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The Package of rules governing the Internet and telecoms sectors proposed by the European Commission in view of supporting competition and providing clearer information and a wider range of services to consumers was approved by the European Parliament on 24 September 2008, in the first reading.

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Google announced in June that it had struck a deal with Yahoo, so it would sell ads on Yahoo website in return for a share of the profits. The EU anti-competition authorities confirms that they are investigating the deal between the two majors in the online advertising.

The major competitors claimed that this new deal gives a dominant position for Google.

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The telecoms package seminar on the 27 August 2008 in the European Parliament arranged by Swedish MEP Christofer Fjellner had a remarkably large audience. Over 100 persons came to listen to the five speakers from both industry and civil society.

Over all, the speakers called for better understanding of the so called "copyright amendments" to the package that allegedly have been introduced to the detriment of the 'completion of the internal market' for the telecoms industry.

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New voices from the major copyright experts in the European universities and research centers question the current EU proposals of extension of the copyright term for the performing artists and sound recordings.

As previously covered in the past EDRi-gram, the first letter was addressed to EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and sent on 18 July 2008 by the leading European centres for intellectual property research that explained that the new measures "will damage European creative endeavour and innovation beyond repair."

Professor Bernt Hugenholtz, Director of the Institute for Information Law (IViR) that was commissioned by the EC to draft two major studies

On 16 July 2008, disregarding the well substantiated findings and opinions of the Amsterdam Institute for Information Law, the Cambridge Study for the UK Government and the Bournemouth University statement signed by 50 leading academics in June 2008, the European Commission (EC) adopted an initiative proposing the extension of the copyright term for the recorded performances as well as records.

Actually, two initiatives were adopted by the European Commission related to copyright, proposing the extension of the copyright term for the recorded performances and phonograms and the harmonisation of the copyright term to cover co-written works as well. The EC also adopted a Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy.

"The copyright measures adopted today should underline that we take a

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The IMCO (Internal Market Committee) and ITRE (Committee on Industry, Research and Energy) committees of the European Parliament (EP) adopted on the 7 July 2008 the Telecom package, including the amendments that were considered by some NGOs as endangering the principle of the neutrality of the Internet.

One of the MEPs supervising the Telecom package, including the amendments to the five directives that should reform the EU legal framework on electronic communications has explained that the vote on these amendments had nothing to do with copyright enforcement: "There has been a great deal of dismay in the committee at the interpretation being put on these amendments.(...) The

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An updated version of the Regulation on the Visa Information System (VIS) published by Statewatch reveals that only random checks might be carried out, if there are too many people waiting.

As already presented in EDRi-gram, the legislative package on the Visa Information System that included the VIS Regulation has been adopted by the European Parliament. The system will allow fingerprinting and checking security of all visitors to EU that apply for a visa in their home country. All the details, including fingerprints are held on the central VIS database so that on entry to and exit from the EU identity checks can be carried out. The VIS Regulation will allow consulates and other competent authorities to

Last month, Denmark signed the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention. Now all 15 EU States have signed it, but only two two countries (Albania and Croatia) have ratified it. The Convention needs five ratifications before it comes into force.

On 7 November 2002, an additional protocol on racism was adopted by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers on 7 November 2002.