Brussels  - The European Commission is to take Germany to court over its failure to modify the so-called "Volkswagen Law," which has been found to break the European Union's competition rules, officials in Brussels said Tuesday.

A spokesman for the EU's internal market and services commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, said the commissioner planned to make a proposal to this effect "as soon as possible."

The EU executive had asked Germany to amend the law in the light of an October ruling by the European Court of Justice, which had found that the 48-year-old legislation breaks EU rules.

Pristina - Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in February afte

Vienna  - Central European shares rose Monday, paced by financial companies, after the US government seized control of two troubled lenders that underpin the country's home loan market.

The Warsaw stock exchange's WIG20 blue-chip index was up 2.65 per cent to 2,569.62 points at mid-day. Benchmark indices in the Czech Republic and the Baltic nations also gained.

"The chief reason is the US government's bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said Roman Kodera, chief broker at Patria Online in Prague. "Investors in the banking sector see it as positive information."

Paris  - Three Jewis

Brussels - The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday hailed the European Union's efforts to fight climate change as a model for the world to follow.

"The European Union is a leader of the global action to mitigate climate change through its bold and innovative energy policies," said Nobuo Tanaka, the IEA's executive director, at a press conference in Brussels.

In January, the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, unveiled a package of legal proposals designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost the use of renewable energies.

Brussels  - The European Commission on Thursday cleared controversial plans by Italy to fingerprint its Roma residents after the government agreed to make changes enabling them to comply with European Union rules.

A spokesman for the EU's top justice official, Jacques Barrot, said good cooperation between the European Commission and the Italian government had made it possible to "correct any debatable measures or provisions."

In June, the centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi proposed fingerprinting ethnic Roma, including children, as part of efforts to obtain more reliable information about their numbers, schooling arrangements and living conditions.