Search Results for: Austria

The European Union (EU) is currently considering reforming its excise duty rules for tobacco products, with the tobacco industry and commentators seeing the negotiation on the integration of e-cigarettes being one of the hottest topics. Today, e-cigarettes in the EU are treated just like any other product, falling under EU VAT rules, and are not subject to EU-excise laws that apply for conventional tobacco products or spirits for instance.…

WHILE the imposition of age limits on the consumption of tobacco and other nicotine products remains very much a national, and in some cases sub-national jurisdiction decision, there is no doubt that the general trend worldwide is for tighter restrictions on younger consumers, even if they are often tough to enforce.…

While the estimation of sources of laundered money is made imprecise by its inherent covert nature, the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) has estimated that the amount of criminal proceeds processed annually is 2%-5% of global GDP, or USD800 billion to USD2 trillion.…

THE RULING council of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) is preparing to agree major reforms to the International Cocoa Agreement, which should see the agreement increase its commitment to boost sustainability in the chocolate sector.

Council members are considering final changes committing the ICCO to ensuring that cocoa production, processing and manufacture is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.…

Last July (2020), Infracapital, the infrastructure team at UK-based investment managers M&G plc, invested EUR 110 million (USD130 million) in EnergyNest, a small Norwegian company that has developed a novel thermal battery technology. Its ThermalBattery (a trademark) batteries, consisting of a concrete-like storage material made from abundant, recyclable and non-hazardous geomaterials, store excess industrial heat until needed, enabling the transfer of industrial waste heat into electricity and renewable power in industrial heat processes.…

Turkey is struggling to recover its position as an important supplier of high-end and luxury fabrics, recouping sales lost on cost to Chinese rivals. The industry retains great potential strength, being the world’s fifth largest supplier of textiles selling USD12 billion exported annually, according to Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (İTHİB – İstanbul Tekstil ve Hammaddeleri İhracatcilari Birlig).…

Corruption increased in 2020 across the 27 European Union (EU) countries according to 32% of participants in Transparency International’s latest survey of over 40,000 people, the ‘Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – European Union 2021’ (1). As regards other respondents, 44% saw no change and only 16% a fall, year-on-year.…

THE GROWING popularity of cryptocurrencies has stoked concerns that they offer a haven for money launderers. The concern focuses on the risk that crypto can be used anonymously to buy goods and services, without them being converted into fiat currencies through exchanges that are a key focus of emerging AML/CFT controls.…

INTRODUCTION

The textile industry is one of the world’s oldest manufacturing sector, yet it is also one of the most dynamic, constantly reinventing itself. Today, the development of micro-factories might herald root-and-branch change in how the textile and clothing industry operates, a transformation driven by advances in digital textile printing.…

The Czech Republic’s digital textile printing business continued to thrive in 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic’s e-commerce boom boosting trade rather than hampering the sector. Europe’s leading print-on-demand provider Spread Group, which was founded 18 years ago under the name Spreadshirt, and has a key plant in the Czech Republic, had a record year.…

Unprecedently severe bottlenecks in merchandise trades between Asia and the rest of the world caused by Covid-19 economic disruption is continuing to frustrate apparel retailers in Europe and the US. High levels of demand, port congestion and shortages of containers have been pushing up costs, with shipping rates for the Shanghai-Rotterdam and Shanghai-Los Angeles routes on January 21 being up 296% and 153% year-on-year respectively, according to UK-based maritime consultancy Drewry. …

BRITISH and European Union (EU) confectioners must take care to ensure their products meet new origin rules if they want them covered by the duty free goods provisions of the new EU/UK trade agreement struck on Christmas Eve.

The 1,256-page deal includes complex and comprehensive origin rules, such as for chocolate, which can be deemed made in the EU and Britain if all dairy, eggs and honey used are sourced locally, as well as at least 40% of grains, malt, starches and wheat, (which must also not exceed 30% of costs).…

LUXEMBOURG may be a small country, but it is big in dairy, especially milk – with its other main products cheese, butter, butteroil and cream. Growth in the dairy sector of this Grand Duchy, similar in size to the UK country of Dorset and slightly smaller than the US state of Rhode Island, is continuing – even during the market disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.…

Many of European Union’s 27 member states appear to have been dragging their feet when implementing a key provision of the fifth anti-money laundering directive (5AMLD) (1), setting up a public ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) register.  The registers should have gone live for the corporate world on January 10, 2020, and two months later on March 10 for trusts.…

THE INTERNATIONAL trade in paint and coatings products and ingredients contains significant variations in prices that some experts warn maybe too good to be true and could indicate that certain trade flows are being exploited by money launderers.

Such criminals seeking to move illicit proceeds from one country to another through artificial pricing – deliberate over- and under- invoicing.…

The European Chief Prosecutor (ECP) of the embryonic European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has challenged the 22 European Union (EU) states (1) that have signed up to an enhanced cooperation pact underpinning its existence to properly fund the new institution. Without enough money, the EPPO will not be effective, ECP Laura Codruţa Kövesi told Fraud Intelligence.…

Mavi, the Turkish denim giant, sold 9.7 million pairs of jeans worldwide in 2019, and, its chief executive has told just-style, has rebounded from the shuttering of the garment sector earlier this year with e-commerce sales doubling in its major markets.…

TRADE-based money laundering (TBML) is often hard to spot – that is why criminal networks use this typology. But a careful analysis of detailed trade data can reveal anomalous pricing flagging the possible presence of TBML. This is the key goal of a trade database created by a business professor at the USA’s Florida International University.…

THE UNITED Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has proposed creating a permanent ‘observatory’ monitoring cocoa markets, assessing value and costs, to help chocolate sales revenues be more equitably distributed throughout supply chains.

In a report called a ‘Comparative study on the distribution of value in European chocolate chains’, the FAO said such “objectified and cross-checked data” would aid “a multi-stakeholder discussion” at national and global levels on revenue sharing.…

A MAJOR expansion in collecting sales information within the digital economy across the European Union (EU) and beyond has been proposed by the European Commission, to crack down on widescale tax evasion.

The EU executive has proposed reforms to an EU directive on administrative cooperation between tax authorities (see https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/2020_tax_package_dac7_en.pdf)…

Unsettling images of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or pristine tropical beaches desecrated with debris have promoted the trend for plastics-free goods across a wide range of economic sectors, including nonwovens, pressuring industries and policymakers to respond to the problem.…

Enormous forces act on renewable energy system’s mechanical parts when generating power from wind and water. Between the smooth operation and potential loss of multi-million-dollar investments stand gear lubricants. Lubricants are also needed for the hydraulics that pitch the blades a few degrees every time the wind, or the water current, changes. …

If there is one subsector of technical textiles that is regarded as well suited to environment-friendly materials innovation, it is surely the agricultural textile (ag-tex) sector. This is indeed the case, with research and development specialists creating clever solutions allying the functional and sustainability benefits of ag-tex with new biodegradable and naturally-sourced fibre.…

TEXTILE and fibre innovators worldwide are seeking to tap growing demand for antimicrobial, virus and bacteria killing fibres and fabrics generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, encouraging clothing and fabric-makers to develop groundbreaking new technology.

Indeed, for companies such as HeiQ Materials AG – a Switzerland based textile innovation specialist – the pandemic has “opened a whole new chapter for the development of antimicrobial surfaces and textiles”, its co-founder and CEO Carlo Centonze told just-style.…

Carbon emissions within the European Union were falling fast last year (2019) even before the Covid-19 crisis halted much of the EU economy and slashed CO2 releases, according to new figures from EU statistical agency Eurostat. It argues that tightening regulatory controls were the key reason for a 4.3% year-on-year EU-wide fall in CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion (including oil and oil products, coal, peat and natural gas).…

The European Commission has launched a series of infringement procedures for shortcomings in national legislation implementing the European Union’s (EU) fourth and fifth anti-money laundering directives (4AMLD and 5AMLD), including one against Britain, even though it left the bloc on January 31 (but remains subject to EU law during a transitional period to December 31. …

COURT documents unsealed yesterday (May 28) containing indictments by a grand jury for the US District of Columbia district court detail an international web of financial deception laundering more than USD2.5 billion towards North Korea, including payments specifically earmarked for the country’s nuclear weapons programme.…

In a case that could open the floodgates to multimillion dollar cross border lawsuits against auto makers involved in Europe’s 2015 ‘Dieselgate’ scandal, a senior European Union (EU) judge has advised that car buyers should be able to sue Germany-based Volkswagen from a court in neighboring Austria.…

Italy’s textile sector is running at reduced capacity due to the tougher health protocols that have been put in place to protect workers from Covid-19 contamination, the president of Confindustria Toscana Nord, Andrea Cavicchi, told WTiN.com.

All textiles mills in manufacturing centre Prato were operational following the March 12 decree, which shuttered until March 25 much commercial activity across the country, including clothing stores, allowing manufacturing activities to continue only if companies respected stricter health protocols aimed at mitigating the spread of the infectious disease.…

• 1MDB SCANDAL IN MALAYSIA SEES USD BILLIONS STOLEN AND HIDDEN

Malaysia 1MDB scandal is one of the largest money laundering cases ever, worldwide, with Malaysian courts considering charges over how at least USD4.5 billion was stolen and then spent or laundered from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad by former Prime Minister Najib Razak and his associates.…

WHILE clothing manufacturers within Italy have not been told to close outright in the country’s bid to fight the Covid-19 virus, many have been subject to major disruption during this health emergency. A drop in demand for clothing and textiles in China and the cancellation of fairs and missions both abroad and in Italy have hit brands hard, with events being called off and many catwalk shows at Milan Fashion Week (18-24 Feb 2020) having taken place behind closed doors as the virus outbreak gathered strength.…

Only five European Union (EU) member states out of the current 27 have fully and properly complied with a requirement to set up public ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) registers by January 10 (2020) under the fifth anti-money laundering directive (5AMLD), according to research by campaign group Global Witness.…

European aluminium cansheet and foilsheet rolling factories say they are trying hard to adapt to production under strict Covid-19 controls imposed by their national governments to satisfy the growing need for foodstuffs across Europe that are safe and have a long shelf life.…

A joint venture between Turkey’s Kıvanç Tekstil and India’s Reliance Industries involves the Turkish textile manufacturer producing textiles from supplies of 2,500 tonnes of recycled polyester feedstock received every year. Through an agreement inked in July 2019, Kıvanç Tekstil can manufacture and market Reliance’s R|ElanTM GreenGold fabrics under licence.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is taking a hard look at hydrogen as a low carbon option to help make Europe a first climate-neutral continent by 2050, a key policy goal that is at the heart of policy-making within the new European Commission of its president Ursula von der Leyen – however he need to make H-vehicles and renewables-based H-fuel cheaper is a major challenge.  …

WORRIES about the future of manufacturing in Europe are certainly not being applied to the continent’s nonwovens industry, which has been growing steadily in recent years. Indeed, last year, the overall production of nonwovens in Europe in 2018 grew by around 1.3% year-on-year to reach 2.76 million tonnes, (the most recent Europe wide figures released by industry association EDANA).…

AN INDONESIA-based fabric and yarn innovation centre has hailed success in developing wood-based cellulose fibres that it says are set to drive business in the multibillion-dollar Asian ethnic wear market. The ‘Lenzing Centre of Excellence’ (LCOE), operated by Austria’s Lenzing Group in Purwakarta, West Java, Indonesia, has just completed its first year of operations, with its R&D focus ranging from Indonesian batik to Muslim hijabs and Indian saris.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has called on EU member states and other EU institutions to work harder to fight the scourge of food fraud, which can damage the commercial health of legitimate manufacturers and risk consumer health. In a detailed policy statement (called ‘council conclusions’ in EU jargon), ministers said an EU “legal definition of food fraud” should be created that would underpin future regulatory actions fighting such wrongdoing, which can include deliberate mislabelling and the use of illicit ingredients.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has called for a more robust approach to defend European honey production, as bee numbers continue to fall. In a motion supported almost unanimously, the EP’s environment committee has called for the European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – which is now under review – to include active steps on reducing pesticide use, which MEPs blame for honey bee deaths.…

INTERNATIONAL collaboration, financial and strategic support and government policy consistency that endures beyond changes in political administrations are vital to maintain accelerating global gains in access to higher education, delegates at an international conference in Scotland were told this week.…

Money laundering and due diligence failings led the European Central Bank (ECB) to revoke the licence of one of Austria’s oldest financial institutions with immediate effect last week (on November 15). The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA – Finanzmarktaufsicht Österreich), which had recommended the move to the ECB, announced that the European Union (EU) institution had revoked the licence of Anglo Austrian AAB Bank AG, which was known as Bank Meinl until June. …

Novel food ingredients and products are becoming increasingly common in branded products across Europe, finding new markets by offering twists to traditional tastes. These new technologies are enabling manufacturers to identify new untapped taste demands, which many big corporations have missed or failed to develop a product that fits a potential new market.…

‘AUSTRALIAN-made’, ‘cruelty-free’ and ‘natural’ – these were the marketing buzz words most commonly cited during Australia’s leading beauty event – Beauty Expo Australia – staged in Sydney between August 24 and 25.

Although ‘Proudly Australian’ has become a slogan used by many beauty brands based in Australia, the conference actually demonstrated how Australian beauty retailers and consumers are open to trying more international lines, new treatments and innovative products.…

Are universities and the media doing enough in the defence of knowledge when faced with the global rise of populism? This question has been debated at the third Worldviews International Conference on Media and Higher Education. Staged at Canada’s University of Toronto, speakers asked how can higher education and journalism counter the claims of elitism made against these institutions?…

MARCH’S approval by the European Parliament of new European Union (EU) electricity market rules, designed to increase consumer choice, boost renewables access and cap power subsidies, were hailed by the European Commission as a new dawn for the creation of the EU’s much vaunted Energy Union.…

THE GLOBAL demand for lactic acid is growing, with the world market forecast to reach USD1.75 billion by 2020, on the back of an 8.6% annual gain for polylactic acid, according to data from international nutrition group Glanbia Ireland. So, it is encouraging to hear about the launch of the company’s first-of-its-kind bio-refinery project, that will turn low value by-products from the dairy processing industry into sustainable lactic acid among other by-products, and finally turn Europe to a net exporter of lactic acid.…

Smart coatings are being applied to objects, ranging from fabrics to walls, pipelines and medical devices, to act as sensors and facilitate interaction between people and machines – and potentially save huge sums of money in repair bills.

These technologies are developing fast and offer functionality that extends way beyond smart coatings that can detect cracks, scratches and abrasions and heal themselves – as useful as those qualities are.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission is getting tough in enforcing compliance with the 4^th anti-money laundering directive (2015/849), with a large majority of member states now facing infringement proceedings. The European Union (EU) executive said on March 7 that it had sent letters of formal notice opening legal proceedings to six EU countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden, and the UK) over their failure to apply its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules.…

While the confectionery industry is traditionally associated with high sugar levels and unhealthy indulgence, market research indicates that efforts to also appeal to consumers with a growing interest in health and wellness trends are paying off. According to UK-based market researcher GlobalData, in 2016 alone USD3.7 billion worth of confectionery with functional or fortified attributes was sold globally.…

From top quality cacao that meets the new European Union (EU) regulation for minimum cadmium content in foods; to a camu camu fruit-based supplement line with stable shelf life and high vitamin C content; Sacha Inchi flour with over 60% protein content; and liquid high potency maca not found elsewhere, UHTCO Corporation, is expanding its portfolio and presence in the international market.…

EUROPEAN Union member states are dragging their feet implementing the fourth anti-money laundering directive’s (4AMLD 2015/849) beneficial ownership rules. Only five countries met the June 26, 2017, AMLD4 deadline for having an ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) register under national law – Britain, Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden- according to the European Commission. …

THE EUROPEAN and global energy landscape is changing fast – and the biggest winners are renewable energies, Dr Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has argued – even as green subsidies decline. Dr Birol told the November 27 Brussels launch of the ‘World Energy Outlook 2018’ report.…

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR50 million – the first tranche of an approved loan of EUR150 million – to Romanian gas utility TRANSGAZ, to finance building a new pipeline linking Romania’s Black Sea shore natural gas resources with its national gas transmission network and the BRUA gas transmission corridor (linking Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria).…

GERMANY’S paint and coatings sector seems set in stasis, with 2018 expected to be another year with a slight market downturn. That said, increased interest in sustainability continues to drive the demand for more ecologically friendly products.

Given the sluggishness of overall sales, the German industry has viewed with relief results from 2018’s third quarter, where the national coatings and printing ink sector saw a rise in exports.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling sought by the USA on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), Canada, China, and Mexico on US confectionery and sweet bakery and associated ingredient exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

With the USA re-imposing sanctions on Iran, and international financial institutions wary of dealing with the country, Tehran is dusting off its pre-2015 sanctions-busting playbook. Old networks are being renewed, including with neighbouring countries and China, but there are more obstacles for the Iranian government to contend with this time around.…

The conventional arms trade has a reputation for using side payment sweeteners to secure multi-million dollar deals. But despite allegations of corruption in numerous jurisdictions, the legitimate arms trade is not on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) radar. Should it be?…

WITH environmental concerns increasingly important worldwide as a key plank of sustainable development, the role that effective geo-textiles can play in ensuring infrastructure performs effectively in the longer term is underpinning demand for these products.

In June 2017, Global Market Insights released a report on geotextile market size by material, application, region, price, market share and forecasts for 2017–2024, which stated that “positive application outlook in construction, agriculture, erosion control, and drainage should drive geotextile market size” globally.…

A new report from Transparency International has found that only 11 major exporting countries in the world significantly punish companies that pay bribes abroad. The report, called ‘Exporting Corruption’, also found that more than half of world exports come from at least 33 jurisdictions, including several European Union (EU) member states, where companies that export corruption along with their goods and services face weak consequences. …

The UK and Australia are poles apart geographically but share the aim of becoming leaders in using or selling hydrogen for energy. The scheduled unveiling in November (2018) of a conceptual design to convert an eighth (8.3 million) of the UK’s population to 100% low-carbon hydrogen gas between 2028 and 2035 matters.…

With lower battery and auto prices boosting the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market in Europe, the race is on to ensure there are enough fast-charging stations to satisfy demand. 

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) warned European Union (EU) lawmakers July 5 that plans to force a continent-wide switch to BEVs through swingeing cuts in CO2 emissions caps for manufacturers, was doomed to fail due to the lack of charging points.…

THE ECONOMIES of the Asia Pacific region are impressively dynamic, but HR experts agree much more could be gained if the region were to succeed in improving women’s skills and providing them with equal opportunities at work.

Illustrating just how much potential there is, the latest report from the McKinsey Global Institute published in April, ‘The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Asia Pacific’, has found that advancing women’s equality in the region could add USD4.5 trillion to their collective GDP annually in 2025 – a 12% increase over the “business-as-usual trajectory”.…

Enhancing the quality of passenger experience while maintaining maximum security was a recurring theme during the Dubai Airport Show 2018. The annual airport industry event, held from May 7 to 9, drew more than 7,500 visitors.

Covering 15,000 square metres of space across three halls of the iconic Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, its 18^th edition hosted more than 350 exhibitors from 60 countries.…

IMPROVING China’s woeful civil aviation punctuality is clearly a priority for China’s air traffic controllers, and they are seeking new ways to improve a dismal record that has unleashed a wave of public disquiet. Speaking at his organisation’s annual traffic control management conference in Beijing this January, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) head Feng Zhenglin promised to improve punctuality by better information sharing and efficiency at airports.…

THE DECISION of the European Commission not to propose a harmonised European Union (EU) approach for excise duty on e-cigarettes and other novel tobacco products has been welcomed by the tobacco sector for avoiding punitive taxation on a nascent segment.

But should such rules ultimately be introduced the tobacco sector may not oppose them if they reflect the lower health risks involved in consuming such products by enabling lower excise duty bands.…

GERMANY’S federal finance ministry has said it will lend EUR1.2 billion to a key Azerbaijan company involved in developing Caspian Sea natural gas, exporting it via a burgeoning pipeline network to central and western Europe. Azerbaijan’s ‘Closed Joint Stock Company Southern Gas Corridor’ (SJCC), formed in 2014 by presidential decree, will borrow the funds to help develop the Shah Deniz offshore gas field in the Caspian.…

SINCE the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the USA, the UK, Russia, France, China, Germany and the European Union (EU), foreign financial institutions have – in theory – been allowed to do business with Iran.  But the reality – as ever with relations with Iran – is proving to be a good deal more complex.…

THE EUROPEAN confectionery industry will later this year face hard evidence about the veracity of claims that certain brands sell lower quality products in eastern Europe than they do in the richer west. These claims – dismissed by many manufacturers as urban myths – are widely believed in eastern Europe, promoting the European Commission to act and set up a testing system.…

THE EUROPEAN confectionery industry will later this year face hard evidence about the veracity of claims that certain brands sell lower quality products in eastern Europe than they do in the richer west. These claims – dismissed by many manufacturers as urban myths – are widely believed in eastern Europe, promoting the European Commission to act and set up a testing system.…

JAPAN’S long-standing exposure to organised crime groups such as the Yakuza means that however effective the country’s anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) systems maybe, they will continue to face sophisticated challenges.

Despite enhanced criminal and civil legislation targeting Japan’s underworld groups, such as the February 2000 Act on the Punishment of Organised Crimes and the March 2007 Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds (See part 4 at https://www.npa.go.jp/sosikihanzai/jafic/en/maneron_e/manetop_e.htm),…

Cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) are still very common in Russia, despite its continued ban on European Union (EU) pigmeat exports, imposed since January 2014 following a handful of cases in Poland and Lithuania. While outbreaks have continued in the EU, Russia – whose ban was imposed on live pigs, pork and pig products over fears importing ASF-infected meat and livestock, has from last July (2017) to today (January 30) notified to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) around 2,800 ASF cases of domestic pigs, and 90 cases in wild boars.…

*The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) is closer to being in effect, with Barbados, Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Malaysia, Panama and Tunisia signing. Now 78 jurisdictions have signed the convention, with Algeria, Kazakhstan, Oman and Swaziland to sign soon.…

THE FINANCIAL Action Task Force (FATF) has welcomed Austria’s latest anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) reforms although it has stressed that some changes are still needed and so the country will remain under a FATF review.

Notably, Austria has insufficiently assessed its non-profit organisation (NPO) sector “to identify NPOs at risk of TF abuse, the nature of threats, how terrorist actors use NPOs, or the adequacy of NPO laws and regulations.”…

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has warned of the major impact on British plastics chemical suppliers and their trading partners in Europe, should the UK push ahead with quitting the European Union (EU) as planned, on March 29, 2019.

It has released a database seeking to advise chemical producers of how their legal obligations will change.…

OECD SAYS 49 JURISDICTIONS WILL AUTOMATICALLY EXCHANGE TAX INFORMATION THIS YEAR

THE IDENTITY of 49 jurisdictions that will automatically exchange tax information in 2017 under a global standard has been revealed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).…

WHILE the Vatican City State and Holy See’s acceptance that their financial institutions could be exploited by money launderers is far more realistic than the denials of 10 years ago, a much-anticipated Italian court ruling has shown much work is needed to clear dirty money from these hallowed accounts.…

COMPANIES and citizens defrauding European Union (EU) revenue collection (including customs duties and cross-border VAT fraud) and spending programmes, may from 2020 face direct criminal proceedings brought by a European Public Prosecutor. The EU Council of Ministers has approved establishing this new institution in 20 of the 28 EU member states – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia.…

COMPANIES and citizens defrauding European Union (EU) revenue collection (including
customs duties and cross-border VAT fraud) and spending programmes, may from 2020 face
direct criminal proceedings brought by a European Public Prosecutor (EPPO). The EU
Council of Ministers has approved establishing this new institution in 20 of the 28 EU
member states – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Germany, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal,
Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia.…

International police agency Interpol and its European Union (EU) counterpart Europol have
announced what they say is the biggest hit ever against online piracy with law enforcers
taking down more than 20,500 websites selling counterfeit goods seized in 26 countries.
Participating countries were Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Britain,
Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine, the USA
and China special administrative region Hong Kong.…

A STRATEGIC east and central European pipeline project, connecting Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria, has taken a significant step towards completion, with the four countries signing a memorandum of understanding. They have agreed the BRUA pipeline system will have a reverse-flow gas interconnection.…

VIETNAM’S textile and clothing and textile sector is looking to sell more product into Asian markets such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan, while solidifying its traditional export bases like the US and EU, the latest trade data indicates. 

