value from its current levels against the dollar by "at least" 10% to be worth $1.45 if the political leaders in the United States, Europe, Japan and China are to succeed in managing an orderly co-ordinated shift in economic policies to reduce destabilising imbalances in the world economy.
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