Once a week, NEU offers a selection of relevant news on issues related to Economy.

ICIJ About to Release the Full Panama Papers List
By NEU – Newsletter for the European Union

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) has announced the release of the full list of companies and people involved in the Panama Papers investigation on 9 May. This is expected to be the largest-ever release of information about secret offshore companies and the people behind them, based on data from the Panama Papers investigation. The searchable database will provide information on more than 200,000 companies, trusts, foundations and funds incorporated in 21 tax havens, from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States. Read more here.

What is at Stake with Labelling the EU Goods?
By NEU – Newsletter for the European Union

Following several requests from the European Parliament and actions from different EU countries, the European Commission decided to propose a new regulation requiring that consumer products bear an indication of the country of origin. Compulsory labels of origin have already proved very effective to increase consumers’ confidence in food products, as they made it easier to trace their producers. Extending origin labels to all consumer goods will give a further boost to the EU’s internal market. This is how the Commission have announced the optimistic plan for labelling the EU goods with “MADE IN THE EU” trademark. But not everything went so easily. Read more here.

Google’s Unfair Practices Breach EU Antitrust Rules, Says EU
By NEU – Newsletter for the European Union

The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Google’s practices as regards its mobile operating system Android, which breach EU antitrust rules. According to the Commission, Google has imposed unjustified restrictions and conditions on manufacturers of devices running its Android mobile operating system as well as on mobile network operators.
Read more here.

Leaked TTIP documents cast doubt on EU-US trade deal
By Arthur Neslen on The Guardian

Talks for a free trade deal between Europe and the US face a serious impasse with “irreconcilable” differences in some areas, according to leaked negotiating texts. The two sides are also at odds over US demands that would require the EU to break promises it has made on environmental protection. President Obama said last week he was confident a deal could be reached. But the leaked negotiating drafts and internal positions, which were obtained by Greenpeace and seen by the Guardian, paint a very different picture.
Read more here.

Europe’s Economy, After 8-Year Detour, Is Fitfully Back on Track
By Peter S. Goodman on The New York Times

On Friday, the European Union released data showing that the overall economy of the 19 countries that use the euro advanced 0.6 percent over the first three months of the year, compared with the previous quarter. That gain, equivalent to an annual rate of 2.2 percent, brought the eurozone’s gross domestic product for the period — the total value of goods and services produced — to slightly above the previous peak reached in the early months of 2008, before the crisis emerged and Europe’s core economy descended into a pair of crippling recessions. Yet as milestones go, Europe’s return to precrisis levels of economic activity came with so many qualifiers that any celebration seemed premature, at best, and at worst like a mockery for the tens of millions of ordinary Europeans who have far from recovered.
Read more here.

Websites that detect your ad blocker could be breaking EU law
By Will Heilpern on Business Insider UK

In the battle against ad blocking, many publishers have begun preventing readers from viewing content while they have an ad blocker switched on. However, a letter purporting to be from the European Commission suggests that these publishers could be breaking European law. Read more here.