MEPs to back 'passport' for investment funds
"Revision makes cross-border investment easier; directive offers significant savings for funds.
The European Parliament is expected to approve a report next week (13 January) that will recommend making it easier for investment funds to operate outside the state they are registered in. Under a controversial management ‘passport' provision, which MEPs are set to insert into a directive proposed by the European Commission, investment funds will be able to locate their operations outside their state of origin more quickly. The revised directive on UCITS (undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities) will mean significant cost-savings for funds. It will also make cross-border mergers of investment funds easier." [EuropeanVoice]
The Week Ahead 12-18 January 2009: Plenary Session – Strasbourg (overview)
[Europa]
1/9/09
EU Commission - 09/01/09
Cinema: EU film support goes global
"Today, the European Commission adopted a new MEDIA MUNDUS programme, a broad international cooperation programme for the audiovisual industry to strengthen cultural and commercial relations between Europe's film industry and film-makers of third countries. The EU will provide €15 million of funding from 2011-2013 for projects submitted by audiovisual professionals from the EU and third countries. Cooperation with the European film industry is in strong demand around the globe as shown by the initial success of the MEDIA International Preparatory Action under which the EU provided € 2 million of funding for 18 projects involving international partners (IP/08/1273). The new MEDIA MUNDUS programme will run from 2011-2013 and will capitalise on this growing interest and the opportunities offered by global cooperation of the audiovisual industry. It will increase consumer choice by bringing more culturally diverse products to European and international markets and will create new business opportunities for audiovisual professionals from Europe and around the globe." [Europa]
"Today, the European Commission adopted a new MEDIA MUNDUS programme, a broad international cooperation programme for the audiovisual industry to strengthen cultural and commercial relations between Europe's film industry and film-makers of third countries. The EU will provide €15 million of funding from 2011-2013 for projects submitted by audiovisual professionals from the EU and third countries. Cooperation with the European film industry is in strong demand around the globe as shown by the initial success of the MEDIA International Preparatory Action under which the EU provided € 2 million of funding for 18 projects involving international partners (IP/08/1273). The new MEDIA MUNDUS programme will run from 2011-2013 and will capitalise on this growing interest and the opportunities offered by global cooperation of the audiovisual industry. It will increase consumer choice by bringing more culturally diverse products to European and international markets and will create new business opportunities for audiovisual professionals from Europe and around the globe." [Europa]
1/6/09
In The Loop: 06/01/09
Met police officer numbers will not be cut, insists Boris Johnson's deputy
"Kit Malthouse says the number of officers will not go down despite the Met being told to make £472m of savings.
Kit Malthouse, the deputy mayor on policing who also sits as vice-chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said there would be "the same number" of police officers in Scotland Yard overall, despite a rise and subsequent dip across the next three years.
The Metropolitan police force has 32,000 officers working across the Greater London area. Malthouse told the budget and performance committee of the
"A plan to build shallow lagoons fitted with turbines rather than a strip barrier across the
Government consultants have been accused of miscalculating the costs of a project to generate vast amounts of green electricity in the
"The crisis in the global car industry was underlined today with a further round of plunging sales figures from key markets around the world.
In Japan, sales of new vehicles slumped by 22% last month to their lowest ever December total, while French sales were down almost 16% as the impact of the credit crunch continues to bite.
Across the
Click here to read more information on Mr Grimsdale, King Heron and Mobius
Technorati Profile
Heron's Eye: 06/01/09
Home Office flouted guidelines in 10 ways over knife crime statistics
"Any figures that fail to comply with code in future will be refused stamp of approval, says statistics body
The early release of knife crime statistics by the Home Office last month flouted new official guidelines in 10 different ways, the
The UKSA published its code of practice today alongside a final judgment by the UKSA on the Home Office's misuse last month of knife crime statistics suggesting the offence was under control. The UKSA said that any figures that failed to comply with the code in future would be refused a stamp of approval." [Guardian]
Boris 2009: transport
"Noticed those fares rises yet? They have in Enfield, and I doubt they're alone. It's no surprise that from the moment he announced them Mayor Johnson has worked super-hard to limit the political damage, initially by blaming them on Ken Livingstone - who's latest broadside on the issue is here - and now, it would appear, by trying not to mention them. His effort in today's Standard skates straight past the subject (as did the paper in general: there's two pages on commuters' rail fares going up, but barely a mention of those affecting bus and Tube-users).
