Telecoms package

MEPs on Tuesday (24 November) approved a package of legislation to overhaul EU telecoms regulations. National regulators will have greater power to separate operators’ businesses, while the European Commission will have a larger say on competition issues, spectrum management and internet rights.

Czech energy raids

The Commission announced on Tuesday that competition officials had raided the premises of C?EZ, the dominant Czech electricity provider, and other businesses in the Czech Republic. The Commission suspects C?EZ, and possibly other firms, of excluding competitors from the

electricity market.

Qualcomm inquiry

The Commission on Tuesday aborted its antitrust investigation into Qualcomm after companies that had objected to the US chipset maker’s pricing of its licence patents withdrew their complaints. Texas Instruments, Nokia, Ericsson, Panasonic Mobile Communications, NEC and Broadcom had reached settlements with Qualcomm or secured antitrust rulings against it in other jurisdictions.

GM’s plant plans

General Motors said it will not close plants at Bochum and Kaiserlautern in Germany as part of a restructuring of its Opel subsidiary. The statement fuelled speculation that Opel’s plant in Antwerp, Belgium faces closure. At Belgium’s request, EU industry ministers will on 4 December discuss Opel’s restructuring and state aid. GM expects to lay off 9,000-10,000 employees.

Industrial orders

Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, reported on Tuesday that industrial orders in the EU were 1.7% higher in September than in August. Orders in the 16-member eurozone were up 1.5%.