Last year, Vietnam exported USD2.28 billion’s worth of clothing and textiles to South Korea – a 7.45% gain compared with 2015, according to Vietnam customs data analysed by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). …

A new industry roadmap to advance the development of power-to-gas in Europe is just one reason advocates of hydrogen production and storage are optimistic about the next decade. The laying of foundations for larger-scale developments of power-to-gas (P2G) in Europe have gathered momentum throughout 2017, with the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) and the Joint Programme on Energy Storage under the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) laying plans.…

ITALIAN companies must indicate the production site or packaging plant used for processed foods on the label, Italy’s Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies announced last Friday (September 15).

“The Council of Ministers approved the draft decree this morning,” a press statement noted.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission is to hold a special meeting with European Union (EU) ministers and food safety authorities over the ongoing scandal about fipronil-contaminated eggs to gather information on how to manage such crises in future. The EU executive will stage the meeting on September 26, it told just-food today, allowing time for more information to emerge.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) economic partnership agreement with Japan – its sixth most important trading partner – struck yesterday (July 6) at an EU-Japan Summit in Brussels, will benefit the EU meat industry greatly, experts say.

EU agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has hailed it as “the most significant and far-reaching agreement ever concluded in agriculture.”…

EASTERN and central European food consumers have often complained that international branded food tastes worse in their countries than in western Europe – even when comparing the same brands in similar packaging.

But the question is whether these grumbles are effectively urban myths – or if there is evidence suggesting that these differences are real.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has concluded “for the moment” it has no evidence of any significant differences in quality of the same branded food products, including meat, dairy products and chocolate, sold in eastern European member states than those sold elsewhere in the European Union (EU).…

SERBIA’S Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport handled its first direct flight to New York, USA, last June (2016) and thus grabbed an extraordinary opportunity to start re-positioning itself as a south-east Europe hub offering flight connections.

Domestic airline Air Serbia has been successfully operating this route to John F Kennedy International Airport, but the preparations at the Nikola Tesla for handling transatlantic flights was not smooth at all.…

DAIRY robots might seem like science fiction, but their use has increased dramatically in Europe over the last 20 years. Ireland’s Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre (Teagasc) predicts 20% of cows will be milked automatically by 2020, with other reports citing a 50% rate in northwest Europe by 2025.…

Italian state-controlled oil and gas producer ENI has cemented its role as a major gas player in Mozambique, after further defining in 2017 the scope of its Coral FLNG (floating liquified natural gas) project in this southern African country. However, doubts are emerging that ENI will actually deliver significant volumes of Mozambique’s huge gas reserves to Italy, and consequentially the rest of Europe, as an alternative and more secure source of natural gas.…

Shocking media images of dead animals and birds, killed by ingesting plastic in oceans have pricked the collective conscience of personal care product manufacturers and consumers as industry self-regulation over the use of harmful microplastics appears to have outpaced formal governmental regulation.…

RUSSIAN non-wovens material producer the Thermopol company is planning to launch by May 27 (2017) a new thermal-insulating material which is flame-resistant, including to burning combustible liquids such as gasoline, alcohol or even a Molotov cocktail.

These properties maybe particularly useful given that the Moscow-based manufacturer’s key customer for the material is the National Guard of Russia, the country’s domestic military force, policing borders, fighting terrorism and dealing with civil disturbances.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has taken a significant step towards the creation of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), but its chosen procedure may mean the powers of EU anti-fraud office OLAF will be undiminished, at least for some countries.

The latest European Council – the EU summit of heads of government – on March 9 agreed that the creation of the EPPO should be mandated through the EU’s ‘enhanced cooperation’ procedure.…

2016 – Winners and losers

RETAILERS & BRANDS

WINNERS

US-based sportswear brand Under Armour delivered its 26th consecutive quarter of 20%-plus revenue growth in the third quarter of 2016, with sales increases across all divisions. Net sales were up 22% in the third quarter to USD1.47bn.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) statistical agency Eurostat has released comprehensive EU-wide air passenger data revealing increases in traffic in all 28 EU member states. Overall, 918.3 million passenger flights were undertaken in the EU in 2015, up 4.7% on 2014, and 22% compared to 2009.…

WHILE Japan has freed up its electricity market, in 2015, end-user price regulation was still applied to household electricity markets in 12 European Union (EU) member states (46% of electricity and 54% of gas price offers from different service providers), Europe’s electricity industry association Eurelectric spokesperson Anamaria Olaru told Energy World.…

A PRECAUTIONARY approach should be used when cooking beef burgers or minced beef, European Union (EU) experts have suggested at a meeting of a network on microbiological risk assessment hosted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) at its Parma, Italy, headquarters.…

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is investigating if European Union (EU)-wide controls are needed to protect consumers against substances used in tattoo inks and permanent make-up (PMU) – with one solution expanding the scope of the EU cosmetics directive.

While the printing ink industry has suffered a recession, the tattoo and PMU ink sectors are booming in the wake of a huge increase in purchases of tattoos EU-wide.…

GERMANY is one of Denmark’s largest export markets for organic meat, but industry experts say there is still room for sales growth. A key target market is northern Germany, including the major city of Hamburg, given its close proximity to southern Denmark where the bulk of Danish organic farms are located. …

THE EUROPEAN Commission has finally been instructed to draft a European Union (EU) directive authorising an EU financial transaction tax, which would apply to 10 of the EU’s 28 member states.

Meeting on the margins of a Eurogroup session in Luxembourg on Monday (Oct 10), the governments of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain agreed to push ahead with the project.…

MILLIONS of Euros have been released by the European Union (EU) to fund projects deepening the international gas pipeline network in eastern Europe, a key element of EU plans for forge an ‘energy union’.

One major project is a EUR179 million plan to create the Bulgaria–Romania–Hungary–Austria (BRUA) system of gas lines.…

A FINANCIAL Action Task Force (FATF) report on Austria has unveiled a major problem with confidentiality surrounding ‘suspicious transaction reports’ (STRs).

Based on a November 2015 visit, the September 12 mutual evaluation report on ‘Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures – Austria’ noted that the Austrian financial intelligence unit (FIU) and other competent authorities cooperate well, swapping key information and financial intelligence.…

EUROPEAN COMMISSION LAUNCHES GLOBAL TAX AVOIDANCE BLACKLIST ASSESSMENT

THE EUROPEAN Commission has completed the first phase of an assessment designed to help the European Union (EU) frame its own blacklist of jurisdictions deemed un-cooperative over tax avoidance and evasion. Brussels has released a ‘scoreboard’ of non-EU jurisdictions judging whether they exchange information with foreign tax authorities, have preferential or low tax regimes, have close and important economic and financial links with the EU and are politically stable (and hence more attractive as a tax haven).…

BIG marketing stunts can boost sales of technical textiles and maybe one of the biggest examples in Europe this year was created by world renowned artists Christo. He created ‘The Floating Piers’ on Lake Iseo, near Brescia, in northern Italy.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s latest EUR500 million support package for European farmers, finalised at an August 26 European Union (EU) committee in Brussels, will not ease the dairy crisis, European dairy groups have warned.

“Production cuts is the label used to describe the current package of measures,” said the EU farm lobby group European Milk Board (EMB)’s president Romuald Schaber following the initial announcement of the plans in July.…

A EUROPEAN Commission ruling that Ireland must recover up to EUR13 billion in back-taxes (plus interest) from Apple has signalled a tough approach from Brussels over alleged European Union (EU) competition law breaches associated with sweet taxation deals by member states.…

IN an ever more interconnected world, where reliable energy flows are of critical importance to sophisticated developed economies, the role of diplomacy in helping keep oil and gas flowing is perhaps more important than ever before.

Of course, oil and gas has always been an international business.…

Accountants share responsibility with banks to direct their small-and-medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients towards sources of finance, a Brussels conference has been told. Rebecca McNeil, head of SME lending at Barclays, said at a July 13 Brussels conference on ‘Capital Markets Union: delivering new opportunities for SMEs through venture capital’, declared: “We all have the duty of care, banks, accountants … to signpost SMEs to sources of finance.” …

THE EUROPEAN Commission has accused six European Union (EU) member states of failing to detect enough fraud in EU spending programmes where their governments have a significant management role. In its latest annual report on the ‘Protection of the European Union’s financial interests – Fight against fraud 2015’, the Commission said Austria, Britain and Finland had reported “a very low number of fraudulent irregularities, in particular in relation to the amount of frauds allocated to them” for  EU agricultural spending.…

Yet the good old British public is defying its political leaders and employers in its tens of millions. Why? There are a number of reasons, some of them more ‘tangible’ than others. I’ll attempt to list the main ones.

IMMIGRATION

The EU is associated in the public mind with immigration because it allows the free movement of labour.…

LARGE European Union (EU) energy companies and their major customers are now required to undertake energy audits under the EU’s energy efficiency directive (directive 2012/27/EU). They were supposed to have started assessing their energy usage and output by last December (2015) and must now complete such a study every four years.…

THE EUROPEAN nonwovens industry has been pushing ahead, maintaining consistent growth above increases in GDP for the whole economy, increasing its international collaboration, and the successfully exploring new markets. And while it is rarely prudent to make anything more than short-term predictions about cost and tariff problems, such difficulties faced by the European nonwovens sector seem have been pushed into the background. …

THE UNITED States Trade Representative (USTR) has highlighted its continuing concern about intellectual property rights violations in the pharma sector, citing claims that 20% of medicines sold in India are fakes.

In its annual ‘Special 301 Report’, the USTR said it notes “its particular concern with the proliferation of counterfeit pharmaceuticals that are manufactured, sold, and distributed in trading partners such as Brazil, China, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Peru, and Russia.”…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced that it will propose a ‘services passport’ system by December 31, designed to simplify administrative procedures for service providers, such as accountants, auditors and bookkeepers, who want to expand to foreign member states. EU internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska said: “The cross-border provision of services in the EU is underdeveloped, in particular in the area of business services – such as accounting…” The passport system would give accountants more information, boosting legal certainty and clarity about relevant professional rules in another member state.…

Brazilian textile businesses need to prioritise sustainability certification to compete in the face of slumping domestic consumption and increasingly demanding consumers, say local industry analysts.

The Brazilian textile and apparel industry association, Associação Brasileira da Indústria Têxtil e de Confecção (ABIT) is pushing for companies to embrace its Green Stamp (Selo Verde) eco-label as a nationally recognised scheme.…

Fraud is a fact of today’s ever more complex and increasingly online life – with financial fraud especially on the increase, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has made clear at its March 21-22 European Fraud Conference, in Brussels. Speakers highlighted that a typical organisation loses 5% of its annual revenues to fraud – a global loss of nearly USD3.7 trillion.…

When analyst firm Stratecast (part of consultant group Frost & Sullivan) last year (Feb) identified Infonova as one of its ‘Top 10 to Watch’ in global telecoms operations and monetisation, they had strong reasons for doing so.

Infonova managing director Gerhard Greiner explained how his Austria-based telecoms firm has developed an innovative digital metering system that can be used by a wide-range of industries that measure services electronically.…

Bangladesh’s GPH Ispat Ltd has announced it is building a major integrated steel plant in south-eastern Chittagong city, as the country’s steel sector continues to develop its billet production capacity. The company says is expecting robust demand for long products and billets enabling their production as the Bangladesh government responds to continuing economic growth by financing public infrastructure projects.  …

Good training is essential in the fight against fraud, stressed speakers at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) 2016 European Fraud Conference. Indeed, with the event being held opposite Brussels airport, the value of interpreting criminal intelligence of any kind was made crystal clear by Islamic terrorists bombing its bookings hall.…

A report released yesterday (Mar 10) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) has advised textile manufacturers to support government efforts to tighten environmental rules, saying they are unlikely to cause a loss of business.

The report is an attempt to dispel the widely-held view that tighter environmental rules increase costs and damages business – especially in emerging market manufacturing hubs.…

The European Union (EU) could ease strict conditions allowing tax and customs authorities to use reverse charge mechanisms to collect VAT, whereby liability for payments is switched from customer to supplier, to prevent fraud. The EU Council of Ministers for finance (Ecofin) has called on the European Commission to pay due attention to such anti-fraud measures in preparing a policy paper (communication) on the future of the EU’s VAT system, due for publication in March.…

FOOD and drink export subsidies are to be scrapped after a World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, agreed to phase out these trade sweeteners. Developed country members have promised to remove export subsidies immediately for basic food products, with a slower phase-out for many processed foods and drinks, pigmeat and dairy products.…

Bangladesh’s top textiles makers are racing against time to alter the way they print fabric. The reason is simple: go digital or risk losing a competitive edge.

Vertically integrated textile manufacturing major Noman Group told Digital Textile that it is carefully considering digital textile investments.…

COMPETING fastfood chains are snapping at McDonald’s heels in Finland as the global player closes branches. McDonald’s now has just 72 outlets after chopping 10 in 2015. The remainder largely consists of franchises (59) with the rest owned by the Finnish subsidiary (13).…

The European Commission has noted that while the number of patent settlements in the European Union (EU) pharmaceutical sector declined in 2014, it is still optimistic that such deals will be used to avoid legal action in future. It says in a report that there were 76 patent settlements concluded between originator and generic companies in the EU pharmaceutical sector in 2014.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has given its political support for strong action by the European Commission in the coming year to propose and implement concrete actions to create an ambitious Energy Union. Its goal is to freely trading power between the European Union’s (EU) 28 member states.…

Good sourcing practice at the Indonesian mill of India-based viscose fibre giant Aditya Birla has paved the way to the company’s commitment this month to a global policy to eliminate sourcing materials from ancient and endangered forests, according to the international environmental group that helped develop the policy.…

EUROPEAN dairy producers are keen participants in the European Union (EU) protective systems that prevent competitors from claiming to sell products made using traditional production methods and ingredients. The systems: PDO (protected designation of origin); PGI (protected geographical indication); and TSG (traditional speciality guaranteed) promote and protect names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states are now developing national policies that the EU has required to ensure that they have an adequate number of alternative transport re-charging and re-fuelling stations by 2020. This is deemed necessary to boost demand for vehicles running on alternative fuels in Europe.…

Of all the countries that made up the old Soviet Union, the central Asian republics have proved the slowest to open up to the outside world. For the personal care product industry, this represents opportunities, but also significant hurdles and barriers.…

TAXES on wages in developed countries within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) have risen by about 1% between 2010 and 2014 even though a majority of OECD governments did not increase statutory income tax rates. A new OECD report Taxing Wages 2015 said in 2014, the tax burden paid by average OECD workers increased 0.1% to 36%.…

The UK is lagging behind many other European Union (EU) member states when it comes to energy efficiency and is fiddling the figures to show it is making better progress than in reality, according to the latest report from the Brussels-based Coalition for Energy Savings.…

GERMAN-made automobiles were the largest source of reports regarding potentially dangerous motor vehicles made to the European Union’s (EU) RAPEX consumer alert network in 2014, analysis of its data shows.
There were 194 notifications to the system relating to automobiles and parts last year, the fourth largest category following toys (650), clothing and textiles (530) and electrical appliances (217).…

UNLIKE conventional textiles, demand for technical textiles (TT) in Europe follows a cyclical pattern, focused on end-markets, which is one reason why sales are now rising strongly on the back of demand from the transport and construction industries. The contrast here is with nonwovens, which enjoy stable sales growth mainly because of consistently solid demand from the medical and hygiene sectors.…

TEXTILE exports from Serbia to Russia have been increasing, as European Union (EU) exports fall amidst the continuing diplomatic standoff between Brussels and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. The Serbian government has also been working to prevent EU exporters using Serbia as a backdoor conduit for textile re-exports to Russian markets, taking advantage of the 2000 Serbo-Russian free trade agreement.…

NATURAL gas projects are a key part of the Euro EUR315 billion development plan released before Christmas by the European Commission. A keystone of the pro-growth policies of new Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, the plan involves the EU, especially the European Investment Bank (EIB), leveraging public funds to generate private capital.…

Chinese travellers are increasingly venturing to Greece, offering great potential for its tourism industry. And while Greece’s exotic landscapes and architecture attract visitors from China, the tourism industry could prosper still further from developing services and infrastructure designed to cater to this growing market.…

Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the continuing conflict in the east of Ukraine overshadowed international events last year. But Russia’s cosmetics industry has proved resilient and even maintained ties with Ukraine.

Despite the concerns and challenges, the forecasts for the calendar year 2014 are buoyant.…

Given today’s uncertain global economic environment, it is up to CFOs to manage expectations and push for their companies’ long-term growth through clear planning and a responsible corporate culture. Business leaders from across the globe discussed how to navigate these issues at the seventh ACCA Poland CFO European Summit, staged in Warsaw, on November 19.…

INNOVATIONS in bottles and jar manufacture, from using waste food as feedstock to creating gas bubbles in traditional materials to lighten packages and reduce material inputs, are helping personal care product companies reduce costs and their environmental footprint simultaneously.

And where companies are really smart, they can use these innovations to improve aesthetics, and add functionality features.…

DOCUMENTS obtained by Confectionery Production from the European Union (EU) indicate that Ukraine has lost up to USD126 million’s worth of confectionery export sales to Russia this year, because of Russian trade restrictions.
EU briefing papers note that Ukraine has been complaining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since October 2013 about alleged “unjustified barriers to trade caused by the measures of the Russian Federation, in particular, on Ukrainian confectionery products.”…

Companies are being offered an increasing amount of advice, guidance and tools to fight the demand for and payment of small bribes such as cash and vouchers, benefits in kind such as tickets to sporting events, pre-paid phone cards, alcohol, tobacco and perfume.…

IRELAND has been especially hard hit by the latest expansion of Russia’s ban on European Union (EU) meat exports, figures released today by the European Commission reveal.
Moscow has expanded its existing import restrictions to cover beef offal and beef fats.…

THE COMPREHENSIVE Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union (EU) will make it easier for both jurisdictions to recognise each other’s nursing certifications. Political leaders celebrated the end of negotiations in September in Ottawa, Canada (Sept 26).…

The European Commission today cleared the acquisition of the Corialis Group, a European supplier of aluminium extrusion services and aluminium doors and windows, by Advent International Corporation, a US investment firm. A Commission communiqué said the deal “would not raise competition concerns as Advent is not active in any market in which Corialis is active” at present, notably the aluminium sector.…

THE AMERICAN government has complained of delays by the outgoing European Commission that leaves office on November 1 regarding the authorisation of new bio-tech food products and ingredients for use in the European Union (EU). In a strongly worded message to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) disputes settlement body, the US said that the EU had failed to leave decisions to regulatory committees acting on European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advice.…

INTERNATIONAL Financial Reporting Standards’ (IFRS) are not perfect, but their benefits to the European Union (EU) have outweighed their costs, an Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) event in Brussels heard on September 25. The European Commission is carrying out its first public consultation on the impact of IFRS in the European Union (EU), seeking formal comments by October 31, helping it generate policy proposals by the end of this year.…

THE NEW European Union (EU) agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has promised to start preparing to abolish milk production constraints as a matter of urgency when he takes up his post on November 1. At a confirmation hearing in Brussels on October 2, he promised European Parliament agriculture committee members that small farmers with limited incomes would be particular beneficiaries of the planned end of the dairy quota regime from March 2015.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) finance ministers agreed at an EU economic and finance ministers (ECOFIN) meeting on the scope of the long-threatened ‘financial transaction tax’, and 11 governments pledged to reach an agreement on its details by the end of the year.…

As the global apparel sector searches for more eco-friendly fibres and fabrics, innovative developments are increasingly focusing on more sustainable and often unusual alternative feedstocks.
Companies are being encouraged to innovate also by recent high cotton prices and a growing awareness that tighter control of supply chains can help keep costs down in general.…

LAW enforcement authorities in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Cyprus and Hungary seized on Monday (September 1) several million counterfeit pills in simultaneous operations coordinated by the European Union (EU) law enforcement agency Europol and the judicial cooperation agency Eurojust. The medicines seized are worth at least EUR10 million, according to Europol.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved public subsidy investments into three airports in Germany (Dortmund, Leipzig/Halle and Niederrhein-Weeze) and three in France (Angoulême, Pau Pyrénées and Nîmes). In all cases, it found government-related financial injections were in line with European Union (EU) state aid rules.…

An international Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) was launched September 1 to step up the fight against online fraudsters in the European Union (EU) and beyond.

Housed in the Netherlands-based European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), J-CAT is a six-month pilot scheme to coordinate international investigations.…

THE SALE to Russia of multi-directional, multi-dimensional knitting and interlacing machines, including adapters and modification kits, specially designed or modified for weaving, interlacing or braiding fibres, for composite structures has been banned by the European Union (EU).

This is because the EU considers such machines of potential use to the Russian military, which has been involved in the Ukraine crisis.…

THE BAN imposed by Russia at the beginning of August on dairy products from the European Union (EU), US, Canada, Norway and Australia will cause disturbances on the European and world markets, the European Dairy Association (EDA) warned the European Commission on August 13.…

The cogeneration market in Turkey is in flux. Overall combined heat and power (CHP) capacity has dropped over the past decade from 15% of total energy capacity in 2004, to 14% in 2013, primarily due to high oil and gas prices in the wake of market liberalisation that made CHP less cost effective.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched the second phase of its fuel cells and hydrogen joint undertaking, sinking EUR1.33 billion into hydrogen-based energy and transport fuel technology until 2020. The European Union (EU) is planning to contribute up to EUR665 million, leveraging at least EUR665 million from private sources.…

THE FINANCIAL watchdog of the European Union (EU) – the Court of Auditors – has claimed the 2011 bank stress tests conducted by the European Banking Authority (EBA) were flawed. The regulator failed eight out of 90 banks: five in Spain, two in Greece and one in Austria.…

THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released a full version of a new global standard for the exchange of information between jurisdictions. Its ‘Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters’ calls on governments to obtain detailed account data from financial institutions and exchange it automatically with other jurisdictions annually.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has used the momentum created by Europe’s financial crisis to push through legislation on taxation issues that have been politically unpalatable during times of prosperity and growth. But it has not brought European Union (EU) countries’ tax systems closer together through overall harmonisation, to the chagrin of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which still struggle with different systems across EU member states.…

A SINGLE global standard for automatic information exchange (AIE) between tax authorities worldwide is in the final stages of preparation by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). G20 finance ministers will consider it in September before sanctioning its implementation.…

European Union (EU) police agency Europol has hailed as a success a two-day operation against illicit scrap dealers, which yielded 271 arrests and identified 146 cases of theft across Europe. Law enforcement teams, backed by the EU unit, checked 8,300 scrap metal dealers in 20 European countries.…

Nonwovens are taking on an increasingly important role in creating more sustainable vehicles, particularly in interiors, offering lightweight materials reducing fuel usage, recyclability, and the use of green feedstocks such as plant and waste food material.

The US-based global Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) estimates there was about 560,000 tonnes of nonwovens in global automotive usage in 2013, said Dave Rousse, INDA’s president.…

HELPING AND ADVISING EUROPEAN CONSUMERS SHOPPING AND TRAVELLING ABROAD

WHEN CAN ECC-NET OFFICES HELP YOU?

• Air travel

So much can go wrong: flights can be delayed or cancelled; luggage can be lost or damaged; and hidden fees can be charged.…

Compliance experts believe the sanctions imposed thus far by the USA and European Union (EU) on Russia over the Ukraine crisis will have a mixed effect. One of the biggest criticisms is that the sanctions were publicly discussed before being implemented giving targeted individuals time to get their finances to a safe haven.…

Compliance experts believe the sanctions imposed thus far by the USA and European Union (EU) on Russia over the Ukraine crisis will have a mixed effect. One of the biggest criticisms is that the sanctions were publicly discussed before being implemented giving targeted individuals time to get their finances to a safe haven.…

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has announced that new reforms to the European Union’s (EU) new biocidal products regulation have come into force, clarifying difficulties discovered in the original legislation.