His spin, supported by a shamelessly one-eyed newspaper, might work for Johnson, at least in the short term. We'd get a better idea if someone would commission an opinion poll: after eight months of Mayor Boris - one sixth of his term already - you'd have thought someone might have thought it worthwhile by now." [Guardian]
It will take more than goodwill and greenwash to save the biosphere: Shell may boast about tackling climate change, but companies tend always to sacrifice good intentions for hard cash
"For a while it seemed that Shell had stopped pretending. The advertisements that filled the newspapers in 2006, featuring technicians with perfect teeth and open-necked shirts explaining how they were saving the world, vanished. After being slated by environmentalists for greenwash, after two adverse rulings by the Advertising Standards Authority, Shell appeared to have accepted the inescapable truth that it was an oil company with a minor sideline in alternative energy, and that there was no point in trying to persuade people otherwise.
The interview I conducted with its chief executive, Jeroen van der Veer, broadcast on the Guardian's website today, contains what appears to be an interesting admission. I asked him whether Shell had stopped producing ads extolling its investments in renewable energy. Van der Veer does not express himself clearly at this point, but he seems to admit that his company's previous advertising was not honest." [Guardian]
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Grimsdale's Ire: 06/01/09
David Cameron calls for league tables to improve
"David Cameron said today that he would introduce league tables for prisons to cut reoffending rates with an increased emphasis on rehabilitation and follow-up care after release. The Tory leader also indicated that he was against the government's "Titan prisons", which he thought were a "bad idea".
"The idea that big is beautiful with prisons is wrong," he told 20 handpicked members of the public in
Gambling levy to be forced on gaming firms: "Sports minister outlines plans for levy to fund treatment of problem gamblers
"Gambling companies may have to pay a compulsory £5m-a-year levy because of their "very disappointing" failure to fully fund treatment for gambling addicts, the government said today. Publishing a consultation paper, sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe said the money would be used to fund helplines and treatment centres for gambling addicts, as well as to pay for research.
Sutcliffe said the government was resorting to a compulsory levy because gaming firms were failing to fund this sort of treatment on a voluntary basis. The industry has three months to draft an acceptable voluntary scheme or the government will quickly impose its alternative." [Guardian]
"The Icelandic government is examining "all possibilities" of dragging the British government before the European court of human rights over its decision to use anti-terror laws against the bank Landsbanki, it emerged today.
The move, revealed in a statement by the office of Iceland's prime minister, Geir Haarde, follows legal advice that a claim for damages in the
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1/5/09
Music News Bulletin - 05/01/09
Digital Boosts 2008 Sales To New Mark
"Overall music sales hit a new record in 2008, with over 1.5 billion units sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Nielsen Company's annual year-end music industry report, released today, reveals that combined sales of albums, singles, music videos and digital tracks increased 10.5% over 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The report covers purchases made during the 52 weeks between Dec. 31, 2007 to Dec. 28, 2008.
Digital tracks posted a 27% gain on their own to over a billion units sold in 2008, a new record. Digital albums grew 32% to 65.8 million units, also a new high. The 2008 numbers dragged when physical product was accounted. Combined sales of albums on CD, tape, vinyl and digital download were down 14% over the year prior, from 500.5 million units to 428.4 million. When track-equivalent albums are figured in, with ten digital tracks counting as an album, the decrease comes to 8.5%.
On a brighter note, total music purchases across all product categories went over 65 million units in the last week of 2008, making it the biggest music sales week in Nielsen SoundScan history." [Billboard]
Scramble over Woolies’ stock
"Companies including EMI and Microsoft are preparing legal action against the administrators of Woolworths to claw back millions of pounds of stock. Although the shelves in its stores are emptying fast, Woolies’ distribution arm, Entertainment UK (EUK), still has CDs, DVDs and computer games worth tens of millions of pounds in its warehouses.
