The European Commission has taken note of Microsoft's announcement on 21st May concerning supporting ODF in Office. The European Commission would welcome any step that Microsoft took towards genuine interoperability, more consumer choice and less vendor lock-in. In its ongoing antitrust investigation concerning interoperability with Microsoft Office, the European Commission will investigate whether the announced support of ODF (OpenDocument format) in Office leads to better interoperability and allows consumers to process and exchange their documents with the software product of their choice.
[European Commission Press Release]

Today, Peter Hustinx, Supervisor, and Joaquín Bayo Delgado, Assistant Supervisor, presented their fourth Annual Report to the press. The report runs through the main features of the EDPS activities in 2007, notably with regard to supervisory and consultative tasks. It also emphasises the impact of the Lisbon Treaty that provides for an enhanced protection of personal data. The EDPS believes that the new Treaty should be seen as an opportunity for the EU administration to demonstrate that effective protection of personal data is a basic value underlying EU policies.
[European Data Protection Supervisor Press Release]

On 14 May, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) presented his general report measuring the implementation of Regulation (EC) 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the institutions and bodies of the Community.
[European Data Protection Supervisor Press Release]

The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has launched a consultation process within the European Network of Ombudsmen on access to information contained in databases. This follows a complaint from a Danish journalist about the refusal of the European Commission to disclose data on beneficiaries of EU agricultural subsidies. The European Commission justified its refusal on grounds of confidentiality. Furthermore, it argued that the EU's rules on access to documents apply to databases only if the data can be easily retrieved. The European Ombudsman was not convinced by this approach. He therefore contacted his colleagues in the Member States to find out about "best practices" at the national level aiming to ensure maximum public access to databases. This consultation is particularly important given that this issue at stake forms part of the current debate on the reform of the EU's rules on access to documents.
[European Ombudsman Press Release]

As part of its effort to combat climate change, the European Commission has announced that it would promote the use of ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) to improve energy efficiency throughout the economy, starting with buildings, lighting and the power grid. ICT can enable, across the economy, greener behaviour, which would massively cut Europe's carbon footprint if widely deployed. The European Commission will encourage the ICT industry to demonstrate leadership in reducing its own CO2 emissions and by identifying and creating solutions that will benefit the whole economy. For instance the most advanced computer servers consume the same amount of energy as a standard light bulb; if widely used they could offer potential energy savings of up to 70%.
[European Commission Press Release]

EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva published the mid term report on an EU wide enforcement investigation - involving 15 EU national authorities as well as Norway – against misleading advertising and unfair practices on airline ticket selling websites. The report shows that there are "serious and persistent consumer problems" throughout the airline industry as a whole. 1 in 3 websites surveyed (137 out of 386 originally checked by the 13 reporting countries) have had to be followed up with enforcement action over the last 7 months for breaches of EU consumer law. Over 50% of those websites have been corrected during this time.
[European Commission Press Release]

The European Commission invites feedback by industry, consumers and other interested stakeholders to review the functioning and effectiveness of the EU Roaming Regulation, which entered into force on 30 June 2007. According to the provisions of the Regulation, the European Commission must report to the European Parliament and the EU Council in 2008 about the functioning of the new roaming rules and their effects. The public consultation aims to gather responses from mobile operators, businesses, consumer associations and any interested party by 2 July 2008.
[European Commission Press Release]

The European Commission sent Spain a reasoned opinion for failing to comply with the television advertising rules in the Television without frontiers Directive. The infringement procedure, started in July 2007, is based on a monitoring report that found that the main TV channels in Spain, both publicly funded and commercial, failed regularly and by some margin to restrict advertising and teleshopping spots to 12 minutes per clock hour. The purpose of this limit, which is maintained in the new Directive on Audiovisual Media Services without frontiers, is to prevent audiences having their viewing interrupted by too much advertising and to promote quality television across Europe.
[European Commission Press Release]

In a new round of infringement proceedings for EU Telecoms Rules, the European Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion (the second and final stage before the case is referred to the European Court of Justice) to Belgium on "must-carry" rules imposed on broadcasters in the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital. "Must-carry rules" require network operators such as cable companies or telecom operators to carry specified radio and TV broadcast channels and services where a significant number of consumers use them as their principal means to receive radio or TV broadcasts.
[European Commission Press Release]

Vice-President Barrot, European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, has expressed his strong support for the advanced plans to set up an EU Coalition of Stakeholders against commercial sexual exploitation of children on the Internet, presented by Missing Children Europe and other stakeholders at a press conference.
[European Commission Press Release]