News

News from the EU - November 2009

Note:
The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The EU27 includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Treaty of Lisbon and the Court of Justice of the European Union
On 30 November 2009, the European Commission reported that the Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed on 13 December 2007 by the 27 Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the Union, comes into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the two fundamental treaties - the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community, with the latter to be known in future as the 'Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union' (TFEU).

The Treaty of Lisbon makes changes to the organisation and jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The European Union, which now has legal personality, will replace the European Community. Accordingly, under the Treaty of Lisbon, the 'pillar' structure will disappear and the Union will have a new institutional framework. As a result, in common with the institutions to be renamed, the whole court system of the European Union will be known as the Court of Justice of the European Union, comprising three courts: the Court of Justice, the General Court and the Civil Service Tribunal.

With regard to the creation of specialised courts, the Treaty of Lisbon maintains some existing provisions but introduces certain changes in relation to procedures for the creation of such courts, namely that, from now on, they will be created in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (that is to say by co-decision with a qualified majority) rather than, as hitherto, by unanimity.

It follows from the Treaty of Lisbon that a request for amendment of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union will be deemed to be a 'draft legislative act' and must be subject to the ordinary legislative procedure. By contrast, the rules on the Judges and Advocates General and the language arrangements of the Court will remain subject to the unanimity rule.

With regard to the arrangements for the appointment of Members of the Court, the Treaty of Lisbon preserves the existing provisions in so far as Judges are appointed by common accord of the Governments of the Member States for six years, but from now on they will be appointed after consultation of a panel responsible for giving an opinion on candidates' suitability to perform the duties of Judge and Advocate General of the Court of Justice and the General Court. This panel will comprise seven persons chosen from among former members of the two Courts, members of national supreme courts and lawyers of recognised competence, one of whom will be proposed by the European Parliament. Acting on the initiative of the President of the Court of Justice, the Council will adopt decisions establishing the panel's operating rules and appointing its members.

Source and access to full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=CJE/09/104&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------User-friendly implementation of new EU cookies rule
On 25 November 2009, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) welcomed the formal signature of the Telecoms Package by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, but called for user-friendly implementation of the new information and consent requirements for cookies.

The new rules, introduced by amendments to so-called e-Privacy Directive, require user "consent" to the placement of any cookies that are not strictly necessary for the proper functioning of a website or the provision of a service explicitly requested by the user. Many cookies that are an integral and legitimate part of the Internet, including those used in online marketing communications, will be subject to this requirement.

The WFA says that a non-binding preamble to the Directive states that obtaining "consent" should be interpreted as offering users a "right to refuse" cookies, and that this can be expressed using the settings of a browser or similar application. If implemented correctly, the new rules can help strengthen consumer trust in the online marketplace and thereby further solidify the growing importance of the digital economy in Europe.

However the Directive itself leaves room for more restrictive interpretations that could, if followed in some Member States, heavily disrupt users' online experience, reduce consumer trust in the digital marketplace, and create considerable uncertainty for businesses.

WFA calls on the Member States and the European Commission to ensure that the consent requirement for cookies is interpreted in the sensible way set out in the Directive's preamble, for the benefit of consumers, businesses and the wider European economy alike. A user-friendly solution should seek to strengthen consumer information about cookies as well as their right to refuse them if they wish, without unduly disrupting the operation of the internet. This solution should include the use of browser settings where possible and effective.

Source and access to full report available at: www.wfanet.org/globalnews.cfm?id=316
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EC welcomes European Parliament approval of sweeping reforms to strengthen competition and consumer rights on Europe's telecoms markets
On 24 November 2009, the European Parliament said that with a broad majority across political parties, it has, at its plenary session in Strasbourg, formally approved the EU's telecoms reform package, proposed by the Commission in November 2007.

