OSME is the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Allocated a financial envelope of EUR 2.3 billion for the 2014-2020 period, it is designed to improve SMEs’ access to finance and markets. It should also support entrepreneurship and provide more favorable conditions for business creation
Tag: competition
European Parliament: China ’s Market Economy Status Debate
ince the fall of the Soviet Bloc and the opening of transition economies to international trade, a distinction between non-market economies (NMEs) and market economies has been established in international trade law, in particular in the framework of anti-dumping (AD) investigations. In a NME, domestic prices are considered unreliable in
EP on China’s proposed market economy status
ntil China has fulfilled the EU's five criteria for market economy status, its exports to the EU must be treated in a "non-standard" way, say MEPs in a non-legislative resolution passed on Thursday. This non-standard methodology, for use in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations, should assess whether China's costs and prices
EP: Corporate tax makeover
arliament sets out its ideas on how to make corporate taxes fairer across Europe in a non-legislative resolution. MEPs urge EU member states to agree on mandatory country-by-country reporting by multinationals of profits and taxes, a common consolidated corporate tax base, common definitions for tax terms and more transparency and
EuroParl: Corporate taxation system reached its limits?
EC clears acquisition of BG Group by Royal Dutch Shell
he transaction was cleared as it will not grant Shell market power in oil and gas exploration, LNG liquefaction or LNG wholesale supply. Shell will also not be able to prevent competitors from using its gas infrastructure in the North Sea. The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation
Antitrust: Maritime summit EU-USA-China
epresentatives from the maritime regulatory authorities of the European Union, the People’s Republic of China and the United States met today in Brussels to discuss antitrust and regulatory issues in maritime transport. The delegates confirmed their renewed intention to cooperate on these matters. Hosted by the European Commission's Directorate-General for
Antitrust: Commission investigates Amazon
he European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into certain business practices by Amazon in the distribution of electronic books ("e-books"). The Commission will in particular investigate certain clauses included in Amazon's contracts with publishers. These clauses require publishers to inform Amazon about more favourable or alternative terms offered
Antitrust: Commitments by Skyteam on routes
he European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding commitments offered by Air France/KLM, Alitalia and Delta, members of the SkyTeam airline alliance, to lower barriers to entry or expansion on three transatlantic routes. The Commission had concerns that the cooperation between these airlines may harm competition for
Antitrust: Commission launches e-commerce sector inquiry
he European Commission has launched an antitrust competition inquiry into the e-commerce sector in the European Union. The inquiry, as announced by Commissioner Vestager in March, will allow the Commission to identify possible competition concerns affecting European e-commerce markets. It complements actions launched within the framework of the Digital Single
Antitrust: Gazprom abused dominant position?
he European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Gazprom alleging that some of its business practices in Central and Eastern European gas markets constitute an abuse of its dominant market position in breach of EU antitrust rules. Factsheet On the basis of its investigation, the Commission's preliminary view is that
Antitrust: Investigation against Google
The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Google alleging the company has abused its dominant position in the markets for general internet search services in the European Economic Area (EEA) by systematically favouring its own comparison shopping product in its general search results pages. The Commission's preliminary