Brussels - The European Commission is to launch a probe of the European Union's energy markets amid widespread discontent among consumers, who fear that they are being ripped off by their electricity and gas providers, officials in Brussels said Monday.

The move comes as the EU's Brussels-based executive is struggling to open up the bloc's national energy markets to more competition in the face of fierce resistance from former monopolies.

Brussels  - The European Union and China will meet in a summit before the end of June, EU officials said on Friday, two months after Beijing scrapped a top-level meeting in protest at EU leaders' meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

EU leaders agreed with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao during talks in Brussels that "the eleventh EU-China Summit should be convened as soon as possible under the Czech Presidency of the EU," a statement from the European Commission, the EU's executive, said.

The Czech Republic took over the EU's rotating presidency on January 1 and is set to hand it over to Sweden on July 1.

Brussels - Iceland would find it easier to join the European Union than other membership hopefuls since it already follows most of the bloc's rules, officials in Brussels said Friday.

Iceland enjoys full access to the EU's internal market through the European Free Trade Association and the European Economic Area, and also complies with most EU laws, officials said.

Brussels - A European watchdog on Thursday accused the European Union's executive arm in Brussels of withholding crucial information from the bloc's citizens by failing to create a comprehensive register of the documents it produces and receives.

"The European Parliament and the (European) Council have set up satisfactory registers. I, therefore, see no reason why the
(European) Commission should not be able to do so," said European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros.

Brussels - The United States will not get away with expanding "Buy American" protectionist measures as part of its economic rescue plan, European Union officials warned Thursday.

"The one thing we can be absolutely certain about is that if a bill is passed which prohibits the sale or purchase of European goods on American territory, that is not something we will stand idly by and ignore," European Commission trade spokesman Peter Power told journalists in Brussels.

Brussels - The European Union must raise questions of human rights and political freedom with China's premier Wen Jiabao when he visits Brussels on Friday, leading human-rights group Amnesty International said Thursday.

The EU's relationship with China should be "based on mutual respect," but should "include frank discussions on human rights," Nicolas Beger, head of Amnesty's EU office, said in a statement.

"A relationship that is limited to praise would not amount to much," he said.