Brussels - The French presidency of the European Union said Friday there would be no delay to a planned ban by 2012 of the tiny "battery" cages used by many producers for laying hens.

"I would not like us to go back on that date. I would not like to see it postponed. The council position is that battery farming should cease on that day," French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier told the European Parliament.

Animal rights activists have long campaigned against the use of conventional battery cages, where floor space is the equivalent of a sheet of A4 paper. This prevents hens from making even the most basic of movements, such as spreading their wings or even turning around.

Brussels/New York  - All sides in Sri Lanka's long-running conflict should do more to protect civilians and uphold human rights, European Union foreign affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Thursday.

"The rights and needs of civilians and those who are internally displaced by the ongoing conflict in the north (of Sri Lanka should be) fully respected, in line with international humanitarian law. Their safety and freedom of movement must be paramount," Ferrero- Waldner said in a statement.

Brussels - A growing number of European Union governments voiced concern Thursday that a landmark court ruling could make it easier for illegal immigrants to gain the same rights as EU citizens through marriages of convenience.

Calls for the European Commission to clarify, or even change one of the bloc's major achievements - the freedom of movement directive - were topped by Denmark and backed by Austria, Britain, Ireland and Germany.

Brussels - A key European Parliament committee on Thursday gave its backing to strong European Union limits on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) new cars should emit in a dramatic turnaround from the expected result.

At a stormy meeting, the parliament's environment committee decided that car makers selling their vehicles in the EU should make sure that the average CO2 emissions of the cars they sell should be no more than 120 grams per kilometre (g/km) in 2012.

Penalties for non-compliance should start at 20 euros (29.3 dollars) per car sold and per g/km over the limit in 2012, and rise to 95 euros per g/km in 2015, they said.

Brussels - The European Union's interior ministers gathered in Brussels on Thursday to put the finishing touches on an immigration and asylum pact setting up common principles on the way member states manage the influx of non-EU nationals.

The pact, which is due to be formally adopted by EU leaders at their October 15-16 summit, seeks to improve the management of legal immigration, tighten controls on illegal immigrants and construct a common asylum policy.