Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden are world leaders in broadband deployment with penetration rates over 30% at the end of 2007, says the European Commission’s 13th Progress Report on the Single Telecoms Market. These EU countries, together with the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, all had broadband penetration rates higher than the US (22.1%) in July 2007. 19 million broadband lines were added in the EU in 2007, the equivalent of more than 50,000 households every day. The broadband sector generated estimated revenues of € 62 billion and Europe’s overall penetration reached 20%. However, there is considerable scope for further consumer benefits from a reinforced single market, strengthened competition and reduced regulatory burden for market players.
[European Commission Press Release]

European Commissioner Viviane Reding: Digital TV, Mobile TV - let's push for open technologies in Europe and worldwide, DVB World Conference 2008, Budapest, 12 March 2008
[Speech]

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the online advertising technology company DoubleClick by Google, both of the US. The European Commission's in-depth investigation, opened in November 200, concluded that the transaction would be unlikely to have harmful effects on consumers, either in ad serving or in intermediation in online advertising markets. The European Commission has therefore concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic Area (EEA) or a significant part of it.
[European Commission Press Release]

The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Telelogic of Sweden by IBM of the US. Both companies are suppliers of software development tools, that is software used to develop software. The European Commission's in-depth investigation, opened on 3 October 2007, has shown that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic Area (EEA) or a substantial part of it.
[European Commission Press Release]

European Commissioner Viviane Reding: "RFID tags are far cleverer than traditional bar codes. They have the potential to link everyday objects into an 'Internet of Things' that will greatly enhance economic prosperity and the quality of life. But as with any breakthrough, there is a possible downside – in this case, the implications of RFID for privacy. This is why we need to build a society-wide consensus on the future of RFID, and the need for credible safeguards. Privacy is at the heart of our European model of society. RFID will therefore only become successful if they do not call into question the capability of every consumer to control the use of his or her personal data. I expect the industry to assume its responsibilities."
[European Commission Memo]