This new amending regulation (334/2014) includes a new definition of biocidal product families, which sub-categorises products within the same grouping according to their levels of risk and efficacy.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is strengthening its commitments for member states to criminalise financial frauds that have an impact on the EU EUR135 billion annual budget. The European Parliament’s budgetary control and civil liberties committee have now approved a draft of a new directive on the ‘fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law’.…

WHEN the Percassi family, owners of the successful make-up brand KIKO Make Up Milan, purchased in October 2013 a UNESCO-listed historic industrial site called Crespi d’Adda in northern Italy, it was not only a sign of their success, but proof of the old adage that tough economic times can be good for the beauty industry. …

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has welcomed a proposed reform of the European Union (EU) shareholder rights directive, which would give shareholders of EU companies listed on an EU stock exchange the right to vote on their executives’ salaries.…

AUSTRIA

The location of ECC Austria in central Vienna means many consumers drop by to receive advice or lodge complaints in person with the ECC’s five staff members. A top priority in 2013 was increasing public awareness about e-commerce fraud; a brochure aimed at combatting the problem was published and more than 600,000 were distributed throughout Austria.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states hope to follow up this week’s (Monday) approval of an EU directive preventing savings accounts being used for tax evasion, with a similar deal with non-EU Switzerland. EU taxation Commissioner Alrgirdas Šemeta told a Brussels press briefing that the EU has already concluded two rounds of negotiations on the subject with Switzerland.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states hope to follow up their approval of an EU directive preventing savings accounts being used for tax evasion, with a similar deal with non-EU Switzerland. EU taxation Commissioner Alrgirdas Šemeta said that an agreement on automatic exchange of information between Switzerland and EU countries is expected “by the end of the year”.…

ENERGY ministers of smaller European Union (EU) member countries are worried about the potential impact the 2030 climate and energy targets proposed by the European Commission in January could have on energy-intensive industries such as minerals processing, an EU energy council meeting yesterday (Tues March 4) in Brussels revealed.…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research project is to develop a new system of controlling the salting stage during dry-cured ham processing, aiming to reduce salt content. The ‘PROCURED’ initiative aims to cut the amount of salt in the production of dry-cured meats, such as prosciutto, lardo, bresaola, capicola, guanciale and soppressata.…

MANY European Union (EU) countries are unsure whether imposing mandatory labelling requirements for the country of origin of meat used as ingredient in processed food products would bring benefits that justify the costs, a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels yesterday (24 March) revealed.…

DETAILED work is under way to create a plan to further diversify the European Union’s (EU) energy supplies routes, after EU heads of government agreed to “address the issue of external energy dependency.” The urgency follows concern sparked by Russia’s annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine.…

Energy ministers of smaller European Union (EU) countries said yesterday (Tuesday March 4) that they will not sacrifice the competitiveness of energy intensive industries such as steel-making when meeting proposed EU 2030 carbon emission targets.

 “Slovakia supports the aim of a single target for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction,” said Dušan Petrík, state secretary in the country’s ministry of economy.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) RASFF food safety alert service has warned of e-coli being detected in Brazilian meat cargoes exported to Europe. Dutch customs officials rejected three consignments of chilled beef from Brazil after discovering they had been contaminated with shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli.…

A FIRST set of technical standards saying how European manufacturers should build technologies that enable vehicles to communicate with each other and with roadside communications infrastructure has been released. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) have issued an initial set of standards for cooperative intelligence transport systems (C-ITS) – called Release 1 – following a request from the European Commission in 2009.…

FOR years, Switzerland’s success as a global financial center has rested upon the rock-solid foundation of banking secrecy, a guarantee of discretion as solid at the Matterhorn.  The Swiss proudly declared banking secrecy to be part of the country’s DNA, a practice formally established in the 1930s when Nazi Germany was on the rise and which helped shield individuals against abusive states. …

AN INTERNATIONAL higher education conference has underlined the major progress made in building links between the universities of neighbouring countries in Latin America. But it also highlighted the significant remaining challenges facing Latin American higher education if it wants to be truly integrated with tertiary institutions worldwide.…

THE CREATION of a single telecommunication market in the European Union (EU) should build on the foundation of existing liberalising legislation, promoting healthy competition between telecommunication companies and cable operators, says Matthias Kurth, executive chairman at Cable Europe.

Speaking to European Communications, in an interview at his Brussels office, he explained: “The new legislation should complement and not overturn the existing regulatory framework,” said Mr Kurth, noting that it should allow network providers to grow, compete and invest.…

AN INTERNATIONAL higher education conference has underlined the major progress made in building links between the universities of neighbouring countries in Latin America. But it also highlighted the significant remaining challenges facing Latin American higher education if it wants to be truly integrated with tertiary institutions worldwide.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Canadian oil exporters are to benefit from a new free trade deal struck between the EU and Canada. Once the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been ratified (probably in 2015), it will lead to all existing non-food duties imposed on goods traded between the parties being scrapped.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has voted to reduce the support the European Union (EU) gives to the traditional biofuel sector, backing European Commission proposals to amend the renewable energy directive (2009/28/EC). MEPs agreed that the law should insist that first-generation biofuels (from long-standing sources, notably food crops) should not exceed 6% of EU energy consumption in transport by 2020, compared to the 10% target for all biofuels in the existing legislation.…

TECHNICAL and security experts have gathered at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to consider how to roll-out developing automated border control (ABC) systems, which offer hard-pressed airports the ability to better process surging passenger numbers.

Staged at ICAO’s headquarters, in Montréal, Canada, from October 22 to 24, the agency’s ninth symposium and exhibition on MRTDs [machine readable travel documents] biometrics and border security debated ABC developments such as newly-emerging technologies; trust issues; reliability; non-intrusiveness; biometrics; effective inspections tools; trusted traveller programmes; challenges to border integrity and ways to address them.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) food and feed safety rapid alert network (RASFF) has warned of a spate of problems involving salmonella contamination of imported meat and meat products. In some instances, consignments were exported from outside the EU, and others, within it.…

A FINAL compromise on planned European Union (EU) laws on the timing of auditors’ rotation should be somewhere between the two proposed extremes of six years and 25 years, the EU internal market Commissioner Michel Barnier is arguing, as EU ministers and MEPs grope towards a deal on the issue.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers have agreed reforms to the EU’s VAT directive 2006/112/EC enabling member states to swiftly impose reversed charge VAT mechanisms to fight tax fraud. They would act when faced with a sudden onset of large-scale VAT fraud, forcing suppliers to pay the tax, rather than final consumers.…

THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) has released detailed reports on 13 countries, mostly key financial centres, highlighting some shortcomings their providing tax information with foreign tax authorities. Particular problems were underlined with the British Virgin Islands (BVI), where there where “difficulties obtaining and exchanging information for tax purposes” from July 2009 to June 2012, with a “significant proportion” of responses to tax information requests being “incomplete”.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament (EP) public health and environment committee, which is handling the draft tobacco products directive (TPD), went a step further from the European Commission on July 10, when it voted to introduce a “positive list” of approved ingredients to be used in tobacco products.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU)-favoured Nabucco pipeline carrying Azerbaijan gas to western Europe will now almost certainly never be built, after Azeri gas consortium Shah Deniz decided to sell its gas to the rival Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The decision came after Greece announced it would sell its natural gas grid operator DESFA to Azeri state energy company SOCAR: the TAP pipeline would run through Greece to Italy, linking with pipelines in Turkey.…

ON July 1, Croatia finally became the European Union’s 28th member state – a long-awaited accession following 10 hard years of negotiations. Many of the questions that surrounded Croatia’s eligibility centred on the country’s level of commercial crime and corruption, including money laundering, and concerns about its ability to tackle such problems effectively.…

Croatia’s paint and coatings industry is aiming to capitalise on the benefits of the country’s recent July 1 accession to the European Union (EU), and is hoping that an economic recovery can also help the industry return to growth over the next year.…

European metal thieves have been targeted by an international law enforcement operation coordinated by European Union (EU) police agency Europol. Its officials said that more than 120 tonnes of stolen copper was confiscated in Italy alone and there were many arrests, with 37 made in just country – Bulgaria.…

EUROPEAN Commission proposed in Strasbourg today (Tues) updates on the four regulations which govern the Single European Sky (SES), trying to push European Union (EU) member countries to implement long-overdue air traffic control reforms.

One proposed amendment would insist that national supervisory air traffic control (ATC) authorities should be completely separated from the organisations providing ATC organisations in all EU countries to increase oversight and safety, Brussels said today.…

EUROPEAN Commission proposed in Strasbourg today (Tues) updates on the four regulations which govern the Single European Sky (SES), trying to push European Union (EU) member countries to implement long-overdue air traffic control reforms.

One proposed amendment would insist that national supervisory air traffic control (ATC) authorities should be completely separated from the organisations providing ATC organisations in all EU countries to increase oversight and safety, Brussels said today.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has welcomed the results of a European Union (EU) research project Surfuncell which has developed a nanotechnology-based coating able to strengthen yarns. Its scientists have created coatings that toughen the surface of materials, to “prevent deterioration of the compound structure, or matrices holding the materials together,” said a Commission note.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released a detailed action plan designed to boost energy innovation and new technology across the European Union (EU). Written as a ‘communication’ policy paper, it stresses: “EU energy technology and innovation strategy is an integral part of the EU energy policy.”…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) heads of states and governments have urged their ministers to agree important pieces of draft EU legislation that could potentially curb tax evasion in the bloc.

Meeting during a European Council meeting in Brussels last week (May 22), leaders were under pressure to act from media reports revealing how much untaxed incomes politicians, companies and rich business owners have stashed in tax havens.…

AFTER many false starts and delays, Pakistan appears to be finally ready to expand its bagasse and biomass co-generation output by persuading the 83 sugar mills in the country to start production of electricity on commercial basis. The government is planning incentives such as an attractive upfront power purchase tariff and help in capital financing.…

SUMMER 2013 marks an important milestone in the evolution of the European Union (EU) regulatory framework and financial support for Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E) that will contribute towards the European Commission’s goal of a single-energy market for gas and electricity. Oil and carbon dioxide (CO2) transport from carbon capture and storage systems also figure in the picture.…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research project has developed new means of rearranging molecules helping pharma companies manufacture more effective medicines for less money. The four-year Euro EUR3.6 million EUMET project has, claimed a European Commission report “made the process of synthesising compounds simpler, more efficient and greener.”…

THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) has made a lot of noise about its anti-bribery convention. But some countries are failing to comply, and where others do – otherwise honest companies can lose trade. David Hayhurst and Keith Nuthall report.…

A SLOW revolution in the use of biomass for firing or co-firing power generation is picking up pace this year as a number of competing technologies for the production of ‘biocoal’ move more convincingly towards full commercialisation.

Biocoal produced through torrefaction – in which dry biomass such as wood, paper, food waste and even sewerage waste is slow-heated anoxically (to avoid combustion) at 200C to 300C to reduce moisture and drive off low-energy volatile chemicals – offers slightly degraded fuel with lower emissions and carbon footprints (it is carbon neutral) than traditional biomass and, certainly, than coal.…

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has ruled Austria has broken European Union law by staging environmental impact assessments (EIA) only when airport expansions increase annual air traffic movements by 20,000 or make certain runway modifications. Judges said this was arbitrary and that EU directive 85/337/EEC insists EIAs be held into any project “likely to have significant effects on the environment”.…

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) will invest USD1.1 million in improving airports in the Pacific Ocean countries of Samoa and the Cook Islands, which is associated with New Zealand. The money will improve runway safety at the Cook Islands’ Rarotonga airport, upgrade its terminal and examine ways of using more renewable energy.…

TO listen to opposing sides in a polarised debate, February 14, 2013, could go down in European business history as a St Valentine’s Day Massacre of Europe’s capital markets or as the start of a beautiful love affair with regulation that could help to prevent speculative trading turning boom to bust.…

WITH mobile communication service providers facing an increasingly complex but growing market, they are being offered a range of third party services to help navigate a path to maximum profitability in this new commercial world. And with consumers using multiple devices and switching between data, video and voice, it is useful not only to be supplied software systems that helps make sense of this communications Babel, but to be advised and helped along the way.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has welcomed Thailand lifting its longstanding ban on bovine product imports from European Union (EU) member states, but has complained that Bangkok is insisting on expensive inspections for approved exporters.

Live cattle, beef, veal and other bovine products from Austria, Belgium, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia and Spain have been prevented from entering Thailand since 2001 over concerns about BSE.…

THE SECRETARY General of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) has detailed how the world is woefully unprepared to fight the scourge of counterfeit medicines that can harm or even kill patients. Kunio Mikuriya was speaking at the opening session of a Conference on the Illicit Trafficking of Fraudulent Medicines, held at the Vienna International Centre, Austria, on February 14.…

THE RANGE of penalties for fraud as well as the exact definitions of the offence that apply throughout western Europe are considerable. Within the European Union (EU) alone for instance, the maximum sentences for fraud range from from “at most two years” in Sweden to up to 12 years in Romania.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) police agency Europol has released details of a major football scam at global level with Asian betting syndicates at its heart. It is now up to national prosecutors still investigating some of the cases to unveil the names of football clubs involved in match fixing.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) confectionery manufacturers and their suppliers stand to boost their export sales and reduce import costs with the launch of talks to forge the two largest bilateral trade deals ever sought by the EU – with the USA and Japan.…

SPAIN, Austria and the Netherlands have been criticised for failing to prosecute cases involving bribery of foreign officials despite being longstanding signatories to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Convention on combating graft in international business. An OECD report published this month found that: in 13 years since adopting the convention, Spain has not prosecuted a single individual or company; Austrian authorities are investigating seven such cases but have failed to convict anyone since the convention came into force there in 1999; and a lack of resources was evident in Netherlands prosecuting 14 out of 22 foreign bribery allegations received by Dutch law enforcers.…

THE GREEN light has been given to 11 European Union (EU) member states to forge a harmonised financial transaction tax, the first time common taxation has been agreed through the EU’s ‘enhanced cooperation’ system. This allows EU member states to pass EU laws that apply to a limited group of member states – in this case Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.…

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

THE EUROPEAN Commission is drafting legislative European Union (EU) proposals looking at using road pricing to encourage more efficient driving, optimising the use of Europe’s transport infrastructure. Keir Fitch, advisor to EU transport Commissioner Siim Kallas told a conference in Brussels last week that the Commission wanted more harmony between national policies on this subject: "We will produce legislation which seeks more commonality on how to do it".…

BY ROBERT STOKES

ELCORE GmbH, a German maker of fuel cell micro-CHP (FC mCHP) units currently has only a few being put through their paces in homes in its domestic market. It has high hopes, though, of selling plenty on a fully commercial basis from late next year before spreading its wings into other European markets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

Counterfeit, mislabelled and substandard meat products have been seized in an international police operation spanning 29 countries, coordinated by Interpol and European police agency Europol. Sausages, ham, lamb, chicken and beef were seized, a Europol spokesman told globalmeatnews.com.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

WINNERS

Nike

Multinational sporting goods giant Nike made positive moves to shrug the bad PR associated with low cost sourcing, announcing it was "changing the rules of the game" in May, with a new factory rating system – the Sourcing & Manufacturing Sustainability Index.…

BY MARK ROWE

TO describe recent times as difficult for the eastern European cosmetics industry would be something of an understatement. Since 2010, some countries have experienced dizzying declines in production and sales that indicated the industry was more or less in tune with the wider economic mood across the region.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

It was a tight call but the money came through in the end and students signed up for the European Union’s (EU) Erasmus student exchange programme will get funding after all next year.

The Erasmus cash had been caught up in a budget deadlock lasting months and the issue was only resolved this week, when the European Parliament rubber-stamped a deal agreed a few days earlier by EU ministers.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS, ALAN OSBORN, IN LONDON, LEE ADENDORFF, IN LUCCA, ITALY; MICHAEL KOSMIDES, IN ATHENS; DAVID HAYHURST, IN PARIS; ANDREW KURETH, IN WARSAW; AND JOHN PAGNI, IN HELSINKI

THE POTENTIAL of micro-CHP (combined heat-and-power) for industrial businesses, residential complexes and individual homes is becoming increasingly clear across Europe.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

SMALL and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union (EU) complain they cannot get finance from banks, or not on reasonable terms. Banks counter that there is just not that much demand.

Politicians have responded with schemes to improve the flow of finance to SMEs.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

STANDING firmly in the middle of the Wi-Fi, cloud, and M2M revolutions has delivered explosive growth for Openet, an Irish based global leader of real-time transaction management software and services.

The middleware firm’s story and strategy neatly illustrates challenges facing operators and the solutions that innovation can provide.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

Last minute efforts are underway to rescue the European Union’s (EU) Erasmus student exchange programme which has been threatened, among other EU activities, by budget cuts ordered by the EU Council of Ministers. The key date is November 9th when representatives of the Council will conclude 21 days of negotiations

with delegates from the European Parliament in a "Conciliation Council" to see if funding can be restored.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

PLASTICS moulds made in half the time and at two-thirds of the current price suddenly look more than a dream to European mould-makers battling against tough price competition, particularly from the far east.

The European Commission recently reported the success of Foinmoulds, a Euro EUR1.2 million European Union (EU)-funded R&D project to increase productivity and efficiency of injection processes by integrating metallic foams into moulds.…

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

THERE is no more need to test healthy livestock in Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and Spain to be 95% sure they are not affected by Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a scientific report from by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recommended.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS

THE TURKS used to run the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as colonial overlords – now with the country enjoying its independence since 1991, its government has shown its confidence in welcoming a Turkish company TAV Airports Holding to run its two international airports.…

BY ROB STOKES

NEW TECHNOLOGY has been developed with the assistance of EU funds to improve the manufacturing pipeline for moulded plastic parts. Cordis, the EU’s community R&D information service claims that commercialisation of this should hard-pressed European SMEs to significantly offset the impact of competition from countries with lower manufacturing costs.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

CLOTHING labels worldwide are usually a standard read, with fibre names such as ‘cotton,’ ‘nylon’ and ‘polyester’ – apparel compositions which remain generally constant from season to season. When it comes to luxury textiles and apparel, however, there seem to be more evolving trends in terms of fibres used – along with more dynamic changes in supply and demand.…

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

UNIVERSITY tuition fees cost more in England than anywhere else in Europe, according to a September 10 report from the European Commission, but the headline figures are not the whole story for students sizing up how to survive.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD’S developed countries are enthusiastically or moderately implementing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development’s (OECD) anti-bribery convention, so that 52.3% of world exports are sold by countries opposing graft. So says the latest Transparency International report that says the leading established economic players are now leading by example: with the USA, Germany, Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark all praised for actively implementing the convention.…

BY MARK ROWE

COSMETICS companies looking to expand sales and manufacturing in Croatia are looking for new opportunities as the ex-Yugoslav country prepares to join the European Union (EU) next year. With a population of 4.9 million, and an expanding, educated middle class, Croatia is an increasingly attractive market for cosmetics and personal care products.…

BY LEAH GERMAIN, CARMEN PAUN AND KEITH NUTHALL

THE SWISS federal transport agency FEDRO has estimated that in 2011, motorists travelled a total of 25.874 billion km on Switzerland’s motorway network. As one of the most central countries in Europe, Switzerland has long been a major transport route for European goods haulage, as well as a popular tourist destination.…

BY MARK ROWE

CROATIA will join the European Union (EU) in one year’s time (on July 1, 2013), and while the country’s low wages offer opportunities to sell local textiles and clothing into the EU, the Croatian sector could be in better shape.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) taxation Commissioner Algirdas ?emeta has been angered by Austria and Luxembourg blocking moves to renegotiate the EU’s tax cooperation deals with Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, Lichtenstein and San Marino. These countries currently transfer withholding taxes of 35% on savings accounts held by EU citizens.…

BY MIKE STEIN, IN PRAGUE

EASTERN and central Europeans often have mixed feelings about dealing with the Russians – and for good reason, given their 40-plus-year domination of the region after the Second World War. It has encouraged many governments to seek alternative energy supplies other than Russian gas, but – as the Cold War recedes into memory, old scars are healing and joint energy ventures with Russia’s energy giant Gazprom are increasingly being assessed on their merits.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS, IN SERBIA

AS Russian energy giant Gazprom begins construction work on the South Stream pipeline project by the end of this year for an operational launch in 2015, its final route across the Balkans has yet to be decided and governments are jostling for position.…

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

As the European Commission considers the shape of a new tobacco products directive, the industry and health groups clash over its content. The industry wants this legislation to be science-based and fair to the manufacturers of a legal and popular product.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

A takeover in the Austrian scrap metal sector now looks likely to go ahead after the deal secured competition approval from the European Commission. It has green-lighted without conditions the purchase by Scholz Austria of Recyclingpark Eisenerz (RPE), which operates a mechanical waste treatment plant in the mountainous Styria area of Austria; the Commission fast-tracked its decision under its ‘simplified procedure’.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

WHILE laws that would require European Union (EU) member states, consumers and producers to increase the amount of raw materials recycled and re-used from waste streams are being considered by the European Commission, one industry expert warns that increasing taxes on waste could have a negative impact.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A RESTRICTIVE open skies agreement has been negotiated between the European Commission and Sri Lanka that incorporates existing bilateral civil aviation agreements struck with individual European Union (EU) member states. The agreement includes deals previously struck by Sri Lanka with Austria, Belgium, Britain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

THE EUROPEAN Commission is considering the introduction of laws that would force European Union (EU) member states, consumers and producers to increase the amount of metal that is recycled and re-used from waste streams. These would include EU mandated taxation on waste; compulsory ‘pay-as-you-throw’ schemes charging consumers who fail to recycle metal waste; and enforced producer responsibility schemes, obliging manufacturers to support the costs of organising the collection and recycling of specific waste streams.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

SWITZERLAND just signed a so-called ‘Rubik deal’ with Austria to safeguard Swiss banking secrecy in return for it levying withholding taxes anonymously on undeclared savings and investments held in Switzerland by Austrian nationals.

The bilateral treaty with Austria, start date 2013, follows those with Britain and Germany, and has raised the hackles of the European Commission, which has questioned these agreements’ legality under the European Union (EU) Savings Tax Directive, which tries to erase loopholes allowing depositors to squirrel money away from tax assessors.…

BY MARK GODFREY, IN BEIJING

DINERS in Beijing were appalled recently to discover that restaurants on the city’s most famed dining street have been using recycled – or so called ‘gutter’ – cooking oil processed by an underground industry of oil collectors.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

The European Commission has fined nine key European Union (EU) metal consumers Euro EUR85.8 million for operating a cartel, allowing them to inflate profits from their purchases and sales between 1999 and 2007. The fines have been imposed on European (mostly German) producers of window mountings, metal parts used to open and close windows and window doors.…

BY MARK ROWE

ALTHOUGH it has been likened to a 21st century Silk Road, the southern gas corridor is currently making painstaking and troubled progress; inching its way through the political and economic strife that stands between the Caspian Sea and Western Europe.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

IN an economic climate where industries are trying to cut costs left and right, it only makes sense that the converting industry at large – a key element of many manufacturing sectors – has been raising the bar when it comes to waste handling and recycling.…

BY LEAH GERMAIN

A FORMER business associate of New York fraudster, Bernie Madoff, has had her assets frozen by the UK High Court while an investigation over her possible connection to the infamous Ponzi-scheme fraudster is considered.

Sonja Kohn, once the chairwoman of Austria’s Bank Medici AG, is accused of introducing new investors to Madoff and receiving at least US dollars USD56 million in return.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is coming under pressure to toughen its action against high mobile roaming charges, as its latest proposals are debated at the European Parliament.

MEPs want the Commission to go further in its action to foist more competition on the roaming market while capping bills.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and KATHERINE DUNN

THE TECHNICAL director of European Industrial Minerals Association IMA-Europe has warned that the impending accession of Russia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) may not be a bonanza for European bulk mineral importers, although it could help buyers of high value minerals.…

BY GEOFF MEADE

THE EUROPEAN Commission has threatened to take "radical" measures against most European Union (EU) countries unless more is done to deliver a ‘Single European Sky’ for air traffic control services. It has warned this could include proposing new EU legislation to force member states to do more in forging a unified and efficient EU ATC system.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

WITH the cost of raw materials for manufacturing rising rapidly, partly because of – but also in parallel to increasing energy prices worldwide, an industry that is both little known and very large is looking for ways to cut energy costs.…

BY ZLATKO CONKAS

Will Croatia’s ascension to the EU hamper the country’s tobacco industry?

Croatia’s strong tobacco sector stands to benefit from selling into the European Union once the country joins the EU. However it could lose trade in neighbouring states because of duty changes.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PEER review reports on tax rules coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) have attacked jurisdictions over tax information law weaknesses, including the UK. It had "insufficient mechanisms…to identify owners of bearer shares and…restrictive…statutory information gathering powers," said the OECD.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is staging a re-evaluation of the sweetener aspartame after it agreed to bring forward from 2020 a scheduled inquiry, despite recent scientific assessments failing to reveal fresh concerns about the sweetener.

