The European Commission made a decision on 24th February 2010 to teminate the anti-dumping proceedings concerning ring binding mechanisms originating in Thailand .

The EU's ecolabel for environmentally friendly goods and services will enter into force next month following their publication on 30 January in the Official Journal of the European Union. Important changes include even higher environmental standards, lower fees and simplified criteria linked to public purchasing and other EU policies.

On 13^th January 2010, the European Chemicals Agency has added 14 chemical ubstances* to the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) for authorisation. Companies manufacturing or importing these substances need to check their potential obligations that result from the listing.

EU Member States just gave the green light for the Commission to pursue negotiations towards free trade agreements (FTAs) with individual countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As a first step, the Commission intends to begin negotiations with Singapore early in 2010.