EU SMEs getting greener – EUbusiness Week newsletter 568 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 568 top stories: Germany eyes eurozone firewall of ‘around EUR 800 bn’; Europeans to see roaming charges cut abroad; Euro-MPs back passenger data sharing deal with US; Patent requests in Europe reach record in 2011; Croatia announces restructuring plans for shipyards; Daimler opens first Mercedes plant in eastern Europe

This Week’s Top Stories

1. Germany eyes eurozone firewall of ‘around EUR 800 bn’
2. Europeans to see roaming charges cut abroad
3. Euro-MPs back passenger data sharing deal with US
4. Patent requests in Europe reach record in 2011
5. Croatia announces restructuring plans for shipyards
6. Daimler opens first Mercedes plant in eastern Europe

Publisher’s Note

Europe is going green. This week’s Eurobarometer survey, “SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets”, shows 1 in 8 employees of SMEs have a green job, while three in five SMEs selling green products or services have been active in green markets for more than three years compared to 52% in the US. On the down side, only a quarter of SMEs take advantage of the single market for green products or services; bureaucracy is a major obstacle; and still only few European SMEs extend their green business to foreign markets. Europe’s shift to a green economy is underway. But there is clearly huge untapped potential still to be exploited by smaller businesses in particular.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. Germany eyes eurozone firewall of ‘around EUR 800 bn’

Germany’s finance minister said Thursday the eurozone would soon have a firewall against the debt crisis of “around 800 billion euros”, on the eve of a crunch EU meeting to discuss the issue.
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Greece not ‘out of woods’ yet

2. Europeans to see roaming charges cut abroad

Europeans will pay less from July 1 to use their mobile phones in each other’s countries following agreement Wednesday between Commission, Parliament and Member States.
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3. Euro-MPs back passenger data sharing deal with US

A key Parliament committee has backed a controversial agreement requiring airlines to transfer the personal data of passengers to US authorities, despite privacy fears.
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4. Patent requests in Europe reach record in 2011

Patent requests in Europe reached a record high in 2011, in a telling sign that companies are determined to stay on the cutting edge despite a debt crisis and an uncertain economy.
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5. Croatia announces restructuring plans for shipyards

Croatia has announced it will relaunch its project to restructure several ailing shipyards which are heavily subsidised by the state, in contravention of EU regulations.
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6. Daimler opens first Mercedes plant in eastern Europe

German car maker Daimler opened its first Mercedes-Benz factory in eastern Europe in Hungary on Thursday, a rare sign of foreign investor confidence in a country at odds with the European Union.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Hungary: Hungary’s government submitted Tuesday an amendment to its controversial new law on the judiciary after the Commission threatened legal action.
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EU court orders Telefonica to pay antitrust fine
Latest Court of Justice judgements
EU Law Firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

Financial transaction tax: German Finance Minister Schaeuble says he will seek alternatives to a cross-border tax on the finance industry that has run into fierce resistance.
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Monti blames Germany, France for Euro debt crisis
Spain could hold presidency of eurozone rescue fund
Nearly half of Irish people to vote for EU treaty: poll
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Commission Watch

Kosovo: Kosovo took a step closer to European integration on Tuesday when Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele launched a feasibility study on an EU-Kosovo association deal.
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EU to send observers to Myanmar
EU says DR Congo vote results ‘not credible’
Commission …

Euro-Parliament Watch

Dutch website: the Dutch parliament voted to reject a web site set up by the right-wing Freedom Party which asks people to report problems they have experienced with foreigners.
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In plenary this week, MEPs approved legislation to make trade over-the-counter derivatives safer and more transparent; welcomed the progress of Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro towards joining the EU; and voted to freeze Parliament’s 2013 budget in real terms.
Parliament …

EU diary

30-31 Mar, Economic & Financial Affairs Ministers informal
2-3 Apr, Euro-Med conference on research and innovation
3 Apr, Innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing
4 Apr, Proposal to facilitate cross-border motor vehicle registration
4 Apr, Governing council European Central Bank
16 Apr, EU sustainable energy for all summit
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary