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BRUSSELS, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The European Union reiterated its objection to the separatist elections held in eastern Ukraine on Sunday.

"I consider today's 'presidential and parliamentary elections' in Donetsk and Luhansk 'People's Republics' a new obstacle on the path towards peace in Ukraine. The vote is illegal and illegitimate, and the European Union will not recognize it," Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said Sunday.

The EU and NATO maintain the Nov. 2 elections were a violation of both Ukrainian laws and the Minsk cease-fire agreement.

According to the Minsk Protocol, Dec. 7 was agreed upon as the date for early elections in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Nov. 2 elections, Mogherini said, "were held contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Minsk Protocol, signed by the representatives of the trilateral Contact Group, and obstruct efforts to find a sustainable political solution to the crisis."

Mogherini urged all parties to work toward holding the early elections Dec. 7 "in accordance with Ukrainian law, as foreseen in the Minsk Protocol," noting that "The aspiration for peace... requires political will and good faith."

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EU reiterates objection to separatist elections in Ukraine; will not recognize results

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A business support programme that seeks to promote Southeast Asia as a business destination for SMEs from across the European Union

Malaysia, Nov 2: The European Union is currently on a mission to promote ASEAN to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in its member countries. Their first stop in the process will be in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, with an emphasis on clean technology.

Calling the mission the EU Business Avenues, the Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Malaysia H.E Luc Vandebon said that ASEAN was chosen because of its robust economy.

We have chosen to focus on this region, and clean technology in particular, because robust economic development goes hand-in-hand with a heightened demand for energy, reasoned Vandebon.

The EU Business Avenues provides a platform for businesses to build new networks and partnerships, leverage unique technology offerings and functional solutions that will help them maximise opportunities in dynamic local and regional markets, he further added.

He opined that as economies in ASEAN continue to grow, the region is investing in the sustainability of its development, from managing energy and resource-usage to planning for urban expansion while limiting environmental pressures.

This emphasis on sustainability is reflected in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC), which aims to raise the proportion of renewable energy used in the ASEAN region to 15% by 2015, he said.

Moreover, over the next decade, ASEAN promises to replicate the success witnessed in the rest of Asia, where clean-tech firms have reported a combined growth rate of nearly 13% per year from 2005 to 2011, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, claimed Vandebon.

When queried on the type of expertise and knowledge that the SMEs from the EU would bring with them that could benefit Malaysia, he said, Clean technologies, namely green, sustainable products, services and processes, encompass a wide range of businesses, including those specialising in renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution-reduction and recycling.

The SMEs that have been selected to travel to Malaysia are amongst the best the EU has to offer in the field of clean-tech. They will display a wide range of leading and functional solutions that respond to diverse business needs.

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Bridging European and Malaysian SMEs

BRUSSELS: European Union regulators on Friday cleared the buyout of the WhatsApp mobile messaging service by Facebook, despite opposition by telecom companies afraid of the growing power of US technology giants.

In a statement explaining its approval of the $19-billon (15-billion-euro) deal, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said Facebook and WhatsApp were not close competitors and that consumers would continue to have a wide array of choices.

We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement.

Facebook, the world's biggest social network, announced the buyout of the WhatsApp messenger service, used by 600 million people, in February and US authorities approved the deal in April.

The European Commission only automatically reviews deals where each company involved has sales of over 100 million euros across at least three EU states, which was not the case for this deal.

But the powerful European telecom lobby had argued that Facebook and Whatsapp together would have access to an unfair stock of user data and gain an unfair competition advantage in the crucial data and consumer habit market used by advertisers.

But the Commission turned down this argument concluding that, regardless of whether Facebook would start collecting WhatsApp user data, the transaction would not raise competition concerns".

After the merger, a large amount of Internet user data that are valuable for advertising purposes are not within Facebook's exclusive control, the commission said.

The decision comes as US Internet giant Google faces intense scrutiny from the Commission over accusations of unfair advantages the search engine gives its own services in search results.

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