500 million EU citizens will soon benefit from more consumer choice through enhanced competition on Europe's telecoms markets, from better coverage with fast internet broadband connections across Europe, and from a stronger entrenchment of their right to privacy with regard to telecoms operators. European consumers will also enjoy a substantial number of new rights, such as the right to switch fixed or mobile operator in one working day while keeping their number; the right to be better informed about the services they subscribe to; and the right to be informed about data breaches from their telecoms operator. Operators must also give consumers the option of signing a contract which lasts no longer than 12 months. Under the new EU rules, national telecoms authorities will furthermore have the power to set minimum quality levels for network transmission services so as to promote "net neutrality" for European citizens. In addition,

The European Parliament adds that European consumers will see their fundamental rights regarding internet access reaffirmed and strengthened by the telecoms reform. A new internet freedom provision, included in the package at the insistence of the European Parliament, makes clear that in view of the fundamental rights that EU citizens enjoy, including the right to privacy, national authorities cannot restrict internet access for public policy reasons unless there has been a prior, fair and impartial procedure and effective and timely judicial review. The European Parliament's approval of the reform follows a political agreement reached on 5 November between Parliament, Council and Commission negotiators. It paves the way for the entry into force of the EU telecoms reform in December 2009. Thereafter, Member States have 18 months to transpose the reformed EU Telecoms rules into their national telecoms laws.

Next steps include:

Signature of the legislation by the presidents of the European Parliament and Council on 25 November;
Entry into force of the whole telecoms reform package with its publication in the EU's Official Journal (18 December);
Establishment of the European Body of Telecoms Regulators BEREC (spring 2010);
Transposition of the telecoms reform package into national legislation in the 27 EU Member States (by June 2011).

Source and access to full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1812&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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Industrial new orders up by 1.5 percent in euro area
On 24 November, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities said that in September 2009 compared with August 2009, the euro area (EA16) industrial new orders index rose by 1.5 percent. In August 2009, the index increased by 0.6 percent. In the EU27 new orders grew by 1.7 percent in September 2009, after an increase of 2.0 percent in August. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders fell by 1.2 percent in the euro area and by 0.6 percent in the EU27.

In September 2009 compared with September 2008, industrial new orders decreased by 16.5 percent in the euro area and by 16.4 percent in the EU27. Total industry excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment dropped by 18.2 percent and 17.5 percent respectively.

Source and access to full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/09/166&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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Euro area grows at fastest for two years in November
On 23 November 2009, the Markit Flash Eurozone Composite Output Index, based on around 85 percent of normal monthly survey replies, rose to a two-year high of 53.7 in November, up from the final figure of 53.0 in October. Business activity has increased in each of the past four months. The recovery was again led by solid gains in manufacturing output, although the performance of the service sector also continued to strengthen.

Highlights from the report include:

Manufacturing production expanded for the fourth month running and at the fastest pace since September 2007. The service sector - which exited recession later than manufacturing - saw business activity increase for the third month running, with growth hitting a two-year peak;
November data pointed to a third successive month-on-month increase in new work received, although the rate of increase slowed slightly on October's 23-month peak. Growth of new orders was signalled by both manufacturers and service providers, easing in both cases - though most notably in the service sector;
Despite the ongoing strength of the euro, the level of manufacturing new export orders increased in November to the greatest extent since the start of last year. Companies indicated that increased intra-area trade and improving global market conditions were the main factors driving growth of exports;
Employment fell for the seventeenth successive month in November. The rate of job losses was the weakest since August, and much slower than that generally seen in the first half of the year, but remained rapid by historical standards of the survey. Staffing levels decreased at manufacturers and services providers, with by far the steeper reduction again seen in manufacturing;
Backlogs of work declined for the twentieth month in a row, suggesting that spare capacity persists and headcounts may therefore have further to fall. The decline was focused on the service sector, with backlogs broadly unchanged in manufacturing (ending a nineteen-month period of sustained reduction).

The survey also found that inflationary pressures continued to build in the Eurozone private sector. Input costs increased for the second month running, albeit only moderately, while selling prices were cut at the slowest rate seen in 2009 to date. Commodity prices were the main factor driving higher purchasing costs. Average vendor performance - an indicator of manufacturing supply-side price pressures - deteriorated to the greatest degree since September 2007.

Looking ahead, service providers' confidence regarding levels of activity over the coming year dipped for a second month running and the manufacturing new orders-to-finished goods inventory ratio fell slightly on October. However, both of these forward-looking indicators remained high by survey standards and consistent with ongoing expansion in coming months.

Source and access to full report available at: www.markiteconomics.com/MarkitFiles/Pages/ViewPressRelease.aspx?ID=5754
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Delegating implementing tasks to executive agencies: a successful option?
On 20 November 2009, the European Court of Auditors said that it has assessed whether the delegation of operational tasks to executive agencies has proved to be a successful instrument for implementing the EU budget. Executive agencies are Community bodies established by the European Commission in order to implement, by delegation, EU spending programmes. They are a relatively recent phenomenon in the EU institutional landscape. Since 2003, six executive agencies have been created, responsible for managing a financial envelope of around 32 billion euro for the period till 2013.

