Officials in the Department of Finance are considering phasing out a tax device used by multinational firms including Google, as the EU looks into the practice.

The first of several new generation nuclear power plants in Britain yesterday got the go-ahead from the European Commission in a controversial decision to allow London hand over huge subsidies.

Online retailer Amazon has become the latest firm to face a probe by the European Commission (EC) to see whether its tax affairs comply with state aid rules.

Facebook gained European Union clearance for its proposed $19bn takeover of mobile messaging startup WhatsApp in a deal setting it against the telecoms industry.

The European Union’s competition authority has approved Facebook’s proposed $19bn takeover of messaging service WhatsApp.

Ryanair has been ordered to repay €500,000 to a small German airport because it was an illegal state subsidy, according to the European Commission.

An internet to benefit everyone

The takeover of O2 by Three approved by the European Commission could have negative consequences for Irish consumers, ComReg has warned.

Hutchison Whampoa will win EU approval to take over Telefonica’s O2 Ireland unit as soon as Wednesday after a key EU panel backed the deal.

The European Union’s top competition regulator has accused JPMorgan, HSBC and Credit Agricole of colluding to manipulate the price of financial products linked to interest rates.

European regulators need to allow phone businesses within a country to merge to avoid them being choked by network costs, a top industry group said yesterday.

The European Commission moved yesterday to stem aggressive patent lawsuits by smartphone and tablet makers against rivals, ruling that Motorola Mobility had broken EU law by taking such action against Apple.

Hutchison Whampoa is offering to help a smaller rival become Ireland’s fourth mobile operator in a bid to win EU approval for its acquisition of Telefonica’s O2 Ireland unit, according to sources.

Hutchison Whampoa has offered to give network access to several virtual network operators in a bid to win EU approval to buy Telefonica’s Irish unit, according to sources.

Galway Airport could be re-opened after EU changes has made it possible for countries to grant state aid to struggling regional airports.

Google has agreed to make concessions on how it displays competitors’ links in a deal with the EU regulator that ended a three-year antitrust probe and avoided a fine.

Google is close to settling a three-year EU competition probe with “much better” concessions to allay concerns over blocking rivals such as Microsoft from internet search results, according to sources.

Changes finally agreed to EU public procurement rules could open up markets worth €300bn to Irish companies including SMEs and they will also have easier access to state aid as a result of changes to EU rules.

Missing your favourite TV programme just because you are out of the country could become a thing of the past as the EU opens an investigation into restrictions.

Christmas festivities are much the same the world over these days, but not in Spain.

The poor state of EU-Irish relations burst into the open with Commission president José Manuel Barroso’s ‘moment of truth’ in the midst of the EU summit.

Humanitarian charities, an Israeli prime minister and a European Union commissioner were among 1,000 targets on a surveillance list drawn up by British and American intelligence agencies, it has been reported.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are among seven Spanish clubs that are being investigated by the European Commission over public funding, it was confirmed today.

Eight global banking giants have been fined a combined €1.7 bn by the European Commission for forming illegal cartels to rig benchmark interest rates.

Permanent TSB plans to start selling its €6.9 billion UK residential mortgage loans next year, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

European Union antitrust regulators are examining the possible manipulation of currency rates, following a Swiss probe into whether banks colluded to manipulate the $5.3 trillion (€3.9tn)-a-day foreign exchange market.

Google has given EU regulators a new proposal to settle a nearly three-year-old EU antitrust probe into the way it operates its search services.

Airlines will no longer be able to charge consumers extra for booking flights online while the price of goods in shops should fall as the EU moved to curb the costs of paying with plastic.

The European Commission will today table a European-wide cap on credit and debit card fees.

The resolution scheme for Ireland’s 400 credit unions will be extended until December, the European Commission agreed under state aid rules.

Thirteen of the biggest investment banks in the world were accused by the EU of colluding to curb competition in the $10tn credit derivatives industry.

Many of the world’s largest investment banks have been accused of secretly acting together to maintain fees they made from financial products known as credit derivatives.

Oil-price manipulation may have wrought “huge” damage to consumers, the EU’s anti-trust chief said yesterday as he drew comparisons with EU investigations into the rigging of bank rates.

Apple’s distribution practices for iPhones continue to be examined by EU competition regulators as part of a preliminary investigation, the European Commission said yesterday.

The EU has fined Microsoft €561m for failing to offer users a choice of web browser, an unprecedented sanction that will act as a warning to other firms involved in EU antitrust disputes.

The European Commission has fined Microsoft €561m for breaking the terms of an earlier agreement to offer users a choice of internet browser.

Ryanair’s failed third bid to take over Aer Lingus begs the question whether the move would be allowed under any circumstances.

EU anti-trust regulators have blocked a third bid by Ryanair to buy rival Aer Lingus, a ruling that Europe’s biggest low-cost airline called politically motivated and vowed to challenge in court.

A major step to secure the future of the VHI and ensure older people can afford private health insurance has been taken with the approval of the risk equalisation scheme by the European Commission.

Ryanair is offering Flybe Group €100m and use of Aer Lingus’s brand name for three years in a bid to secure EU consent to complete its €800m takeover of the national airline.

Aer Lingus is adding another aircraft to its transatlantic route following figures which show that despite the recession its long-haul routes are remaining popular.

Royal Philips Electronics and LG Electronics are among companies fined a record €1.47bn by EU anti-trust regulators over price-fixing agreements of now-obsolete cathode-ray tubes used in televisions and computer monitors.