EU-DIGEST

Labels: EU, EU Commission, Internet, Neelie Kroes

Neelie Kroes, Europe's respected "Corporate Watchdog" reappointed by the Netherlands as their EU commissioner

For the complete report of Europolitics click on this link

The three countries that had not yet done so announced, on 24 November, their choice of commissioners for the next EU executive. Malta appointed its Social Policy Minister, John Dalli; Denmark its Climate and Energy Minister, Connie Hedegaard; and the Netherlands its current Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes. The Commission chief, Portugal's José Manuel Barroso, now holds all the cards he needs to start handing out portfolios, a process that is in fact already well under way. The task is not easy because of the need to try to satisfy all the different member states. Barroso admitted, on 24 November in Strasbourg, that "there is still pressure but I will assume full responsibility".

Note EU-Digest: for the first time in the history of Dutch politics was a politician from a different political party rather than the ruling political coalition appointed as a Dutch EU Commissioner candidate. Mrs. Kroes is widely respected throughout Europe for the integrity and fair play she showed in dealing with very complicated matters related to corporate irregularities.

Labels: Commissioners, EU, Neelie Kroes

McDonald's snubs EU and moves European HQ to Geneva - by Julia Kollewe

McDonald's is shifting its European headquarters to Geneva, in a snub to the European Union, to benefit from Switzerland's advantageous intellectual property tax laws. The US fast-food chain is joining other foreign companies that have moved their European headquarters to a more favorable tax regime. US corporations that have based themselves in Switzerland include Kraft, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Yahoo! and Google. McDonald's said its new European head office would be opened in Geneva before the end of the year. It will bring together all senior management, who are spread across four regional centers: London, Paris, Munich and Vienna. The company's European president, Denis Hennequin, who until now has split his time between London and Paris, will be among the executives making the move to Geneva.

Note EU-Digest: bottom line - McDonald, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Yahoo! and Google want and enjoy the benefits of the huge market, opportunities and profit the European Union offers, but not the obligations that come with it. Definitely an issue that needs to be looked into by the EU commissioner for competition.

Labels: EU, McDonald, Neelie Kroes

Mike Jagger in Bruxelles

For the complete report from the EUobserver click on this link

Mick Jagger in Brussels for online retailing chat with Neelie Kroes and Charlie McCreevy - by Leigh Phillips

The original "street-fightin' man" Mike Jagger no longer needs to throw cobblestones to get the attention of the centers of power like his 1968 incarnation. These days he is warmly invited to the top floors of the EU Commission building for a friendly chat with Europe's competition guardian Neelie Kroes and a host of other key figures in the business of commerce on the web. Ms Kroes is worried that shoppers frequently find themselves up against barriers to buy what they want online, for items they would have little problem purchasing in the real world."Why is it possible to buy a CD from an online retailer and have it shipped to anywhere in Europe, but it is not possible to buy the same music, by the same artist, as an electronic download with similar ease?" Ms Kroes asked the knighted pop star and other guests.

Ms Kroes told the rock star and the merchants: "The world is always more complicated than we would like it to be. But that is no excuse for inaction," adding that she intends to look "very carefully" into online retailing practices.

SShe warned that the commission will step in if musicians, record labels and retailers do not overcome their differences and produce a more consumer-friendly environment for the distribution of digital music.

Labels: Charlie McCreevy, EU, Internet, Mick Jagger, Neelie Kroes, Record Industrie, Retail Market

For the complete report from the International Herald Tribune click on this link

Paul Taylor writes: Is the EU friend or foe to industry? - "They are a friend to the Consumer and Industry the way it should be."

For an institution that sees itself as the business executive's friend, the European Commission has taken a beating lately. The main telecommunications lobby in Europe has compared it with Stalin; a German energy executive has called it a greater threat to energy security than Gazprom; and a top Austrian telecommunications boss has said it is easier to do business in Belarus than in Brussels.Supporters of the commission say it is because Brussels is tackling cozy business interests that obstruct competition and exploit dominant market positions for their own profit.Critics say it is because the commission, the European Union's executive arm, is trying to make itself more popular, with crowd-pleasing initiatives that bash business.

There are grains of truth in both explanations. The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, has made no secret of pursuing an agenda of delivering lower prices and greater rights to consumers, aiming to demonstrate the benefits of the EU after voters rejected a proposed constitution in 2005. Brussels has used opinion polling to identify its targets for action, like cross-border fees for mobile phone calls and text messages, credit card charges, obstacles to changing bank accounts, and windfall earnings of giant energy companies. Neelie Kroes, the EU competition commissioner, has assessed record fines against companies she accused of fixing prices and rigging markets in everything from elevators to beer. Kroes, a former business executive, often accompanies hefty fines with stinging comments accusing companies involved in cartels of "outrageous" behavior and "ripping off" consumers. Fresh from her antitrust victory over Microsoft, she is now turning to the field of energy, trying to break up European giants to promote greater competition. Kroes argues that separating power suppliers from the ownership of natural gas pipelines and electricity grids will spur investment and force prices down.

Comment EU-Digest: "we hope the EU Commission will keep up the pressure on the many unscrupulous multi-national corporations which operate in the EU. One only has to look at what has happened to the US economy as a result of the liberties that were given to corporations and the financial sector to operate and do as they please".

Labels: Corporate Integrity, Corruption, EU Commission, Neelie Kroes

EU's President Barroso says euro cushioning oil price impact

Europe has been shielded from the effects of rising oil prices to some extent by the strength of the euro, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a French newspaper in an interview released on Saturday. "Today we buy a barrel of oil at 66 euros, whereas if there were perfect parity, we would be paying more than 100 euros," Barroso told the weekly Journal du Dimanche. "Of course we're concerned about this wide divergence in exchange rates, but at the same time we have to see that the so-called "strong" euro -- or rather the weak dollar -- has allowed us to cushion the impact of the rise in commodity.

Note EU-Digest: "Mr. Barosso might be right when it comes to the purchasing power of the euro, but the oil companies are still increasing the price on the oil products they sell in Europe disproportionately, regardless of the strong euro. Mrs. Neelie Kroes European Commissioner for Competition who has been doing a great job in watching out for the interest of the EU consumer should also start to focus her attention on the "price gouching" oil companies operating on the territory of the EU".

Labels: EU, euro, Neelie Kroes, oil companies