The Court's audit showed that the initiative of setting up the executive agencies was mainly driven by the need to compensate for staff shortages at the Commission rather than being part of a general reform of the governance based on the intrinsic features of the programmes themselves. The cost-benefit analyses accompanying the decisions to create the agencies took little account of non-financial aspects and omitted to consider some important factors on the side of costs. Their contribution to the decision-making process was therefore rather limited.

In terms of benefits achieved, clear cost savings stem from the prevalence of lower paid contract staff at the agencies, even when one considers the additional costs of the new posts created for supervision and support at both the Commission and the agencies. However, the savings very much depend on the redeployment of the Commission staff previously assigned to the programmes and on the suppression of the contract posts within the corresponding Commission services. In the absence of reliable information on the ex-ante situation at the Commission, the extent of the savings cannot be accurately quantified.

In terms of service delivery, the Court found that, as a result of their specialisation in well-defined tasks, the executive agencies are providing better service than the Commission did before. They conclude contracts, make payments and approve technical and financial reports on the projects more rapidly. In addition, they have simplified the management procedures and reduced the administrative burden for applicants and project promoters. Increased external communication and dissemination of results to a wider public are also contributing to enhance the visibility of EU actions. On the other hand, the process of recruiting adequate personnel has proved to be more difficult and less flexible than the Commission assumed.

The Court found that the Commission's supervision of the agencies' work is not fully effective. Generally, the executive agencies are not assigned results-oriented objectives and related targets. Monitoring, whilst making use of a large number of indicators, is focused on how the tasks are carried out rather than on the results produced. Reporting is usually limited to budgetary data and does not identify corrective actions for the future.

Source and access to full report available at: http://eca.europa.eu/products/SR09_13
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Commission adopts communication on releasing the potential of public private partnerships
On 19 November 2009, the European Commission said that it has set out a framework for encouraging the use of public private partnerships (PPPs) to meet existing and future needs for investment in public services, infrastructure and research in Europe. When properly managed in the current and future public interest, PPPs can bring immense benefits. Yet their use is still limited and many Member States have little experience with them. In line with the European Economic Recovery Plan, the Commission wants to give a fresh push to PPPs to encourage a more frequent and better use of PPPs at a time where innovative public financing solutions are needed to manage the challenges of tight national budgets. The decision on whether or not to use PPPs will remain entirely with national authorities. The Communication also covers options for improving the functioning of the EU's Joint Technology Initiatives, which are EU co-funded PPPs in key research areas

The framework set out in the Communication involves the following:

increased funding for PPPs through working with the EIB, by re-focusing existing Community instruments and by developing guarantee instruments for PPP financing;
in cases involving EU funding, better rules and procedures in order to ensure a level playing field between wholly publicly managed projects and those managed under PPPs;
a more effective framework for innovation, including the possibility for the EU to participate in private law bodies and directly invest in specific projects;
considering an EU legislative instrument on concessions, based on the ongoing Impact Assessment;
improved information dissemination and exchange of best practice; including the creation of a new PPP group in which relevant stakeholders can share their concerns and further ideas with regard to PPPs.

Source and access to full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1740&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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September 2009 Euro area external trade surplus 3.7 billion euro
On 17 November 2009, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities published its first estimate for the euro area (EA16) trade balance with the rest of the world in September 2009 which showed a 3.7 billion euro surplus, compared with -6.0 billion in September 2008. The August 2009 balance was -2.3 billion, compared with -10.8 billion in August 2008. In September 2009 compared with August 2009, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 5.5 percent and imports by 1.1 percent.

The first estimate for the September 2009 extra- EU27 1 trade balance was a 11.2 billion euro deficit, compared with -24.5 billion in September 2008. In August 2009 2 the balance was -12.0 billion, compared with -28.5 billion in August 2008. In September 2009 compared with August 2009, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 3.4 percent and imports by 2.2 percent.

