European Commission

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WHO Exaggerated Swine Flu Pandemic: EU Reports

Watchdogs accuse WHO of colluding with drugmakers

(Newser) - Was the H1N1 pandemic exaggerated? European officials are putting heat on the WHO over its handling of the pandemic, alleging the organization caused unnecessary panic and wasted millions of dollars. Reports released by an EU watchdog and the British Medical Journal go even further: they accuse the WHO of being...

Europe Offers $41B to Greece
 Europe Offers $41B to Greece 

Europe Offers $41B to Greece

Officials hope loan will calm markets

(Newser) - European officials made $41 billion in emergency financing available to Greece, hoping the easy access to credit would soothe fears that the country will default. EU Finance ministers agreed to price the loans at a below-market interest rate of 5%, as the Greek government is already struggling to pay high...

EU Should Go After Goldman, Since US Won't
 EU Should Go After 
 Goldman, Since US Won't 


Greek Crisis

EU Should Go After Goldman, Since US Won't

Firm helped Greece hide staggering debt, leading to near collapse

(Newser) - With the revelation that Goldman Sachs was peddling exotic instruments to help Greece hide its runaway debts as recently as November, something must be done, Simon Johnson writes. US authorities clearly aren't going to raise a finger—a few phone calls around Washington will ensure that the Fed looks the...

Blair Set to Become First European President

Ex-PM expected to become President Blair if Irish pass treaty

(Newser) - Tony Blair could be installed as Europe's first-ever president within weeks if Ireland, in voting today, approves the treaty creating the job. Nicolas Sarkozy believes Blair is the best man for the job, sources tell the Times. Angela Merkel initially believed the job should go to somebody from a country...

Euro Farmers Protest Falling Prices With Huge Milk Dump

800,000 gallons in Belgian field after recession takes big toll

(Newser) - European farmers today dumped 800,000 gallons of milk in a Belgian field, AFP reports, in a protest against a dramatic dive in prices. The group behind the scene says three French farmers committed suicide in the past week over prices, which have fallen by as much as half as...

Microsoft Move Won't Derail Antitrust Case

Company has unfair advantage, European Commission says

(Newser) - The European Commission is moving forward with its antitrust case against Microsoft even after the company's promise to sell its Windows 7 operating system without Internet Explorer in Europe. The commission "notes with interest" Microsoft's announcement, CNET News reports, but adds that "Microsoft has apparently decided to supply...

Tech Leaders Unite Against Microsoft

Nokia, IBM, Oracle join EU antitrust case over Explorer's dominance

(Newser) - A technology consortium whose members include IBM, Nokia, and Oracle has joined the European Commission’s antitrust case against Microsoft, the Financial Times reports. The consortium, Ecis, joins Google and the Mozilla Foundation in accusing Microsoft of using Windows to distort the web browser market in favor of Internet Explorer....

EU Trims Tuna Catch, Experts Warn: 'Not Enough'

New quotas well above sustainable limit

(Newser) - The European Commission completed a deal this week cutting back on the fishing of bluefin tuna, the Economist reports, but not sharply enough to save the species, scientists argue. The deal gradually reduces the legal catch from 28,500 tons this year to 19,950 tons in 2010—but conservationists...

EU Unveils $260B Stimulus Package
EU Unveils $260B Stimulus Package

EU Unveils $260B Stimulus Package

Struggling industries, member governments targeted in 2-year plan

(Newser) - The European Union Commission passed a $260 billion stimulus package today intended to boost its members’ economies during the next 2 years, Der Spiegel reports. The plan calls for more funds than most economists expected, but as the commission president Jose Barroso put it: “Exceptional times call for exceptional...

EU Snubs Talks on New Russia Pact

Retaliation for invasion of Georgia

(Newser) - Europe has backed out of talks on a new partnership agreement with Russia in the wake of the invasion of Georgia, the BBC reports.  The decision followed an emergency European summit in Brussels. The commission president said Europe could not continue with negotiations "as if nothing had happened....

Europe Backtracks on Biofuels
 Europe Backtracks on Biofuels 

Europe Backtracks on Biofuels

Environmental concerns put 10% quota on hold

(Newser) - The European commission is backing off a proposed 10% biofuels quota as scientists warn that the alternative fuels actually hurt the environment, the Guardian reports. “This is all very sensitive and fast-moving,” said a commission official. “There is now a lot of new evidence on biofuels, and...

Slow Down! Autobahn Hits a Limit

Germany rolls out first 75mph speed limit

(Newser) - The German autobahn is one of the world's last stretches of open road where a driver can learn how it feels to coax a Porsche to 200 mph and beyond—legally. But those days are numbered. the German state of Bremen has imposed a 75 mph speed limit and others...

In-Flight Cell Use Cleared For Takeoff in EU

Airlines will choose whether to offer service, which might be pricey

(Newser) - Good news for the EU-based air travelers who suffer BlackBerry withdrawal as soon as their plane takes off: Mobile-phone use in European airspace could be available as early as next month. The European Commission has cleared the technology needed to make calls from 10,000 feet up, and has left...

Italy Recalls Famed Mozzarella
 Italy Recalls Famed Mozzarella 

Italy Recalls Famed Mozzarella

Fears that cheese contains carcinogen had prompted Korea, Japan to ban imports

(Newser) - Fear of contamination today forced Italy to recall its celebrated mozzarella cheese, Reuters reports. Rome is withdrawing the cheese of 25 companies in the Campania region near Naples, source of the country’s best buffalo mozzarella, after a garbage crisis is thought to have spread cancer-causing dioxin. The European Commission...

Google Buys DoubleClick After EU Signs Off

Regulators cite Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft as 'credible' competitors

(Newser) - Google acquired ad tracker DoubleClick today after EU regulators approved the $3.1 billion deal, the AP reports. Antitrust officials dismissed concerns about competition, saying Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL also provide “credible” online ad services. The ruling ducked questions of how private data will be handled, an issue that...

EU Steels for Global Warming Conflict With Russians

Climate change will multiply trouble: report

(Newser) - The already-fraught relationship between Europe and Russia is bound to get worse in the next few decades. That's the sobering conclusion of a new European Union report on global warming and international politics, which concludes that climate change will act as a "threat multiplier," exacerbating today's problems and...

EU Fines Microsoft Record $1.3B
EU Fines Microsoft Record $1.3B
UPDATED

EU Fines Microsoft Record $1.3B

Regulators punish company for overcharging Windows developers

(Newser) - The European Commission fined Microsoft today a record $1.35 billion for failing to comply with its 2004 antitrust ruling. The EU's executive branch said that the company continued to charge "unreasonable prices" to developers building programs for Windows despite both the earlier ruling and a court verdict last...

Microsoft Tries to Appease EU With Blueprints

But skeptical regulators say it's deja vu from US software giant

(Newser) - Microsoft plans to share the secrets of its most popular products, the company announced today, in an effort to satisfy EU regulators who want the software giant to improve its interoperability. The European Commission did cautiously applaud the move, but noted that Microsoft has already made at least four similar...

EU Probes Chocolate Price Fixing
EU Probes Chocolate Price Fixing

EU Probes Chocolate Price Fixing

Hershey, Mars, others suspected of conspiracy

(Newser) - The European Commission suspects candy giant Hershey of conspiring with other chocolate and candy manufacturers in an industry-wide price-fixing scheme, AP reports. Both Hershey and rival Mars recently received requests for information from the commission after some 50 civil lawsuits in the US have alleged price fixing. The two companies...

Rock on! EU May Extend Song Copyrights

Ditties from Beatles, Who, Stones at play

(Newser) - Early hits from the Beatles and the Stones are only a few years away from falling out of copyright and into the public domain, but the European Commission wants to change that and keep royalties flowing to rock stars in their golden years, reports the Times of London. Plans to...

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