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Eurozone inflation increases
- Annual inflation in the 13 eurozone countries rose to 2.1% last month, up from 1.7% in August, according to figures from EU statistics office Eurostat on Tuesday (16 October). The annual inflation for the EU rose to 2.2% from 1.9% a month earlier. The European Central Bank’s annual inflation target is 2%.
French payment cards under EU spotlight
- French bank payment cards group the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires (CB) has broken EU competition rules with restrictive pricing practices, the Commission ruled yesterday (17 October). The Commission says CB charging rules discriminate unfairly against smaller banks and push up the consumer price of bank cards.
Retirement ruling
- Workers can be dismissed when they reach the retirement age set out by national law, according to a European Court of Justice ruling on Tuesday (16 October). The ruling came in response to a legal challenge from a Spanish worker who was forced to retire at 65.
Ireland faces premium bond probe
- The Commission yesterday launched a legal inquiry into a law preventing Irish citizens from taking part in a UK premium bond scheme, under which investors can win tax-free prizes. The Commission infringement procedure accuses Ireland of incorrectly treating premium bonds as a lottery and says the Irish law could contradict EU rules on free movement of capital and services.
Ryanair attacks ‘price-fixing’ rivals
- The Irish airline Ryanair lodged a formal complaint with the Commission last Thursday (11 October) over alleged price-fixing among four rival companies. According to Ryanair, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM and Swiss all increased their fuel surcharges in the same six-hour period one day last month. The four airlines deny that there was any illegal price fixing. Swiss is a subsidiary of Lufthansa, while Air France and KLM belong to the same group.
The European Parliament is battling with member states over the role of an EU agency being set up to oversee air safety.
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