Under “retention of title” rules, suppliers can claim back their own stock if it has not been paid for but, more broadly, they can can claim stock that has been paid for in lieu of debts.
That gives them the chance to resell the merchandise and prevent the administrator, Deloitte, offloading it cheaply." [RecordoftheDay]
Music sales up 10% in 2008, thanks to downloads (and vinyl)
"The music industry finished 2008 with positive sales growth numbers overall, but the grim CD death march continues apace. Overall unit purchases of music in the US increased by 10.5 percent year-over-year since 2007, according to new data released by Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen BDS, and Nielsen RingScan, but the growth is coming completely from downloads—and from vinyl.
More than 1.5 billion songs were sold during 2008, accounting for the 10.5 percent growth since the previous year. One billion digital tracks were sold online, which indicated 27 percent growth since 2007. But the trend toward digital singles continues to hurt full CD album sales—428 million albums (including LPs, CDs, and online albums) were sold in 2008, down 14 percent from the year before." [ArsTechnica]
L’Internet ne compense pas la chute des CD
"L’industrie du disque a subi une nouvelle année difficile en 2008, le développement des techniques de téléchargement légal ne parvenant pas à compenser la chute des ventes de CD, selon l’agence spécialisée Nielsen.
Aux Etats-Unis les ventes totales d’albums sur CD, sur internet, et en vinyle ont accusé un recul de 14 %, à 428,4 millions d’unités, contre 500,5 millions en 2007. En prenant en compte la vente de chansons à l’unité sur internet, le recul atteint encore 8,5 % (535,4 millions contre 584,9 millions d’unités), selon Nielsen.
Les ventes de CD représentant encore plus de 80 % du chiffre d’affaires du secteur, la désaffection des consommateurs pour les disquaires est un véritable défi pour les éditeurs, qui doivent à la fois lutter contre le piratage et trouver une façon satisfaisante de monétiser les téléchargements." [LeSoir]
Facebook Removes Project Playlist
"Facebook today has also removed access to the Project Playlist service from the popular social networking site, citing a request from the RIAA. A Facebook statement says the company hopes to resolve the situation so that the Project Playlist service eventually can resume service on the site, but that it will block access until the proper label deals can be established.
Just days after getting banned from MySpace, Project Playlist has struck a licensing deal with Sony BMG. The deal gives Project Playlist users direct access to the Sony BMG catalog of both music tracks and videos. Financial details were not disclosed.
The major-label licensing deal is a big step forward for the playlist-sharing service, which is being sued by the other three major labels - Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI Music - as well as the RIAA for copyright infringement. Project Playlist allows users to upload music to create playlists that other users can then stream, but until the Sony BMG deal has done so without paying labels a licensing fee." [Billboard]
"Overall music sales hit a new record in 2008, with over 1.5 billion units sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Nielsen Company's annual year-end music industry report, released today, reveals that combined sales of albums, singles, music videos and digital tracks increased 10.5% over 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The report covers purchases made during the 52 weeks between Dec. 31, 2007 to Dec. 28, 2008.
Digital tracks posted a 27% gain on their own to over a billion units sold in 2008, a new record. Digital albums grew 32% to 65.8 million units, also a new high. The 2008 numbers dragged when physical product was accounted. Combined sales of albums on CD, tape, vinyl and digital download were down 14% over the year prior, from 500.5 million units to 428.4 million. When track-equivalent albums are figured in, with ten digital tracks counting as an album, the decrease comes to 8.5%.
On a brighter note, total music purchases across all product categories went over 65 million units in the last week of 2008, making it the biggest music sales week in Nielsen SoundScan history." [Billboard]
Scramble over Woolies’ stock
"Companies including EMI and Microsoft are preparing legal action against the administrators of Woolworths to claw back millions of pounds of stock. Although the shelves in its stores are emptying fast, Woolies’ distribution arm, Entertainment UK (EUK), still has CDs, DVDs and computer games worth tens of millions of pounds in its warehouses.
