EU extends state help for movies
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European filmmakers will be able to claim state subsidies until at least the end of 2009, Brussels rules.
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A new tax relief scheme is introduced to support the British film industry with subsidies worth up to Â£4m per film.
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(InfoWorld) - The European Commission asked the German regulatory authority, the Federal Network Agency, Monday to do more to ensure a level playing field in the market for high-speed optical fiber connections to the home or office. It is asking the regulator to help secure adequate access to the market for competitors to Deutsche Telekom AG. The Commission -- the executive and regulatory branch of the European Union -- also asked the national regulator to complete its market analysis for access to the new super fast networks, dubbed next-generation networks (NGNs). "The Commission is keen to ensure that NGNs can be deployed and made accessible in a consistent and transparent manner across Europe," said Viviane Reding, EU telecom commissioner. "It is vital that we ensure effective competition and the legal certainty necessary for all market players to invest in new products and services that will benefit consumers." In May the Federal Network Agency notified the Commission of rules designed to force Deutsche Telekom to grant competitors access to its copper fixed telephone network. As Deutsche Telekom is upgrading its network by rolling out optical fibre-based connections, these rules also apply during the transition to the new infrastructure. In a letter sent to the national regulator Monday, the Commission did not challenge its market definition of local loop unbundling but raised a number of issues on regulatory remedies. Having examined the rules, the Commission said they were a step in the right direction but ultimately they have failed to ensure fair competition. "There are more issues to be tackled, we want more remedies," said Martin Selmayr, a Commission spokesman in charge of telecom-related issues, at a press conference Monday. The rollout of fiber closer to the customers, normally to the street cabinets, enables the provision of high bandwidth services but it raises important issues regarding the position of alternative operators that currently benefit from access obligations of Deutsche Telekom's existing networks. As alternative operators in Germany roll out their own infrastructure to local exchanges, these operators now need an economic way of reaching the new access points provided in street cabinets. The Commission is asking the German telecom regulator to guarantee that access to Deutsche Telekom's existing copper network by its competitors remains efficient during the rollout of NGNs. In the new networks, the number of access points required by an alternative operator will be many times higher than that for the traditional fixed telephony network. In many cases there would no longer be a business case for alternative operators to extend their network down to the street cabinets, the Commission said. Therefore, the Commission stresses the importance of ensuring appropriate alternative access solutions as NGNs are deployed. The Commission can't force the national regulator to take action but its opinion cannot be ignored, Selmayr said. At the same time, the deployment of NGNs raises questions as to how competitors may continue benefiting from current access obligations, in the future, while maintaining incentives to invest for both the incumbent and new entrants. Deutsche Telekom has begun delivering IP (Internet Protocol) services such as telephony, television and Internet access over VDSL (Very high bit rate DSL) to customers in some German cities. It has asked the regulator to exempt its VDSL service from a requirement that it lease its infrastructure to competitors on reasonable terms, claiming that without the exclusive right to use the infrastructure, it cannot fund the necessary investment.
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The European Commission approved on Wednesday state aid to help the British Post Office cover the costs of providing public services.
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Brussels on Wednesday tightened the screws on European Union governments that have broken the bloc&#39;s common rules, in a drive to prise open national markets for companies in the gambling, telecommunications and financial services sectors, and the legal profession.
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Keeping skewed markets on an even keel The European Commission will investigate public service broadcasting's use of new media to determine whether state aid to broadcasters is unfair to commercial competitors.â¦
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European countries agreed on Tuesday to expand protected bird territories to help save species threatened by intensive agriculture and climate change.
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BRUSSELS, Jan 3 (IPS) - The EU is stepping up relief efforts in the  tsunami-hit areas around the Indian Ocean.
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The European Union agreed to increase its last year financial aid for Bulgaria's farming to EUR56.5 million from initially planned EUR56.1 million under a financial memorandum officials signed Tuesday.
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The EU adopts plans to force European energy markets to be open to more competition.
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Europe's programme for funding scientific research in the member states is a step closer to being adopted.
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Audiovisual without frontiers The European Commission has relaxed the rules on advertising for the audiovisual sector in response to the growth of media services such as video-on-demand.â¦
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The move brings the European Union's total promises of support to 1.5bn once contributions from the 25 national governments are included.
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The European Commission is to draw up plans to bolster co-operation in the fight against terror.
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The European Union reached &quot;understanding&quot; Friday on how to transfer personal information about passengers flying to the United States for use in Washington&#39;s &quot;war on terror&quot;, EU officials said.
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The EU considers introducing a donor card to address a shortage of organs for transplant across member states.
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Several movie studios announced plans Thursday to release a handful of films on high-definition DVD in Europe, continuing the slow rollout of the new format worldwide.