For example, it has also been said that competition law in the European Union ( EU ) tends to protect the competitors in the marketplace, even at the expense of market efficiencies and consumers.

Strengthening economic competition between communities further supports the creation of authentic regions within the EU and almost all EU member states recently have or currently are re-organizing their administration to create competitive EU regions.

The United States faces stiff competition from domestic production, other EU member states, and third world countries.

This is to limit competition between EU products and alternative external goods ( for example, lychee juice could potentially compete with orange juice ).

CAP price intervention has been criticised for creating artificially high food prices throughout the EU .. High import tariffs ( estimated at 18 – 28 %) have the effect of keeping prices high by restricting competition by non-EU producers.

The service ceased in 2000 after 32 years, due to competition with traditional ferries, catamaran, the disappearance of duty-free shopping within the EU and the advancing age of the SR. N4 hovercraft and the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

Collusion is largely illegal in the United States, Canada and most of the EU due to competition / antitrust law, but implicit collusion in the form of price leadership and tacit understandings still takes place.

* The EU energy sector inquiry that shows up current impediments for competition in the electricity industry in Europe The EU energy sector inquiry-final report 10 January 2007

The judges have ruled that right holders cannot license their content on an exclusive territorial basis as it breaches EU Law on competition and free movement of goods and services.

The two central provisions on EU competition law on companies were established in article 85, which prohibited anti-competitive agreements, subject to some exemptions, and article 86 prohibiting the abuse of dominant position.

The general test is whether a concentration ( i. e. merger or acquisition ) with a community dimension ( i. e. affects a number of EU member states ) might significantly impede effective competition.

McCreevy's EU Services Sector Competition Directive, sets out to achieve full competition in the Services sector across the EU.

EU competition regulators began an investigation into Czech Airlines on 23 February 2011 stating that it doubted the loss-making concern could return to viability and comply with European Union state aid regulations.

Due to EU laws requiring the opening up of the Irish telecommunications market ; however, Ireland had a derogation from competition until 2003.

As a 2002 Eisenhower Fellow, Eric studied EU internet economy competition strategies.

This last point is a unique characteristic of the EU competition law regime.

As the EU is made up of independent member states, both competition policy and the creation of the European single market could be rendered ineffective were member states free to support national companies as they saw fit.

Primary authority for applying EU competition law rests with European Commission and its Directorate General for Competition, although state aids in some sectors, such as transport, are handled by other Directorates General.

On 1 May 2004 a decentralised regime for antitrust came into force to increase application of EU competition law by national competition authorities and national courts.

Austrian German is the only variety of a pluricentric language recognized under international law / EU primary law.

The Community acquis or acquis communautaire (; ), sometimes called the EU acquis, and often shortened to acquis, is the accumulated legislation, legal acts, and court decisions which constitute the body of European Union law.

However, in September 1999 the European Commission ruled against a complaint made by Sky News that the publicly funded channel was unfair and illegal under EU law.

Although there have been disagreements with established EU member nations over some economic issues, such as agricultural quotas and a recent amendment to the gaming law, relations are good.

In a few limited areas the Council may initiate new EU law itself.

The other approach is to construct a whole new system of EU company law, that co-exists with the individual company laws of the member states.

While it establishes some common EU rules on the SE, these rules are incomplete, and the holes in the rules are to be filled in using the law of the member state in which the SE is registered.

The border crossing is open 24-hours a day as required by EU law.

The most recent update to gun law in Finland occurred in November 2007 when the government pre-empted a new EU directive prohibiting the carrying of firearms by under-18's by removing the ability of 15-to 18-year-olds to carry hunting rifles under parental guidance.

By 2006, such was the confusion from these multiple Acts, each amending the others ( and not all of which were ever actually commenced and thus were in the public record but not enforced as actual legislation ); and the amendments of Irish firearms legislation by other Acts ranging from the Wildlife Acts ( mostly relating to hunting law ) to the Road Traffic Acts ( relating to how and where firearms could be transported ) and others ; the large amount of secondary legislation ( Statutory Instruments, which set out regulations, the design of application forms for licences and so forth, as well as the details of when various parts of the Acts came into force ); as well as the introduction of EU firearms law into the canon of Irish legislation ; led the Irish Law Reform Commission to recommend that all the extant legislation be restated a legal process by which all the existing primary and secondary legislation would be read as one and a single document produced as the new Firearms Act ( and all prior Acts would be repealed ).

In 2010, the EU approved a law that will require all EU hedge fund managers to register with national regulatory authorities.