Under “retention of title” rules, suppliers can claim back their own stock if it has not been paid for but, more broadly, they can can claim stock that has been paid for in lieu of debts.
That gives them the chance to resell the merchandise and prevent the administrator, Deloitte, offloading it cheaply." [RecordoftheDay]
Music sales up 10% in 2008, thanks to downloads (and vinyl)
"The music industry finished 2008 with positive sales growth numbers overall, but the grim CD death march continues apace. Overall unit purchases of music in the US increased by 10.5 percent year-over-year since 2007, according to new data released by Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen BDS, and Nielsen RingScan, but the growth is coming completely from downloads—and from vinyl.
More than 1.5 billion songs were sold during 2008, accounting for the 10.5 percent growth since the previous year. One billion digital tracks were sold online, which indicated 27 percent growth since 2007. But the trend toward digital singles continues to hurt full CD album sales—428 million albums (including LPs, CDs, and online albums) were sold in 2008, down 14 percent from the year before." [ArsTechnica]
L’Internet ne compense pas la chute des CD
"L’industrie du disque a subi une nouvelle année difficile en 2008, le développement des techniques de téléchargement légal ne parvenant pas à compenser la chute des ventes de CD, selon l’agence spécialisée Nielsen.
Aux Etats-Unis les ventes totales d’albums sur CD, sur internet, et en vinyle ont accusé un recul de 14 %, à 428,4 millions d’unités, contre 500,5 millions en 2007. En prenant en compte la vente de chansons à l’unité sur internet, le recul atteint encore 8,5 % (535,4 millions contre 584,9 millions d’unités), selon Nielsen.
Les ventes de CD représentant encore plus de 80 % du chiffre d’affaires du secteur, la désaffection des consommateurs pour les disquaires est un véritable défi pour les éditeurs, qui doivent à la fois lutter contre le piratage et trouver une façon satisfaisante de monétiser les téléchargements." [LeSoir]
Facebook Removes Project Playlist
"Facebook today has also removed access to the Project Playlist service from the popular social networking site, citing a request from the RIAA. A Facebook statement says the company hopes to resolve the situation so that the Project Playlist service eventually can resume service on the site, but that it will block access until the proper label deals can be established.
Just days after getting banned from MySpace, Project Playlist has struck a licensing deal with Sony BMG. The deal gives Project Playlist users direct access to the Sony BMG catalog of both music tracks and videos. Financial details were not disclosed.
The major-label licensing deal is a big step forward for the playlist-sharing service, which is being sued by the other three major labels - Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI Music - as well as the RIAA for copyright infringement. Project Playlist allows users to upload music to create playlists that other users can then stream, but until the Sony BMG deal has done so without paying labels a licensing fee." [Billboard]
EU Public Affairs Monitor - 05/01/09
Les producteurs belges contre les sites illégaux
"Les producteurs belges de musique, de films et de jeux vidéo, représentés par la Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), demandent mardi, dans un communiqué, que les sites illégaux de téléchargement soient bloqués « le plus rapidement possible » par les fournisseurs belges d'accès à internet.
Selon la BEA, les auteurs, les artistes mais aussi les consommateurs sont victimes de ces sites. Dans son édition de janvier 2009, Test-Achats passe au crible un certain nombre de sites musicaux qui proposent le téléchargement payant." [LeSoir]
Spanish Web Users Angry At Anti-P2P Campaign
"Spain's Association of Internet Users (AI) has demanded that the culture ministry cancel a national campaign against P2P file-sharing and illegal downloads called "If you are legal, you're legal." The adjective 'legal' in Spanish can also mean 'okay' or 'good' when applied to a person.
According to an AI statement, the campaign "recklessly offers information that lacks all legal basis, with the exclusive aim of re-educating public opinion."
