Tussle over budget rules - EUbusiness Week newsletter 669 - EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 669 top stories: Eurozone leaders in tussle over budget rules; EU hits French drug maker with huge fine over generics; Britain wins carbon capture funding from EU; EU targeting Amazon tax deals in crackdown: report; Switzerland gets the edge on EU with China trade deal; Migration helps boost EU population to 507.4 million

Publisher’s Note

Broadband is a godsend to rural communities. But support for broadband projects in these areas is hard to come by. ‘Connected Communities’, a set of tools launched this week by the Commission, offers tailored support for regions to get the broadband they need. This can include expert feedback, help on accessing finance, and now access to the EU’s regional and structural funds which have, for the first time, made broadband a priority.

So if you represent a region, local authority or city and want to develop your local broadband network, don’t delay, make sure you send in your proposal by 15 October.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

1. Eurozone leaders in tussle over budget rules

Leaders from struggling eurozone economies continued a push to loosen strict EU budget rules Monday despite firm opposition from Germany, which feels that flexibility must be matched by structural reform.
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ECB chief calls for EU structural reform framework

2. EU hits French drug maker with huge fine over generics

The EU has hit French drugs giant Servier with a huge EUR 331m fine for colluding to delay a cheaper generic version of perindopril, a popular blood pressure treatment.
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Nations join forces against ‘exorbitant’ hepatitis C drug

3. Britain wins carbon capture funding from EU

A coal-burning power plant in Yorkshire is one of 19 schemes taking part in a EUR 1 bn EU effort to fight global warming and encourage innovation towards green energy.
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4. EU targeting Amazon tax deals in crackdown: report

The EU is looking to add online shopping giant Amazon to a wide-ranging probe into preferential tax deals offered to multinationals by three member states, says a report.
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5. Switzerland gets the edge on EU with China trade deal

Switzerland has one-upped its European Union neighbours with a free trade deal with China that its politicians and business sector say is crucial to boosting ties with the world’s second-largest economy.
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6. Migration helps boost EU population to 507.4 million

The population of the European Union stood at 507.4 million people on January 1, Eurostat data showed on Thursday, with a significant boost from immigration.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Apple: Apple has the right to trademark its flagship store design, the EU’s highest court said on Thursday, though under certain conditions.
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EU court slaps down German language-for-visa rule for Turks
Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU Law Firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

Juncker: Jean-Claude Juncker does not want a European Union without Britain and will not fight attempts to repatriate powers to Westminster from Brussels, according to the Daily Telegraph.
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EU ministers adopt plan stop young European jihadists
EU wants to help Italy with boat migrants, but not share burden
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Commission Watch

Juncker: jockeying for the EU’s top posts intensified Tuesday when Jean-Claude Juncker, the conservative nominee to helm the Commission, said a socialist might take on the prized economic portfolio.
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Barroso tells court he is victim of slander
Women Commissioners call for ’10 or more’ in EU top jobs
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Parliament Watch

Committees: following the election of a President, Vice-Presidents and Quaestors last week, parliamentary committees have now elected chair-persons and their deputies for next two and a half years.
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This week political groups quizzed Commission President-designate Jean-Claude Juncker, ahead of the plenary vote on his candidature scheduled for 15 July.
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EU diary

14 Jul: Agriculture and Fisheries Council
14-18 Jul: Start of 6th Round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
14-17 Jul: European Parliament Plenary Session
16 Jul: European Council
17 Jul: Economic and Financial Affairs Council
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary