Tech Europe articles from July - September 2009

Tech Europe archives from July - September 2009

MOBILE TELEPHONY : AFTER SMS RATES, DATA ROAMING COMES UNDER WATCH.
July 6, 2009... Short text messages sent from one EU country to another cost no more than 11 eurocents (excluding VAT) from 1 July, to the delight of consumers. The new rates reduce by half the present European average of 28 eurocents. The European consumers'...

ANTITRUST PROCEDURE/RAMBUS.
July 6, 2009... Operators with an interest in the microchip market are invited to submit comments to the European Commission on the commitments proposed by the American company Rambus, against which the executive launched an infringement procedure on 30 July...

BEIJING SHELVES FILTERING SOFTWARE.
July 6, 2009... Urged to do so, China postponed - on 1 July - the launch of its controversial filtering software for computers sold on its territory, which has almost 300 million internet users. This software, nicknamed Green Dam', blocks information...

INTERNET USERS' RIGHTS : BREAK IN STALEMATE ON TELECOMS PACKAGE.
July 6, 2009... The European establishment claimed victory and expressed relief after the French Constitutional Council on 10 June struck down a French law that gave an administrative authority (Hadopi) the right to cut off the internet service of users who...

INTERNET : COMMISSION CALLS FOR REFORM OF INTERNET GOVERNANCE.
July 6, 2009... The European Commission finds that the ICANN(1) - the private US-based body responsible for coordinating key elements of the internet - should be obliged to report to the internet community as a whole and not just to a single government....

PRESS FREEDOM : COMMISSION PROMOTES EUROPEAN CHARTER.
July 6, 2009... A European charter outlining the basic principles of freedom of the press in ten articles has been drawn up by Hans-Ulrich Jorges, editor-in-chief of the German magazine Stern. The initiative, which Jorges hopes will become a condition for...

EU/US : COMMISSION PURSUES WASHINGTON OVER ONLINE GAMBLING LAWS.
July 6, 2009... The European Commission published, on 10 June, a report on US laws on remote gambling and their enforcement against EU companies. The report follows complaints by EU private gambling providers and an investigation into the US measures affecting...

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY : COMMISSION REACTS COOLLY TO MICROSOFT'S GESTURE.
July 6, 2009... Microsoft's announcement of its plans to sell its Windows 7 operating system starting next autumn without Internet Explorer built in does not seem to meet the European Commission's expectations, based on the press release put out by the...

STATE AID/AUDIOVISUAL POLICY : COMMISSION REQUIRES TESTS FOR NEW PUBLIC SERVICES.
July 6, 2009... In an important decision for commercial TV broadcasters and online press firms, the European Commission adopted, on 2 July, the principle of tests to assess the relevance of state aid for new services launched by public broadcasters. The EU...

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY : COMMISSION WANTS TO OPEN EU TO CONSORTIA STANDARDS.
July 6, 2009... Given the speed at which new technologies develop and their impact on the economy, the European Commission wants to be able to reference standards defined by international fora or consortia of companies and academics, and not just the standards...

PATENTS : COUNCIL EDGES FORWARD ON PATENT LITIGATION.(Brief article)
July 6, 2009... The Council, on 26 June, requested from the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) an opinion on whether the draft agreement creating a unified patent litigation system (UPLS) is compatible with the EC Treaty. The European Commission had adopted, back in...

GALILEO : COURT OF AUDITORS: PROGRAMME ILL-CONCEIVED AND POORLY MANAGED.
July 6, 2009... The EU Court of Auditors presents an autopsy of a failure with its special report, published on 29 June, on management of the development and validation phase of Galileo, the Union's satellite navigation programme. It examines the factors that...

EIB LOAN FORaFRANCE TELECOM IN SPAIN.
July 6, 2009... The first 300 million tranche of a loan that the European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted to France Telecom to finance broadband investment in Spain, where it trades under the Orange brand, was signed, on 18 June in Madrid. Rolled out over...

EU CONDEMNS CHINESE "CENSORSHIP".
July 6, 2009... The European Commission has asked China to postpone implementation of its internet filtering software designed to filter out pornographic material, saying it is "censorship" and will "limit freedom of expression" on the internet. China, which...

EU PHOTO COMPETITION.
July 6, 2009... Under the auspices of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation - 2009, the European Commission is inviting all professional and amateur photographers, photography students and all other talents to submit their photos to the Imagine a new...

EUROPEAN INVENTOR AWARD 2010.
July 6, 2009... The European Inventor Award 2010 is now open for proposals. The award, with entries closing on 12 September 2009, was set up in 2006 by the European Commission and the European Patent Office. The entries, however, will only receive prizes...

AUDIOVISUAL POLICY : EU TO PROBE TV 2 DANMARK RESTRUCTURING AID.
July 6, 2009... The European Commission has questions about TV 2 Danmark A/S's need for more public aid and wonders whether the state support risks affecting competition. It therefore decided, on 2 July, to open an in-depth investigation, under EU state aid...

TELECOMMUNICATIONS : EU TURNS TO FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT.
July 6, 2009... Once its major reform of telecoms rules ( telecoms package') has been adopted, the EU plans to tackle the radio spectrum. The task is daunting because under the telecoms package the European Commission's proposals for liberalisation and...

TELECOMMUNICATIONS : FINALISING TELECOMS PACKAGE' A FIRST PRIORITY FOR PARLIAMENT.
July 6, 2009... There is no doubt in the telecoms sector, the priority for the new European Parliament will be to finalise the telecoms package'. This major reform of EU telecoms legislation is still blocked by the question of freedom for internet surfers. At...

RESEARCH : FROM CUTTING POUNDS TO TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS.
July 6, 2009... The European giant Airbus has given itself the objective of placing on the market by 2020 aircraft that emit half as much CO2 and 80% less nitrogen oxide (NOx) and that make only half as much noise as aircraft designed in 2000. The goals are...

INTERNET : GROWING SUCCESS FOR .EU' DOMAIN NAME.
July 6, 2009... The .eu domain name has had growing success since it was created three years ago. The number of registrations increased by 11% in 2007 and in 2008, thanks in particular to lower registration costs, which were reduced from 10 to 5 in 2007 and to...

DATA PROTECTION : HUSTINX: EU BODIES MAKE PROGRESS ON RESPECT OF PRIVACY.
July 6, 2009... Aanew report by Peter Hustinx, the European data protection supervisor (EDPS), shows that Community institutions have overall made good progress in meeting their data protection requirements. On the other hand, a lower level of compliance is...

PHOTOVOLTAIC JV APPROVED.
July 6, 2009... The European Commission granted clearance, on 24 June, to the proposed joint venture between Itochu Corporation (Japan), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (Japan) and Enolia Energy S.A. (Greece). Itochu is an import-export company. Mitsubishi is...

TELECOMMUNICATIONS : REDING: EU FAVOURS RISK PREMIUM FOR FIBRE INVESTMENT.(Viviane Reding)(Brief article)
July 6, 2009... In her contribution to the ECTA (European Competitive Telecommunications Association) conference in Brussels, on 25 June, EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding had reaffirmed her commitment to an effective competition in the telecoms markets....

TELECOMMUNICATIONS : SERIES OF INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS IN TELECOMS SECTOR.
July 6, 2009... On 25 June, the European Commission took legal action against four countries in the telecoms sector: Germany, Lithuania, Latvia and Portugal. Three Polish cases were closed. GERMAN CASE Although it has only been sent a letter of...

BUSINESS SUPPORT PROGRAMMES : STUDY: SMALL BUSINESSES NEED SUPPORT TO COMPLY WITH EU ACQUIS.
July 6, 2009... Small businesses from the EU's new' and candidate member states find it more difficult than their medium-sized counterparts to comply with the EU's acquis communautaire, notwithstanding that the former's level of compliance is still...

TELECOMMUNICATIONS : SWEDISH EU PRESIDENCY INHERITS TELECOMS PACKAGE.
July 6, 2009... Amendment 138 is still alive and kicking. In the absence of agreement under the Czech EU Presidency, it will now be up to the Swedes to work out a solution to the telecoms package. The Union has in fact wrapped up 99% of the reform of rules...

TELECOMS PACKAGE: COUNCIL SEEKS EARLY ADOPTION.(Brief article)
July 6, 2009... The Union's telecommunications ministers hope to see the negotiation of the telecoms package focus on a single bone of contention: an amendment (adopted by a large majority of MEPs at second reading) stating that a restriction of internet...

TELECOMMUNICATIONS : TEN MOBILE PHONE MAKERS TO LAUNCH UNIVERSAL CHARGER IN 2010.
July 6, 2009... It is not a regulation but rather a commitment by mobile telephone manufacturers to supply European consumers with a universal charger as of 2010. A new European standard will be put in place for the occasion. That is what the European...

INTERNET USERS' RIGHTS : TRAUTMANN ANTICIPATES TOUGH NEGOTIATIONS.(Catherine Trautmann)
July 6, 2009... Negotiations on the European Parliament's ex-Amendment 138 (now Amendment 46, defending internet users' rights) are not expected to be any easier under the Swedish EU Presidency. The amendment, which is holding up adoption of the telecoms...