The campaign launched in late November on TV, radio and in the press. It shows people downloading, with comments from some who defend legal or paid downloads, and criticises those who download illegally, without paying. The campaign also specifically criticises P2P file-sharing." [Billboard]
"Les producteurs belges de musique, de films et de jeux vidéo, représentés par la Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), demandent mardi, dans un communiqué, que les sites illégaux de téléchargement soient bloqués « le plus rapidement possible » par les fournisseurs belges d'accès à internet.
Selon la BEA, les auteurs, les artistes mais aussi les consommateurs sont victimes de ces sites. Dans son édition de janvier 2009, Test-Achats passe au crible un certain nombre de sites musicaux qui proposent le téléchargement payant." [LeSoir]
Spanish Web Users Angry At Anti-P2P Campaign
"Spain's Association of Internet Users (AI) has demanded that the culture ministry cancel a national campaign against P2P file-sharing and illegal downloads called "If you are legal, you're legal." The adjective 'legal' in Spanish can also mean 'okay' or 'good' when applied to a person.
According to an AI statement, the campaign "recklessly offers information that lacks all legal basis, with the exclusive aim of re-educating public opinion."
The campaign launched in late November on TV, radio and in the press. It shows people downloading, with comments from some who defend legal or paid downloads, and criticises those who download illegally, without paying. The campaign also specifically criticises P2P file-sharing." [Billboard]
EU Council Monitor - 05/01/09
Launch Conference of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation
Venue: Senate of the Czech Republic, Prague
The aim of the European Year 2009 is to promote creativity and innovation as the key competence of all individuals. The European Year will be launched by an expert conference that will be opened with speeches by European Commissioners Ján Figeľ and Janez Potočnik, as well as Czech Ministers Ondřej Liška and Václav Jedlička. The tradition of declaring the European Year dates back to 1983, and the EU often chooses the themes together with the Council of Europe." [EU2009]
CZECH PRESIDENCY OF THE EU
New website now online [EU2009]
Czech Republic gets ready to assume EU presidency: Launch events planned in Prague and Brussels
"The Czech Republic will take over the presidency of the EU from France on 1 January, beginning a six month term in office. Although the Czechs will take charge when the EU institutions largely closed for the new year break, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and his team will face immediate challenges, not least the escalating crisis in Gaza.
The start of the Czech presidency will be marked by celebrations in Prague, where the city's giant metronome will be lit in EU colours at midnight on 31 December by Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra. There will be speeches on Czech television on 1 January by Topolánek, former president of the Czech republic Václav Havel, and leader of the opposition Jiří Paroubek. A video message will be broadcast from European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. There will also be a televised debate about the presidency, with anti-Lisbon Treaty campaigner Declan Ganley (whose Libertas Party has the support of Czech president Václav Klaus) among those expected to participate. The main launch event in Brussels - a gala ball - will take place on 30 January." [EuropeanVoice]
Venue: Senate of the Czech Republic, Prague
The aim of the European Year 2009 is to promote creativity and innovation as the key competence of all individuals. The European Year will be launched by an expert conference that will be opened with speeches by European Commissioners Ján Figeľ and Janez Potočnik, as well as Czech Ministers Ondřej Liška and Václav Jedlička. The tradition of declaring the European Year dates back to 1983, and the EU often chooses the themes together with the Council of Europe." [EU2009]
CZECH PRESIDENCY OF THE EU
New website now online [EU2009]
Czech Republic gets ready to assume EU presidency: Launch events planned in Prague and Brussels
"The Czech Republic will take over the presidency of the EU from France on 1 January, beginning a six month term in office. Although the Czechs will take charge when the EU institutions largely closed for the new year break, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and his team will face immediate challenges, not least the escalating crisis in Gaza.
The start of the Czech presidency will be marked by celebrations in Prague, where the city's giant metronome will be lit in EU colours at midnight on 31 December by Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra. There will be speeches on Czech television on 1 January by Topolánek, former president of the Czech republic Václav Havel, and leader of the opposition Jiří Paroubek. A video message will be broadcast from European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. There will also be a televised debate about the presidency, with anti-Lisbon Treaty campaigner Declan Ganley (whose Libertas Party has the support of Czech president Václav Klaus) among those expected to participate. The main launch event in Brussels - a gala ball - will take place on 30 January." [EuropeanVoice]
EU Parliament Monitor - 05/01/09
Sony BMG Merger Still Under Scrutiny
"The European Parliament continues to seek further scrutiny of the Sony BMG merger, although the major has since demerged and will officially be renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 2009.
