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The European Union will eliminate most of the remaining customs charges on imports from 78 former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific in an effort to fuel the commodity-dependent economies.

The EU’s trade arrangements with the group of developing countries expire on Jan. 1. Today’s decision to increase access to the European market, backed by ministers meeting in Brussels, also ends limits on the volume of exports to the 27-nation bloc. […]

EU imports of commodities from 49 of the world’s poorest countries, excluding sugar, bananas and rice, have been tariff- free and unlimited in volume since 2001. That agreement excluded 37 ACP countries.
(source)

The Spanish Parliament has passed a law aimed at controlling property speculators whom the government blames for spiralling house prices.

Official documents will list everybody who has owned any piece of land in the five years before its development.[…]The government hopes that reducing the number of speculators and the degree of corruption will bring down prices. […]

The new law also reserves 30% of future property development for social housing and allows for planning decisions taken over the past two years to be reviewed under certain circumstances.
It will come into force on 1 July. (Source: BBC)

The European Union has halved its import duty on nonalloyed raw aluminium to 3% from 6% in a bid to boost deliveries from Russia.

The EU said in an official statement that the decision was reached on Monday.
It said the partial suspension of the tariff would come into force “three days following its publication in the EU Official Journal, in the coming days.” The duty “will be reviewed in three years in order to take into account possible future changes in the aluminium market situation,” the statement said.
(source)

A series of free trade talks between South Korea and the European Union are taking place in Seoul from 7 to 11 May.

[…]EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and South Korean trade minister Kim Hyun-Chong both called for rapid progress in free trade negotiations. Officials hope to conclude negotiations within a year. […]The European Union is South Korea’s biggest investor, injecting nearly $5bn into the country last year, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
(source: BBC)

A EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit will beginon Tuesday May 8, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The summit could lead to a free trade deal between EU and the GCC - which includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Omand and Qatar.

The two blocs had started to negotiate a free trade agreement in 2002, however they failed to agree on a commons set of rules regarding investments and market access.