Commissioner Kroes took a reassuring step today by suggesting that Europe can expect durable regulatory guidance for all of the investors in next generation infrastructure.  She gives a positive signal of confidence to those in the digital communications market engaged in the long term investment in tomorrow’s broadband infrastructure.

Europe must learn from the experience of practitioners and businesses over the last ten years and come up with a framework for dealing with cross-border insolvencies which optimise the chances of saving jobs and paying dividends to creditors. At the same time, business policy must aim to rehabilitate ‘honest’ business people so as to give them a second chance – while providing proper safeguards for shareholders and customers.

The European Parliament energy committee (ITRE) today endorsed a deal on new EU legislation on energy efficiency and savings (1). Green MEP and draftsperson/rapporteur for the European Parliament Claude Turmes welcomed the vote but cautioned that more needs to be done if the EU to meet its target of reducing energy consumption 20% by 2020, as well as underlining the need for related action to address the glaring flaws in EU's emissions trading scheme. After the vote, the EP rapporteur/draftsperson Claude Turmes said:

On the occasion of a meeting today, the ITU Secretary General, Hamadoun Touré, and the ETNO Executive Board Chair, Luigi Gambardella, reiterated the importance of the WCIT to lay the framework that will facilitate the further growth of an innovative, and sustainable future for the telecom and information and communication technology sector (including the Internet).

Brussels, 11 July, 2012: Europe’s creators are left disappointed and frustrated as the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on Collective Rights Management, entrenches an outdated model and has put the interest of collecting societies’ managers, record labels and publishers ahead of those of the majority of authors.