EC Commissioner for competition Neelie Kroes has six weeks to provide a written explanation regarding competition in the music market.
Independent labels trade body Impala is also continuing its campaign against the merger and its appeal will be heard in Europe next year. Impala objected to the buy-out of Bertelsmann's stake by Sony BMG, which was approved by the European Commission in September. However, Impala will not launch a new appeal over the buy-out, preferring to focus on the original merger ruling in response to the indies' concerns about market concentration. Sony BMG declined to comment." [Billboard]
Round-up of December Strasbourg sitting
"In a hectic year-end session, MEPs demanded an end to national opt-outs to the 48-hour working week and backed measures to cut Europe's CO2 emissions by 2020. Also during the final sitting of the year, the parliament awarded the 20th Sakharov Prize for human rights to Chinese dissident Hu Jia in absentia.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy defended France's record during its 6-month presidency of the European Union (see article about Tuesday’s meeting – not very detailed) . MEPs mainly gave Mr Sarkozy a positive response for his handling of new EU climate change legislation and the crisis in Georgia." [Europa]
"The European Parliament continues to seek further scrutiny of the Sony BMG merger, although the major has since demerged and will officially be renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 2009.
EC Commissioner for competition Neelie Kroes has six weeks to provide a written explanation regarding competition in the music market.
Independent labels trade body Impala is also continuing its campaign against the merger and its appeal will be heard in Europe next year. Impala objected to the buy-out of Bertelsmann's stake by Sony BMG, which was approved by the European Commission in September. However, Impala will not launch a new appeal over the buy-out, preferring to focus on the original merger ruling in response to the indies' concerns about market concentration. Sony BMG declined to comment." [Billboard]
Round-up of December Strasbourg sitting
"In a hectic year-end session, MEPs demanded an end to national opt-outs to the 48-hour working week and backed measures to cut Europe's CO2 emissions by 2020. Also during the final sitting of the year, the parliament awarded the 20th Sakharov Prize for human rights to Chinese dissident Hu Jia in absentia.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy defended France's record during its 6-month presidency of the European Union (see article about Tuesday’s meeting – not very detailed) . MEPs mainly gave Mr Sarkozy a positive response for his handling of new EU climate change legislation and the crisis in Georgia." [Europa]
EU Commission - 05/01/09
Success for the Commission’s Register for Interest Representatives
"The Commission’s Register for Interest Representatives, launched on 23 June 2008, is progressing well. European citizens now have direct access to information on the existence, diversity and multitude of represented interests; less than six months after the Register was begun, more than 700 organisations are now registered[1], with more being added every day.
There has been a steady and constant flow of some thirty additions per week to the Register. More than 400 organisations representing business and professional organisations are registered, along with more than 150 NGOs. Specialised consultancy firms and law firms lobbying the European institutions are still not signing up." [Europa]
Telecoms: Commission clears amended nationwide Spanish broadband regulations; maintains concerns on lack of high-speed remedies
"The European Commission has, with reservations, given its green light to the Spanish draft regulation on wholesale broadband access, notified by the Spanish regulator, the Comisión del mercado de las telecomunicaciones ("CMT") on 4 December 2008. The Commission believes that the revised version of the draft measures addresses some of the issues on which the Commission had expressed serious doubts (IP/08/1704). However, the Commission still believes that regulation of wholesale broadband access should not be limited to speeds of up to 30 Mb/s. On the basis of the Commission's presently limited powers of oversight, it can only invite the CMT to change its regulatory approach in this regard.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "I welcome CMT's efforts to address the Commission's serious doubts. We need to ensure that alternative operators can compete effectively with Telefónica while setting the right incentives for investments in new generation networks. This would result in more innovation and better prices for consumers."" [Europa]
Judicial Review of Merger Control Decisions After the Impala Saga: Time for Policy Choices?