Source and access to full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/09/164&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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Corporate R&D investment in 2008: a global increase with EU companies leading US and Japan
Worldwide corporate R&D investment increased by 6.9 percent in 2008, in spite of the economic crisis, according to the 2009 "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard" published on 16 November 2009. With an 8.1 percent increase, the R&D investment growth of EU companies', defined as companies having headquarters within the EU, is significantly higher than US ones for the second year, at 5.7 percent, and Japanese ones, at 4.4 percent. Two EU companies feature in the top ten: Volkswagen in the 3rd place with an R&D investment of €5.93 billion and Nokia in the 8^th place. The world's biggest investor in R&D was Toyota Motor, with €7.61 billion. The report also shows that companies from emerging countries have the highest R&D investment growth.

The European Commission (EC) EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard shows that despite the economic crisis, the corporate R&D investment worldwide is still at 6.9 percent, compared with 9.0 percent in 2007. EU companies managed to maintain their R&D investment growth barely unchanged at 8.1 percent from 8.8 percent in 2007, whereas that of US companies fell from 8.6 percent in 2007 to 5.7 percent in 2008. Companies based in emerging economies continued to show the highest R&D growth, led by China with a 40 percent increase, India (27.3 percent), Taiwan (25.1 percent) and Brazil (18.6 percent). If the impact of the crisis is not yet fully reflected in the corporate R&D investment, it is more visible in other indicators collected by the Scoreboard, such as company operating profits, which dropped by 30.5 percent for EU companies and by 19.1 percent for US companies.

Two EU companies, Volkswagen and Nokia, are among the top 10 R&D investors; five from the US, including Microsoft, and General Motors, Pfizer; and one from Japan, Toyota, at the top position. In the Top 50 R&D investors are16 EU companies and 18 US companies, two less each than in 2007, while Japan has 13 companies, four more than 2007. However, EU companies in the top 50 had a higher average R&D intensity (R&D investment as percentage of sales) than non-EU companies, with 7.8 percent compared to 6.8 percent.

The R&D growth in the US is dominated by the high R&D intensity sectors, which includes Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology and IT sectors, while R&D growth in the EU is more evenly spread across all sectors.

US companies have reinforced their leading position in the high R&D intensity sector, by increasing their investments by 35 percent in the last four years against only 13.6 percent in the EU companies (Figure 3). While the total US high R&D intensity sector is twice the size of the EU one in terms of R&D investment, EU companies in this sector show similar performance than US competitors in terms of R&D and related indicators.

EU companies lead the way in the medium-high and medium-low R&D intensity sectors, such as automobile & parts, electronic and electrical equipment or chemicals.

The pharmaceuticals & biotechnology sector reinforces its position as top R&D investor both worldwide and in the US, accounting respectively for 18.9 percent and 25.0 percent. Many pharmaceutical companies showed a strong increase in R&D investment: e.g. Takeda Pharm. (+42.7 percent), Boehringer Ingelheim (+21.9 percent), Schering-Plough (+20.6 percent). However, Merck (US), Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. decreased their R&D investment between 1 and 2 percent.

The automobiles & parts sector is the third worldwide, accounting for 17.1 percent, but the first in EU and Japan, accounting respectively for 25.0 percent and 27.0 percent. Despite being the first sector hit by the economic crisis, some automobile companies had double-digit R&D growth in the last year: Volkswagen (+20.4 percent), Peugeot (+14.4 percent) and Fiat (+14.1 percent). Others reduced their R&D investment considerably, e.g. Renault (-9.2 percent), Daimler (-9.1 percent), BMW (-8.9 percent), Ford Motor (-2.7 percent), and General Motors (-1.2 percent).

The EC says that this year's Scoreboard confirms the strong R&D activity of companies active in renewable energy technologies. The six EU companies from this sector showed impressive growth in R&D investment over the last three years

Source and access to full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1716&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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Market Standards for General Meetings
On 30 October 2009, EuropeanIssuers (the only pan European organisation representing the vast majority of publicly quoted companies in Europe) said that over the last four years, companies, investors, banks and infrastructures worked together to make it easier for foreign investors to participate to shareholder meetings. This initiative, sponsored by the European Commission, recently resulted in a set of market standards for cross-border communications and operations.

In essence, the standards pave the way for a timely and efficient exchange of meeting related information. They offer a practical toolbox to implement some key aspects of the Shareholder Rights Directive of July 2007.

The standards are built on three pillars:

a system to bring the key elements of the meeting convocation in a quick and uniform manner to the end investor;
a practical solution to define who is entitled to vote; and
a mechanism for casting votes ahead of the meeting.

EuropeanIssuers ass that while foreign ownership of shares continues to grow, the exercise of corporate rights, in particular the right to vote at the general meeting, is too often hampered by technical and legal barriers. Difficulties to access information, for instance, is believed to be an important impediment. When an investor decides to buy and hold foreign shares, a chain of financial intermediaries intervenes in the process, each of them operating in different markets with different rules, customs and practices. The standards bring a practical solution by harmonising and streamlining the way in which the parties in the chain communicate: Who should communicate What, When and How. Since in most cases the company has no means to know who the end investor is, it has to rely on the said chain of intermediaries for communication purposes.

Source and access to the standards available at: www.europeanissuers.eu/_lib/JWGGM/GM percent20Market percent20Standards percent20 percent20- percent20 percent20version percent20subject percent20to percent20endorsement percent2020091030.pdf
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Euro area GDP up by 0.4 percent
On 13 November 2009, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities reported that GDP increased by 0.4 percent in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.2 percent in the EU27 during the third quarter of 2009, compared with the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2009, growth rates were -0.2 percent in the euro area and -0.3 percent in the EU27.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 4.1 percent in the euro area and by 4.3 percent in the EU27 in the third quarter of 2009, after -4.8 percent and -4.9 percent respectively in the previous quarter.

Source and access to full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/09/161&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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European Court of Auditors' Annual Report on the implementation of the 2008 EU Budget
On 10 November 2009, the European Court of Auditors is issued an unqualified (clean) opinion on the reliability of the 2008 EU accounts. The Court concludes that the 2008 annual accounts of the European Communities present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the European Communities and the results of their operations and cash flows.

In terms of the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts, the overall results for 2008 reflect the improvements in the management of the budget in recent years.

Highlights from the report include:

The improvement in 2008 is a consequence primarily of better results in the largest policy group "Agriculture and natural resources", accounting for almost half of the EU budget. For this policy group the Court, for the first time, does not give an adverse opinion but a qualified one. Effectively the error rate for this policy group as a whole is below materiality. However, within this group the estimated level of error for Rural Development remains material, although lower than in previous years;
"Cohesion", which is the second largest policy group, representing almost a third of the budget, remains problematic and is the area most affected by errors. The Court estimates that at least 11 % of the total amount reimbursed should not have been paid out;
Past recommendations made by the Court to improve supervisory and control systems still remain valid. They must be seen as parts of an ongoing process, where the relevant measures will take time before they can be deemed to be effective;
Particular and additional attention needs to be directed at those expenditure areas where the Court continues to report a high level of error. In many situations the errors are a consequence of too complex rules and regulations. Simplification, therefore, remains a priority;
For 2008 the Court gives clean opinions on the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions for "Revenue", commitments for all policy groups and payments for the policy groups "Education and Citizenship" and "Administrative and other expenditure";
Qualified opinions are given for two policy groups. The Court concludes that payments for "Agriculture and natural resources", except for Rural Development, and for "Economic and financial affairs", except for expenditure in this policy group concerning the Sixth Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP6), are, in all material respects, legal and regular;
The Court gives adverse opinions on the legality and regularity aspects for the policy groups "Cohesion", "Research, energy and transport", as well as "External aid, development and enlargement". Payments in these policy groups are materially affected by errors, although at different levels.

Source and access to full report available at: http://eca.europa.eu/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/3258349.PDF
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European Commission launches public consultation on the Citizens' Initiative
The European Commission is launching a wide public consultation to help to define the practical details of the Citizens' Initiative. Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the Citizens' Initiative enables one million citizens who are nationals of a significant number of Member States to directly request that the Commission brings forward an initiative of interest to them in an area of EU competence.

The Green Paper published on 11 November 2009 identifies practical questions regarding how the Initiative can best work in practice. Questions such as the number of countries from which people must come, how to check that signatures are real, what form a petition should take, time limits etc.

For further information:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/secretariat_general/citizens_initiative/index_en.htm
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Antitrust: Commission action against cartels - Questions and answers
A cartel is an illegal secret agreement concluded between competitors to fix prices, restrict supply and/or divide up markets. The agreement may take a wide variety of forms but often relates to sales prices or increases in such prices, restrictions on sales or production capacities, sharing out of product or geographic markets or customers, and collusion on the other commercial conditions for the sale of products or services.

Cartels shield participants from competition allowing them to charge higher prices and removing the pressure on them to improve the products they sell or find more efficient ways in which to produce them. It is the customers (companies and consumers) who foot the bill in terms of paying higher prices for lower quality and narrower choice. This not only makes consumers and businesses suffer but also adversely affects the competitiveness of the economy as a whole.

On 11 November 2009, the most recent version of Q&As was made available at: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/cartels/overview/faqs_en.html
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Fewer hours worked and more part-time work in the EU27
A press release issued by Eurostat (the Statistical Office of the European Communities) on 5 November 2009 says that there has been a sharp fall in employment among workers with low qualifications in Europe.

A fall in employment was observed among persons with low and medium levels of education, while employment continued to rise among persons with a high level of education:

Between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009, employment among those with a low level of education (up to lower secondary education) fell by 4.9% in theEU27and by 5.4% in theeuro area. Among those with a medium level of education (upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education), employment fell by 2.6% in theEU27and by 1.6% in theeuro area. By contrast, employment of those with a high level of education (tertiary education) rose by 3.0% and 2.6% respectively.
For comparison, between the second quarters of 2007 and 2008, the change of employment among those with a low level of education was -1.8% in theEU27and -1.6% in theeuro area, among those with a medium level of education it was +1.5% in theEU27and +1.3% in theeuro area, and among those with high level of education it was +4.0% in theEU27and +3.8% in theeuro area.

Employment in the EU27 and the euro area began to fall in the second quarter of 2008 as a result of the economic crisis:

Between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009, employment1dropped by 1.9% to 222.7 million personsin the EU27 and by 1.8% to 145.5 million in the euro area (EA16).
The fall in employment was smaller than the contraction of economic activity (-4.9% GDP growth in the EU27 and -4.8% in the euro area in the same period). One of the reasons for this is the fact that employers can reduce the volume of hours worked and increase the use of part-time employment. This has been the case in the EU27 and in the euro area between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009. The analysis of the impact of the crisis on employment also shows that employees have been affected differently depending on their level of education.

This data, come from a publication on the impact of the economic crisis on the labour market in the EU. This publication also includes information about people on temporary contracts and job opportunities during the crisis.

Full-time employed work on average 0.7 hours less per week in the EU27

In the year up to the second quarter of 2009, the average number of actual hours worked per week by persons in full-time employment fell by 0.7 hours (from 41.0 hours per week to 40.3) in the EU27 and by 0.8 hours (from 40.8 to 40.0) in the euro area, while between the second quarters of 2007 and 2008 there had been a rise by 0.3 hours in both zones.

Between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009, the number of weekly working hours of a full-time worker went down in 24 out of the 27 Member States. The largest falls were registered in Estonia (-1.5 h), Austria, Slovakia and Finland (all -1.4 h), Germany and Sweden (both -1.3 h), Denmark (-1.2 h) and Slovenia (-1.1 h).

Full details are at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/09/159&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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Industrial producer prices down by 0.4 percent in euro area
On 4 November 2009, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities announced that in September 2009 compared with August 2009, the industrial producer price index fell by 0.4 percent in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.7 percent in the EU27. Prices in the energy sector fell by 1.9 percent and 2.6 percent respectively.

Data also showed that in September 2009 compared with September 2008, industrial producer prices dropped by 7.7 percent in the euro area and by 7.3 percent in the EU27.

Source and access to the full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/09/156&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en .
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Commission consults on draft guidance for Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Direct Debit scheme
On 3 November 2009, the European Commission (EC) invited comments on a Commission working document that aims to provide further guidance to participants in the SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) scheme to ensure that collective financing arrangements applied within this scheme comply with EC Treaty competition rules. The SDD scheme, launched by the European Payments Council (EPC) on 2 November 2009, allows consumers and businesses, for the first time, to use a pan-European system for cross-border direct debit transactions. The working document complements indications as regards competition rules already given in Council and European Parliament Regulation 924/2009 on cross-border payments and in the joint Commission/European Central Bank press release and statements of September 2008 and March 2009. Comments can be submitted until 14 December 2009. The public consultation reflects the Commission's commitment to remain in close dialogue with all relevant stakeholders. Following these consultations the Commission may, if appropriate, decide to adopt final guidance.

The Commission working document focuses on general principles concerning multilateral interchange fee ('MIF') arrangements applied on a per transaction basis and concerning transactions that cannot be properly executed (e.g. because there are insufficient funds in the payer's account or because the account number is wrong - so-called 'R'- transactions) and alternative payment arrangements. More detailed assessments should be possible following inputs from interested parties on:

possible collective financing mechanisms in light of specific national market situations;
the likely impact of Commission's envisaged general framework on legacy schemes; and
the price or quality experience of SDD as compared to current national direct debit systems.

The main message in the Commission working document is that at this stage the Commission's preliminary view remains that a collectively set per-transaction MIF would not be in compliance with Article 81. However, in principle, there may be different efficiency objectives for a collective arrangement for multilateral fees for R-transactions if appropriately designed. Such efficiencies, if appropriately substantiated, could allow the Commission to find a collective system for R-transactions in compliance with Article 81.

Source and access to the full report available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1666&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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Getting better access to company information: Commission consults on the interconnection of business registers
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on possible ways to enhance co-operation between business registers. The objective of the consultation is to improve access to business information and to increase legal certainty surrounding cross-border operations in the EU, which the Commission considers to be missing links in the Internal Market. Responses to this consultation will be taken into account in assessing the need for legislative or non-legislative initiatives in this area.

Throughout Europe, business registers offer a range of services, which may vary from one country to another. The core services provided by all registers, however, are to examine and store company information, such as information on the company's legal form, its seat and its legal representatives, and to make this information available to the public.

Facilitating access to official information on companies for third parties was one of the objectives of the First Company law Directive (68/151/EEC) in 1968. Its 2003 amendment ensured that all Member States have electronic business registers as of 2007. Furthermore, other requirements in EU law, such as the cross-border mergers directive (2005/56/EC) and the directive on branch disclosure (89/666/EEC) have made the day-to-day co-operation of business registers a necessity. Nevertheless, the co-operation between business registers remains voluntary and does not seem to be sufficient to achieve certainty in all cross-border legal procedures and to increase transparency in the Single market.

More information is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/company/business_registers/index_en.htm
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Agreement on EU Telecoms Reform means stronger consumer rights, an open internet, a single European telecoms market and high-speed internet connections for all citizens
The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have reached an agreement on the EU Telecoms Reform, after intense negotiations brokered by the European Commission. The reform, proposed by the Commission in November 2007, substantially strengthens competition and consumer rights on Europe's telecoms markets, facilitates high-speed internet broadband connections to all Europeans and establishes a European Body of Telecoms Regulators to complete the single market for telecoms networks and services.

The new internet freedom provision will be accompanied by new measures to reinforce the neutral character of the internet in Europe. Following final votes in Parliament and Council this month, these reforms could come into force in early 2010. EU countries will then have 18 months to incorporate the new provisions into their national legislation.

Source and further information: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/491&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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Volume of retail trade down by 0.7% in euro area and by 0.4% in EU27
In September 2009, compared with August 2009, the volume of retail trade 1 fell by 0.7% in the euro area 2 (EA16) and by 0.4% in the EU27. In August 2009, retail trade dropped by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively.

In September 2009, compared with September 2008, the retail sales index decreased by 3.6% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the EU27.

Monthly changes

In September 2009, compared with August 2009, "Food, drinks and tobacco" declined by 0.9% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU27. The non food sector fell by 0.6% and 0.3% respectively.

Among the Member States for which data is available, total retail trade rose in six and fell in eleven of them. The highest increases were observed in Austria (+2.5%) and Slovakia (+1.1%), and the largest decreases in Lithuania (-7.6%), Estonia (-2.4%) and Portugal (-2.0%).

Annual changes

In September 2009, compared with September 2008, "Food, drinks and tobacco" fell by 2.3% in the euro area and by 1.1% in the EU27. The non-food sector declined by 4.1% and 2.5% respectively.

Among the Member States for which data is available, total retail trade rose in four and fell in thirteen of them. The highest increases were observed in Poland (+5.4%) and Austria (+3.1%), and the largest decreases in Latvia (-30.9%), Lithuania (-25.7%) and Estonia (-20.8%).

These first estimates, announced on 5 November 2009, come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

Full details are at: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/09/158&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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News from the EU - November 2009