Brussels - The European Union's top health official Tuesday ruled out the need for travel restrictions to areas affected by outbreaks of swine flu for the time being, and insisted that properly cooked pork meat is safe to eat.
"At this juncture I do not see any point in restricting travelling," said EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.
On Monday, the commissioner had issued a personal recommendation inviting citizens to "avoid non-essential travel" to Mexico and other badly affected areas.
Brussels - Rioters in Kosovo who targeted international peacekeepers should be brought to justice as soon as possible, the European Union said Wednesday, two days after ethnic violence in the Serb enclave of Mitrovica left a French peacekeeper injured. "The EU will press for anyone who endangers the lives of (EU and NATO) personnel, as well as any other law-abiding citizens, to be brought swiftly to justice," the bloc said in a statement. 
Brussels - Representatives of the European pharmaceutical industry were set to arrive in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss their response to a feared swine-flu pandemic with the European Union's top health policy-maker. EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou invited them to the EU's capital to ask about the current availability of flu vaccines and their capacity to produce and distribute more supplies if necessary, Vassiliou's spokeswoman, Nina Papadoulaki, told journalists in the city.
Brussels - The European Commission on Wednesday approved spending plans worth 138.6 billion euros (183.4 billion dollars) for 2010, with nearly half of the European Union's shared resources being devoted to promoting economic growth at a time of recession. The preliminary draft budget's total spending plans represent a 3.8 per cent increase on 2009, with the bloc's 27 member states committing 1.18 per cent of their gross national income (GNI) to the EU executive in Brussels.
Brussels- The European Commission was Wednesday set to unveil guidelines on curbing excessive company bonuses, as well as new rules limiting high-risk investment hedge funds. Action on both issues has been prompted by the global financial crisis, which has in part been blamed on short-term profit-taking and lax legislation.
Geneva/Brussels - Health experts appealed for calm Tuesday as the number of confirmed human infections from swine flu in Europe rose to four and governments sent out contradictory signals on how to deal with the spread of the virus. "Nobody should underestimate the situation, but there is no reason to panic either," Androulla Vassiliou, the European Union's health commissioner, said in Brussels. 
