|
Carrying the can
- Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes on Wednesday (18 April) fined three Dutch brewers €273 million for running a price-fixing cartel. Kroes said that four brewers - Heineken, Grolsch, Bavaria and Belgian brewer InBev - held meetings to co-ordinate prices and prices increases between 1996 and 1999. InBev was not fined as the company provided important information about the cartel to the Commission. Heineken received the largest fine, nearly €220m, followed by Grolsch, nearly €32m, and Bavaria, just under €23m.
Export strategy
- The Commission on Wednesday adopted a strategy for improving market access for EU businesses to export markets. The strategy envisages a partnership on the ground to identify barriers to trade in third countries when possible before they appear and tackle existing obstacles to trade. It also targets trade barriers such as technical standards and other regulatory obstacles.
Euro high v dollar
- The euro rose to a two-year high against the US dollar on Wednesday, reaching $1.3614 before falling back to $1.3585. The euro’s strength has been driven by better economic growth in the eurozone, interest rate increases by the European Central Bank and poorer growth prospects in the US.
GM axes 1,400
- The world’s biggest carmaker General Motors announced on Tuesday (17 April) that it will cut 1,400 jobs at its factory in Antwerp, Belgium, as part of global restructuring plans. The successor vehicle to the Astra mid-market hatchback will be built at GM’s plants in the UK, Germany, Poland and Sweden.
EU trade deficit
- The EU’s 27 member states registered a trade deficit with the rest of the world of €17.6 billion in February 2007, according to the first estimate from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office. The 12 members of the eurozone registered a deficit of €1.7bn in February, compared to a deficit of €3.3bn in February 2006. Germany maintains its position as the EU’s exporting powerhouse with a trade surplus of €16.1bn. The UK had the largest trade deficit at €11.2bn.
EU economics, industry and research ministers will discuss some of the key issues affecting the competitiveness of European business at an informal meeting in the Bavarian city of Würzburg next week (26-28 April).
|
