Innehållssamlare

In a rare show of unity, telecom firms large and small have rejected European Parliament plans to further lower price caps on mobile phone calls passed abroad – the so-called roaming regulation – saying it will squeeze out new competitors from the market.

Whatever the solution in the tug of war between the Troika and the Greek authorities, it is ordinary Greeks who will be punished for the collective mistakes of their leaders and the mistakes of their colleagues in the other European states, argues Yiannis Roubatis.

Hungary is to accept most revisions demanded by the European Commission to the country's controversial new constitution, even where it considers the EU executive to be wrong, said MEP József Szájer, who is a member of the country's ruling Fidesz party and was one of the constitution's senior draftsmen.

China's cash-flush state-owned power companies are going on a buying spree abroad, scooping up bargains with virtually no political opposition as Europe looks to reduce its debts.

While the opposition may have forced the resignation of Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc, Romania is unlikely to make significant, strategic changes since the country's policies are conditioned by a much-needed agreement with the International Monetary Fund, argues Stratfor.

The Commission unveiled yesterday (8 February) its latest reports on the progress of Romania and Bulgaria in stepping up law enforcement and the fight against corruption. The EU executive also called on civil society to help accelerate reforms in the two countries.

Greek leaders failed yesterday (8 February) to agree on a reform and austerity programme, the price of a financial bailout to avoid a messy default, forcing Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos to go to the country's financial backers with an incomplete deal.

The US Treasury Department yesterday (8 February) enlisted five EU nations to help crack down on offshore tax evasion by Americans and ease the burdens the effort has imposed on many banks and financial institutions. 

Activists expressed disappointment at the EU Danish presidency’s version of the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive, which is likely to become the most important piece of legislation to date on the issue.

Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier yesterday (8 February) proposed creating a European foundation statute to allow public interest organisations to use the same legal framework across the EU.

After years of trying to persuade sceptics, the renewable energy industry continues to face an uphill battle in convincing power producers that integrating more renewable energies like wind and solar will not put the electricity grid in jeopardy.

Once again Europe is trailing the United States, Japan and South Korea when it comes to boosting innovation and meeting EU targets of devoting 3% of GDP to research and development.

A multilevel Europe is both a chance for the EU to survive and return to economic prosperity, while for Ukraine it opens new chances to get closer to the Union and envisage a shared future, writes Roman Rukomeda from Ukrainian foundation 'People First'.

Yes, European countries have to cut public spending in order to put their finances back in shape. But this should not compromise essential public services such as education, health care or tax collection, writes Klaus Heeger of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI).

The United States remained the primary backer of biotech crop technology in 2011, but adoption spread internationally as the total global planted area of genetically modified seeds grew 8% from a year ago, a new report says.

European Commission and national officials raided the offices of two electricity exchanges on Tuesday (7 February) following concerns their planned tie-up may thwart competition in the power exchange market.

Argentina's president yesterday (7 February) accused Britain of "militarising the South Atlantic" and vowed to complain to the United Nations as tension rises ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war.

Even though Greece’s government missed another deadline to come up with a list of painful reforms, the European Central Bank (ECB) has signalled it will exchange its Greek bond holdings in order to reduce the country’s debt.

Nine EU countries have asked the Danish presidency to put the financial transaction tax (FTT) on the 27-country bloc's agenda without delay, the French government announced in a statement yesterday (7 February).

Jacques Delors, former European Commission president, and José Manuel Barroso, the current chief of the EU executive, both regretted the national "resistance" and "lack of spirit of cooperation" amongst the leaders of the 27 EU countries in dealing with the bloc's debt crises.