UNNECESSARY red tape is costing European business €360 billion a year and much of it is there to keep special interest groups happy, according to a high-level report.

THE COST of a new car could increase by €5,000, warn car manufacturers, which have been given a six-year deadline to produce cleaner vehicles that emit less carbon dioxide.

THE generous spirit with which the Irish said Yes to Nice has encouraged EU foreign ministers to resolve most of the remaining obstacles to enlargement, according to Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verhoygen.