Indeed, EFSA reviewed the latest studies on aspartame only in April, but accepted a European Commission request for a new study.…

BY MARK ROWE

BETWEEN t-shirts that incorporate technology allowing people to chat up someone from across the dance floor to vests that can monitor the wearer’s health, the past decade has seen some extraordinary developments in high-tech smart fabrics. Scientists have been keen to explore their potential and while more eye-catching garments may have been at the forefront of these technologies in the past, according to experts, the industry for intelligent fabrics is now moving in the direction of less flash, and more functionality.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

RECYCLING products as large as motor vehicles; or encouraging public authorities to buy environment-friendly autos seem such good ideas, laws insisting this happens is surely just commonsense? Not so in Europe, it would appear, where a string of countries are in trouble for not implementing the European Union’s recent (EU) green procurement directive; and one – Italy – is facing potential legal action for flouting the EU’s end-of-life vehicles (ELV) directive, even though these was approved in the year 2000.…

BY MONIKA HANLEY, LEE ADENDORFF, MARK ROWE, ALAN OSBORN, MINDY RAN, GERARD O’DWYER and MARTINA MARECKOVA

FOR an industry that generates energy, heat and maybe cooling, the European cogeneration sector has been operating on a decidedly low output in recent years.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF, MARK ROWE, ALAN OSBORN, KATHERINE DUNN, MARTINA MARECKOVA, GERARD O’DWYER and MINDY RAN

Austria’s newest combined-cycle power plant (CCPP) – the 412-MWe/100 MWt Timelkam power plant in Vöcklabruck district, Upper Austria, which was handed over to its owners Energie AG Oberösterreich and the Swiss Groupe E at the end of 2008 – has introduced a number of technical refinements which are bringing about major advances in fuel efficiency, environmental control and cost savings to Austria.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is drafting legislation seeking to break regulatory and financial logjams preventing the European Union (EU) achieving ambitious planned gas infrastructure investments. A Commission working paper predicts the proposal will come in October and warned red-tape and financial shortages are potentially delaying cross-border interconnection and pipeline projects worth billions of Euros.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, DAVE YIN and WANG FANGQING

A GOOD deal of excitement has been created by the announcement this week in the UK academic journal Nature Geoscience that significant deposits of rare earths have been found in the Pacific Ocean floor.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) consumer protection information network RAPEX has reported a string of market withdrawals of potentially harmful skin whitening products in the Netherlands and Austria. The actions were taken largely because of excess hydroquinone content, breaching the EU’s cosmetics directive.…

BY MARK ROWE

CO-GENERATION (or combined-heat and power – CHP) plants operate using a variety of technologies: gas turbines, fuel cells, Stirling engines, gas or diesel engines and combined cycle gas turbines. According to the Joint Research Centre (JRC) – the European Union’s (EU) scientific and technical research body – natural gas is currently the preferred fuel across Europe for co-gen, with combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and gas turbine plants expected to become the predominant future technology for large-scale units.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has let lapse anti-dumping duties against Chinese exports to the EU of magnesia bricks widely used in steelmaking. The move comes after Austria’s RHI AG, the EU’s biggest producer of the bricks said it no longer wanted the duties – which ranged as high as 39.9% and which were originally imposed in 2005.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A CONSULTANTS report for the European Commission on the impact of biofuel expansion has warned that a reliance on bioethanol could damage the European Union’s (EU) fossil fuels security of supply.

Written by experts from Wood Mackenzie, Ricardo and Celeres, the paper – just released by Brussels – says that with bioethanol sources focused on Brazil and a few other countries, "there is a risk of a high degree of reliance on few sources of ethanol supply."…

BY ALAN OSBORN

FEW transatlantic agreements have given rise to more friction and animosity than the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP) set up by the US Treasury in 2001 shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and in direct response to them.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research project is trying to create consensus over scientific principles affecting complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM), sufficiently robust to inspire EU regulation. The CAMbrella project involves academics from Germany, Britain, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Romania, Spain, France, Denmark, Austria and Sweden, ending December 2012.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) judge has argued that the date medicine market approvals granted in a European Union (EU) country before they became a member state determine the expiry date of patents across the EU. Generics (UK) Ltd claimed an 1963 Austrian authorisation, which expired in 2001, should be considered as the baseline for a supplementary protection application by Britain’s Synaptech Inc for the neuro-muscular medicine Galantamine.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WHEN the offices of the Czech Republic’s registry for the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS) received a fake bomb threat on January 18, it was an annoying interruption for some Prague office workers. But when returning to their desks, they realised their real bomb had gone off in their computer terminals.…

BY ZLATKO ?ONKA?

IF one European country exists that demonstrates the need for the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD), it is surely Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH), whose political and economic recovery from war has been halting. The EBRD has worked with the Bosnian government and its Serb and Bosniak/Croat sub-national entities for 15 years and its latest project could be the jewel in the crown of this cooperation – the revamping of Sarajevo International Airport.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A MAJOR dispute has erupted between European Union (EU) anti-fraud office OLAF and the European Parliament after parliamentary officials blocked an OLAF raid on offices of MEPs accused of selling their votes.

OLAF tried to gain access to the offices of Austria’s Ernst Strasser (who later resigned); Romania’s Adrian Severin (once deputy prime minister); and Zoran Thaler, a former Slovenian foreign minister.…

CZECH PAINTS SECTOR BACK ON TRACK

THE CZECH paints industry last year experienced a second difficult year in a row – although it was not as bad as in 2009. Sales fell 14% year-on-year compared to 2009, but market players believe that the worst is over.…

BY MARK ROWE

THE FUEL pipeline network around the Caspian and Black Seas increasingly resembles a London Underground map, a comparison enhanced by the latest potential addition to the lattice, known as the AGRI scheme.

AGRI, the acronym for the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector, is a proposal for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) transportation across the Black Sea.…

BY EMMA JACKSON

IN the green clothing and textiles market segment, the requirement to create sustainable and marketable eco-friendly products is becoming increasingly competitive. Out-of-the-box innovation is immensely valuable in such a market where companies seek to balance environmental marketing against increased costs – if green production can be achieved for lower costs, then major labels can and do take notice.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission may this year release proposals to reduce the vulnerability of the European Union’s (EU) emissions trading system (ETS) to fraud. Cyber-criminals launched a lucrative attack on its systems in January. How open is this ground-breaking system to fraud?…

BY LEE ADENDOORF, ALYSSA MCMURTRY, MAKKI MARSEILLES, and KEITH NUTHALL

GLOBAL olive oil manufacturing is on a roll, with the International Olive Council (IOC) saying 2009-10 world production was 3.02 million tonnes, a season-on-season increase of 354,500 tonnes (+13%). This would be the second best olive oil production year ever, next only to the record of 3.17 million tonnes produced in 2003/04.…

BY MARK ROWE and KEITH NUTHALL

HUNGARY’S strategic location in central Europe, a cash-based economy, and a well-developed financial services industry, makes it important to both pan-European anti-money laundering enforcement, and indeed, to criminals themselves.

Generally, the nature of money laundering that goes on in Hungary can be serious but stops short of funnelling funds to terrorist organisations.…

BY MARK ROWE

Czech government pushes aggressively against high smoking rates

The Czech government is using tax increases and smoking restrictions to reduce smoking. It has particular concern about high youth smoking rates. However, the Czech Republic remains a stable and high value market for tobacco majors.…

BY JULIAN RYALL

JAPAN is being accused of trying to write its own official asbestos testing system into an international standard, because it knows it does not work and so will get its government off the hook for asbestos exposure cases.…

BY DANIEL PRUZIN

THE GLOBAL airline industry is spearheading a push for an overhaul of airport screening procedures which would use passenger profiling as a way to speed people through airport security checks, the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.…

BY DANIEL PRUZIN

THE GLOBAL airline industry is spearheading a push for an overhaul of airport screening procedures which would use passenger profiling as a way to speed people through airport security checks, the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.…

BY DANIEL PRUZIN

THE GLOBAL airline industry is spearheading a push for an overhaul of airport screening procedures which would use passenger profiling as a way to speed people through airport security checks, the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) research network Eureka has hailed as a success a research and development project using its services creating a new needle-free injection device. The Zeneo – developed by France-based CrossJect – is a pre-filled, single-use injection device adapting to different injection depths (intradermal, subcutaneous, intramuscular).…

Kencho Wangdi

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is renowned for its untouched mountainous beauty. It is also known for its political innovation: it tobacco sales ban and use of ‘gross national happiness country’ as a yardstick for development. But it may soon become known as a higher education hub of Asia, if current plans go well.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

GIVEN the strong connection between tax evasion and money laundering, it would seem commonsense to suppose that tax cooperation agreements (TCAs) between countries where information about taxes paid or not paid is shared would be a powerful deterrent to the launderers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A NORWEGIAN company dominating European markets for high-end automatic can and bottle recovery machines for recycling programmes has failed to persuade European judges to reduce or annul a Euro 24 million fine. The Tomra group was penalised by the European Commission in 2006 for illegally pushing competitors out of the market for its equipment in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Norway from 1998 to 2002.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, ALAN OSBORN

The European Commission’s ‘stock taking document’ called Towards a new Energy Strategy for Europe 2011-2020, tries to take the recession and its effect into account when looking at EU energy policy for the next decade.

It warns that the economic crisis has temporarily depressed gas prices and created a gas supply glut and this could undermine political momentum towards making investments in infrastructure and supply sources.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE PROCESS of ‘unbundling’ in the European Union (EU) gas industry as called for under the EU’s third energy package, notably the gas directive 2009/73/EC, adopted in 2009, has come to a bit of a standstill. This will not last.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IMAGINATION and guile continue to help fraudsters milk hundreds of millions of Euros from the European Union’s (EU) well-stocked budgets, explains the latest report from EU anti-fraud agency OLAF, writes Keith Nuthall.

OLAF spends a lot of money sniffing out fraud in the institutions and programmes of the EU and the payment of duties earmarked to fund this spending.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A US Geological Survey expert has warned environmental difficulties could prevent Europe harvesting significant reserves of shale gas maybe in Britain, Germany, Sweden, Poland, France, Hungary and Austria. Research geologist Don Gauthier told a French Institute for Foreign Relations conference in Brussels the "high density" of wells required, including horizontal wells, could anger urbanised Europe.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE CREATION of a European [Union – EU] Investigation Order (EIO) for criminal matters has been proposed by seven EU member states. It would allow national courts to order judicial or police investigations in another EU country, collecting evidence for a possible trial.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) anti-fraud agency OLAF is claiming focusing on larger frauds and referring smaller scams to national law enforcement agencies is paying off. More than 75% of cases closed in 2009 led to judicial or financial recovery proceedings, according the agency’s latest annual report.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is helping the USA deal with the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Coordinated by the EU emergency response group, the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), the EU will send oil skimmers and oil spill experts.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE LATEST major food product promotion programme financed by the European Union (EU) is focusing heavily on healthy foodstuffs – with organic, fruit and vegetable products getting the lion’s share. The European Commission has approved 19 one-to-three year publicity programmes in 14 member states (Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain) which will promote sales in the EU.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A NEW European Union (EU) body coordinating around Euro EUR1 billion in food-related research from 20 European countries has started work. The ‘scientific advisory board for the EU joint programming initiative (JPI) on agriculture, food security and climate change’ will plan and manage national food industry research securing future supplies and reducing climate emissions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has fined 17 producers of prestressing steel Euro 518 million for operating a cartel that lasted 18 years until 2002 and covered all but three of the then 15 European Union (EU) member states – Britain, Ireland and Greece.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) may be legally a single market, food prices range widely across its 27 member states. The most recent survey of 500 comparable products by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, shows last year (2009) the price of a comparable basket of food and non-alcoholic beverages was more than twice as high in the most expensive EU country than the cheapest.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IN a month highlighting that many European Union (EU) countries are living beyond their financial means, it was timely perhaps for the European Commission to note that member states also have unsustainable water policies.

In short, many EU governments are failing to prevent the abstraction of fresh water at rates exceeding nature’s ability to replenish supplies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has called for tougher financial controls on European Union (EU) spending in countries applying to become member states. This so-called ‘pre-accession’ expenditure helps enable applicant countries, such as Croatia, to bring their public administration, environmental regulations and other governance up to EU standards.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRITISH and German customs and police officers have arrested 47 suspects in an alleged carousel fraud network exploiting the European Union’s (EU) emissions trading regime. UK authorities arrested 22; there were 25 arrests in Germany. Police in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Portugal, plus non-EU Norway have assisted inquiries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ROLL-OUT of the European eCall in-car emergency system is approaching critical mass with 20 countries now committed to operating its supporting infrastructure. The European Commission today announced another five countries were implementing eCall services – Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg, Malta and Romania.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Commission discussion paper has revealed officials are considering giving European Union (EU) member states a free hand to decide whether GM crops can grow on their territory. Under the current system, a comprehensive EU safety review is undertaken – and farmers can henceforth sow approved crops in all member states (although some, such as Austria, have imposed unilateral and possible illegal bans).…

BY WACHIRA KIGOTHO

EAST Africa is developing as an important source of biofuels and biofuel feedstock, with governments keen to attract foreign direct investment for this potentially strategic rural development option.

Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Sudan, and Tanzania are countries where foreign companies are competing to acquire land for biofuel projects.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) opinion poll has revealed that 47% of Britons consider it likely patients could be harmed by hospital care (in or out-patient). And if that sounds bad, 83% of Greeks share this pessimistic outlook. Even in France, with its usually lauded healthcare system, 65% of people think it likely patients could be harmed by nurses and doctors.…

BY MONIKA HANLEY

THE BALTIC States and their eastern neighbours have long been viewed as a cheap supply of labour and goods to the rich countries within the European Union (EU), but now local companies and governments are looking to expand biofuel production to satisfy both growing domestic and export demand.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has signalled it is unlikely to intervene to prevent the proposed takeover of Ukraine’s gas pipeline network by Russia’s Gazprom. Displaying his relatively relaxed attitude to closer energy links with Moscow, new German EU energy Commissioner Günter Oettinger told a press conference: "The decision has to come between Kiev and Moscow and not in Brussels."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE SWEDISH and Austrian governments have been given an additional year to spend the Euro 15.6 million in earmarked European Union (EU) subsidies for the auto sector previously announced by the European Commission.

These payments – Euro 9.8 million for Sweden and Euro 5.7 million for Austria – come from the EU’s Globalisation Adjustment Fund, which is designed to help industries hit by unavoidable international competition.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE NEW European Commission leadership is preparing a compromise on cultivating genetically modified foodstuffs in the European Union (EU) that might end Brussels’ years-long political standoff with anti-GM member states. Some national governments, such as Austria, have long opposed cultivating GM crops in their countries, even if the EU has approved their production and use.…

BY MIRIAM ELDER

WHILE the government of the Russian Federation has made real efforts to fight money laundering – as documented recently in the Money Laundering Bulletin – the problem remains rampant in this resource-rich country, according to Russian and international experts.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH a new European Commission in office, major decisions can now be made on pushing ahead with European Union (EU) energy policy priorities: Brussels has released a Euro 4 billion package of 31 gas infrastructure (and 12 electricity) projects.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A PROGRESS report issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) has claimed almost 300 tax transparency agreements have been signed by jurisdictions since the April 2009 G20 summit in London. This called on governments and sub-national administrations worldwide to adopt the OECD’s standards on revealing and exchanging tax information.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE TASTE for liquorice is surprisingly well defined in geographical terms in Germany and its neighbouring countries. There seems to be a cut-off point at the Rhine Valley. "They don’t like the taste in the southern part of Germany and if you go south of the Rhine valley you don’t find liquorice products in the shops," said Jens Milt, head of the liquorice division at the leading German liquorice supplier Alfred L Wolff, based in Hamburg.…

BY EMMA JACKSON

THE EUROPEAN Commission has committed Euro 17.9 million to market dairy products over three years across the European Union (EU). The money will be spent by dairy industry organisations in 11 member states, who will also contribute funds, along with their national governments.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA and Ukraine appear to have headed off an oil transit dispute that could have created a repeat of last year’s major disruption of European natural gas supplies. Moscow and Kiev have signed an agreement increasing by 30% the fees Ukraine charges on transporting Russian oil to the European Union (EU) – this alters a 2004 contract and the change had sparked a diplomatic tussle.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH and KEITH NUTHALL

THE POWER industry has good reason to pay more attention than usual to the anticipated appointment of a new European Union (EU) energy Commissioner this February 10. Under the newly ratified Treaty of Lisbon, the EU has gained constitutional authority to frame energy policy in general for all 27 member states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FINAL approval has been given by the European Parliament for the European Union (EU) to spend Euro 15.6 million on helping Swedish and Austria auto industry workers who have lost their jobs through the global recession. The money will come from the EU’s Globalisation Adjustment Fund.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A MAJOR European research project is to spend Euro 44 million on developing tiny components to help electric vehicles improve their performance, so that they can better compete with models powered with liquid fuels. The Fiat and Audi-backed E3CAR (Energy efficient electrical car) project will especially focus on emerging nanotechnologies as its researchers aim to boost electric cars’ often less than stellar driving abilities.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE RECOVERY of criminally-acquired assets is driven by two quite different considerations – first as a deterrent to financial crime and second as a means of compensating the victim through restitution. Clearly where the fight against money laundering in concerned, the first is the more important.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

MEASURED by what’s been happening in the European cigarette market over the past 10 to 15 years, 2008 – and what we’ve seen of 2009 so far – hasn’t been that bad. It may not have been good, exactly, but considering the global recession few people will have been looking for uplift.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is seeking to secure an important legal precedent at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) effectively banning all 27 European Union (EU) member states from charging VAT on car registration taxes.

It has launched a case against the Austrian government, which insists Austria-based car dealers include car tax amounts (called the ‘Normverbrauchsabgabe-NoVA’) within the overall price of a vehicle, charging VAT on the combined car price and registration fee.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

NEGOTIATIONS have begun to incorporate Georgia within the European Union’s (EU) aviation system, leading the Caucasus republic to adopt most EU civil aviation rules. The talks will inevitably cause some diplomatic issues with Russia, given its recognition of the two Georgian breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DESPITE being granted special emergency subsidies, Europe’s hard-pressed dairy farmers are increasing their protests across Europe. Yesterday (MONDAY 21 SEPT), a group of producers set hay on fire and spilt milk in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has granted competition approval to the takeover of Austria’s generic pharmaceuticals company EBEWE Spezial-Pharma Holding by Novartis, of Switzerland, enabling the Euro 1.3 billion deal to go ahead. Despite Novartis also making generic medicines, the Commission concluded that the deal "would not significantly impede effective competition" in Europe.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

A NEW crisis over the presence of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in food and livestock feed has once more focused attention on the European Union’s (EU’s) controversial GM policies. It has especially raised the spectre of job losses, farm bankruptcies and higher consumer prices if a relaxation of the current de facto zero tolerance restriction applying to unauthorised GM products is not agreed soon.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

HACHETTE Ireland was one of 12 publishers honoured this week at the first awards of the new European Union Prize for Literature (Monday Sept 28). The Dublin-based branch of the Hachette publishing empire was praised for producing one of 12 award winning books: ‘Longshore Drift’ (2006), by Karen Gillece.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ATTACK by France and Germany on the European Commission’s ‘health check’ reforms to phase out European Union (EU) dairy quotas by 2015 is gathering support, with 16 member states backing increased subsidies. Having failed to persuade the Commission to abandon quota liberalisation, a growing Franco-German-led alliance at the EU Council of Ministers is backing increased subsides while restrictive production quotas expand from 2010 and disappear in 2015.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has signed another open skies deal with a near neighbour, with the Caspian Sea republic of Azerbaijan. The deal follows the usual model, allowing all EU airlines access to Azeri airports and Azeri airlines access to airports in the EU.…

BY MARK ROWE and GAVIN BLAIR

THE ANSWER to the world’s future fuel needs may be literally all around us, and freely available in abundance, thanks to the throw-away society of the 21st century. Bioenergy, produced from all matter of waste products, from wood chips, to agricultural husks and slurry, has been steadily elevated up the list of potential sources of energy that will be required in a low-carbon world.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking Italy to the European Court of Justice for failing to implement the 2006 European Union (EU) statutory audit directive – approved following the country’s notorious Parmalat scandal.

Its implementation deadline was June 2008; its aim – boosting European audit quality.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

INTERNATIONAL talks are underway to secure Ukraine funding to pay Russia for natural gas to ensure deliveries to Europe can be guaranteed this winter.

The European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have been meeting with Russian and Ukraine officials to head off a repeat of last winter’s supply crisis.…

BY PHILIPPA JONES, in Paris; LEE ADENDORFF, in Lucca, Italy; KARRYN MILLER, in Tokyo; and LUCY JONES, in Dallas

IT almost seems commonsense to say that an industry providing such a human product as clothing has to take account of cultural sensibilities in target markets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has opened nine case files as it attempts to force European Union (EU) member states to comply with EU accounting and auditing directives. Brussels is taking four briefs to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding Austria, Ireland, Italy and Spain, which it accuses of failing to comply with the 2006 statutory audit directive (2006/43/EC).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ARSENIC and lead has been discovered by UK authorities in unmolassed sugar beet pulp pellets exported from Austria, the European Union’s RASFF food product consumer safety alert system has warned. Meanwhile, Finnish health authorities have reported the presence of norovirus in frozen raspberries from Poland.…

BY MARK ROWE

The expansion of the European Union (EU) continues eastwards – and the food and drink industry of the existing EU will inevitably be affected by the new competition, as will companies in the new member countries.

The next few years are likely to see several countries accede to the EU.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

FACED with a global recession caused partly by commercial financial crime, governments have been pushed into taking action against tax evasion in recent months by ending the practice of banking secrecy. Is it the end of the road for tax havens as protected jurisdictions where illicit transactions can hide?…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

SWISS chocolate giant Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli may lose European Union (EU) trademark rights to the shape and wrapping of its popular Easter bunny line. This follows a European Court of Justice (ECJ) preliminary ruling, which concluded Austrian courts could void the registration, if filed in "bad faith".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AS the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) begins its first coordinated enforcement checks of the REACH chemical control system, Europe’s top adhesives industry federation has stressed concerns about its potential uneven application country-to-country.

ECHA announced on April 30 it has launched ‘REACH-EN-FORCE-1’, a joint enforcement project with national inspectors checking pre-registrations, registrations and work on REACH safety data sheets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE IMMINENT threat of heavy USA tariffs on many European Union (EU) confectionery exports has been lifted, after Washington and Brussels struck a preliminary deal over the long-running beef hormone dispute. Retaliatory duties such as 100% duties on filled chocolate, chewing gum, raspberry and lingonberry jams were to have been levied this month (May), but have now been suspended, along with other EU food products earmarked for new tariffs, such as fruit juices from Austria, Cyprus, France and Poland.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

YOU might think, given the preponderance of doomsayers predicting drought and desertification in Europe because of global warming, that the rainfall data would back them up.

But on a continent-wide scale, it does not.

A report on water scarcity issued by the European Environment Agency (EEA) earlier this year noted that "precipitation in Europe generally increased over the twentieth century, rising by 6-8 % on average between 1901 and 2005".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A NEW system of gathering food health data across the European Union (EU) appears to have marred an annual comparative study from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), with Britain’s data collection being indirectly criticised.

While the UK appears to have received a relative clean bill of health regarding food-related illnesses, statistical anomalies probably explain the results, with Britain supplying insufficient information.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE IMMINENT threat of heavy USA tariffs on many European Union (EU) processed food exports has been lifted, after Washington and Brussels struck a preliminary deal over the long-running beef hormone dispute. Retaliatory duties such as a 300% duty on French cheese Roquefort were to be levied from this week, but have now been suspended.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EURO 12 million European Union (EU) research project has developed genetically modified tobacco plants able to produce a pharmacologically active substance treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Pharma-Planta project scientists have created interleukin-10 (IL-10) from these tobacco plants at sufficiently high levels for effective extraction and purification.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SHOT in the arm has been provided for the European Union’s (EU) Nabucco pipeline project, with Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan signing an agreement with the EU backing the project. In return for promising to work towards bringing Caspian gas to western European markets by 2014, the EU has made pledges on ensuring there is demand for gas and oil reaching Europe through ‘southern corridor’ routes bypassing Russia and Ukraine.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and EMMA JACKSON

IF the competition to build gas pipeline networks from Russia, the Caucasus and central Asia to central and western Europe were a horserace, commentators would say it was still too close to call.

