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UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation, was left with mixed feelings by the European Commission's "third legislative package" to increase competition and foster the creation of a workable internal market for energy.

At the Hearing on Retail Financial Services by the European Commission, the European Banking Federation (EBF) reiterated its conviction that there are numerous benefits to be gained from the integration of European retail financial markets.

Friends of the Earth Europe accused the European Union of ignoring key warnings about the environmental and social problems of agrofuels – also called biofuels. The environmental group today published a list of recent cautions from prominent organisations and launched an email campaign urging the public to write to their politicians.

Electricity and gas are the lifeblood of our day to day lives and our economy. By opening up the European energy markets to competition - a process which started 10 years ago - Europe's citizens have been able to benefit from more choice and more competition to keep prices down, even in times of spiralling global energy prices. Competition opens up the possibility for the different expectation of consumers to be met. Some consumers will be mainly interested in prices, others may want the choice of renewable energy, while others still may seek a higher level of service.

The Commission adopted a package of measures designed to strengthen the protection against counterfeiting of Euro banknotes and coins: The Commission proposes to make it mandatory for banks and related establishments to ensure the authenticity of Euro banknotes and coins before these are put back into circulation. The Commission also adopted a report that shows that Member States have largely satisfactorily implemented their obligations with regard to criminal penalties against Euro counterfeiting.

The Conference Board announced that the leading index for Spain increased 0.4 percent and the coincident index increased 0.3 percent in July.

The first estimate for the euro area (EA13) trade balance with the rest of the world in July 2007 gave a 4.6 bn euro surplus, compared with +1.1 bn in July 2006. The June 20072 balance was +7.6 bn, compared with +1.6 bn in June 2006. In July 2007 compared with June 2007, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.5%, while imports rose by 3.6%.

Working conditions in Slovenia are in many respects on par with those in the former EU15 Member States, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) will tell social policy-makers in Slovenia. There are, however, there are a number of crucial issues relating to work organisation and health which Slovenian policy-makers are challenged to tackle.

A survey conducted for the European Commission by Eurobarometer confirms that there is a strong interest in most European countries, particularly in the old EU member states, in health research as well as in science and technology. The interest is even higher than in international news and economic and social affairs. Europeans are especially paying attention to the added value that health and medical research can bring to their daily lives. The survey indicates also that citizens trust the scientific and medical professions above all others when it comes to information on science or health research, and that international institutions – including the European Union itself – are significantly more trusted than regional or national governmental sources.

The European Court of Justice confirmed that statutory GMO-free regions are illegal. The Court dismissed the appeals of Upper Austria and the Austrian Government against their ban on the use of biotech crops in the region of Upper Austria.