Food labelling watered down – EUbusiness Week 482

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EUbusiness Week – Issue 482
19 March 2010
http://www.eubusiness.com
Your way through the EU information maze
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This Week’s Top Stories
=======================
1. Europe shames its major powers over debts
2. WTO’s Boeing-Airbus ruling ‘set for broad impact’
3. EU moves to simplify VAT payments through e-invoices
4. Tuna ban: EU squabbling, China opposed
5. EU, US agree to work together on derivatives markets
6. Bird flu outbreak in Romania, EU’s first in a year

Publisher’s Note
================
A step forward for food labelling this week as Euro-MPs
voted for clearer and more informative new labels on food.
These, said the Environment Committee, should give
information on energy content and nutritional value,
as well as the country of origin.

MEPs did, however, vote against an EU-wide “traffic light”
system to show key nutrients (fat, saturated fat, sugar and
salt). Having waited for the end of an 18-month-long debate,
consumer organisations were disappointed. Research, says
BEUC, shows that “consumers find colour coding the easiest
and simplest way to make informed and healthy choices.”
http://www.eubusiness.com/food/new-food-labels

Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. Europe shames its major powers over debts
——————————————–
The European Union on Wednesday accused its major powers of
running away from bulging government deficits, as Greece
said it could still seek IMF help if European backing
did not ease its debt crisis.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/politics-economy.3nw
ECB chief rejects idea of expelling eurozone sinners
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/politics-economy.3o5
British row over leaked EU deficit report
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/britain-politics.3nb

2. WTO’s Boeing-Airbus ruling ‘set for broad impact’
—————————————————-
A forthcoming WTO ruling on a US complaint against EU
subsidies to Airbus is likely to have a broader impact on
aerospace markets, a lawyer acting for Airbus’ US rival
Boeing predicts.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/wto-trade-dispute.3nx

3. EU moves to simplify VAT payments through e-invoices
——————————————————-
European finance ministers on Tuesday agreed in principle to
simplify sales tax (VAT) invoicing, particularly online,
leading to up to 18 billion euros of savings for businesses.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/tax-internet.3n5

4. Tuna ban: EU squabbling, China opposed
—————————————–
A bid to ban catches of bluefin tuna in two major fisheries
ran into problems on Tuesday as EU countries squabbled over
the proposal while China was reported to be opposed to it.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/species-cites-un.3mu

5. EU, US agree to work together on derivatives markets
——————————————————-
EU and US officials have agreed to work together to improve
the transparency of derivatives markets, favoured by
speculators, after Washington warned Brussels against
over-regulating hedge funds.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/us-economy-finance.3m0

6. Bird flu outbreak in Romania, EU’s first in a year
—————————————————–
The first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in Europe for
a year has been identified in a backyard poultry farm in
Romania, the Commission said on Tuesday.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/germany-health-flu.3ml

EUROPEAN CASE LAW
=================
Competition: the European Court of Justice has ruled against
Poland’s largest phone company in a challenge to Polish
national legislation that blocks service providers from
binding customers to combined sales contracts.
http://www.eubusiness.com/eulaw/telecoms.02
EU OKs Slovenian short-term export-credit insurance scheme
http://www.eubusiness.com/competition/insurance-slovenia
Commission requests exit tax changes
http://www.eubusiness.com/sme/exit-taxation
New: Key EU Legal Terms
http://www.eubusiness.com/eulaw/key-eu-terms
http://www.eubusiness.com/eulaw
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from national and European Courts. Free 30 day license for
EUbusiness readers – thereafter at a special introductory
discount of 20 per cent
http://www.eubusiness.com/caselex-30
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Inside the EU Institutions
==========================

Council Watch
————-
Balkans: EU president Herman Van Rompuy may stay away from
an EU-Balkans summit on Saturday due to “problems” between
Slovenia, Serbia and Kosovo.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/balkans-vanrompuy.3oq
Iceland’s EU bid ‘must be negotiated with payback’
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/netherlands-iceland.3p5
Bulgaria gets new minister for EU funds
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/bulgaria-politics.3oa
http://www.eubusiness.com/European_Council

Commission Watch
—————-
Economy: EC chief Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday dismissed
as unrealistic a call by French President Nicolas Sarkozy
for Europe to create an “economic government”.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/economy-france.3ot
EU to asses visa-free travel for Bosnia by mid-April
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/bosnia-enlarge.3p7
Prodi passes on pipelines, board seats to teach in China
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/china-italy-prodi.3nf
http://www.eubusiness.com/Commission

Euro-Parliament Watch
———————
In committee meetings this week, the Agriculture Committee
kicked off the debate on common agricultural policy reform;
the Regional Development Committee backed new rules to allow
regional development projects to get faster and easier
access to EU structural funding; and MEPs and employers’ and
workers’ representatives agreed that introducing an EU-wide
minimum income would help to reduce poverty.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Europarl

EU diary
——–
22 Mar, General Affairs and Foreign affairs Councils
24-25 Mar, European Parliament Plenary session
25-26 Mar, European Council
29-30 Mar, Agriculture and Fisheries Council
31 Mar, Informal Meeting of Culture Ministers

The Week Ahead: http://www.eubusiness.com/events/EUcalendar
Long-term diary: http://www.eubusiness.com/events/eu-diary

EUbusiness Community
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Analysis
——–
Economy: the mess the eurozone finds itself in, with an
unprecedented contingency plan now drawn up to bail out
wayward countries like Greece, has forced Europe to sketch
out a new form of cross-border economic government.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/eurozone-finance.3my
Eurozone crisis calls for joint efforts: analysts
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/germany-france.3lz
http://www.eubusiness.com/features

Policy Forum
————
Financial services: Consumers International led its 220
member organisations from around the world in a call for
action on financial services on World Consumer Rights Day.
http://www.eubusiness.com/consumer/consint.10-03-12
More press: http://www.eubusiness.com/press

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Events
——
16 Jun, Potsdam: Green Ventures 2010
http://www.eubusiness.com/environ/green-ventures.10

6 Jul, Heidelberg: Eighth International Network Conference
http://www.eubusiness.com/research/inc-2010
More events: http://www.eubusiness.com/events

Jobs
—-
Finance Assistant, European Free Trade Association
http://www.eubusiness.com/trade/efta.10-03-15

EU Budget Policy Officer, Birdlife International
http://www.eubusiness.com/finance/birdlife.10-03-15
More jobs: http://www.eubusiness.com/jobs

Briefing
——–
Banana Accompanying Measures: the Commission has adopted a
EUR 190m support package for banana exporters from African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states.
http://www.eubusiness.com/agri/bananas.03

Key facts about bird flu (Avian Influenza)
http://www.eubusiness.com/health/bird-flu.10-03-16
More briefings: http://www.eubusiness.com/guides

Other news on EUbusiness this week
———————————-
Failure to protect bluefin tuna could see extinction 18-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/species-cites-un.3p2
EC acts against states on implementation of EU rules 18-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/single-market/rules-implementation
EU orders Germany to open up airport ground services 18-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/germany-sector.3op
Eurozone back into trade deficit in January 18-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/eurozone-economy.3oc
Europe raises red flag on future of animal species 17-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/environ/redlist
EU drops anti-trust charges against France’s EDF 17-Mar
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/energy-company-edf.3nm

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