On 2 July the European Commission adopted a "consumer enforcement package" to strengthen the EU-wide enforcement of consumer rules. The package consists of a Communication setting out five priority areas for action, and a report on the first two y... (read more)

On 2 July, the European Commission adopted a Communication setting out its position on VAT grouping schemes. The EU VAT legislation gives Member States the option, for the purpose of administrative simplification, to regard as one single taxable p... (read more)

On 2 July, the European Commission proposed to set up a new microfinance facility providing microcredit to small businesses and to people who have lost their jobs and want to start their own small businesses. Support measures will also be put forw... (read more)

On 1 July, a new eurosceptic group was launched to replace the Independence/Democracy group. The Group is led by Nigel Farage from the UK Independent party (UKIP) and it is dominated by 13 MEP's who won recent seats in the European elections. The ... (read more)

 On 1 July, the European Commission announced that it has awarded almost 10,000 new grants to be funded by the Erasmus Mundus programme in the academic year 2009-2010. 8,385 students and academics will come to study or teach in Europe, and 1,... (read more)

 On 30 June, the German Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the Lisbon Treaty, stating that it is compatible with the country's basic law. In spite of this, the ratification process still remains suspended and the German chancellor reiter... (read more)

On 1 July Sweden has taken its role as EU Council Presidency for the next 6 months from the Czech Republic. The Prime Minister of Sweden Fredrick Reinfeldt stated that "The most important thing is to ensure that we are able to gather the EU togeth... (read more)

On 1 July European Union rules governing the size and shape of many fruit and vegetables will cease to exist when specific marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables are repealed. The Commission's initiative to get rid of these stand... (read more)

On the 26 June the Working Party requested a number of modifications and additions to be made on the functioning of the court system by creating a unified patent litigation system (UPLS). The main areas which were addressed by the Working Party in... (read more)

On the 29 June, a set of practical measures aimed at improving the functioning of the Single Market at national, regional and local levels was put forward by the European Commission, so that all citizens and businesses can make full use of their S... (read more)

The European Commission Enterprise and Industry DG has raised the flag for the start of the 2010 European Enterprise Awards (EEA). These awards recognise and reward excellence in enterprise and entrepreneurship promotion especially at regional lev... (read more)

On the 25 June, President Barroso and Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs welcomed the adoption of new rules on the internal energy market by the Council following a positive vote by the European Parliament in April. The new legislation is expecte... (read more)

On the 25 June, the Commission took firm action against 25 Member States who prevent European consumers benefiting from the advantages of a competitive and open Energy Market by not complying with EU legislation. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Cz... (read more)

The contribution of industrial symbiosis in regional economic development in the UK, EU and world-wide and its considerable beneficial impact upon the environment, was on the agenda in Brussels on 24 June at a lively event organised by the Nationa... (read more)

At its meeting on 18 and 19 June, the European Council recalled that the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon requires ratification by each of the 27 Member States and reaffirmed its wish to see the Treaty enter into force by the end of 2009.<... (read more)

On 19 June, the European Council adopted a regulation on the placing on the market and use of feed, following a first-reading agreement with the European Parliament. The main objective of the new regulation is to boost innovation within the feed i... (read more)

On 22 June the Agriculture and Fisheries Council approved a political agreement on a draft regulation concerning novel foods. The main objective of the draft regulation is to stimulate the development and placing of safe innovative foods on the EU... (read more)

On the 23 June, the Commission made it publicly available for the possibility for a taxpayer to get a certificate proving that he checked the validity of the VAT identification number of a client at a given time. This certificate can be used as on... (read more)

On the 16 June the European Commission published a report on the equality of women and men which suggested that the current unemployment levels are affecting women more than men because women are more often in precarious jobs. This includes workin... (read more)

On the 22 June, the eurosceptic group, "European Conservatives and Reformists Group" officially formed; initially launched by the Conservative party, it comprises of 55 MEP's from eight countries. Currently being the fourth largest group in parlia... (read more)

The annual European flagship event on environmental issues, Green Week 2009, will be taking place from 23-26 June in Brussels. The programme will consist of various conference sessions, discussions, and debates, focused on a few main themes. These... (read more)

On the 18 June, the Heads of State or Government agreed unanimously on the name of Mr. José Manuel Durão Barroso as the person they intend to nominate as President of the European Commission for the period 2009-2014.

During the Councilâ€... (read more)

On 18 June the European Council agreed in its conclusions that "flexicurity" is an important means to modernise and foster the adaptability of labour market, and therefore priority should be given to:

• preparing labour markets for fu... (read more)

On 16 June the European Commission launched the BUILD UP web portal on http://www.buildup.eu/ as a tool for sharing information on reducing energy use of buildings. Content will be regularly upd... (read more)

The EU Social Partners have produced a framework agreement on ‘Parental Leave’. The agreement lays down minimum requirements designed to facilitate the reconciliation of parental and professional responsibilities for working parents, taking in... (read more)

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), based in Helsinki, has published on its website the second public consultation on a proposal to harmonise the classification and labelling of four chemical substances. Comments are welcome on the proposal with... (read more)

On 3 June the European Commission published a communication suggesting different possible measures on how to successfully tackle the impact of the crisis on employment. The communication comes as a follow-up to the recent EU Employment Summit of M... (read more)

On 2 July the European Commission adopted a "consumer enforcement package" to strengthen the EU-wide enforcement of consumer rules. The package consists of a Communication setting out five priority areas for action, and a report on the first two y... (read more)