Trade mark reform good for SMEs – EUbusiness Week newsletter 701 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 701 top stories: EU charges Russia’s Gazprom with abuse of market position; EU agrees opt-out deal for GMO imports; Malmstroem pleads for support in US trade deal fight; Eurozone recovery ‘is there’ says ECB board member; Cyprus bailout on track after foreclosure law passed; EU dreams of Iranian gas to break dependence on Moscow

Publisher’s Note

It has taken two years of inter-institutional discussions, but the provisional political agreement reached between Council, Parliament and Commission on reform of the European trade mark system will be welcomed, by SMEs in particular.

The reform package is expected to improve conditions for businesses to innovate and to benefit from more effective trade mark protection against counterfeits. A modernised and efficient legal trade mark framework should also make a strong contribution to economic performance and employment.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. EU charges Russia’s Gazprom with abuse of market position

The EU on Wednesday formally charged Russian gas giant Gazprom with abusing its dominant market position in Europe, risking a new battle with the Kremlin and deepening the crisis over Ukraine.
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Gazprom slams ‘unfounded’ EU charges

2. EU agrees opt-out deal for GMO imports

The EU has announced plans to allow Member States to individually decide whether to allow the import of controversial genetically modified foods and animal feed.
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US ‘disappointed’ by EU opt-out plan for GMO imports

3. Malmstroem pleads for support in US trade deal fight

The EU’s top trade official urged European governments to “do more” to defend a controversial free trade deal between the US and European Union that has faced fierce hostility in key countries, especially Germany.
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TTIP, a red rag to a bull in Germany

4. Eurozone recovery ‘is there’ says ECB board member

Economic recovery has arrived in the 19 countries that share the euro, but it is up to governments to ensure it endures, says European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure.
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5. Cyprus bailout on track after foreclosure law passed

Cyprus’s bailout agenda was back on track Saturday after parliament adopted a controversial and long-delayed foreclosure and insolvency package as demanded by the country’s international lenders.
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6. EU dreams of Iranian gas to break dependence on Moscow

The EU is hoping future gas imports from Iran can break its dependence on Russia as prospects grow for a nuclear deal that would include lifting sanctions on Tehran.
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EUROPEAN LAW

LuxLeaks: Luxembourg charged Thursday the French journalist behind the revealing of the so-called LuxLeaks scandal that implicated the small European country in lowering tax rates for multinationals.
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EU court dismisses Zimbabwe sanctions appeal
Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU law firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

Summit: EU leaders headed into a summit on the Mediterranean migrant crisis on Thursday under pressure to act after survivors laid bare the full horror of last weekend’s catastrophic shipwreck.
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Mediterranean migrant deaths soar ‘exponentially’
British newspaper baron gifts anti-EU UKIP GBP 1 million
Council …

Commission Watch

Ukraine: the Commission has announced payment of EUR 250m in aid loans to Ukraine, bringing the total to EUR 1.6 bn to support the economy battered by the war against pro-Russian rebels in the east.
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Poland pledges EUR 8.0 bn to Juncker growth plan
EU to broker new round of Serbia-Kosovo normalisation talks
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Parliament Watch

UK: British media baron Richard Desmond has gifted the anti-EU UK Independence Party GBP 1 million, weeks from one of the tightest elections in decades.
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This week, Parliament and Council negotiators opened talks on the European Fund for Strategic Investments; while MEPs in committee said gas ovens needed EU safety rules but oven gloves did not, and set up a working group to come up with proposals on how to make best use of robotics.
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EU diary

27-28 Apr: How to identify complex substances in REACH
27-30 Apr: European Parliament plenary session
28 Apr: Commission to adopt European Agenda on Security
29 Apr: Commission adopts its monthly infringements package
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary