Brussels – The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the UK airline British Midlands Limited (bmi), by the International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), the holding company of British Airways and Iberia. The decision is conditional upon the release of 14 daily slot pairs at London Heathrow in order [...]

Speaking about the outcome of the OECD Environment Policy Committee Ministerial meeting that finished today, Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Environment said: “The OECD’s excellent research is a sobering confirmation of the immense challenge posed to our livelihoods by climate change, resource scarcity and health impacts of pollution. Fortunately we already have the tools we [...]

“We want jobs and growth, we want the environment protected and we want new investment in our cities and regions”, said Flo Clucas (UK/ALDE), member of Liverpool City Council and Chair of the CoR Ad Hoc Commission on the EU budget, when commenting on the outcome of a first round of meetings with relevant stakeholders [...]

At the 15th EU-Ukraine Summit in December 2011, the leaders of the European Union and Ukraine announced that they had finalized negotiations on an Association Agreement aimed at establishing political association and economic integration between the European Union and Ukraine. This Agreement will replace the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, in force since 1998, as the [...]

On the eve of the official launch of the European Citizens’ Initiative, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee co-organised today a conference to discuss the impact of this new participatory instrument on civil society and at the local level, as well as the role both Committees and their members [...]

Brussels Our choice is whether to become resource efficient now, or wait until we are forced because critical resources are exhausted and expensive. During the 20th century the world population grew four times, its economic output 40 times. We increased our fossil fuel use 16 fold, our fishing catches by a factor of 35 and [...]

On the eve of the official launch of the European Citizens’ Initiative, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee co-organised today a conference to discuss the impact of this new participatory instrument on civil society and at the local level, as well as the role both Committees and their members [...]

News from the European Commission’s Midday Briefing Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Commission européenne Commission fires starting gun on European Citizens’ Initiatives Sunday marks the launch of European Citizens’ Initiatives. From that day, a million citizens from across Europe can come together on an issue that is important to them, and ask the [...]

Background notes from the Spokespersons’ service for journalists. The European Commission reserves the right to make changes. Tuesday 3 April: Portugal – Third Review Report 2 Wednesday 4 April: Proposal to facilitate cross-border motor vehicle registration 3 Monday 16 April: EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit 4 Wednesday 18 April: Commission adopts Communication on Growth [...]

Table of contents: Cybercrime Tackling crime in the digital age: Commission plans European Cybercrime Centre Posted Workers New legislative package on posted workers targets fair competition and respect for social rights Cybercrime Tackling crime in the digital age: Commission plans European Cybercrime Centre With people spending more and more time online, the threat from cybercrime [...]