Ireland is on course to meet an EU target of cutting annual road deaths in half by 2020.

Airlines will no longer be responsible for providing accommodation for an “indefinite period” to stranded passengers during natural or weather disasters.

An EU driving licence comes into force tomorrow – a credit card-style replacement for the more than 100 different paper and plastic licences currently in use by more than 300 million motorists across the 27 European member states.

Ryanair’s safety record is coming under scrutiny by both Spanish and Irish officials with the European Commission offering to intervene if needed.

Car owners are facing annual NCT or MOT checks on cars over five years old while technical checks for scooters and motorbikes will be introduced for the first time under EU proposals.

The European Commission is proposing new rules under which six-year-old cars would need an NCT every year.

New passenger guidelines for disabled

The Road Safety Authority has welcomed the release of figures showing Ireland had one of the best records in Europe in reducing road fatalities during 2011.

AN extra toll on heavy goods lorries will put hundreds of Irish hauliers out of business and make the country’s exports more expensive, the European Parliament has been warned.

AIRPORT fees that can double or treble the price of a bargain flight could take a tumble once airports reorganise the way they allocate the all-important slots.

Europe’s busiest airports could carry 28 million more passengers every year without further expansion or extra runways, a report claimed today.

The air transport industry was beset by confusion and arguments today as passengers braced themselves for days of uncertainty caused by Iceland’s latest volcanic ash cloud.

IRISH airline passengers are this morning facing the first ash cloud flight disruptions after Aer Lingus was forced to cancel a dozen flights.

Petrol and diesel-driven cars should be banned from cities across Europe by 2050 to slash dependence on oil and tackle climate change, the European Commission said today.

Petrol and diesel-driven cars should be banned from cities across Europe by 2050 to slash dependence on oil and tackle climate change, the European Commission said today.

AIRLINES may be forced to reverse the growing trend of introducing a range of additional charges on passengers as a result of a major review of EU aviation policy.

The European Commission has warned airports of looming regulation to prevent a repeat of the Christmas travel chaos.

THE EU lashed out at airports yesterday for the “unacceptable” disruption caused by freezing weather across Europe as fresh snowfall added to the woes of thousands of stranded Christmas travellers.

The EU Commission today slammed Europe's air travel disruption as unacceptable and urged airports to "get serious" about better planning for bad weather.

TRANSPORT ministers in Europe have agreed to a green tax, whereby countries can charge heavy goods lorries using many of Europe’s main roads a special tax for causing noise and air pollution and further charges to discourage peak time driving.

THE European Commission is looking into the fitting of aircraft-style “black boxes” in cars and lorries as part of a new drive to cut road accidents.

THE travel tax, which is blamed for contributing to the drop in tourist numbers, is being investigated by the European Commission.

LOSING your duty free and dumping your bottle of water before boarding flights will come to an end, but not for another three years, the European Commission announced yesterday.

THE European Commission has given airlines the green light to seek state aid to help meet the cost of the estimated €2.5 billion compensation bill incurred during the recent volcanic ash cloud crisis.

THE aviation industry ignored calls to investigate whether planes could fly in certain “safe” levels of ash cloud on three separate occasions between 2007 and early April 2010.

The European Commission today signalled approval of state aid for airlines in the wake of the volcanic ash crisis – as long as it does not amount to “unfair assistance” undermining competition.

IN the ageless contest between man and nature, nature reasserted its primacy for an entire week, crippling air travel around the world and sending shudders through the global economy.

THE skies are open for business once again, but for how long is anyone’s guess.

Europe began allowing limited air traffic to resume, giving hope to millions of travellers stranded around the world when ash from a volcano in Iceland choked the jet age to a halt.

The aviation industry today condemned European transport officials, claiming there has been “no co-ordination and no leadership” in the crisis that has shut down most European airports for a fifth day.

Air travellers hit by the grounding of all flights by the volcanic ash threat can still claim most of their EU rights even though the disruption is beyond airlines’ control, the European Commission confirmed tonight.

Ireland has secured the Research and Innovation portfolio in the European Commission.

Europe’s governments were challenged today to get a grip on EU spending after another mixed report from the EU’s accounts watchdog.

A REGISTER for companies, interest groups, lawyers and non-governmental organisations involved in the EU’s €1 billion-a-year lobbying industry has been launched.

The National Audit office today blamed the European Commission and the UK government for lax controls on EU spending after Europe’s financial watchdog refused to clear the accounts for the 13th year running.

A MAGISTRATES court in Créteil in France has imposed suspended prison sentences on the managers of a dairy company found guilty of selling products manufactured using adulterated butter.

An EU official today expressed concern that Turkey’s reforms were slowing and urged the government not to lose its commitment to the European Union.

DUBLINER Catherine Day has been appointed to the top job in the European Commission, replacing fellow Irish national David O’Sullivan.

An Irish woman was appointed to the top job in the European Union civil service today.

A HUGE row has broken out over the new European Commission after it emerged two members have criminal convictions for financial irregularity, including the man responsible for anti-fraud.