EU Proposals Target Scandals
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The European Union's executive office said Thursday it wants to require companies to disclose the use of accounting practices that keep assets off balance sheets to prevent more big accounting scandals.
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Under attack by politicians and trade union leaders, European private equity firms are trying to rescue their reputation.
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Proposals for EU-wide penalties for counterfeiting face a key vote in the European parliament.
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Turkey&#39;s two main parties signalled yesterday that the government may drop a proposed law against adultery. Several EU foreign ministers have said that the proposal to punish cheating spouses as part of amendments
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Tuesday's European papers examine the Madrid bombings inquiry, the crisis in Ukraine and alleged abuses in the Germany army.
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Proposals are set to be unveiled to turn environmental offences over to the criminal courts across the EU.
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(InfoWorld) - In a surprise move, the European Commission said Wednesday it is shelving plans to overhaul Europeâs rules on copyright fees, after intense lobbying from France and from groups representing artists and authors. The Commission, the executive body of the European Union, was planning to replace the patchwork of national rules with a Europe-wide code designed to better suit the digital age. Presently most countries impose copyright levies on a wide range of products, from photocopiers to mobile phones, and including recordable formats such as CD-Rs, blank cassettes and even paper. The size of levies varies widely from country to country. Only the U.K., Ireland, and Luxembourg do not impose any such levies. Copyright levies are supposed to compensate artists and authors who donât receive any payment when their copyrighted music, documents, or pictures are duplicated by consumers. The Commission wanted to harmonize the rules and scrap levies on most hardware. Its aim was to reduce the fees, which in some cases increase the price of goods dramatically. For example, in Spain consumers have to pay almost â¬300 ($398) in levies when they buy an 80GB MP3 player; in Austria the equivalent charge is just â¬8, according to the Copyright Levies Reform Alliance (CLRA), a coalition of businesses dedicated to harmonizing and lowering copyright fees in Europe. The Commission said it was abandoning the rule change for now. It had planned to publish a proposal before the end of this year. âMore reflection is needed on this complex issue,â spokeswoman Pia AhrenKilde Hansen told journalists. She wouldnât give a new timetable for the legal proposal. She acknowledged that the French prime minister Dominique de Villepin had written to the Commission earlier this month, urging it to drop the plan but she insisted that the Commission will decide for itself when the proposal will be launched. The Commission has been planning to harmonize copyright levies across the E.U. since 2000. Since then the case for scrapping most levies has grown stronger. Digital rights management software, which allows copyright owners to track the copying of their works, has become commonplace. The Commissionâs climb down sparked an angry reaction from the companies and industry groups pushing for a change to the system. âEuropean industry is deeply disturbed by the European Commissionâs apparent about-face on the planned reform of copyright levies,â said Mark McGann, spokesman for the CLRA in a statement issued Wednesday. âWith this decision, it is clear to industry that the Commission has abandoned any serious efforts to establish transparency, efficiency and fairness in the way these levies are set, collected and distributed,â he added, warning that without the revamp of copyright levies, several large European companies now intend to file official complaints with the Commission that will likely result in a wave of infringement procedures against certain member states. âThe reform of copyright levies would then move from the European executive to the European Court of Justice,â CLRA said in its statement.
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The Russian-Georgian spying row, Germany's Afghan mission and a French Socialist leader's decision to bow out of the presidential race are key concerns in European papers on Friday.
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The European Commission announces plans to crack down on bogus 'holiday club' scams.
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European Union governments are pushing through contentious new plans to retain data from telephone calls and e-mails for a minimum period of 12 months as part of new anti-terrorist and cybercrime proposals.
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John Reid says 'do as we say' Franco Frattini, the reactionary EU commissioner leading a campaign against violent and "perverse" video games, is expected to push for the UK's ratings laws to be applied across Europe.â¦
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The proposal follows a scandal at the New York Stock Exchange and government sanctions against several other exchanges, to ensure that they serve investors' interest.
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EU leaders say they should turn to new priorities now that they have agreed on institutional reforms.
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The European Commission welcomed Monday proposals by Coca Cola to resolve a competition dispute focussed on deals between the drinks giant and retailers to ensure high-profile display.
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The European Union has called for an investigation into Ukraine&#39;s disputed presidential elections, saying the poll could not be considered democratic according to international standards.
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Europe's newspapers analyse the furore over an outspoken EU commissioner and Spain's apparent transatlantic snub
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European newspapers on Wednesday focused on controversial designated EU commissioner Rocco Buttiglione, who has sparked an uproar with his strong views on homosexuality and the role of women.