This is merely the beginning of a full-scale investigation by the commission that could last months, if not years, and could, in theory, lead to a fine of up to 10% of the company's sales.

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Although the proposals did not have the imprimatur of the full commission, they provided a reasonable compendium of program cuts and revenue increases that highlighted the scale of changes required to return Washington to fiscal sanity.

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Mr Horta-Orsorio believes the Independent Commission on Banking has under-estimated the scale of what Lloyds is already being forced to sell.

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The European Commission could tell the banks to scale back the number of customers, or to sell off some of their businesses.

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"Several member states have not provided data to the commission about the preparedness of their caged egg producers and thus far, the commission has failed to deal with the threat of large-scale non-compliance across the EU, " she added.

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The European Commission recently examined the effects of biofuel mandates, and decided to scale back by half its original 2020 target for transportation fuel made from food sources.

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On campaign spending limits - which cover the "regulated", 16-week period of the campaign before the poll is held - the commission based its recommendations partly on information it now had on the likely shape and scale of campaigning.

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"I'm a bit speechless about the negligence some member states have been showing, " said Jos Delbeke, a senior Commission official for the environment, adding that it was too early to say what the scale of the thefts may be.

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Former chancellor Lord Lawson, a member of the Parliamentary Banking Commission, last week accused Barclays of being involved in legal tax avoidance on an "industrial scale".

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