Tag: European Commission

• Friday, December 20th 2013 - 06:11 UTC

  Brazil denies EU charges of protectionism and discriminating tax measures

  

  Brazil on Thursday strenuously denied European Union charges it engages in protectionism and said it would show its trade programs conform to WTO rules. The EU took Brazil to the World Trade Organization Thursday, complaining it was using taxes to discriminate against imports and illegally help its exporters

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 12:18 UTC

  Spain not sure about success in legal challenge of Gibraltar waters

  

  Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel García-Margallo has expressed confidence that Madrid would win a legal case over jurisdiction of Gibraltar’s isthmus, though he was less certain about success in any challenge over the waters. He said the isthmus was not ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht and “illegally” occupied, but that Spain had yet to decide whether to “legally reclaim it or not”.

• Friday, December 6th 2013 - 23:16 UTC

  Europe demanding a decision from Mercosur on advancing the trade talks

  

  The European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called on Mercosur to decide whether it wishes to advance in trade talks with the European Union jointly, as a block, and suggested the idea of a 'two-speed negotiation', since it is clear that Brazil is interested in advancing and wants to reach an agreement.

• Thursday, December 5th 2013 - 20:29 UTC

  Falklands granted 5.9 million Euros by Europe for economic development activities

  

  The European Commission announced on Thursday that the Falkland Islands has been allocated a sum of 5.9million Euros to support economic development activities between 2014 and 2020. The announcement of the new allocation under the European Development Fund was made at the 12th Annual OCT-EU Forum being held in Brussels this week.

• Thursday, November 28th 2013 - 20:58 UTC

  EC makes public list of countries with yellow cards for involvement in illegal fishing

  

  European Commission (EC) is urging European countries to impose trade sanction on Belize over illegal fishing, while warning Curacao that it may be next. The EC also urged European Union governments to hit Cambodia and Guinea with the sanctions, cautioning South Korea and Ghana that they, too, may be next in line.

• Tuesday, November 26th 2013 - 20:34 UTC

  Spain prepared to take UK to the EU Court of Justice over Gibraltar waters

  

  Spain’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Miguel Arias Cañete, said Spain would take the UK to the European Court of Justice if the European Commission failed to take action over reclamation works in Gibraltar waters.

• Thursday, November 21st 2013 - 06:52 UTC

  Spain says strict controls at Gibraltar border will remain: “a fight against illegal items and contraband”

  

  Spain’s Minister for European Affairs Iñigo Méndez de Vigo has said Madrid will maintain strict controls at the border. Speaking with the media in Brussels the minister said that the European Commission had endorsed the action it has being taking as in line with EU norms.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2013 - 05:16 UTC

  U.S. and Europe talks advance towards liberalizing bilateral trade

  

  A week of trade talks in Brussels have taken the European Union and the United States a little closer to a deal to liberalize bilateral trade. EU officials say the trade relationship with the US is already the biggest in the world, worth more than 2bn Euros a day, but barriers remain, and removing them could make it even bigger. If it happens, the agreement would be huge, capable of changing the shape of global trade.

• Friday, November 15th 2013 - 17:01 UTC

  EC calls on Spain and Gibraltar for a “constructive dialogue” and cooperation on border controls

  

  The European Commission called on Friday for daily cooperation between Gibraltar and Spain regarding the ongoing dispute over border controls and “encourages all relevant authorities to strengthen their constructive dialogue with their counterparts for this purpose”.

• Thursday, November 14th 2013 - 21:39 UTC

  EU approves 2014 budget 7% lower; 62bn Euros to stimulate growth and jobs

  

  The European Union has clinched a deal on a sharply trimmed 2014 budget after a marathon 16-hour session ending a long dispute over how best to spend taxpayers' money. After decades of growth, next year's EU budget is set to be around 7% lower than this year's at 135.5 billion Euros in contributions by member states.