Brussels  - Rules designed to stop airlines from advertising deceptively cheap tickets were due to come into force on Friday across the European Union.

Jointly approved by the EU's 27 member states and by the European Parliament, the rules require airlines to include all taxes and charges in their published ticket prices.

Brussels - The European Commission on Thursday approved plans by Sweden and Portugal to protect financial institutions from the global credit crunch.

Sweden's plan involves the state providing up to 1,500 billion Swedish kronor (201 billion dollars) in debt guarantees to banks and other lenders.

Portugal's plan envisages similar state guarantees worth 20 billion euros (26 billion dollars).

Both schemes were approved by the European Union executive after they were found to be in line with the bloc's rules on state aid.

But while Sweden's was cleared within just three days of it being notified to the commission, the Portuguese plan had to be negotiated with officials in Brussels over a two-week period.

Brussels - The head of the European Commission on Wednesday urged member states to work together to protect jobs and industry, rather than be tempted by "populist" and "protectionist" measures.

"The global financial crisis is not an excuse for protectionism: trade barriers shut out prosperity and open the gates instead to short-term economic populism," said Jose Manuel Barroso.

Barroso's warning came after the European Union executive approved guidelines on ways to mitigate the impact of the financial crisis on the European economy.

The guidelines will lay the basis for an EU-wide "comprehensive recovery plan", or stimulus package, due to be unveiled on November 26.

Brussels - The European Union's top industry official threw his weight Wednesday behind a call to give the bloc's carmakers cheap loans worth up to 40 billion euros 
(51 billion dollars) to develop eco-friendly cars through the financial crisis.

"We are in a situation where it is getting harder for big European businesses to get credit. We must make sure the higher costs they face to develop climate-friendly cars should also be financed," EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said after talks in Brussels with European automotive industry representatives.

"It is not a question of hand-outs, it's a question of the European Investment Bank making available a low-interest credit programme," he said.

Paris/Brussels - The European Union is ready to step up its support to member states hardest hit by the financial crisis by more than doubling the amount of aid available to 25 billion euros (31.2 billion dollars), top officials in Brussels said Wednesday.

The move came hours after the bloc threw a 6.5-billion-euro lifeline to Hungary.

"We all know that some other EU member states and some neighbours of the EU are under stress in their financial and exchange-rate markets, and we are ready to act," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

Brussels - The head of the European Commission on Wednesday urged member states to work together to protect jobs and industry rather than be tempted by "populist" and "protectionist" measures.

"The global financial crisis is not an excuse for protectionism: trade barriers ship out prosperity and open the gates instead to short-term economic populism," said Jose Manuel Barroso.

In other words: "yes to proactivism, but no to protectionism," the commission chief said.

While Barroso's words were directed indiscriminately at all world governments, the underlying message was set to resonate strongly in those European capitals that are facing mounting requests for support from their national industries.