EURACTIF

Meeting in New Delhi today (10 February), EU and Indian leaders have said they took a “significant step forward” to speed up negotiations to reach a free-trade pact by the end of the year, which would double trade between the 27-country bloc and the Asian partner.

Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders has launched a website, inviting people to denounce Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian nationals causing 'nuisance' to the country's society. Sofia, Bucharest and Warsaw reacted with outrage. The EurActiv network in Central Europe reports.

The stakes for the upcoming presidential elections in Senegal on 26 February are high for its democratic development, writes Ernst Stetter, secretary-general of the centre-left European Foundation for Progressive Studies.

Supposedly objective scientific and economic assessments of the benefits of genetically modified crops are often biased by the fact they are funded by the very organisations they analyse, argues Wenonah Hauter.

European Union diplomats and the European Parliament agreed yesterday (9 February) to overhaul regulation of the multi-trillion euro derivatives market, a move that will make it easier to control one of the most opaque areas of finance.

The leader of the Party of European Socialists, Sergei Stanishev, told EurActiv he was "proud" that his European political family was the first to come up with a clear position on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which he says is against the interests of European citizens.

Top EU officials pledge to give European shoppers powers to pursue fraudulent sellers and poor service across borders, saying better consumer protection will lift online trading and economic growth.

European and Indian officials don’t expect much will come out of the EU-India Summit today (10 February) in New Delhi, but leaders on both sides will assess progress on negotiations towards a Free Trade Agreement, which seems stuck in disputes over tariffs.

In March, the European Network of Transmission Systems Operators (ENTSO-E) will submit a comprehensive 10-year plan for public consultation which shows that most of the continent’s investments in electricity infrastructure will be “driven directly or indirectly by renewable integration concerns,” ENTSO-E told EurActiv.

Defiance against Greece prevailed again yesterday evening (9 February) as eurozone finance ministers rejected as insufficient a deal brokered by political parties in Athens on new austerity measures demanded in exchange for a second bailout plan.

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.