"Shortly following the adoption of the first EC merger regulation, a question arose among legal scholars and practitioners: will the EC courts make a sufficiently swift and thorough review of the Commission's merger decisions?1 Or, in other words, will judicial review be both effective and expedient enough to be compatible with the constraints of commercial life? The Court of First Instance (the CFI) and the Court of Justice (the ECJ, together with the CFI, the EC Courts) did not shy away from addressing these legitimate concerns. The timeliness of judicial review was significantly enhanced in 2000 when the Rules of Procedure of the CFI and the ECJ were amended to establish an expedited procedure allowing the EC Courts to give priority to certain types of cases.2 Merger control is by far the field of law that has benefited the most from the new procedure.3 As to the thoroughness of the CFI's review, it invites much less criticism now that the CFI has demonstrated its readiness to control Commission decisions extensively and annul them if need be, as illustrated inter alia by its three famous judgments of 2002 annulling prohibition decisions.4 In 2005, the importance of a thorough substantive review was confirmed by the ECJ itself in its no less famous Tetra Laval judgment (Tetra Laval II).5 All these cases were decisive milestones in the coming of age of the judicial review of merger control decisions in the EU." [GlobalCompetitionReview]
"The Commission’s Register for Interest Representatives, launched on 23 June 2008, is progressing well. European citizens now have direct access to information on the existence, diversity and multitude of represented interests; less than six months after the Register was begun, more than 700 organisations are now registered[1], with more being added every day.
There has been a steady and constant flow of some thirty additions per week to the Register. More than 400 organisations representing business and professional organisations are registered, along with more than 150 NGOs. Specialised consultancy firms and law firms lobbying the European institutions are still not signing up." [Europa]
Telecoms: Commission clears amended nationwide Spanish broadband regulations; maintains concerns on lack of high-speed remedies
"The European Commission has, with reservations, given its green light to the Spanish draft regulation on wholesale broadband access, notified by the Spanish regulator, the Comisión del mercado de las telecomunicaciones ("CMT") on 4 December 2008. The Commission believes that the revised version of the draft measures addresses some of the issues on which the Commission had expressed serious doubts (IP/08/1704). However, the Commission still believes that regulation of wholesale broadband access should not be limited to speeds of up to 30 Mb/s. On the basis of the Commission's presently limited powers of oversight, it can only invite the CMT to change its regulatory approach in this regard.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "I welcome CMT's efforts to address the Commission's serious doubts. We need to ensure that alternative operators can compete effectively with Telefónica while setting the right incentives for investments in new generation networks. This would result in more innovation and better prices for consumers."" [Europa]
Judicial Review of Merger Control Decisions After the Impala Saga: Time for Policy Choices?
"Shortly following the adoption of the first EC merger regulation, a question arose among legal scholars and practitioners: will the EC courts make a sufficiently swift and thorough review of the Commission's merger decisions?1 Or, in other words, will judicial review be both effective and expedient enough to be compatible with the constraints of commercial life? The Court of First Instance (the CFI) and the Court of Justice (the ECJ, together with the CFI, the EC Courts) did not shy away from addressing these legitimate concerns. The timeliness of judicial review was significantly enhanced in 2000 when the Rules of Procedure of the CFI and the ECJ were amended to establish an expedited procedure allowing the EC Courts to give priority to certain types of cases.2 Merger control is by far the field of law that has benefited the most from the new procedure.3 As to the thoroughness of the CFI's review, it invites much less criticism now that the CFI has demonstrated its readiness to control Commission decisions extensively and annul them if need be, as illustrated inter alia by its three famous judgments of 2002 annulling prohibition decisions.4 In 2005, the importance of a thorough substantive review was confirmed by the ECJ itself in its no less famous Tetra Laval judgment (Tetra Laval II).5 All these cases were decisive milestones in the coming of age of the judicial review of merger control decisions in the EU." [GlobalCompetitionReview]
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