For although politicians and diplomats in Brussels, Moscow and other European capitals would never admit it publicly, these multi-million investment projects are contests of power and influence.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DOCUMENTS released by European Union (EU) heads of government detailing their approval of a Euro 3.9 billion in EU spending on energy investment projects includes a commitment to spend Euro 200 million on the Nabucco gas pipeline within Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and Romania.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A PRICE fixing system for German-language books imported into Austria has been declared illegal by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) today (April 30). Its judges have concluded that it breaks European Union (EU) treaty commitments on the freedom of movement of goods, which the Austrian government must apply.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has drawn back from a robust collective response to the swine flu crisis, despite the disease spreading around Europe. Meeting on Thursday, the EU Council of Ministers for health rejected a French proposal for an EU-wide travel ban to Mexico, the source of the outbreak.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, LEAH GERMAIN and MONICA DOBIE

MAYBE the best sign that renewable energies have hit the mainstream is that they now have their very own international organisation: the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Launched in Bonn, Germany, this January, with the support of 76 countries, including its host nation, Spain, Italy, France and Sweden, the roster of signatory nations has since been swollen by India and Belarus.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH

THE NEW secretary general of the European Union (EU) financial watchdog, European Court of Auditors, does not have much on the job training to do.

When Eduardo Ruiz García took up his new posting on March 16 he had already served as a Court official for 20 years and now at 48 he has, in effect, dedicated his professional life to the well-being and improvement of the institution.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

MONEY left unspent from a temporary restructuring fund for the European Union sugar sector after its fourth and final year of operation (financial year 2009-10) will be transferred to future EU budgets, earmarked for sugar-related investments, the European Commission has confirmed.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE DELICATE state of European Union (EU) and Russia diplomatic and energy relations has been illustrated starkly by the inclusion of eastern European gas interconnection projects within the European economic stimulus package. National governments of these new EU member states threatened to torpedo the entire agreement – seen as the lynchpin of European efforts to shake off the recession – if their gas schemes were not included.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE THUMBSCREWS are being turned on the world’s tax havens, preventing their banks hiding assets from tax investigators worldwide. A comprehensive communiqué from April 1 and 2s’ G20 meeting in London committed member governments "to take agreed action against those jurisdictions which do not meet international standards in relation to tax transparency."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers decision will allow member states to block production of genetically modified (GM) foods previously approved by the EU. Ministers rejected a bid by the European Commission to force Hungary to lift its national ban on the cultivation of Monsanto’s GM maize MON810 and Austria’s ban on MON810 and Bayer’s T25 maize.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE IMPLEMENTATION of new retaliatory USA tariffs against European Union (EU) food exports such as a 300% duty on French cheese Roquefort has been delayed one month from March 23 to April 23, the US Trade Representative (USTR) office has announced.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) food safety alert service RASFF has reported another spate of aflatoxin contamination of nuts being imported into Europe. It says there were seizures in Austria of Turkish roasted hazelnut paste; in the Netherlands of Paraguayan groundnut kernels; and in Spain of Chinese groundnut kernels, all through aflatoxin contamination.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is backing a research study investigating cures for arthritis, follows up a previously successful European Union (EU)-funded study into medicine for inflammatory bowel disease. Brussels will tap its Seventh Framework Programme for research for the KINACEPT project, whose aim is developing drugs for novel anti-inflammatory compounds for autoimmune diseases.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) heads of government have approved Euro 3.9 billion in EU spending on energy investment projects, after they finally finished wrangling over the detail of this keystone of their economic stimulus package.

As expected, the final programme has more projects in southern and eastern Europe than in previous drafts.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BIOTECHNOLOGY companies will look carefully at the possible impact of a European Union (EU) Council of Ministers decision today to allow member states to block production f genetically modified (GM) foods previously approved by the EU. Ministers overwhelmingly threw out the latest bid by the European Commission to force Hungary to lift its national ban on the cultivation of Monsanto’s GM maize MON810 and Austria’s ban on MON810 and Bayer’s T25 maize.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EVERY recession has a silver lining: inefficient competitors are unmasked and forced out of business; and governments usually spend freely to pump prime an ailing economy. And for major essential industries such as the power sector, economic slumps can be good times.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) could encourage Czech brewery Bud?jovický Budvar to lodge a European Union (EU)-wide application for geographical indication protection. ECJ advocate general Dámaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer said a previous bilateral agreement between Austria and the former Czechoslovakia saying beers called ‘Bud’ must be Czech, may offer no protection against rival Anheuser-Busch Inbev.…

BY MARK GODFREY

THE BUREAUCRATS and engineers who run China’s booming hydropower sector will be in listening mode in April when the world descends on Beijing for the second International Conference on Hydropower Technology & Equipment. The theme of this year’s government-sponsored gathering – ‘Sustainable China Hydropower Industry’ – reflects worries about the environmental impact of recent massive hydropower projects in China.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) appears to be encouraging Czech brewery Bud?jovický Budvar to lodge a European Union (EU)-wide application for geographical indication protection for their beer. In a preliminary ruling, ECJ advocate general Dámaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer said a previous bilateral agreement between Austria and the former Czechoslovakia which said beers called ‘Bud’ must be Czech may offer no protection, unless Budvar also applied for EU-wide protection: "A name…which has not been notified to the Commission cannot obtain protection from one or more [EU] member states independently, and is unprotected."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE COUNTRIES hosting the Nabucco gas pipeline have convened an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) to conclude the agreements necessary for the project’s construction. Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey have formed the organisation to decide the necessary planning, tax, and regulatory issues ensuring Nabucco is bankable and legally sound.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

WHILE net revenues for tobacco product sales in some key countries in South America have experienced growth in the last few years, in general the regional tobacco product market is stagnant. Producers blame increased excise rates, public health awareness, and new and more rigidly enforced regulations for the gloom.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) judges have erected a barrier impeding the plans of US brewer Anheuser-Busch to trademark the word ‘Bud’ across in all EU member states. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) Court of First Instance has underlined the right of Anheuser’s Czech rival Bud?jovický…

BY MARK ROWE

THE RUSH to tap the oil and gas riches of the Caspian Sea has seen governments, the European Union (EU) and producers shuttling back and forth between the major players in the region, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE MAXIMUM amount of duty-free or duty-paid tobacco that can be brought into the European Union (EU) from a non-EU country without paying EU excise duty can now be reduced to just 40 cigarettes. That is an option now offered to member states, which can maintain the previous 200 cigarette limit if they choose.…

By Alan Osborn

The failure of business to invest significantly in innovation projects remains the major weakness in the European Union’s (EU) research picture, says the European Commission. While there is "substantial progress" in some aspects of the EU’s innovation performance, investments by business in R&D and IT projects "are still relatively weak, especially if compared to the US and Japan," claims Brussels.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

IN the airport industry, starting from scratch is sometimes the best solution. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad is a case in point. It displays the range of objectives that can be achieved in terms of efficiency and scope in a greenfield project over and above expanding an existing airport.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AS 2009 dawns, the European Union’s (EU) renewable energy sector knows that it has truly entered the mainstream of EU utility markets, its growth being sanctioned by ambitious legislation approved before Christmas.

After more than a year of debates, the European Parliament and EU ministers have approved a new EU directive imposing mandatory national targets for the 27 member states regarding the portion of their gross final consumption of energy in 2020 coming from renewable sources.…

BY MARK ROWE

ONE of the major elements of the 2004 enlargement of the European Union (EU) was its intended expansion to these new member states of the Schengen agreement, which phases out checks at shared borders and allows free movement for all within the EU.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

AN ADDITIONAL power generation capacity of 78,000 MW with an emphasis on hydro and low-carbon power generators such as solar and wind energy, with an investment of US$250 billion: this is what India aims to achieve by 2012 to narrow down the huge demand and supply gap that has lead to chronic power shortages in a rapidly growing economy.…

BY PAUL RIGG

ROBBERIES, competition from immigrants and the state of the economy are the issues of most pressing concern for Spanish hauliers, according to drivers interviewed in truck stops on the outskirts of Madrid by Commercial Motor.

"I woke up with my kidneys and head hurting like I’d drunk a bottle of whisky," said Elias Calyo, 46, from Andalucia in the south of Spain.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE OLD 15 member European Union (EU) will hit its Kyoto Protocol collective target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 8% for the period 2008-2012 from 1990 levels, but only by financing pollution cuts in poor countries abroad.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE DIPLOMATIC fallout over Russia’s attack on Georgia has continued to impact on European Union (EU) energy policies, although signs of an early thaw in relations are evident. At an EU-Ukraine summit in Paris, the EU promised to sign an Association Agreement with Ukraine mid-2009, bringing Kiev closer to becoming a member state, although no timetable for membership negotiations was set.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PARALLEL exporters of pharmaceuticals within the European Union (EU) can be blocked from changing packaging for selling in different member states if alterations could scupper sales by the original manufacturer. That is the conclusion of a European Court of Justice (ECJ) advocate general Eleanor Sharpston in a preliminary ruling in a case involving the Wellcome Foundation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is seeking to secure an important legal precedent at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) effectively banning all 27 European Union (EU) member states from charging VAT on car registration taxes.

It has launched a case against the Austrian government, which does just that, insisting that Austria-based car dealers include car tax amounts (called the ‘Normverbrauchsabgabe-NoVA’) within the overall price of a vehicle, charging VAT on the combined car price and registration fee.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) consumer protection information network RAPEX has warned of two more safety bans on cosmetics products in Europe. Sweden has banned the sale of South Africa’s Tura England skin lightening cream for containing banned methyldibromo glutaronitrile; and Austria has banned the US-made MAXI-TONE skin lightening lotion with shea butter for containing more than 2% of hydroquinone, both breaking the EU cosmetics directive.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has frozen its partnership and cooperation negotiations with Russia over the Georgia conflict, just three months after the talks were launched following long delays. An emergency meeting of the EU Council of Ministers has ordered no meetings will take place with Moscow on the agreement until its "troops have withdrawn to the positions held prior to 7 August", prior to its short war with Georgia.…

BY MONIKA HANLEY

GONE are the days of the disgruntled, Soviet style Baltic States truck driver, more interested in taking time off than pushing for more deliveries. Since the fall off communism and the coming of independence to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, a new breed of truckers has come on to the scene, with new trucks and more ambitious attitudes, including the desire to drive west.…

By Keith Nuthall

European academics are preparing to gather at a high level conference to discuss the problems being caused to higher education by a sharp decline in the European population. The debates at the European University Association (EUA) conference comes as the latest figures from European Union (EU) statistical agency Eurostat confirm the number of young people in European countries is already shrinking and will get smaller.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

SUPPORTERS of the Indo-US nuclear deal had almost lost hope this March that the agreement would ever come into force when the ruling Congress Party in New Delhi decided that it was not prepared to risk the fall of its coalition government over the issue.…

By Alan Osborn

The 27 EU member states will have to speed up their educational progress if they are to meet a range of self-imposed targets deemed necessary if the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs is to be successful by 2010.…

By Keith Nuthall

It is almost a truism that women have a tougher time in most professions than men, and academia is no different. But it is worth considering the absurdity of this statement: that in the 21st century, it is still quite normal to assume that the success of an academic or student is likely to be affected by their gender.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

GERMAN confectionery manufacturer Paul Reber GmbH has lost a European Court of Justice (ECJ) bid to secure European Union trademark rights for the term ‘Mozart’ for selling chocolate-coated marzipan and praline balls. Because these are generally known in Germany and Austria as ‘Mozartkugel’, Swiss confectioner Lindt & Sprüngli successfully argued the proposed trademark was generic and not eligible for legal protection.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A COOLANT leak at a Slovenia nuclear power plant sparked diplomatic concern after the European Commission initially told European Union (EU) member states about the incident, but added the message was just a drill.

The accident happed at Kr?ko…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE POLITICAL map of Europe these days looks very blue. Most of it (discounting Russia) is part of the European Union (EU) and those countries that have yet to join are increasingly the odd men out.

The European Commission and its fellow EU institutions are keen on some of these countries becoming members and less keen on others, but the countries that are almost destined to join the EU (if they want to) are those surrounded by EU territory.…

By Keith Nuthall

WE all know about Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace. These social utility websites allow us all to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, exchange messages, post pictures and play silly games – such as throwing a digital sheep at someone or giving them a pixellated hellraiser cocktail.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has made progress in a series of legal actions against European Union (EU) utilities alleging unfair trading. Notably, Brussels has launched anti-trust inquiries involving Germany’s E.ON (and E.ON Ruhrgas) plus Gaz de France (GDF), alleging illegal trust agreements to avoid supplying gas to each other’s home market following the liberalisation of the EU markets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A NEW pilot initiative is aiming to make European Union (EU) national electronic public procurement systems compatible, to ease cross-border online tendering. Although EU law insists that public procurement contracts are made available to suppliers from foreign member states, making such bids can involve difficult and unfamiliar paperwork.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH Dmitry Medvedev becoming Russia’s new president, the European Union (EU) has been pushing ahead to secure oil and gas supplies independent of Moscow. EU energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and external relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner met with Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey diplomats and officials to discuss gas pipeline links.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN ALLIANCE of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden have effectively blocked moves to create a European Public Prosecutor position. The European Commission has dropped draft proposals establishing the post within Eurojust, the European Union’s (EU) network of prosecution agencies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ITALIAN Carabinieri police force and European Union (EU) anti-fraud office OLAF have smashed a fraud ring involving the claiming of agricultural subsidies for more then 900,000 kilograms of non-existent tobacco. OLAF claims that at least Euro 3 million had been illegally siphoned from EU common agricultural policy budgets in this scam, which has led to 80 individuals being placed under formal judicial investigation by the Italian public prosecutor’s office (Procura della Repubblica) in Perugia, north of Rome.…

BY MARK ROWE

NUCLEAR energy production costs a lot of money and so it makes some economic sense for smaller countries interested in this climate-change friendly power supply to combine forces on major projects. So it is in eastern Europe, where in February 2007, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland provisionally agreed to build a new nuclear plant at Lithuania’s existing Ignalina site, initially with 3,200 MWe.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Pesticides Action Network (PAN) pressure group has claimed independent tests have revealed wines sold in the European Union (EU) may contain residues of 10 potentially harmful pesticides. It examined 40 EU-purchased bottles from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Australia and Chile – 34 conventional and six organic: the conventional wines contained 148 pesticide residues in total, having one to 10 pesticides each – an average-per-bottle exceeding four.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

MORE than a fifth of European teenagers are overweight or obese, failing to eat sufficient fruit and vegetables, the European Union (EU) HELENA project has warned.

HELENA (healthy lifestyle in Europe by nutrition in adolescence) researchers assessed 3,000 13-17-year-olds in Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

GREECE has signed an agreement with Russia over routing the Moscow-Italy coordinated South Stream pipeline project through its territory, with outgoing Russian president Vladimir Putin denying it posed a threat to the rival Nabucco project. Putin told a Kremlin press conference with Greece prime minister Kostas Karamanlis that South Stream would be the "most optimal and competitive" pipeline system serving Europe, and would "help energy security".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

MORE than a fifth of European teenagers are overweight or obese, failing to eat sufficient fruit and vegetables, while exercising too little the European Union (EU) HELENA project has warned.

British youths were among the 3,000 13-17-year-olds studied by HELENA (healthy lifestyle in Europe by nutrition in adolescence) researchers, along with adolescents in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE AUSTRIAN government is under pressure to carry out a November 2007 order from the European Court of Justice that it allow foreign European Union organisations to inspect its organic food production industry. The European Commission is probing Vienna’s response, amidst concerns it has done nothing.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE AUSTRIAN government is under pressure to carry out a November 2007 order from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that it allow foreign European Union (EU) organisations to inspect its organic food production industry. The European Commission is probing Vienna’s response, amidst concerns it has done nothing.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

OF all the European Union’s (EU) flagship energy projects, maybe none is more central to the goal of ensuring security of supply and none more fraught with political and technical complexity than the proposed Nabucco pipeline designed to bring natural gas from the Caspian region, the Middle East and Egypt into Austria and then on to consumers in western Europe.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE SLOVENIAN government has tabled compromise proposals to break the current political logjam at the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers over gas supply unbundling. As current EU president, Slovenia has suggested for instance that some joint ownership of energy producing and transmission utilities could occur if there were "additional safeguards" preventing conflicts of interest, and guaranteeing the "structural independence of decision making" by distribution operators.…

BY MARK ROWE

WHEN the European Union’s (EU) energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, visited Turkmenistan last autumn it served notice that this central Asian ex-Soviet republic had come in from the cold. Once a pariah on the international stage, because of the activity of its crazed former president Sapamurat Niyazov (NOTE – SPELLING IS CORRECT), Turkmenistan has become something more than a bit player in the international energy sector.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has backed European Commission proposals to increase the current European Union (EU) minimum excise tax rate on diesel to match that for unleaded petrol. However, MEPs have proposed phasing the increase from diesel’s current Euro 302/1,000 litres rate to unleaded petrol’s Euro 359/1,000 by 2015, with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania having until 2016, but Spain, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Greece acting immediately.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has backed proposals to increase the current EU minimum excise tax rate on diesel to match that for unleaded petrol. However, MEPs want to phase the increase from Euro 302/1,000 litres to Euro 359 by 2015, with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania having until 2016 – Spain, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Greece acting immediately.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament’s economics committee has called for the European Union’s (EU) minimum rate of excise duty on diesel to be raised to that for unleaded petrol: from the current Euro 302/1,000 litres to Euro 359/1,000 litres by 2015, with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania having until 2016.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels

THE DEVELOPMENT of university autonomy in Europe is a prerequisite for getting more funds from private and public sources concluded a European University Association (EUA) two-day conference in Brussels last week. Whilst technical finance issues were dominant in the discussions by 120 education experts from 30 different countries, autonomy was a recurring issue at the conference.…

BY MARK ROWE

THE ANNOUNCEMENT by the UK government that it intends to build a new generation of nuclear power plants stands out, not just because of the scale of the proposals, but because it is the first such comprehensive initiative in Europe for some years.…

BY CHRIS JONES, in Brussels

VIVIANE Reding is clearly a woman who is proud of her achievements. The walls of her plush, 12th-floor office in the European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels are festooned with certificates and awards, including at least two honorary doctorates and several accolades reflecting the European Union (EU) media commissioner’s lengthy career in European politics.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels

THE FÉDÉRATION Internationale de l’Automobile has warned road accident fatalities in 2007 rose in some European countries compared with 2006. These included the Czech Republic (up 17 %), Denmark (+33 %), Finland (+13 %), Slovenia (+12 %) and Sweden (+6%).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has taken another step to prevent the levying of VAT on car registration taxes charged within a package price by automobile dealers, telling Austria, Finland and Malta to stop this double taxation. It has threatened legal action if it is not obeyed.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels

THE HUGE diversity of higher education institutional funding systems across the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) was cited as one of the main difficulties facing universities, heard the recent European University Association conference on the sector’s finances.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has been approving a series of operational programmes for many European Union (EU) member states’ fishing (and aquaculture) sectors, outlining how it will target money from the European Fisheries Fund (EFF).

One of the largest recipients of this Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) subsidy scheme is France, which is to receive Euro 216 million from 2007-13, less than it received under the 2000-2006 Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), which supplied Euro 278 million.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

HEAVIER vehicles such as SUVs and luxury models will be able to breach a proposed European Union (EU) carbon dioxide cap, under formally proposed legislation now tabled by the European Commission. Pressure from German manufacturers forced Brussels into abandoning an absolute cap for all new models of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Tripoli and Beirut

THE OPENING up of Libya’s economy could not have come at a better time for international oil companies, which have been beset in recent years by dwindling easily accessible oil reserves, tighter controls over exploration rights and extraction, and heightened security concerns.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, in New Delhi

THE SUCCESSFUL completion of Indo-US Nuclear Deal continues to be in the realm of speculation as the stubborn communist allies of the ruling coalition government in New Delhi and the hostile rightwing opposition in the parliament have further hardened their stand.…

BY CHRIS JONES, in Paris

A FEW hours of training and a handful of simple-to-follow driving rules can help significantly reduce CO2 emissions by buses, lorries and other public sector vehicles, and help local authorities do their bit – and be seen doing it – to tackle global warming.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has given the go-ahead to legislation which will end design protection for most spare parts and other machinery components across the 27-country European Union (EU).

MEPs voted for the changes to the EU’s legal protection of designs directive, which will come into force in 2013, assuming it is backed by the EU Council of Ministers – which shares veto rights over EU legislation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SHIFT in opinion on the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers looks likely to end the de facto right of EU member states to block the entry of GM foods and ingredients into their national territories. Governments such as Greece and Austria have exercised bans, even for foods and ingredients with EU-wide marketing approvals.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SHIFT in opinion on the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers has ended the de facto right of EU member states to block the entry of GM foods and ingredients into their national territories. Governments such as Greece and Austria have exercised bans, even for foods and ingredients with EU-wide marketing approvals.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Vienna

AUSTRIA boasts a relatively low commercial crime rate. However its position as one of Europe’s crossroads is threatening this good reputation. Today it’s geographically and politically wedged between some older and some more recent European Union (EU) member countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament’s environment committee wants European Union (EU) rules to insist that biofuel production is environmentally sustainable, even an increase in this growing fuel sector reduces CO2 emissions. The call was made in amendments tabled to European Commission proposed reforms to the EU fuel quality directive to reduce CO2 production.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE LEVEL of incineration and recycling of municipal waste within Britain is as low as former communist countries in eastern Europe, a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report has concluded. In an assessment the 27 European Union (EU) member states, the EEA bracketed Britain with Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.…

BY MARK ROWE

CADBURY Schweppes has welcomed the increase by its subsidiary Vantas International in Romanian chocolate confectionery producer Kandia-Excelent just weeks after a buy-out bid for the company expired. Vantas International, a fund controlled by Cadbury Schweppes, increased it stake in the burgeoning chocolate producer to 95.73% from 93.32%.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

SPANISH wine makers will receive the most money – Euro 162 million – for improving their vineyards, in the latest tranche of European Union (EU) grants earmarked for this purpose.

The European Commission will spend Euro 510 million across the EU on viticulture reform in 2007/8, with money allotted for variety conversion, relocation of vineyards and improvements to vineyard management techniques.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A PROPOSED liberalisation of European Union (EU) design rights legislation, allowing car parts makers to copy and sell spares already made by vehicle manufacturers across the EU has been accepted by the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee. It said: "The directive will allow suppliers to produce motor vehicle components which are identical to the original parts without infringing design protection."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE LEVEL of incineration and recycling of municipal waste within Britain is as low as former communist countries in eastern Europe, a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report has concluded. In an assessment of the contrasting waste management practices in the 27 European Union (EU) member states, the EEA bracketed Britain with Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ENVIRONMENTAL health officers may think there are a lot of smokers in the UK – in 2005, 24% of adults aged 16 or over in Britain smoked cigarettes, but spare a thought for officials in Greece – home of Europe’s keenest smokers.…

BY MONICA DOBIE

DOGS have shown for the first time that they can form abstract concepts by classifying complex colour photographs and placing them into categories the same way humans do, according to a study from the University of Vienna in Austria.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A PROPOSED liberalisation of European Union (EU) design rights legislation, allowing lorry parts makers to copy and sell spares already made by vehicle manufacturers across the EU has been accepted by the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee. A committee communiqué said: "The directive will allow suppliers to produce motor vehicle components which are identical to the original parts without infringing design protection."…

BY CHRIS JONES, in Paris

AUTO manufacturers in Europe are calling for greater support from national governments and European Union (EU) institutions in promoting eco-driving – where good motoring styles are adopted which reduce the greenhouse gas and other polluting emissions from vehicles.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE PORTUGUESE presidency of the European Union (EU) has called for compromise proposals on the European Commission’s energy unbundling plans, under discussion at a Council of Ministers meeting on Monday (Dec 3). A paper released by Lisbon clarified the split between member states: supporting the proposal are Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Romania and Sweden; opposing are France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovakia.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s decision to appoint ‘project co-ordinators’ to try to spark movement in four long-stalled cross-border energy projects in the European Union (EU) has drawn widespread cynicism from many in the industry. However, here and there, there is an admission that these high-level trouble-shooters might just get results where so many others have failed.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

European Commission officials are deciding whether to launch legal action against 22 member states of the European Union (EU) who have failed to implement key legislation allowing researchers to move between EU universities. Because non-EU researchers have faced burdensome immigration procedures when undertaking research projects involving working at different European universities, the EU approved a ‘researchers’ visa’ directive in 2005, ordering member states to introduce a fast-track immigration system.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SHIFT in the balance of power on the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers looks likely to end the de facto right of EU member states to block the entry of GM foods and ingredients into their national territories.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is refusing to abandon its fight to push Austria into allowing the sale in its territory of genetically modified maize Zea mays L. line T25 – that had previously been awarded pan-EU marketing rights. European Union ministers rejected earlier Commission demands for Austria to allow sales, but Brussels has now retabled its liberalisation proposals.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SHIFT in the balance of power on the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers looks likely to end the de facto right of EU member states to block the entry of GM foods and ingredients into their national territories.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE BRITISH road transport sector has to play catch up with many of its European Union (EU) competitors regarding the introduction of sulphur-free fuels, a report from the European Commission has shown. It shows that as long ago as 2005, member states such as Germany, Italy and Ireland were already selling this environmentally-friendly petrol and diesel, while Britain was still selling low sulphur fuel, of between 10 and 50 parts per million sulphur content.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

TACOGRAPH spotchecks by British highways officials and police have revealed continental van and lorry drivers are far more likely to break European Union (EU) working time rules on UK roads than Britons. Looking at newest available EU-wide comparative data 27,418 of offenders detected in 2004-4 on British highways were UK citizens, while 11,565 were from the much smaller pool of drivers from other EU member states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

TACOGRAPH spotchecks by British highways officials and police have revealed that continental lorry drivers are far more likely to break European Union (EU) working time rules on UK roads than Britons. Looking at newest available EU-wide comparative data 27,418 of offenders detected in 2003-4 on British highways were UK citizens, while 11,565 were from the much smaller pool of drivers from other EU member states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

Brussels

A TEAM of European and Asian researchers has linked more than 40,000 computers across 45 countries to speed studies into developing an anti-viral drug that can defeat bird flu. Funded by the European Union’s (EU) Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) project, the computing grid is analysing the potential of more than 500,000 drug-like molecules.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE BRITISH road transport sector has to play catch up with many of its European Union (EU) competitors regarding the introduction of sulphur-free fuels, a report from the European Commission has shown. Although the UK Petroleum Industry Association has indicated it expects Britain to switch to sulphur-free fuels by a 2009 deadline imposed by the European Union (EU), in June the government admitted the issue was complicated because "the UK fuel distribution network can only accommodate a single grade of diesel", preventing small introductory sales of sulphur-free diesel.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ITALIAN government has been told to secure a levy of Euro 176 million from its dairy producers after allowing them to flood the European Union (EU) market with 617,000 tonnes of excess milk in 2006/7. The penalty was ordered by the European Commission under a system of national milk production quotas, to be scrapped by 2015.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission was poised when the Petroleum Review went to press to unveil a long awaited package of energy proposals, although Brussels was expected to shy away from tabling wholesale unbundling of gas producers and distributors.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE MONEY Laundering Bulletin has found effects of the European Union’s (EU) second money laundering directive’s (2MLD) extension of EU anti-money laundering regulations to a range of businesses and professions are complicated by differences in the definition of the professions between the 27 member states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has signalled it is prepared to allow national governments funnel large sums of money direct to haulage companies to finance combined transport equipment and systems. Brussels has approved as legal under European Union (EU) state aid rules an Austrian government programme, making Euro 35 million available to transport companies until 2011.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

FEW issues have proved as globally divisive as the ability to modify crops genetically. For years, a line has been drawn between the cautious European Union (EU) and the go-for-it United States, which has seen them at loggerheads over trading genetically modified crops.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states and the European Commission are squaring up ahead of a political battle this autumn over anticipated energy liberalisation proposals. A letter from France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovakia has been written to the Commission stating their firm opposition to comprehensive energy unbundling in anticipated proposed European Union (EU) legislation.…

BY MONICA DOBIE

THE EUROPEAN Commission is giving food companies from 10 European Union (EU) member states Euro 38.8 million over three years to promote food product sales within the EU, with a large share going toward organic lines. France’s organic products agency Agence Bio and other French organic players, will receive Euro 3.6 million in EU funding, while Austria’s organic food producers, AMA Marketing GesmbH, will receive Euro 1.5million.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers and judges set important precedents affecting the financial arrangements of utilities last week. The European Union (EU) Council of Ministers gave special permission for waiving VAT for commercial supplies to build a power station spanning the border of Austria and Switzerland, which is not an EU member state.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

LEGAL action is being prepared by the European Commission against another three European Union (EU) countries over their minimum price systems for cigarettes. Brussels opposes these as an illegal restriction of trade, and recently forced Belgium into abandoning its minimum price system.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut
WITH demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) surging across the globe, the Persian Gulf is at the epicentre of LNG developments due to its vast gas resources. But the rapid expansion of the sector is not without complications.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

WITH demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) surging across the globe, the Persian Gulf is at the epicentre of LNG developments due to its vast gas resources. But the rapid expansion of the sector is not without complications.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has unveiled further data underlining the risk to human health posed by widespread contamination of broiler chicken flocks across Europe with the pathogen salmonella. In its latest figures, which back earlier alarming data about salmonella contamination within egg production systems, EFSA said that in 2005-6, almost a quarter – 23.7% – of EU broiler (meat) flocks were contaminated with salmonella.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is being pushed by 13 of its 27 member states for postponement of a rule that says for beef cattle to be labelled organic, they must not be tethered. Under the existing regulation EEC/2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products, organic labelled beef must be from untethered cattle from 2010.…

BY MARK ROWE
EASTERN Europe, thanks mainly to the preponderance of Soviet-era facilities and Soviet-era standards of maintenance, has long been seen as a potential weak link for the nuclear power industry in safety terms. A vast group of international experts devotes time and resources to maintaining the industry’s record and the nuclear power industry has various arrangements for cooperation among utilities and internationally, among government and United Nations nuclear agencies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
INTERNATIONAL policing organisations are toughening their fight against Euro banknote counterfeiting, as seizures fall within the European Union (EU), but worries persist about counterfeiting outside the EU. The first International Conference on the Protection of the Euro against Counterfeiting takes place in The Hague, the Netherlands, May 15-16.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is catching up with the United States in innovation, a European Commission-financed statistical report has claimed, although the US still has many significant advantages. This year’s European Innovation Scoreboard (2006) concludes: “The innovation gap between the EU [minus new members Bulgaria and Romania] and Japan, and in particular with the US is decreasing.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is pumping Euro 11 million into a war-damaged paper factory in in Maglaj, Bosnia & Herzegovina, to modernise its plant and increase production, notably of cardboard and paper for making large sacks.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN EXEMPTION from European Union (EU) power liberalisation rules to be enjoyed by Estonia until 2013 has been cut back to 2008 by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which ruled the special measure had been approved illegally.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union will not appeal against the World Trade Organisation disputes hearing ruling that backed an American complaint that Brussels has illegally blocked imports of genetically modified food during its moratorium on market approvals to 2003, and some continuing national bans by member states: in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

LEGAL experts are carefully studying the decision on Monday (18-12) of the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers that Austria should continue its national bans on two generically modified maize varieties. The European Commission, which wanted the bans abolished, is considering its options, because the maize – Zea Mays L.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has approved in principle a proposed European Union (EU) regulation which would allow police and other law enforcement officials within the EU’s Schengen open border area to inspect registration documentation held in all countries of this zone.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PARIS (ICIS news)–The European Commission is now assessing whether the Austrian government is successfully forcing four provinces (Länder) into complying the European Union (EU) 1996 directive 96/82/EC on preventing major accidents caused by dangerous substances. This legislation – which focuses on controlling potentially explosive chemical substances – should be implemented nationwide.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BELGIUM and an alliance of six other European Union (EU) member states are pushing for the EU’s food control committees to develop monitoring systems to prevent unauthorised GM food imports into Europe. Its move at the EU Council of Ministers follows the illicit import of unapproved GM American rice.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRITISH fishermen have been allocated one of the smaller national envelopes of money from the incoming European Fisheries Fund (EFF), whose money has now been split amongst European Union (EU) member states by the European Commission. Out of the Euro 3.8 billion available from 2007 to 2013, only Euro 122 million has been allocated to the UK.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is moving towards supporting environment-friendly road transport, rather than dedicating resources to promoting public transport, a European Parliament debate organised by the Automobile and Society Forum, has heard. The European Commission is currently reviewing its 2001 transport white paper and its working papers have noted "disappointment" over the results of the EU’s pro-public transport policies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

LONG-STANDING European Union (EU) member states with higher EU-mandated levels of excise duty on cigarettes than neighbouring new member states temporarily exempted from such minimum rates, may restrict personal tobacco imports from such countries. This ruling has come from the European Court of Justice in a case involving Austria and Slovenia.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced it will spend Euro 450 million on upgrading European Union (EU) vineyard production during 2006-7, helping EU wine producers fend off New World competitors. The money will go on varietal conversion, relocating vineyards and improving vineyard management, although not routine replanting.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN business leaders, led by high end footwear manufacturers, are calling on European Union (EU) member states to resist Mediterranean country pressure to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on shoes from Vietnam and China. In a joint letter to governments, EU shoe manufacturers, retailers and distributors are pushing for the rejection of a compromise proposal from current EU president Austria, which would impose duties for 12 months, with an option to renew over five years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AUSTRIA’S water utilities will benefit from the European Commission agreeing to pay Euro 17.7 million from its Solidarity Fund for disasters to reimburse emergency costs from last August’s violent floods. These ripped through the Alpine regions of Voralberg and Tyrol, forcing local government and utility staff to quickly repair damaged river flood protections.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EXPORTERS of meat and bone meal waste shipping cargoes from the European Union (EU) to non-EU power incinerators do not have to make special declarations to environmental authorities, a European Court of Justice advocate general has recommended.

Juliane Kokott has said this is the case even if the animal waste was contaminated by BSE: "…contamination by risk material, if… incinerated, does not lead to any apparent increased risk to the environment."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EXPORTERS of meat and bone meal waste shipping cargoes from the European Union (EU) to non-EU power incinerators do not have to make special declarations to environmental authorities, a European Court of Justice advocate general has recommended.

Juliane Kokott has said this is the case even if the animal waste was contaminated by BSE: "…contamination by risk material, if… incinerated, does not lead to any apparent increased risk to the environment."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ANGULAR amber-coloured glass nuggets ‘Kristallgranulat DEKO’ have been removed from sale in Austria, for posing a choking hazard to children, European Union consumer alert service RAPEX has warned.

ENDS…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking legal action against five member states for failing to comply with a range of accounting-related European Union (EU) laws. Acting in its official role as guardian of EU treaties and legislation, these include:

*Taking Austria to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to implement a 2000 directive on financial transparency regarding transactions between member states and other public bodies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

GERMANY’S Ruhr valley has long been a symbol of high polluting coal-based industry, so it is apt that a planned 750 MW power station, using the latest clean-coal technology should be sited here. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced plans to lend operators STEAG Aktiengesellschaft, Germany, and ENV AG, Austria, Euro 420 million: half the development costs of a power station in Duisburg-Walsum.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank has announced plans to lend operators power plant STEAG Aktiengesellschaft, Germany, and ENV AG, Austria, Euro 420 million, to help build a 750 MW coal power station, using the latest emissions control technology. The plant would be at the Ruhr Valley’s Duisburg-Walsum, a region with a long coal mining tradition.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank has announced plans to lend operators power plant STEAG Aktiengesellschaft, Germany, and ENV AG, Austria, Euro 420 million, to help build a 750 MW coal power station, using the latest emissions control technology. The plant would be at the Ruhr Valley’s Duisburg-Walsum, a region with a long coal mining tradition.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is to expand its existing partnership agreement with Greenland beyond fish, to include the exploitation of the Danish autonomous territory’s wealthy mineral reserves. Greenland has proven deposits of gold, diamonds, rubies, molybdenum, nickel and other resources and furthermore, its deep ice cap is thinning through global warming, posing opportunities and dangers for prospectors.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is to expand its existing partnership agreement with Greenland beyond fish, to include the exploitation of the Danish autonomous territory’s wealthy mineral reserves. Greenland has proven deposits of gold, diamonds, rubies, molybdenum, nickel and other resources and furthermore, its deep ice cap is thinning through global warming, posing opportunities and dangers for prospectors.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is to expand its existing partnership agreement with Greenland beyond fish, to include the exploitation of the Danish autonomous territory’s wealthy non-ferrous metal reserves. Greenland has proven deposits of gold, molybdenum, nickel and other resources and furthermore, its deep ice cap is thinning through global warming, posing opportunities and dangers for prospectors.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRITAIN is expected to help lead an increase in gross production of cattle in the European Union (EU), reversing a decline in slaughtered stock and live exports that has continued since 2003, says European Union (EU) statistical agency Eurostat.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE LIVESTOCK and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland is to benefit from the latest batch of European Commission grants for promoting meat and other foodstuff sales within the European Union (EU). Brussels will subsidise a Northern Irish meat marketing and information campaign with Euro 207,365 over one year, with matching money being demanded from the UK government and local meat producers, the usual condition of such grants.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has declared legal special funding systems in Austria for renewable energy and combined heat and power for public district heating, after the Austrian government changed the operation of these subsidies. The system for renewables had drawn particular criticism from the Commission, because it involved consumers paying a fixed price for green energy consumed in Austria.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

GERMANY’S Ruhr valley has long been a symbol of industrial decline and high polluting coal-based industry, so it is apt that a planned 750 MW power station, using the latest clean-coal technology should be sited here. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced plans to lend operators STEAG Aktiengesellschaft, Germany, and ENV AG, Austria, Euro 420 million: half the development costs of a power station in Duisburg-Walsum.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has declared legal special funding systems in Austria for combined heat and power for public district heating and renewable energy, after the Austrian government partly changed the operation of these subsidies. The system for renewables had drawn particular criticism from the Commission, because it involved consumers paying a fixed price for green energy consumed in Austria.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched legal action against five member states of the European Union (EU) to stop them imposing restrictions on imports of second-hand autos from other EU countries. The Commission thinks these trade barriers are so serious, they break these countries’ constitutional obligations under the Treaty of European Union to allow goods and services to be provided freely and easily across EU national borders.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

GERMANY and Austria have now followed France in being censured by the European Court of Justice for failing to implement a directive – EC/2001/19 – removing bureaucratic obstacles preventing foreign European Union (EU) nurses working in their countries.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU), Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria have pledged support for the Nabucco pipeline carrying gas from Azerbaijan, bypassing Russia, increasingly viewed as an unreliable energy partner.

EU energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, and the five countries linked by the pipeline (also including EU member states Hungary and Austria) have signed a joint statement promising to "successfully complete" the project.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ISSUE of whether public money should fund stem cell research is set to become a controversial topic again, with funding restrictions being tabled by MEPs for the European Union’s (EU) oncoming seventh framework programme (FP7). These include banning "research activities intended to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research or for the purpose of stem cell procurement".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN UNPRECEDENTED joint paper from the European Commission and European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana calls for the EU to diversify its energy sources beyond Russia. In particular, the paper suggests the EU looks closer to home: at Algeria and Turkey.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched legal action against five member states of the European Union (EU) to stop them imposing special technical tests and extra administration on imports of second-hand autos from other EU countries. The Commission thinks these trade barriers break constitutional obligations to trade goods across EU national borders.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

OPPOSITION is being voiced within the European Union (EU) to the growing trend of banning smoking in bars and pubs, says an opinion poll by EU pollsters Eurobarometer. While across the EU, 61% of citizens polled support these bans, there were majorities against them in significant countries.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

PLANS to lend Euro 400 million to help prepare for a new passenger terminal at Vienna International Airport, Austria, have been unveiled by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The bank wants to help operator Flughafen Wien AG (VIE) design, construct and commission a new passenger terminal and associated airside/landside infrastructure, assessing the project’s environmental impact.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE COMMERICAL introduction of the first synthetic fuels scheduled for later this year in Europe will signify the appearance of a possible new solution to growing concerns over the security, diversity and environmental acceptability of energy supply for local authorities and other major road transport users.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

WIND power is Europe’s big growth area for electricity generation, according to the latest comparative figures from European Union (EU) statistical agency Eurostat, with capacity growing by 154% between 2000 and 2004. Its report noted wind power "is responsible for more than half of the new generating capacity" in these years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA has sent another threat to Europe over gas supplies, undermining its reputation as a potential reliable energy partner for its western neighbours. Semyon Vainshtok, the president of Russia pipeline monopoly Transneft has told the daily newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Russia has "overfed Europe with crude".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA has sent another threat to Europe over gas supplies, undermining its reputation as a potential reliable energy partner for its western neighbours. Semyon Vainshtok, the president of Russia pipeline monopoly Transneft has told the daily newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Russia has "overfed Europe with crude".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has syndicated in Roubles much of its 7.2 billion Rouble (US$250 million) loan to Moscow power utility Mosenergo, money that will cover half the cost of refurbishing 17 combined heat and power stations.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

INTRODUCTION

WITH the approval in May of two key regulations covering respectively nutrition and health claims and the addition of vitamins and minerals to foods the EU has taken an important step forward in setting the legal framework for the food industry in Europe.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has underlined its determination to forge a European Union (EU) energy policy with substance by a slew of legal actions against member states over renewables, liberalisation and biofuels. Brussels has started proceedings against Britain, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic for failing to report progress under the 2001 directive promoting renewable energy sources.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

INTRODUCTION

WE’RE barely a third of the way through 2006 but it’s already clear that the year is going to be a hugely important one for European Union (EU) legislation affecting both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks industries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) political leaders have agreed medium-term (2007-13) budgets for crucial spending projects for the energy sector: Trans European Networks (TENs) and the EU seventh framework programme (FP7) for research. On TENs, the European Parliament, Commission, and EU Council of Ministers have agreed a Euro 7.2 billion budget, Euro 500 million above previous drafts, although this will have to be split with TENs transport projects.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRITAIN is one of only seven European countries that are fully complying with key guidelines on institutional oversight of financial information issued by the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR). Its standard No.1 advises on how the harmonisation of institutional oversight systems in Europe maybe achieved, especially regarding enforcement of good practice.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE LIFTING of a planned lorry ban on the important Alpine A12 motorway on the Tyrol, has led to the European Commission abandoning legal action against the Austrian government. Brussels had successfully argued at the European Court of Justice that the ban was a disproportionate response to the need to protect the Alps’ fragile environment.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CHEFS know that to get the best out of a steak – it needs to be whacked with a hammer to tenderise it, making it more likely to soak up marinades and more delicate to the palate. Detectives know that softening up suspects with a good-cop, bad-cop routine will make them more pliant to questioning The same applies to treating cancer tumours: if you knock them around a bit first, they are less able to resist drugs designed – ultimately – to wipe them out.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

A GROUNDBREAKING business plan of chemical leasing, designed to stop manufacturers over-purchasing potentially dangerous substances, is being promoted in developing and emerging market countries by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). It is working with the Austrian government to introduce the system, which leaves suppliers owning their chemicals, leasing them as a service, rather than selling them as goods.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A GROUNDBREAKING business plan of chemical leasing, designed to stop manufacturers over-purchasing potentially dangerous substances, is being promoted in developing and emerging market countries by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). It is working with the Austrian government to introduce the system, which leaves suppliers owning their chemicals, leasing them as a service, rather than selling them as goods.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DEBATES are continuing in European Union (EU) institutions over whether general vaccination is a safe response to Europe’s growing bird flu problem. With Germany, France, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Greece, Switzerland, Slovenia, Italy all reporting new cases, the EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health has approved the first vaccination campaigns.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE CURRENT EU president Austria is pushing for tighter EU controls on approving GM food products. Because of a deadlock amongst member states, the European Commission has been authorising GM market approvals, upsetting countries such as Austria, which oppose such permissions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commissions rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF) has warned of sales in the Czech Republic of Spanish fruit flavour confectionary containing excess colouring E124 and in Austria of foods containing unauthorised Indian ingredient betel nuts.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

FACT BOX

Population: approx. 35,000

Number of students at the university: about 840

Percentage of its students who are Liechtensteiners: about 85%

Percentage of Liechtensteiners who attend university: about 30%

INTERVIEW

IT says something about the University of Liechtenstein that most of its masters programmes are taught in English even though the inhabitants of this tiny Alpine principality speak German and the country itself is sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria.…

BY ALAN OSBORN, in London

EUROPEAN and US regulatory bodies have agreed to co-operate to develop common testing and engineering standards for mobile air conditioning systems such as those used in automobiles. Because some of the gases used in these systems, such as HFC 134a, are far more lethal to the environment than carbon dioxide, the European Union (EU) has agreed to start phasing them out in 2011 and stop using them in new autos from 2017.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) competition commissioner has indicated she could push for regulatory reform to improve competition in EU energy markets, in parallel with legal enforcement action using existing rules. Neelie Kroes highlighted "bundling of generation, supply, pipelines, grids, and distribution (as) at the heart of the current EU energy market failure."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE CURRENT European Union (EU) president Austria is staging a debate at Thursday’s (9-3) EU Council of Ministers to try and tighten EU controls on approving GM food products. Because of a deadlock amongst member states, the European Commission has been authorising GM market approvals, upsetting countries such as Austria, which oppose such permissions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

NATIONAL court judgments conflicting with European Union (EU) law should not be overturned when not subject to appeal, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. In a case referred by the Austrian courts, it said the need to respect EU legislation could be overridden by the requirements of judicial efficiency.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DEBATES are continuing within EU institutions over whether vaccination is a safe response to bird flu. The EU’s standing committee on the food chain and animal health has approved limited vaccination in France and the Netherlands. But this was resisted by Austria, Denmark, Germany and Portugal, who fear vaccination’s potential cost, damage to consumer confidence and resulting overseas import bans.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

A new EU energy policy involving investment of some 1,000 billion euros in infrastructure and technologies is expected to be approved in broad outline by the EU heads of government at their summit in Brussels later this month though a major dispute over the cross-border take-over of key companies is still unsettled.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DETAILED documentation requirements required for the international trade in genetically modified foodstuffs have been agreed by parties to the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety. The European Commission has hailed the documents as "clear, meaningful and practical for both exporters and importers of agricultural products".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

GERMANY, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Sweden, have pressed the European Commission to reduce European Union (EU) sugar production quotas by 10% for 2006/7, because of a pan-EU 2 million sugar surplus generated in 2005/6. Germany said current intervention stocks should continue to be stored to protect prices.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DEBATES are continuing in European Union (EU) institutions over whether vaccination is a safe response to Europe’s growing bird flu problem. With Germany, France, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy and other countries all reporting cases, the EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health approved the first vaccination campaigns.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WHEN European Union (EU) consumers think of food, more associate it with "taste" – 31%, than with "pleasure" – 29%, "hunger" – 27%, "health" – 19% and "necessity" – 15%. As usual with culturally diverse Europe, however, there were wide national variations.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

BRITISH nurses might be forgiven for thinking that the 25 eminent judges who make up the European Union’s (EU) top legal institution, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), have little in common with them, and they may well be right.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A PARALLEL electricity competition inquiry staged by the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) along with that held by the European Commission has concluded that Norway has some competition problems that could spark future legal action. The EFTA Surveillance Authority has similar competition powers to the Commission regarding the three European Economic Area (EEA) members of EFTA: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s competition directorate general has said it will launch legal action against restrictive business practices and abuses of dominant positions in European Union (EU) gas markets. In a long awaited report, it promised to act against long-term downstream contracts and restricted access to capacity on gas pipelines, storage and inter-connectors between member states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

NEW EFSA BOSS BUDGET ROW – LATEST ADVICE

THE FRENCHWOMAN appointed to take the vacant top executive director job at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will need all her political skills to solve a potential budget crisis facing the agency.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

TAXATION rules applying to the taxation of subsidiaries and parent companies based in different European Union (EU) member states must be the same as those that apply for subsidiaries and parents in the same country, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled in two cases.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE AUSTRIAN government has failed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to secure an abolition of the current ecopoints system that Vienna claims insufficiently controls the movement of lorries across its Alpine passes. Austria argued that this issuing of pollution-based permits to hauliers broke the European Union (EU) legal principle of ‘proportionality’, which requires that laws must be "both adequate and necessary for attaining the objective concerned".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) advocate general has said European Union (EU) victims whose property is damaged by a foreign EU nuclear power operator should launch legal actions in their domestic courts. Miguel Poiares Maduro has advised the ECJ to rule that the 1968 Brussels Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, effectively allows aggrieved property owners to choose between their home courts and those of a nuclear plant: "Both courts should….claim…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s food and drink consumer alert service has warned of further contaminations in Italy of various non-alcoholic drinks from potentially toxic packaging print ingredient isopropyl thioxanthone. Its ‘rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF)’ reported it leaching into a banana and strawberry soya drink, standard orange juice, and "red" orange juice made in Germany; plus orange juice, general ‘fruit’ juice and chocolate milk from Austria.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s new regulation to support organic food production – unveiled just before Christmas – isn’t quite the key to lift-off in this sector that some of us were hoping for. A cynic would say that’s because it doesn’t provide any fresh money though Brussels, farm people say that was never the plan anyway.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s food and drink consumer alert service has warned of a spate of contaminations in Italy of various non-alcoholic drinks from packaging print with the potentially toxic isopropyl thioxanthone. Its ‘rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF)’ has reported the leaching of the chemical into; a banana and strawberry soya drink, standard orange juice, and "red" orange juice that were made in Germany; plus orange juice, general ‘fruit’ juice and chocolate milk made in Austria.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

The Austrian presidency of the EU is calling for a negotiated solution to the Russia /Moldova natural gas dispute reflecting deepening concern in Brussels about Europe’s increasing dependence on potentially unreliable outside energy sources. Russia supplies a third of the EU’s gas imports (a fifth of all gas used in the EU) with Germany, Italy and France the main buyers, though a number of EU countries are critically dependent on supplies sent by the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom through the Ukrainian pipeline: 100% for Slovakia, for instance, 92% for Greece and between 60 and 75% for the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Austria.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MIRRORS are being posted around the Austrian Alps city of Rattenburg, which is losing population because a nearby steep hillside denies it winter sunlight. This high ground made Rattenburg a safe place in the Middle Ages, but it is now making Rattenberg unpopular, by blocking the sun.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has highlighted Britain, Germany, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, and the only European Union (EU) countries offering drug addiction programmes for young offenders. These countries, its 2005 annual report noted approvingly, have "selective prevention programmes for first-time offenders (largely cannabis users), offering psychological support, training and counselling."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that European Union (EU) member states may ban the sale of unwrapped chewing gum from automatic vending machines on health grounds, if they so choose.

ENDS…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that European Union (EU) member states may ban the sale of unwrapped chewing gum from automatic vending machines on health grounds, if they so choose.

ENDS…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared illegal a lorry ban on a key motorway in the Austrian Tyrol, linking Germany to Italy. Judges have declared that the regional law breaks European Union (EU) treaty rules on free movements of goods and so must be lifted.…

BY MARK ROWE
IN times of conflict, cultural property, such as archaeological sites, works of art, museums and monuments, can also suffer grievously at the hands of opposing military and guerrilla forces. In recognition of this, such objects are accorded protection by the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared illegal the imposition of regional bans within the EU on growing GM crops. It said a prohibition in the Austrian region of Upper Austria broke EU free trade rules.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FERROUS and non-ferrous metal companies paid together millions of dollars in kickbacks to the toppled Saddam Hussein regime, the Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN Iraq Oil for Food programme scandal has claimed. More than 150 suppliers of ferrous metal products ranging from carbon steel plates, steel coil, steel joists, galvanised steel cores, steel bars, steel pipes, fabricated steel and others are named in the report, as are around 50 suppliers of aluminium, copper and lead.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
ON July 31 this year the European Union’s (EU) Tobacco Advertising Directive came into effect, making it illegal to advertise tobacco products in the print media, radio and over the Internet within the EU. Also banned was tobacco sponsorship of cross-border cultural and sporting events.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THIS week’s launch of protracted negotiations leading to Turkey joining the European Union (EU) will stimulate further judicial reform in a country criticised for past human rights abuses. A ‘negotiating framework’ accepted by the Turks and all EU member states – including Austria, which was unhappy over accepting the accession talks – stressed Turkey must “bring its…judicial systems up to Union standards”.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control of seafood firm Nordsee, of Germany, by a consortium involving the UK subsidiary of Japanese investment bank Nomura, a private investor Mr Heiner Kamps, and TML-Invest, of Switzerland, (owned by German food company the Müller Group).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE
IN the Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian paint markets there is always an extra ingredient that must be thrown into the mix: politics. The political situation, internal or external, can have positive knock-on effects, such as Jordan’s booming construction market due to an influx of Iraqi refugees, or negatively, such as in Lebanon, where the sector is experiencing something of a slump due to political instability.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has called on European Union (EU) countries to further liberalise their professions, including legal specialists, although a Communication’ policy paper praises Britain for its reforms. The UK “is making good progress” across the board in fighting restrictive practices regarding profession entry, fees and advertising, along with Denmark and the Netherlands, said Brussels.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has called on European Union (EU) countries to further liberalise their professions, including accountancy, although a detailed report praises Britain for its reforms. The UK “is making good progress” across the board in fighting restrictive practices regarding profession entry, fees and advertising, along with Denmark and the Netherlands, said Brussels.…

KEITH NUTHALL
FINAL appeals by a group of district heating pipe companies to overturn massive fines levied by the European Commission for participating in a cartel have been rejected by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Dansk Rørindustri, and LR af 1998, of Denmark; Isoplus Fernwärmetechnik Vertriebsgesellschaft, Isoplus Fernwärmetechnik, Brugg Rohrsysteme, and LR af 1998 (Deutschland), of Germany; Isoplus Fernwärmetechnik Gesellschaft, and KE KELIT Kunststoffwerk, of Austria; and Switzerland’s ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd, were appealing against a 2002 ECJ Court of First Instance judgment.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
IN both the Austrian and Swiss paint industries the European Union’s (EU) chemicals policy, and in particular next year’s introduction of the regulatory framework known as REACH, hang like a grim cloud over the near to mid term future.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed the abolition of registration taxes that it says impede the transfer of vehicles to the 16 European Union (EU) member states that impose them. Britain is not among the countries concerned, but they include Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Austria and Poland.…

BY MARK ROWE
CAN insurers help reduce risk by funding initiatives for the emergency services? Companies are increasingly looking at how they can support emergency services and, thereby, lessen the impact of insurance claims. The thinking is by helping to improve the efficiency of emergency services, the impact of natural and manmade disasters, including terrorism, can be mitigated in terms of people making insurance claims.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INSURANCE industry is being asked to comment on European Commission plans to table a European Union (EU) ‘floods directive’ telling member states to limit the potential risks posed by floods and plan for dealing with any that arise.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EU Council of Ministers has blocked a European Commission bid to lift national bans imposed by Austria, France, Germany, Greece and Luxembourg on eight GM maize and oil seed rape corn products. This was despite their already being authorised by the Commission and the European Food Safety Authority.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
LEGAL action is being taken by the European Commission to force Sweden, Austria and the Czech Republic to implement European Union (EU) accounting rules regarding public spending. Brussels is particularly vexed with Sweden, sending it a formal complaint it has flouted a 2004 European Court of Justice (ECJ) order to properly implement directive 2000/52/EC on transparent relations between governments and other public bodies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PROACTIVE competition inquiry has been launched into the European Union’s (EU) natural gas sector, with the aim of rooting out anti-competitive practices. If the European Commission discovers instances of gas companies breaking existing EU competition law, legal action could follow.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening legal action against France, Poland and Austria for allegedly breaking European Union (EU) freedom of trade laws by impeding the import of cars into their territories. Brussels objects to Austria’s double-checking of European certificates of conformity, which are designed to ease cross-border car registration.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is spending Euro 1.1 million on creating a sophisticated high-technology monitoring network for the Alps, aimed at helping local emergency services manage, reduce and mitigate the risks posed by avalanches, landslides and floods. Such natural disasters have the potential to be immensely destructive in Alpine regions, foisting heavy bills upon insurers, but the Commission’s ASSIST project is designed to reduce such physical and financial damage.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels, and KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Commission official has told Accountancy Age that the ‘high level tax group’ set up to consider the implications of the Marks & Spencer tax case may be just “gesture politics”, given the difficulties of making reforms to the European Union’s (EU) court system.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PLANS to create European Union (EU)-wide driving licences have received a set back, with the EU Council of Ministers failing to approve the directive that would bring them into being. The German government, supported by France, Austria, Poland and Denmark successfully blocked agreement of the proposal, which will now be pushed by the UK government, which took over the EU presidency on July 1.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE LONGEST collectively agreed working hours in the European Union’s (EU) retail sectors are found in richer western European countries, as well as poorer new member states from eastern and southern Europe, a new study has shown. And Britain, usually attacked for having the longest working hours in western Europe, actually has below-average collectively bargained time at work in the retail sector, noted the European Industrial Relations Observatory, looking at 2004 figures.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) anti-fraud Commissioner Siim Kallas has called on other cigarette manufacturers to make smuggling crackdown agreements with the EU and its member states, mirroring that already struck with Philip Morris International. Speaking at the opening of a European Parliament exhibition on cigarette smuggling, Kallas said he hoped the agreement would “serve as a model for other manufacturers who are willing to commit the necessary resources to combat illegal trade of their products and to work with us to combat that trade”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked the EU Council of Ministers to outlaw five national bans on genetically modified products: Austria’s ban on genetically modified maize (MON 810) and GM maize (Bt 176), Germany and Luxembourg’s ban on Bt 176; and Greece’s block on sales of GM spring swede rape.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DELAYS in complying with the European Union’s (EU) year 2000 directive outlawing racial discrimination across Europe, including at the workplace, have earned the Austrian government a censure by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It said Austria had “failed to follow its legal obligations” under EU law by not implementing directive 2000/43/EC on ‘equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin’ by July 2003.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DIVISIONS over the EU sugar regime reforms have been clarified at a European Union (EU) Council of Ministers (agriculture) meeting. British, Danish, German, Swedish, Latvian and Maltese delegations wanted “rapid reform, to make the sector more competitive”, though concerns of ex-European colonies in the African Pacific Caribbean (ACP) bloc “should be taken into account”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission will stage a wide-ranging competition inquiry into the energy sector, with officials to “identify obstacles to competition – be it regulation, state aid, private barriers” then “propose solutions, working closely with national administrations, regulatory bodies and competition authorities”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has accused nine European Union (EU) governments of dragging their feet over promoting biofuels in their countries. It has sent critical formal notices to Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland and Slovenia accusing them of failing to submit national reports framing 2005 targets for biofuel consumption, as required under the Biofuels Directive.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has released a report detailing sales trends and environment improvements in European Union-consumed motor fuels. It shows, for instance, that the average sulphur content in petrol and diesel roughly halved between 2001 and 2003. In that year, 30.3% of diesel sold had less than 50 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur, with 24.9% less than 10ppm, (Germany and Sweden dominated consumption of this cleanest diesel, while regular diesel was most common in Austria, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PRESSURE on oil companies to continue cleansing their fuels of potential pollutants continues to be applied within the European Union (EU), with the European Commission preparing for the introduction of a new standard ‘Euro 5’ in 2010. It has advised EU member states to harmonise any tax concessions encouraging the use of diesel cars cleaner than the ‘Euro 4’ emissions standard, (which became compulsory on January 1).…

KEITH NUTHALL
AS the European Union (EU)’s greenhouse gas trading scheme beds in this year, its environment ministers can push ahead with fighting pollution, in the knowledge that the EU should hit its Kyoto Protocol emissions targets. According to the European Commission, current and planned policies should enable the expanded EU to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 8% from their 1990 levels during 2008-2012.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has highlighted Britain, Germany, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, and the only European Union (EU) countries offering drug addiction programmes for young offenders. These countries, its 2005 annual report noted approvingly, have "selective prevention programmes for first-time offenders (largely cannabis users), offering psychological support, training and counselling."…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is hailing the success of a European Union (EU)-funded research project that has created new technology helping small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) plants to run on biomass fuels. Applicable for the power range of 200 – 1,000 kWel, its key innovation is using a screw-type steam engine.…

KEITH NUTHALL
On the basis of existing policies and measures alone, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom should reach their individual targets. The Netherlands and Luxembourg will achieve their targets with the help of credits from the project-based mechanisms.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA has sent another threat to Europe over gas supplies, undermining its reputation as a potential reliable energy partner for its western neighbours. Semyon Vainshtok, the president of Russia pipeline monopoly Transneft has told the daily newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Russia has "overfed Europe with crude".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

NON-DIOXIN LIKE PCB CONTAMINATION WARNING – EFSA

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has called on the food industry to further minimise non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs) in food, because of health concerns about excess contamination. * http://www.efsa.eu.int/science/contam/contam_opinions/1229/contam_op_ej284_ndl-pcb_en1.pdf

ECJ SMOKED FLAVOURINGS CRISPS – BRITAIN APPEAL

A EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has rejected a British government attempt to strike down a EU regulation controlling smoke flavourings in foods.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WHILE discussions continue over how to ensure the security of energy supplies to the European Union (EU), Brussels institutions are sinking money into one sure bet, eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), for instance, is lending US$170 million to SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, to fund two Caspian gas projects.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON
THE WORLD is waking up to biofuels, increasingly produced from food crops and their waste by-products, and now one of the growing energy alternatives to conventional fossil fuels. As prices for traditional energy rise year on year, and energy watchers warn of oil production peaking around 2010, governments are looking towards food producers to grow the raw feedstock for the fuel of the twenty-first century.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that European Union (EU) member states may ban the sale of unwrapped chewing gum from automatic vending machines on health grounds, if they so choose.

ENDS…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission will take Austria, Finland, Italy, Germany and Luxembourg to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to implement a 2002 directive on aircraft noise. It mandates specific procedures regarding the introduction of noise restrictions at EU airports near urban areas.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will lend up to Euro 35 million to Croatian supermarket chain Getro, helping it add nine more stores to its current 15. Although this expansion will be in Croatia, the company will also use the money to explore moving into neighbouring Serbia & Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the acquisition by Germany’s Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG (MRW) of German company Fuchs. MRW produces and distributes steel tubes as well as steel and input stock for the production of tubes. Its parent company Salzgitter – also a German company – manufactures steel products, including large welded diameter tubes.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is making its largest ever loan to the leasing sector in Russia, lending US$150 million to Austria’s Raiffeisen-Leasing for on-lending to Russian businesses. The focus of the loan will be enabling construction, telecommunications and transport companies companies lease industrial equipment and vehicles.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is largely on track for a timely start to its emissions trading system on January 1, with the unconditional approval in late October of six more CO2 emission allocation plans, from Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Portugal.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DENMARK and Austria are being pressured by the European Commission to loosen their comprehensive bans on products containing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs), such as refrigerators or air-conditioning units. Brussels thinks this may be an overreaction and there “may be less restrictive means” to protect the ozone layer.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ECSTASY has become Britain’s number two illicit drug, overtaking amphetamines, warns a new European Union (EU) narcotics report alerting public health professional across Europe to increasing abuse of most recreational drugs. The best news highlighted by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is that heroin use and new HIV infections are falling in western Europe, although they are increasing in many eastern European countries, such as the Baltic States.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is hailing the success of a European Union (EU)-funded research project that has created new technology allowing small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) plants to run on biomass fuels. Applicable for the power range of 200 – 1,000 kWel, its key innovation is using a screw-type steam engine.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE OPPORTINITY for companies to buy efficient robots to tackle unpopular or dangerous jobs is increasing fast, with orders for industrial robots rising by 18% worldwide January-June this year, a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) report has said.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AFTER 30 years of discussions, a European Union (EU) Company Statute is now in place, allowing the creation of European holding companies, joint subsidiaries or merged operations, theoretically able to work seamlessly in at least two member states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
REPRESENTATIVES of 40 governments have heard how space technology can be used to boost drinking water quality worldwide. A conference organised by the Vienna-based United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs heard how satellites can aid groundwater monitoring, flood predictions, lake and river water movement assessments, and other key tasks.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is making its largest ever loan to the leasing sector in Russia, lending US$150 million to Austria’s Raiffeisen-Leasing for on-lending to Russian businesses. Transport leasing is one of four sectors prioritised in this loan package, designed to “encourage competition in the sector and spread leasing beyond Moscow and St Petersburg”, said an EBRD note.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DIESEL vehicle owners are undermining the efforts of manufacturers to reduce road transport pollution in Europe, a European Environment Agency (EEA) report has claimed, by tuning engines to boost their power. The EEA thinks up to 50% of new diesel vehicles are being modified and that such changes can increase emissions, especially of harmful particles, by as much as three times.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S performance in reducing heart disease deaths could be much improved compared with many of its European Union (EU) partners, a new World Health Organisation heart disease atlas, has shown.

Dividing a country’s annual deaths from heart disease with its population, saturated fats and beer loving Britain had a comparative factor of 2, based on 120,530 deaths in 2002 amongst a population of 59 million.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
POCA also contains “freestanding” reporting obligations. At present, offences arising from failure to disclose apply only to a limited number of lawyers in the “regulated sector” who give advice on financial services.

Implementation of the second directive will mean that lawyers conducting any of the activities listed in the directive will fall within its reach.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
IT might be one of the world’s smallest countries but you could hardly ask for a more emphatic turnaround from villain to hero in the fight against money laundering than Liechtenstein has managed over the last five years.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening to ask the European Court of Justice to levy daily recurring fines of Euro 1,000’s against eight European Union (EU) member countries failing to scrap bilateral ‘open skies’; deals with the USA. Despite being so ordered 18 months ago, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden have maintained their agreements while the Commission negotiates an EU-wide replacement.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) could expand restrictions on the sale of jelly mini-cups, the gelatinous confectionary blamed for causing dangerous choking in young people. This follows advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that any mini-cup made with a gel-forming additive “could cause choking and not just in children”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has undermined moves by Austria and Greece to block sales of GM maize and oilseed rape (respectively) which possess prior European Union (EU) market approval. EFSA concluded the countries have “no new scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human health and the environment”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AUSTRIA should allow women to work in its mines, an advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has concluded. Francis Jacobs said the court should order Austria to change its laws, as they break the European Union (EU) equal treatment directive.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AUSTRIA should allow women to work in its mines, an advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has concluded. If approved – as is expected – by the full court, the ruling would be a precedent EU-wide, although Britain has allowed women to work in its mines since 1989.…

KEITH NUTHALL
EMISSIONS trading plans for eight European Union (EU) countries – including Britain – have been approved by the European Commission, enabling 5,000 industrial plants to buy and sell pollution permits by January 2005. Brussels accepted national plans from Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden unconditionally and another three – from Austria, Britain and Germany – on condition that technical changes are made, which would make them automatically acceptable.…

Keith Nuthall
GOVERNMENTS in south-eastern Europe have agreed it is “fundamentally important to increase and intensify interregional cooperation in air transport.” Such work, which would cover airport operations and air traffic control will be written into a detailed memorandum of understanding, with a detailed and timetabled work programme.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WITHIN the newly expanded European Union (EU), Poland is the cheapest country in which to buy a car, although under current trends that honour may not last long. According to the latest European Commission figures, Polish car prices are on average 9% cheaper than those in Finland, the cheapest country using the single European currency.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GREEKS are Europe’s most dishonest tax payers a European Commission report has concluded, with more than 20% of work by value being undeclared. The paper shows Britain is much more honest, with only 2% of its GDP concealed from the taxman, second only to Austria (1.5%).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
NATIONAL work accident statistics are keenly examined by occupational health practitioners, but they do not enable the safety of British workplaces to be compared against other European countries; that is where Eurostat, the European Union’s (EU) statistical agency comes in.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AUSTRIA has been authorised by the European Commission to spend Euro 4.9 million per year on running a quality label and bio-label issued by Agrarmarkt Austria for high quality and organic foodstuffs.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AUSTRIA has breached European Union (EU) public procurement rules by failing to provide a comprehensive review procedure allowing unsuccessful tenderers to challenge contracts awards by dominant utilities and public authorities.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ordered Vienna to reform public procurement laws for its Salzburg, Styria, Lower Austria and Carinthia regions to comply with directives 89/665/EEC and 92/13/EEC, (which covers procurement in the water, energy, and telecommunications sectors).…

Keith Nuthall
THE GREEKS may be champions in European football, but they are bottom of the league for tax honesty, a European Commission report has concluded, with more than 20% of work by value being undeclared. The paper ‘Undeclared work in an enlarged Union’ shows that Britain is much more honest, with only 2% of its GDP being concealed from the tax authorities, second only to Austria (1.5%).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SWITZERLAND has struck a deal with the European Union (EU) over the controversial savings tax issue, agreeing to levy a flat tax on EU citizens holding accounts in the country. The decision means the Swiss have joined Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino in imposing withholding taxes rather than change their laws on banking secrecy.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IT is early days, but the European Union’s (EU) Solidarity Fund, subsidising the costs of large-scale disasters, shows every likelihood of being a permanent feature of the EU risk management scene. We’re not talking small beer here; the fund paid out Euro 104.7 million last year and Euro 728 million the year before that, easing the consequences of disasters such as floods, earthquakes and forest fires.…

Keith Nuthall
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank, is lending Indonesia’s high quality viscose staple fibre producer (VSF) PT South Pacific US$9.5 million to achieve self-sufficiency in electricity, modernise production and refinance medium-term debt. The company supplies 7-8% of world consumption, working with Austria’s Lenzing AG, its major shareholder and the world’s second largest VSF producer.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
RUSSIA’S Raiffeisen Leasing is likely to receive a US$60 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) boosting its leasing services to Russian and western-owned companies. Vehicle leasing is a key part of Raiffeisen Leasing’s business portfolio.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GREEKS may be European football champions, but they are bottom of the league for tax honesty, said a European Commission report, with more than 20% of work by value being undeclared. ‘Undeclared work in an enlarged Union’ shows Britain is much more honest, with only 2% of its GDP concealed from the tax authorities, second only to Austria (1.5%).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
LOCAL authorities in Camden and Nottingham have been held up as good practice examples in the promotion of environmentally sustainable transport by the European Union’s (EU) SMILE project, which concluded last week at a conference in La Rochelle, France (27-28 May).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio has visited Syria, pressing its government to reform its gas infrastructure and regulation so it can play a key role in creating a Middle East-to-Europe network. The European Commission sees Syria as a key link, notably in the so-called Arab pipeline, linking Egypt to Syria and the Lebanon through Jordan.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SLOVENIA should be allowed to continue allocating half of its cross-border electricity transmission capacity free of charge to certain industrial users until July 2007 via a derogation from the 2003 EU regulation on such exchanges, the European Commission has proposed.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PROTOTYPE of a three-dimensional monitoring system allowing airport managers to check all groundhandling movements on aircraft runways, taxiways, aprons and parking zones, is being developed by a European Union (EU) research consortium. Coordinated by French IT firm SILOGIC, it involves cameras creating digital images that identify individuals, objects and vehicles, whose movement can be interpreted by computers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EVERYONE knows commercial fraud costs business millions and millions of dollars and euros, but no one really knows how much. The United Nations is going to investigate, following a successful international seminar staged in Vienna. Keith Nuthall reports.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations has warned of an increase in road accidents in Austria and its eastern neighbours, following their accession to the European Union (EU). A UN report has noted Austria’s plans for a “huge new network” of roads to Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is bankrolling the development of Kazakhstan’s oil and gas reserves, a key alternative supply for the European Union (EU). It wants to lend Tasbulat Ltd Euro 60 million to help develop three medium-sized oil and gas fields in Mangistau region, western Kazakhstan, producing up to 8,000 barrels/day in 2006; Tasbulat is owned by SNP Petrom, Romania’s national oil company.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
COMPANY and private car drivers moving from one European Union (EU) Member State to another should not be required to pay fresh registration taxes when they change their country of residence, a European Court of Justice (ECJ) advocate general has recommended.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
SEEN in the context of the past decade, the entry of 10 new member states to the European Union (EU) which took place on May 1 has proved nothing like the disaster for the nuclear industry that was once feared.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE TRADES Union Congress (TUC) has called on the British government to spend more on the Heath and Safety Executive and local government workplace inspectors, following the release of a report from EU statistical agency Eurostat showing Britain suffering increasing rates of serious work accidents.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
NOBODY likes to be on a blacklist, especially one written by the American government. But every year, the US state department issues a comprehensive rogues gallery of countries involved in the narcotics trade and related criminal problems. One surprising entrant: the United States.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WHILST Britain’s record on serious accidents at work is declining, the factories, building sites and offices of some eastern European countries joining the European Union (EU) this weekend (May 1) are becoming safer, according to EU statistical agency Eurostat.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening legal action at the European Court of Justice against Austria for failing to abide by Euratom health and safety directives. Brussels claims Vienna has failed to properly implement the basic safety standards directive, protecting workers and the public against ionising radiation, setting dose limits and requirements for practices involving ionising radiation; and the directive on medical exposures.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
RELIABLE statistics are of course vital to any insurance company’s assessment of risk, and nationally produced figures in countries such as Britain and the USA can usually be counted upon in actuarial calculations. But what about comparing countries when managing international policy portfolios?…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW electronic European Union (EU) livestock tracing system is being introduced, holding data on the movement of animals across the EU. The TRACES system will cost Euro 2.2 million to rollout, being installed in Austria, Italy, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Finland this month and in other member states by December 31.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
GERMANY is at the centre of a lengthy critique of global restrictions on the telecommunications sector issued by the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which it warns may form the basis future World Trade Organisation disputes cases. Germany has been criticised regarding access to leased lines and high mobile termination rates, in particular, with the USTR attacking the German telecom regulator RegTP’s “lack of authority to impose certain measures (ie.,…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking Germany and Austria to the European Court of Justice, asking it to order the abolition of a system requiring licensed private organic food production inspection offices to be located on their national territories.…

Keith Nuthall
INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) policies towards borrower countries will henceforth be influenced by their capacity to implement Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations on fighting money laundering. IMF directors have agreed these assessments “do not contravene the prohibition of the Fund to exercise law enforcement powers”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN has been given a relatively clean bill of health in the latest Transparency International corruption rankings, being viewed as joint-11th least-corrupt country in the world, sharing its billing with Canada and Luxembourg. Finland was the most honest place in which to do business said the pressure group’s survey, followed by Iceland and the Denmark plus New Zealand at joint third.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE ASSOCIATION of British Insurers (ABI) is pressing the UK Government to maintain its raised level of spending on flood defences, as it works towards its next public spending round announcement in the summer. Following the spate of disastrous floods in 2000, Whitehall in 2002 increased its annual spending on the problem by Pounds 150 million.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BELGIUM is the European Union’s (EU) salmonellosis hotspot according the latest comparative figures collated by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency. In 2001, 104 cases were recorded in Belgium per 100,000 people, with other high figures being recorded in Germany (94 cases), Luxembourg (83) and Austria (81).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union-funded research consortium is developing an industrial system for producing biodegradable plastics from whey, separated from milk curd during cheese-making. Around 30 per cent of the 50 million tonnes of whey produced in Europe annually is currently discarded, and the Euro 1.6 million WHEYPOL project is creating process to synthesise polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) generated from whey into plastic.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and ALAN OSBORN
ACCESS rights to drive across ecologically-sensitive Alpine passes in Switzerland and Austria – plus to Bulgaria and Romania – are being granted to hauliers from the 10 eastern and southern European countries joining the European Union (EU) in May.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AMONGST all European Union (EU) countries, Finland has the highest number of nurses and midwives per head of population, – 2,181 per 100,000 inhabitants – according to the recently released and latest available comparative figures. EU statistical agency Eurostat said that these 1998-2000 figures showed Portugal as having the least nurses and midwives (379 per 100,000) and Greece the second worst performer (391).…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THEY’RE not to everybody’s taste, we quite agree, but there’s no doubt that flavoured cigars have a very devoted band of followers and can no longer be dismissed as a passing fancy. Indeed after speaking to a number of the big players it is easy to gain the impression that the flavoured, (or aromatic), segment has (along perhaps with filters) been the only one to buck the cigar sector’s trend of falling or stagnant sales in recent years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PUNITIVE tolls levied on Austria’s trans-Alpine Brenner motorway have been undermined by a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling, which has opened the way for hauliers to claim compensation against their effect. The decision is a precedent across the European Union and could be used to challenge other punitive tolls, designed to dissuade hauliers from using environmentally sensitive routes.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
ABUSE of drugs and alcohol in the workplace may be a growing concern in European Union (EU) countries but there seems little evidence that the relevant authorities are unduly alarmed by it. An informal survey by Occupational Health of organisations and government departments suggests that little attempt has been made so far to assess the scale of the problem, still less to devise legislation aimed at workers, as distinct from society in general.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has welcomed the introduction of river basin management systems of water resources in the Czech Republic, a key requirement of the European Union’s (EU) water framework directive. This legislation has proved challenging for existing EU Member States, let alone countries joining the EU in May, such as the Czech Republic.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE FIRST step towards admitting “interspecific” vines, or hybrids, to the top wine classifications in Europe has been taken by the European Commission, which has ordered a study to see if such vines can produce quality wines to rival Bordeaux, Graves or Chianti.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A SERIES of exemptions from the European Union’s (EU) new energy taxation directive have been proposed by the European Commission for the eastern and southern European countries joining the EU in May (barring Cyprus).

They would be added to the already long list of exemptions negotiated by existing Member States that prompted EU internal market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein to liken the legislation to “Gruyere cheese”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE NETHERLANDS has restricted to 22,000 the number of working migrants it will accept from the 10 eastern and southern European countries joining the European Union (EU) this May. The announcement is the latest in a string of such caps imposed by existing EU Member States, (made by Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Spain), ahead of the expansion of the union.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking six national governments to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) because of allegations that they have failed to implement the large combustion plants directive that seeks to cut air pollution through strict limits on sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to lend Euro 60 million to Austria’s Böhler-Uddeholm Group to finance the modernisation and extension of production, plus researching and developing the metallurgy of special, high grades steels. This work will be carried out at the company’s production centres in Sweden as well as Austria, in underdeveloped regions qualifying for European Union (EU) development assistance, safeguarding 4,500 direct manufacturing jobs.…

BY PHILIP FINE

A US airport is working on an agreement with a German company to jointly run a baggage-handling operation that they can market to local airlines. Jacksonville International Airport and Fraport AG – the Frankfurt-based company that owns and operates that city’s airport – would save airlines the expense of hiring workers and buying equipment needed to move bags to and from aircraft.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CONCERNS have been raised by eastern and central European environmental groups about the possible worsening of drinking water quality that could be caused by the construction of the planned Danube-Oder-Elbe canal. The Czech Republic’s Friends of the Earth branch is leading green groups from Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovakia in pressing the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers to avoid including the project in its priority list for funding from the trans-European transport networks (TENs) scheme.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A RULING from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the protracted row over the rights to the names Budweiser and Bud could weaken an attempt to prevent US-based Annheuser Busch from importing its beer into Austria. Its Czech Republic rival Budejovicky Budvar has been trying to block such imports – named ‘American Bud’ – on the grounds that a bilateral convention between Austria and the Czech Republic reserves the name “Bud” for Czech beer in Austrian markets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE IRISH government has announced that it is backing an Austrian call for the ongoing European Union (EU) intergovernmental conference (IGC) – that is writing the EU’s first constitution – to convene a separate conference to review the Euratom nuclear energy treaty.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is trying to clear legal logjams preventing companies with share capital from different European Union (EU) Member States from merging, transactions that are illegal in the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Greece, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Austria.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
NEGOTIATIONS on a new eco-points system setting quotas for road hauliers travelling through Alpine passes in Austria have stalled following disagreement between the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers. The UK, along with Germany and France, blocked the deal arguing that it would bar transit through Austria for many vehicles.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE IRISH government has announced that it is backing an Austrian call for the ongoing European Union (EU) intergovernmental conference (IGC) – that is writing the EU’s first constitution – to convene a separate conference to review the Euratom nuclear energy treaty.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched infringement proceedings against Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal for failing to implement the package of measures approved last year to liberalise the European Union (EU) telecommunications sector.

Brussels noted that only Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Finland, and Sweden had implemented the EU’s framework, authorisations, access and universal service directives into their national legislation by this month (NOTE: OCTOBER).…

BY MARK ROWE
UZBEKISTAN has been at the forefront of international AML efforts in the central Asia region, a spokesman for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) told the Money Laundering Bulletin. Uzbekistan has the most advanced AML legislation and apparatus of all the former Soviet Central Asia and has signed more than 20 bilateral and multilateral agreements on cooperation in fighting illicit drug trafficking with its Central Asian neighbours, as well as with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey, according to the International Money Laundering Information Network (IMOLIN), (whose contributing members include the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering, the United Nations and the World Customs Organisation).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PLANNED reform of the European Union’s (EU) Euro 12.5 million-per-year hop subsidy regime could push hop producers towards promoting speciality varieties, of interest to brewers seeking an edge in flavour and bitterness, a National Hop Association of England spokesman has said.…

Keith Nuthall
TAX collectors are raiding the developed world’s economies for a diminishing slice of national incomes according to a Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study. It says rich country public revenues commanded a smaller proportion of GDP on average last year, compared with 2001 (40.5 and 41 per cent respectively).…

BY MARK ROWE
THE 19th century saw imperial rivalry create the “Great Game”, when Russia and the British Empire tweaked one another’s tails in the region that following Russia’s Bolshevik revolution became known as Soviet Central Asia. The old Great Game was tied to control of India, and to gems and gold.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission has formally threatened Italy, Portugal, Austria, Luxembourg, Greece and Finland with legal action at the European Court of Justice for failing to implement European Union (EU) legislation on marine equipment. The 2002 directive ‘laying down quality requirements and testing standards for equipment to be placed on board an EU ship’ aims to enhance sea safety and prevent marine pollution through a harmonised enforcement of international rules regarding onboard equipment.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
LEGAL final warning letters have been sent by the European Commission to Britain, Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain and Sweden, calling on them to swiftly implement a directive guaranteeing consumer protection when insurance companies are wound up.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
A FIERCE row over the blame for the electricity blackout which affected virtually the whole of Italy on September 28 has broken out between the Italian, Swiss and French governments, which may delay Rome’s moves towards liberalisation of its energy markets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union competition Commissioner Mario Monti has called for close cooperation between international business regulators such as the European Commission and their opposite numbers in national governments and in north America. Speaking to the World Forum on Energy Regulation, in Rome, Monti said that by combining their efforts, competition authorities would “achieve more than each would be able to achieve on its own.”…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission has formally threatened Italy, Portugal, Austria, Luxembourg, Greece and Finland with legal action at the European Court of Justice for failing to implement European Union (EU) legislation on marine equipment. The 2002 directive ‘laying down quality requirements and testing standards for equipment to be placed on board an EU ship’ aims to enhance sea safety and prevent marine pollution through a harmonised enforcement of international rules regarding onboard equipment.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank has drawn up plans to lend Austria’s SPB Industrieholding GmbH Euro 35 million to help it build a 800,000 m³ round wood saw lag capacity sawmill at Sebes in Transylvania’s Alba Iulia District, Romania.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE IRISH are the European Union’s keenest purchasers of alcohol and tobacco, considering annual household spending, according to European Union statistical agency Eurostat. Ireland’s consumers devoted six per cent of their spending on alcohol and tobacco in 2001 and 2000 – the latest available comparative statistics.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
A NEW method of dying fabric that uses electrons instead of chemical reducing agents is said to offer a “cleaner and more cost effective alternative to traditional methods of dying.” The new process – ECDVAT – has been developed by the textile’s department of the University of Innsbruck, Austria in a project funded by EU research and development network EUREKA.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GREEKS are the European Union’s highest spenders on footwear and clothing, taking into account the proportion of annual household income spent on these items, according to figures released by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency. Greek consumers devoted 11 per cent of their spending on shoes and clothes in 2001 and 2000 – the latest available comparative statistics covering the EU.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AS environmental health officers assess a hot summer that created high pollution concentrations and heat exhaustion, a new European Union directive on ground level ozone has come into force. The legislation requires EU Member States to assess ground ozone concentrations throughout their whole national territory and to inform the public of any readings above 180 ?g/m3.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW method of dying fabric that uses electrons instead of chemical reducing agents has been developed by a European research project, whose scientists say the process offers a “cleaner and more cost effective alternative to traditional methods of dying.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ENVIRONMENTAL health is necessarily a broad science, after all, the pollution, pathogens and accident risks that surround us are many and varied. So it makes sense, when trying to improve the environmental health of a particular urban area, to take a holistic approach, making improvements to services and cleanliness, as well as the built environment.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking Austria, Belgium, Greece and Italy to the European Court of Justice over their alleged failure to implement a 1999 directive on minimum welfare standards for laying hens.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Austria and Finland to the European Court of Justice for failing to adopt an older (and looser) directive on GM food. This includes rules on post-marketing monitoring, public information, plus labelling and traceability.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IRELAND is being threatened with legal action at the European Court of Justice by the European Commission over its failure to properly implement the EU’s integrated pollution prevention and control directive. Brussels says there is no guarantee Irish industries and farms will follow the legislation’s environmental rules.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE AUSTRIAN government is being taken to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission because of its failure to impose sufficient environmental controls on intensive pig and poultry production in Austria. The Commission alleges that in this way, the country is breaking the EU’s integrated pollution prevention and control directive.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE NEWLY re-named international Aquatic Animal Heath Standards Commission (formerly the Fish Diseases Commission) has warned of an outbreak of infectious haematopoietic necrosis amongst farmed trout in Austria. So far 3,500 fish have died or been culled at a farm in Salzburg province, with the commission saying 8,400 fish are vulnerable to exposure, it said.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AUSTRIA is being taken to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission over its failure to properly implement the EU’s integrated pollution prevention and control directive and Ireland is being threatened with such legal action for the same reason.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PLANNED ban on heavy goods vehicles carrying non-ferrous and ferrous minerals on a key Alpine motorway linking Germany with Italy has sparked urgent legal action from the European Commission. It is taking Austria to the European Court of Justice, because of an order by the governor of the Austrian Tyrol to block the transport by lorries weighing more than 7.5 tonnes of certain heavy goods – among them metal ores – along the A12 Inntal motorway between Kundl and Ampass.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SIGNIFICANT problems have been detected by a European Commission study into the implementation of the European Union’s integrated pollution prevention and control directive in seven EU Member States, with Britain being the only country so far found complying.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Austria and Finland to the European Court of Justice for failing to adopt an older (and looser) directive on GM food. This includes rules on post-marketing monitoring, public information, plus labelling and traceability.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking Austria, Belgium, Greece and Italy to the European Court of Justice over their alleged failure to implement a 1999 directive on minimum welfare standards for laying hens.…

KEITH NUTHALL
BRITISH travel agencies are amongst the most productive in the European Union (EU), according to a report on labour productivity written by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency. Its study assessed the added value created by each worker in a given year for a range of industries, Britain’s travel agencies were the second most productive in the holiday industry.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) may like to pose as the globe’s environmental crusader, setting a good example to the bad old dirty United States, but the latest figures from the European Environment Agency (EEA) – for 2001 – have shown that for a second year running, EU greenhouse gas emissions have risen.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has made its formal offer at the World Trade Organisation’s Doha Development Round to boost access to the European Union insurance market to non-EU players. However, following pressure from national European capitals, its services talks liberalisation package is hedged with a large number of exceptions protecting local interests.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITISH accountants are the second most lightly regulated in the European Union (EU), with their Danish colleagues having the most freedom according to a European Commission-funded survey, promoting liberalisation in Europe’s professions. Belgium, Austria and Germany – where heavy regulation is often favoured – have the union’s most tightly restricted accountancy professions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITISH architects are among the most lightly regulated in the European Union (EU), with their Danish, Irish, Dutch and Swedish colleagues enjoying a similarly light regulatory burden, according to a European Commission-funded survey, promoting liberalisation in Europe’s professions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) may pose as the globe’s environmental crusader, but the latest figures from the European Environment Agency (EEA) – for 2001 – have shown that for a second year running, EU greenhouse gas emissions have risen.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is formally threatening France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Finland with legal action at the European Court of Justice over claims that they have failed to implement new EU regulations on the release of genetically modified organisms.…

Keith Nuthall
BRITONS work the longest hours in the European Union (EU), even though working time agreed in collectively agreements is below the EU average, according to a survey by the European Union’s European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AGREEMENT in principle over the proposed reforms to the European Union’s gas liberalisation directives has been secured at the European Parliament’s key industry committee, although it is proposing important changes. MEP’s called for amendments insisting upon close cooperation between the European Commission and national regulators regarding security of supply.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has released its detailed offer for improving the access of non-European Union accountants into the EU market, as part of the ongoing Doha Development Round at the World Trade Organisation.

If its trading partners offer concessions in return, Brussels says it is prepared to allow “foreign accountants will be allowed to review and compile financial statements and other accounting information for European clients.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) has drawn up plans to lend around Euro 130 million to Austrian speciality steel company Böhler-Uddeholm AG. The money would help fund an investment programme aimed at expanding and modernising production lines for special high grade steels at its Austrian and Swedish plants.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MOVES by European health Commissioner David Byrne to lift the EU’s five year de-facto moratorium on GM food have been blocked by Germany, France, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria. He said new authorisations should begin, because the EU Council of Ministers has approved labelling and traceability rules.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE NEED to help Bulgaria improve the environmental performance of its energy sector has led the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to break new ground by brokering an unprecedented private loan to clean what has been considered a dirty power-generating source: lignite.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A MOVE by European Union (EU) health and consumer affairs Commissioner David Byrne to kick-start preparations to lift the five year de-facto moratorium on genetically modified organism imports into the EU has been blocked by Germany, France, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PHD in rocket science is not required to understand that corruption is a problem worldwide. But such a qualification – and more – would be required to devise an effective plan to fight this financial plague. The United Nations’ (UN) is drafting an international convention on corruption and asked a string of experts to write reports to illuminate some issues.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
NUCLEAR energy security experts have called at a conference in Vienna, Austria, for improvements in international security standards for the protection of radioactive sources that could help make a terrorist ‘dirty bomb’. This International Conference on Security of Radioactive Sources was staged by the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is moving towards a deal with Switzerland over the payment of a withholding tax to avoid releasing information about EU citizens owning Swiss bank savings accounts. It wants to protect these clients from tax demands from their home countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IF accountants want to give really useful advice to their clients that applies almost anywhere in the developed world, they should tell them to get married and have kids.

That would be the most logical conclusion that could be drawn from the latest Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) publication on tax, “Taxing Wages.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Environment Agency has released a comprehensive report promoting good practice within Europe’s waste industry, in a bid to ease governments’ reliance on landfilling, which it considers too dominant. Case Studies on Waste Minimisation Practices in Europe focuses on 10 initiatives undertaken in Europe during the 1990’s to promote and encourage waste minimisation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Environment Agency has released a comprehensive report promoting good practice within Europe’s waste industry, in a bid to ease governments’ reliance on landfilling, which it considers too dominant. Case Studies on Waste Minimisation Practices in Europe focuses on 10 initiatives undertaken in Europe during the 1990’s to promote and encourage waste minimisation.…

Keith Nuthall
PSYCHOLOGICAL harassment in the workplace, especially by colleagues, is the new growing health-and-safety threat in Europe, both as a source of stress and a cause of productivity losses, a European Union (EU) agency’s report has concluded.

‘Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace’ by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has found that defence industry workers and government officials are most likely to suffer this kind of victimisation, with 16 per cent reporting these problems.…

Keith Nuthall
PSYCHOLOGICAL harassment in the workplace, especially by colleagues, is the new growing health-and-safety threat in Europe, both as a source of stress and a cause of productivity losses, a European Union (EU) agency’s report has concluded.

‘Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace’ by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has found that defence industry workers and government officials are most likely to suffer this kind of victimisation, with 16 per cent reporting these problems.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Financial Corporation has persuaded a band of top commercial banks to join it in investing in Russian oil giant Lukoil, so it can exploit the Karachaganak oil, gas, and condensate field. The banks involved are ABN-AMRO Bank, Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank Aktiengesellschaft, Crédit Lyonnais, ING Bank, Natexis Banques Populaires, RZB-Austria, SG Investment Banking, and WestLB.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EXTENSION of Austria’s ecopoint regulation – which restricts the number of lorries that can cross its ecologically sensitive Alpine passes – is on a political knife-edge, with the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers at loggerheads over the shape of a future system.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE FLOODS in central Europe last August and September took a tragic toll of lives, disrupted local economies and devastated numerous museums with the irretrievable loss of cultural artefacts. In Dresden, the worst hit city, thousands of artworks had to be moved when both the Zwinger Palace, site of one of Europe’s great art museums, and the Albertinum Museum became victims of rising floodwater.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is organising a pilot training programme designed to equip European 250 professionals this year with crisis management skills enabling them to bring order to regions that have been wracked by warfare or civil strife. The courses are being run at the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Stadtschlaining, and will involve judges, prosecutors, human rights observers, local administrators, social workers, teachers and infrastructure experts.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is moving towards a deal with Switzerland over the payment of a withholding tax to avoid releasing information about EU citizens owning Swiss bank savings accounts. It wants avoid exposing these clients to tax demands from their home countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FORMAL threats of legal action at the European Court of Justice have been made against Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy and Portugal over their alleged failure to implement the 1999 Directive on minimum welfare standards for laying hens. European Union governments were supposed to have introduced the standards, (including minimum cage sizes), by January 1, 2002.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is moving closer to a deal with Switzerland, where Berne would agree to pay Brussels a withholding tax to avoid releasing information about EU citizens owning Swiss bank savings accounts. It wants avoid exposing these clients to tax demands from their home countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is moving closer to a deal with Switzerland, where Berne would agree to pay Brussels a withholding tax to avoid releasing information about EU citizens owning Swiss bank savings accounts. It wants avoid exposing these clients to tax demands from their home countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is organising a pilot training programme designed to equip European 250 professionals this year with crisis management skills enabling them to bring order to regions that have been wracked by warfare or civil strife. The courses are being run at the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Stadtschlaining, and will involve judges, prosecutors, human rights observers, local administrators, social workers, teachers and infrastructure experts.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) financial watchdog the Court of Auditors has criticised the EU’s 10-year-old extensification premium, a subsidy designed to encourage beef and veal producers to abandon potentially polluting intensive farming practices. The Court has claimed that the payments “did little to encourage additional extensive farming.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WHILE the number of companies in the European Union’s (EU) insurance sector has been dwindling, the amount of business that it has been writing collectively has been booming, according to the latest comparative figures from EU statistical agency Eurostat.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MALE-MENOPAUSE ridden men buying powerful motorcycles that they cannot ride properly is one of two reasons for a levelling off in a 10-year decline in road accidents in rich countries, an OECD report claims. The other problem is an increase in illicit drug use by drivers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A DYNAMIC online forum on European energy policy has been launched by an international consortium; the European Union-funded INTUSER website contains information about current energy issues and questionnaires allowing specialists and the public to contribute to policy debates.…

KEITH NUTHALL
INNOVATION is important in the provision of water services, whether that be to prevent the contamination of supplies by a return of this summer’s floods, or to source drinking water for arid areas where ground reserves are running dry.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers have formally approved the creation of an EU Solidarity Fund, helping Member States deal quickly with the effects of natural and man-made disasters; its funds will be mobilised immediately to assist regions affected by the floods of August and September 2002.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers have formally approved the creation of an EU Solidarity Fund, helping Member States deal quickly with the effects of natural and man-made disasters; its funds will be mobilised immediately to assist regions affected by the floods of August and September 2002, which should help reduce the burden that has to be met by insurance companies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union is considering a range of requests to liberalise its insurance sector under commitments it will make in a future World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal, following the ongoing so-called Doha Development Round.

These include calls for it to eliminate existing restrictions in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Portugal on the cross-border supply of maritime and air transport insurance.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union is considering a range of requests from foreign governments to liberalise the access to its legal professions under commitments it will make in a future World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal, following the ongoing so-called Doha Development Round.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has granted Euro 32.1 million (Pounds 20 million) to help finance a promotion campaign for flowers and other agricultural products in the 15 European Union (EU) countries but none of the cash will come to the flower trade in the UK.…