SME-friendly standards needed – EUbusiness Week 494

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EUbusiness Week – Issue 494
18 June 2010
http://www.eubusiness.com
Your way through the EU information maze
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This Week’s Top Stories
=======================
1. Europe clamps down on debt in bid to banish Spanish blues
2. EU invites Iceland to membership talks
3. EU limits truckers’ working hours throughout Europe
4. Member States must decide on airport body scanners: EC
5. Using the Danube more without abusing it
6. Greece remains gateway for EU immigrants

Publisher’s Note
================
The needs of smaller businesses in standards writing are
brought to the fore this week with the publication of a new
guide to standards development which aims to promote
awareness about standards issues that affect SMEs.

SMEs tend to be at a disadvantage in product or service
markets because of their dependency on larger competitors,
suppliers or customers. The guide aims to rectify this by
enhancing the SME-relevance of standards, and making their
drafting process more SME-friendly.

Standards bodies CEN, CENELEC and NORMAPME, who produced the
guide, are business facilitators in Europe, removing trade
barriers for European industry and consumers. All hope its
adoption will lead to “a great leap towards a more SME-
friendly standardisation system”.
http://www.eubusiness.com/sme/cen-cenelec.17

Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. Europe clamps down on debt in bid to banish Spanish blues
————————————————————
Europe clamped down on debt on Thursday with decisions to
sanction countries that overspend, to publish banks’
solvency levels and introduce a new bank levy in a
bid to banish dark clouds over Spain.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/summit-finance.58c
Greece gets stamp of approval from EU, IMF
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/greece-finance-imf.57y

2. EU invites Iceland to membership talks
—————————————–
EU leaders have agreed to open membership negotiations with
Iceland despite differences over whale hunting and a bank
collapse that hit British and Dutch investors.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/summit-iceland.57f
Serbia makes first move to EU as aid deal unblocked
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/serbia-enlargement.55u

3. EU limits truckers’ working hours throughout Europe
——————————————————
Long-distance lorry drivers, independent or salaried, are
not allowed to work more than 48 hours hours a week in
Europe, the European Parliament ruled on Wednesday.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/parliament-social.572

4. Member States must decide on airport body scanners: EC
———————————————————
EU Member States should decide on their own whether to use
body scanners at airports, but the technology employed
must be up to EU standards, says the Commission.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/aviation-security.56u

5. Using the Danube more without abusing it
——————————————-
Countries bordering the Danube want to increase shipping on
the second longest river on the European continent without
abusing an ecosystem unique in the world.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/romania-danube.54w

6. Greece remains gateway for EU immigrants
——————————————-
Greece remains the gateway of choice for illegal immigrants
to the EU even though the number of arrivals dropped in
2009, the EU’s border agency Frontex said on Wednesday.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/greece-immigration.56x

EUROPEAN CASE LAW
=================
Health: a European country is not obliged to foot the entire
health bill of a national who gets unexpected hospital care
during a visit to another EU state, the European Court of
Justice said on Tuesday.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/court-health-policy.56d
Court gives Murdoch a win over Berlusconi TV company
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/court-italy-tv-aid.56k
Euro-Parliament backs pact to ease cross-border divorces
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/justice-divorce.570
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
————-
Iran: European leaders on Thursday agreed new sanctions on
Iran, going further than new UN and US punitive measures,
targeting important oil and gas sectors and upsetting
Russia in the process.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/summit-iran-nuclear.589
Cameron vows to defend British interests at first EU summit
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/britain-summit.57a
EU will make decision on Cuba ties in September
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/cuba-diplomacy.561
http://www.eubusiness.com/European_Council

Commission Watch
—————-
Recovery plan: Finance Commissioner Michel Barnier said
Thursday he would offer an economic recovery plan for
the whole of the European Union in October.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/france-economy.57s
Turkey’s policies not harming EU bid: report
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/turkey-mideast.557
Spain, Portugal celebrate 25 years in European community
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/spain-portugal.54u
EU sets aside EUR 5m for Kyrgyzstan suffering
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/kyrgyzstan-unrest.56e
http://www.eubusiness.com/Commission

Euro-Parliament Watch
———————
Food labelling: food labels should feature mandatory
nutritional information and guideline daily amounts,
according to draft legislation adopted by MEPs Wednesday.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/food-labelling.166
MEPs urge tighter derivatives trading regulation
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/derivatives-market.156
MEPs back new bluefin tuna catch tracking system
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/bluefin-tuna.176
EU must enforce rail liberalisation, say MEPs
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/rail-liberalisation.176
EU-US Open Skies: MEPs call for open markets
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/open-skies.176

At their plenary session this week, Euro-MPs also decided
to create a special committee to prepare for the EU’s next
long term budgetary framework; and updated the EU’s trade
ban on torture implements.
http://www.eubusiness.com/Europarl

EU diary
——–
21 Jun, Environment Council
21-22 Jun, Informal Meeting of Housing Ministers
24 Jun, Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council
25-26 Jun, Muskoka, G8 Muskoka Summit
26-27 Jun, G20 Toronto Summit
28-29 Jun, Agriculture and Fisheries Council

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
——–
Taxing the financial sector: EU leaders tackled the thorny
question of how to tax the financial sector on Thursday,
distilling ideas to put to next weekend’s G20 summit.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/summit-finance-tax.57o
http://www.eubusiness.com/features

Policy Forum
————
Parliament votes against entrepreneurship
http://www.eubusiness.com/sme/esba-10-06-16

Food Industry 1 – 0 Consumers
http://www.eubusiness.com/consumer/beuc.10-06-16
More press: http://www.eubusiness.com/press

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Events
——
6 Jul, Heidelberg: Int’l Network Conference (INC2010)
http://www.eubusiness.com/research/inc-2010

7 Sep, European industrial technologies conference
http://www.eubusiness.com/research/ind-tech.10
More events: http://www.eubusiness.com/events

Jobs
—-
Senior Communications Officer, European Institute for
Gender Equality
http://www.eubusiness.com/Jobs/eige.10-06-16

Legal Adviser, European Molecular Biology Laboratory
http://www.eubusiness.com/Jobs/embl.10-06-16
More jobs: http://www.eubusiness.com/jobs

Guides
——
Consultation on Derivatives and Market Infrastructures
http://www.eubusiness.com/finance/derivatives-guide.02
More guides: http://www.eubusiness.com/guides

Publications
————–
EU Food Facility
http://www.eubusiness.com/food/food-facility.02/
More publications: http://www.eubusiness.com/EUbooks

Other news on EUbusiness this week
———————————-
EU ups its stake in COST science programme 17-Jun
http://www.eubusiness.com/research/cost.32j
EC approves RBS Sempra sale to JP Morgan 17-Jun
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/mergers-jp.morgan.176
Greek downgrade sparks eurozone anger 15-Jun
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/greece-economy-debt.56r
EU aims for safer electric cars 15-Jun
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/electric-cars-safety.156
Eurozone trade surplus slides to EUR1.8bn in April 15-Jun
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/eurozone-economy.56i
European new car sales slump 9.3 pct in May 15-Jun
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/europe-auto-sector.56b
EU launches forestry sustainable development tool 14-Jun
http://www.eubusiness.com/environ/forestry-tosia.1eg

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