Brexit to hit SMEs the most – EUbusiness Week newsletter 811 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 811 top stories: States must be ready for new data protection rules; EU removes 8 countries from tax haven blacklist; France-Spain energy link receives EUR 578m EU funding; Social media record on removing hate speech improves; Qualcomm hit with EUR 997m EU fine for Apple deals; MEPs urge fight against spread of fake honey

Publisher’s Note

Brexit is impacting the confidence of Britain’s small businesses, according to research released this week, leading to lower investment, reduced access to finance, lower growth and reduced product development. A report from Dun & Bradstreet finds many business owners cancelling or postponing growth plans, while one in three believe their business won’t survive if talks go badly. Not encouraging, since small businesses are the sector the UK will rely on most to boost productivity if it exits the EU.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. States must be ready for new data protection rules

With new EU data protection rules set to come into force on 25 May, the European Commission has published guidance to help Member States prepare for the changes and provide support to businesses.
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2. EU removes 8 countries from tax haven blacklist

The European Union removed eight jurisdictions from its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes Tuesday, following commitments made at a high political level to remedy EU concerns.
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3. France-Spain energy link receives EUR 578m EU funding

EUR 578 m of EU money is to be channelled into a major electricity interconnection project between Spain and France, as part of the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility infrastructure investment instrument.
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4. Social media record on removing hate speech improves

IT companies removed around 70% of illegal hate speech notified to them, according to an evaluation of the EU Code of Conduct on countering illegal online hate speech carried out by NGOs and public bodies.
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5. Qualcomm hit with EUR 997m EU fine for Apple deals

Brussels fined Qualcomm EUR 997m Wednesday for abusing its market dominance in LTE baseband chipsets, paying billions of US dollars to a key customer, Apple, so that it would not buy from rivals.
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6. MEPs urge fight against spread of fake honey

The EU must step up support for beekeepers, ban harmful pesticides, invest more in developing safe bee drugs and clamp down on imports of fake honey, MEPs on the EU Parliament’s agriculture said Tuesday.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Avastin: qn agreement between pharma giants Roche and Novartis to reduce use of Avastin in ophthalmology and increase use of Lucentis could constitute restriction of competition, the EU Court ruled Tuesday.
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January 2018 infringements package: key decisions
Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU law firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

Economic policy of the euro area – Macroeconomic imbalances: conclusions on 2018 alert mechanism report – Macroeconomic and fiscal guidance to the member states (annual growth survey) – Eurogroup statement on Greece – Venezuela sanctions – North Korea sanctions – Iraq new strategy – EU-Chile association agreement – Zimbabwe conclusions in light of ongoing political transition
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Commission Watch

Commission legal action: Portugal over failure to protect natural habitats and species – Malta, Romania for non-deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure – Poland on Collective Rights Management – Bulgaria and Netherlands on Broadband Cost Reduction – Romania for failing to comply with Oil Stocks Directive – Ireland on Environmental impact assessment – Defence procurement: infringement procedures against 5 Member States – State aid: Irish National Asset Management Agency did not breach EU rules – Eurostat figures: Renewable energy in the EU
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Parliament Watch

Bulgarian Presidency priorities discussed in committees – Rule of law in Malta: MEPs demand police investigate all corruption allegations – Faster EU-wide exchange of non-EU nationals’ criminal records to fight crime – Deal for more CO2 emission cuts by 2030 – International Holocaust Commemoration Day – EU elections 2019: MEPs pave way for pan-European constituency post Brexit – Brexit CafÃ�s: young people share their opinions with their local MEPs
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EU diary

29 Jan: Launch of the EU Energy poverty Observatory
29-31 Jan: REACH 2018 Stakeholders’ Day
29 Jan: REACH 2018 Stakeholders’ Day
29 Jan: European Parliament Committee Meetings
30-31 Jan: Disaster risk reduction strategies
30 Jan: Simpler withholding tax procedures for Europe
1 Feb: Doing more with less
1 Feb: Financing energy efficiency
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary