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Countries such as Bulgaria and Poland are claiming big western European landowners and supermarkets are pricing out their own farmers and shopkeepers.

And many of the worst-hit states have rolled out a series of complex new laws to protect their farms and ensure their agricultural industry can survive and thrive.

The new rules have sparked fears the former Communist countries could force an end to the single market, leaving Brussels to strike back with a series of legal challenges.

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GETTY

In Bulgaria, the European Commission launched an infringement proceeding last year after the country passed a law declaring investors should be resident for more than five years before they can buy farmland.

While in Romania, Brussels recently objected to rules demanding supermarkets source at least 51 per cent of their produce from local suppliers.

But while these cases remain undecided, it is in Poland that the battle against the European Union is being fought the most fiercely.

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There is definitely a push [to undermine the single market], but I dont consider it unjustified.

Attila Szocs, a campaigner at Eco Ruralis

The EU has already ordered authorities to halt a tax which it claims grants a selective advantage to local shops with a low turnover over big foreign-owned supermarkets.

And the country continues to impose laws which, along with other tough criteria, effectively mean anyone hoping to buy land in Poland must have been resident for a decade.

Attila Szocs, a campaigner at Eco Ruralis, a rural campaign group in Romania, said: There is definitely a push [to undermine the single market], but I dont consider it unjustified.

Europe is facing a land rush, where multinational companies and hedge funds are heavily investing in land either for purely industrial or speculative purposes, making this resource less and less accessible for young farmers.

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GETTY

It is easy to see why the former Soviet bloc is seeing such a land rush, however.

The average price of agricultural land in Poland, which is still not the cheapest destination in eastern Europe, was 9,481 per hectare in 2016.

But in contrast, prices in the Netherlands averaged 59,115 per hectare in March this year, according to official government figures.

Mr Szocs added: There is a great political push to keep the status quo and not permit new investors."

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And he said: The government is using strong nationalistic rhetoric banning land sales towards foreigners.

And the European Commission seems to view this new legislation as an existential threat to the EUs free flow of goods, people and capital.

Referring to the infringement procedures, a Commission spokesperson said: The Commissions services are considering the next steps to take.

At the same time, we are supporting member states to exchange best practices and to find solutions that comply with EU law.

Read more:
'It's destroying our country!' Eastern European nations turn back on EU's Single Market - Express.co.uk

Madrid has proposed deeper integration of the 19 countries using the euro, implementing euro bonds, an anti-crisis budget and a common unemployment insurance scheme.

Mr Macron has also spoken out about the need for the European Union to change as he wants a tougher bloc on trade and foreign investment, claiming the euro will fail in 10 years without reform.

Spain is now asking for a real economic government claiming the euro is an unfinished project.

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Its clear that we need to improve the governance of the eurozone

Spains foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis

The countrys government has slammed the euro claiming Europes recent recession revealed critical errors in the design of the currency.

Madrid also said Brussels came up with solutions for only short-term needs.

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Spains economy ministry blamed the eurozone for high unemployment rates in countries most affected by the crisis.

Spains foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, said: Its clear that we need to improve the governance of the eurozone.

The banking union will be the key test.

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Spain has proposed a common budget for the eurozone, a shared anti-crisis budget, unemployment insurance, a treasury, euro-bonds and a banking union.

In a report sent to Brussels, it says: The shortcomings in the euros architecture explains the differential impact of the last crisis.

The euro does not just need firefighters, it also needs architects.

The European project can only endure if its citizens see that it provides sustainable and inclusive prosperity levels.

Spain has also requested more democratic control over institutions such as the Eurogroup.

The European Commission is set to release its own report on the future of the euro at the end of this month along with reflection papers debating ideas for Europe in 2025.

Mr Rajoy has recently visited China to discuss trade links with the Asian superpower.

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Now Spain demands major EU reforms as it rages at eurozone for causing 'huge unemployment' - Express.co.uk

Forbes

Pesticide Regulation In The European Union: The Worst Has Become The Norm Forbes Every time I think the European Union's regulatory bureaucrats have bottomed out on substance and integrity, they find a way to sink even lower. In February, I wrote about how the European Union has rigged the evaluation of whether state-of-the-art ...

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Pesticide Regulation In The European Union: The Worst Has Become The Norm - Forbes

Belgian system Car-Pass should be introduced across the EU in order to crack down on odometer fraud in secondhand cars, which poses a massive problem, especially in Eastern Europe, writes Tom Zdechovsk.

Tom Zdechovsk is a Czech Member of the European Parliament (EPP / KDU-SL).

Every year, millions of European customers are affected by so-called mileage fraud. What do we actually mean by that? The odometer fraud is an artificial lowering of the mileage of a car. It is technically simple, cheap to do, and aims to inflate a vehicles value by several thousand euros. Odometer frauds in second hand cars poses a massive problem, which affects a considerable number of used cars in Europe the estimates go as high as 30%, costing European consumers approximately between 5.6 to 9.6 billion per year.

Not being able to guarantee the cars mileage makes it impossible to assess the true value of second-hand cars, leading to a high level of consumer mistrust. In fact, unsuspecting consumers are not only cheated, but they also face higher repair and maintenance costs and drive cars that are more likely to be unsafe.

For instance, my home country the Czech Republic poses a deterrent example of how big of an issue mileage fraud is. If you are in the Czech Republic and buy a second hand car, it is very likely, that you became a victim of an odometer fraud. Because of the internal free trade within the European Union, central and eastern European countries serve as a dumping ground for many cars imported from the west.

As of 2014, 37% out of 220,000 second hand cars sold in the Czech Republic had an odometer that was artificially manipulated, one fifth had experienced a car crash or had an insured event that were not recorded and 17,8 % out of them were actually older than officially stated in their documents. In other words, many customers are misled and deceived without knowing it. Meanwhile, car dealers suffer unfair competition and the entire second hand car business is left with bad reputation. Indeed, the sector generally performs poorly in the European Commissions Consumer Scoreboard, with second-hand cars consistently ranking as the least trusted product for European consumers.

Unfortunately, the customers do not have many possibilities to check whether the mileage of the vehicles is honest or not. Mileage fraud thereby severely distorts the second-hand car market, tarnishes the reputation of car dealers, may negatively impact the environment and road safety and also leads to tax fraud. Taking steps to reduce mileage fraud would add transparency to the market and could stimulate the used car business and create a sound climate for investments.

The crucial question is: how can we mitigate this type of fraud and is it possible at all? The answer is surprisingly simple and we can find it here, in Belgium. The Belgian Car-Pass system has been extremely successful in clamping down on car clocking. After all, the following figures are more than eloquent. Since the system became operational in 2006, it has dramatically lowered the number of fraud cases from 60,000 in 2005 to a mere 1,197 in 2015. Moreover, since 2006 mileage fraud is punishable by one year in jail.

Inspiration from Belgium

The Belgian system works by removing the incentive for clocking the mileage, as any significant changes will be detected. This is achieved through a central database into which mileage readings are fed regularly, when a car goes in for repairs, maintenance or checks. The room for odometer manipulation is drastically reduced, as suspicious readings show up in the cars mileage history. The system is provided by the non-profit organisation Car-Pass. Since 2006, 6.8 million certificates have been issued and 21 million cars have been recorded since then. There are other countries that have an efficient way to counter the odometer fraud, such as for instance the Netherlands.

Crime does not know borders and thus national systems cannot provide guarantees for imported or exported cars. Therefore, there is a real need for transnational approach to the problem. Nevertheless, we are yet to see active efforts of the Commission to bring the issue on the European level.

I hope that we will have the opportunity to hear the success stories of the fight against the odometer fraud in other European countries soon. Because no permanent solution is possible without joint efforts of all EU member states.

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Odometer fraud resonates across the whole European Union ... - EURACTIV

BRUSSELS: The European Union will hold high-level talks with the United States in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss a possible US airline ban on carry-on computers.

The US Department of Homeland Security sparked deep concern in Europe last week when it said it would soon decide on extending to European airlines a ban on eight mostly Muslim countries.

"The commission will host high-level talks at the political and technical level with the US authorities this Wednesday afternoon in order to jointly assess any new threats and work toward a common approach to address them," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said at a press conference Monday.

Schinas said Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc took part in a conference call Friday with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to discuss the possible laptop ban.

But he could not say whether Kelly would attend the talks Wednesday.

A US ban on now ubiquitous laptops could cause havoc, with more than 3,250 flights a week scheduled to leave EU airports for the US this summer, according to industry data.

Some experts also say there is a security risk in putting them with checked luggage given the danger of their batteries catching fire.

In March, Washington banned passengers from eight countries in North Africa and the Middle East from bringing laptop computers, tablets and other electronic devices larger than cellphones as carry-on items.

Britain followed with a similar ban applying to incoming flights from six Middle East and North African countries.

The move, which requires passengers to put the devices into checked baggage, came amid concerns that jihadist groups were devising bombs disguised as batteries in consumer electronics items.

A bomb that blew a hole in the fuselage of a Somali airliner in February 2016, killing one person, is believed to have been built into a laptop computer carried into the passenger cabin.

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European Union, United States to discuss possible airline laptop ban on Wednesday - Economic Times