New law to come in shortly in three provinces first including Maastricht and Eindhoven ( covering other provinces including Amsterdam in 2012 ) only allowing registered members of clubs to go to the cannabis cafes, only Dutch residents who are at least 18 years of age can register but all foreigners will be banned including these from EU states.

The club owners organization state that this is discriminating within the EU which is illegal under European law.

Although harmonization with EU law and standards will require great efforts, already underway, the EU accession process will serve to advance Slovenia's structural reform agenda.

Malta's gun law, Cap 480 ( Arms Act 2005 ) and the Arms Licensing regulations are closely based on the EU Arms Directive.

However, since all EU states are members of the Council of Europe and have signed the Convention on Human Rights, there are concerns about consistency in case law between the two courts.

The United States, Japan, and many EU countries protect the topography of semiconductor chips and integrated circuits under sui generis laws, some of whose aspects are borrowed from patent or copyright law.

EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term " Champagne " exclusively for wines that come from this region located about 100 miles ( 160 km ) east of Paris.

The primary significance of the EC Act 1972 is that ( apart from being the instrument whereby the UK was able to accede to the European Union ( or ' European Communities ' as then termed ) it enables under section 2 ( 2 ) for Government ministers to lay regulations before Parliament to implement required changes to UK law ( for example, Decisions of the European Court of Justice and EU Directives ).

The islands situated between 60 ° S latitude parallel to the south and the Antarctic Convergence to the north, and their respective Exclusive Economic Zones fall under the national jurisdiction of the countries that possess them: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ( United Kingdom ; also an EU Overseas territory ), Bouvet Island ( Norway ), and Heard and McDonald Islands ( Australia ).

Kerguelen Islands ( France ; also an EU Overseas territory ) are situated in the Antarctic Convergence area, while the Falkland Islands, Isla de los Estados, Hornos Island with Cape Horn, Diego Ramírez Islands, Campbell Island, Macquarie Island, Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands, Crozet Islands, Prince Edward Islands, and Gough Island and Tristan da Cunha group remain north of the Convergence and thus outside the Antarctic region.

Bulgaria also has the lowest personal and corporate income tax rates in the EU, as well as the second lowest public debt of all European Union member states at 16. 2 % of GDP in 2010.

Ballochbuie is also protected as a Special Area of Conservation by the EU Habitats Directive, as " one of the largest remaining continuous areas of native Caledonian Forest ".

It also holds, jointly with the Parliament, the budgetary power of the Union and has greater control than the Parliament over the more intergovernmental areas of the EU, such as foreign policy and macroeconnomic coordination.

The Presidency also plays a major role in representing the Council within the EU and representing the EU internationally, for example at the United Nations.

In addition to banning capital punishment for EU member states, the EU has also banned detainee transfers in cases where the receiving party may seek the death penalty.

The same kind of procedure is also followed multilaterally by the member states of the European Union ( EU ).

" Even the EU preliminary statement of 2005 also said "... the polling processes were generally positive.

Liberals are also in government in eight other EU member states: Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

The flag symbolises the EU as a whole but it is also the sole emblem of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

In addition to the flags use by the government and people, the flag is also used in EU military operations ; however, it is not used as a civil ensign.

Some delegations within the group, notably the United Kingdom Independence Party, also advocate the complete withdrawal of their country from the EU whilst others only wish to limit further European integration.

The Centre Party are also moderately skeptic towards the EU.

The Green Party of England and Wales, which has one seat in Parliament in the House of Commons, also rejects the term " eurosceptic "; however it opposes the Euro and is critical of the current direction and structure of the EU.

Greenpeace, together with other environmental NGOs, also campaigned for ten years for the EU to ban import of illegal timber.

As with category C, every Austrian citizen at the age of 18 or over can buy and own this type of weapon without further registration or permission, since no background checks are performed also EU / EEA citizens can buy them without problems.

Ireland also passed legislation in response to the EU directive with the effective date being 31 December 1993.

It is also the busiest airport in the EU by passenger traffic and the third busiest in Europe given the number of traffic movements, with a figure surpassed only by Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and Frankfurt Airport.

All hedge fund managers within the EU will also be subject to potential limitations on the amount of leverage they can use.

Jordan is a member of the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement, the Euro-Mediterranean free trade agreement, the Agadir Agreement, and also enjoys advanced status with the EU.

In Britain, also previous to this EU jurisprudence, a series of laws introduced during the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher's government restricted closed and union shops.

Concerning labour market regulation in the EU, Gold ( 1993 ) and Hall ( 1994 ) have identified three distinct systems of labour market regulation, which also influence the role that unions play: