Search Results for: Austrian
236 results out of 236 results found for 'Austrian'.
GOVERNMENTS TIGHTEN UP TOBACCO AGE LIMIT LAWS, ALTHOUGH IMPLEMENTATION IS OFTEN A PROBLEM
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.…
WHEN IS A LOBBYING SCANDAL REALLY CORRUPTION?
The question of when and whether lobbying is ethically questionable or even a criminal bribe is a complex issue, with rules varying according to jurisdictions. Often, actions that are politically embarrassing, are definitely not bribes, or indeed unlawful in anyway. For example, on September 15, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney survived a no-confidence vote in the Dáil Éireann over his handling of the appointment of former minister for children Katherine Zappone as his country’s ‘Special Envoy to the UN on Freedom of Opinion and Expression’.…
WHEN IS A LOBBYING SCANDAL REALLY CORRUPTION?
The question of when and whether lobbying is ethically questionable or even a criminal bribe is a complex issue, with rules varying according to jurisdictions. Often, actions that are politically embarrassing, are definitely not bribes, or indeed unlawful in anyway. For example, on September 15, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney survived a no-confidence vote in the Dáil Éireann over his handling of the appointment of former minister for children Katherine Zappone as his country’s ‘Special Envoy to the UN on Freedom of Opinion and Expression’.…
EU AND UK ATTEMPT TO EASE DISRUPTION FROM BREXIT DIVORCE THROUGH DETAILED AVIATION COOPERATION AGREEMENTS
WHILE the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) will bring significant change to civil aviation across Europe, extensive air industry provisions within the 1,256-page EU/UK trade and cooperation agreement agreed on Christmas Eve, means that significant disruption has been avoided.…
PRICE VARIATIONS IN PAINT TRADES COULD MASK DIRTY MONEY FLOWS, COMMERCIAL DATABASE WARNS
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.…
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT-COMMISSIONED REPORTS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT EU ETHICS BODY
Two studies unveiled before members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on November 19 in a joint meeting of the constitutional affairs and legal affairs committees have concluded that the European Union (EU) needs an independent ethics body. In his EP commissioned study ‘Strengthening transparency and integrity in the EU institutions by setting up an independent EU ethics body’, (1) Austrian management professor Dr Markus Frischuut suggested the body should have around seven ruling members and 50 staff. …
AML PROFESSOR’S TRADE DATABASE RAISES RED FLAGS OF POTENTIAL TRADE-BASED MONEY LAUNDERING
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.…
INTERNATIONAL SUGAR ORGANISATION WANTS TO WORK WITH CONFECTIONERS IN FIGHTING ANTI-SUGAR JUNK SCIENCE
The executive director of International Sugar Organisation (ISO) wants his body “to work more with the confectionery sector”, as it strives to debunk junk science that derides the nutritional value of sugar. José Orive told Confectionery Production that ISO wanted to succeed in presenting “scientific evidence-based information” about sugar’s health impact so the reputation of confectionery products is not “blackened with funky fake data”. …
CLOTHING AND TEXTILE FIRMS INNOVATE WITH ANTI-MICROBIAL FABRICS AND PRODUCTS, MEETING DEMAND FUELLED BY COVID-19
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.…
NORTH AFRICA’S PAINT AND COATINGS INDUSTRIES HAVE VARIED LATENT STRENGTHS AS THEY FACE COVID-19 CRISIS
Paint and coating manufacturers and retailers in North Africa have been struggling with the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, just as have their counterparts in other regions, however some markets and industries in the region seem better placed to cope with the pandemic’s economic impact than others.…
EU JUDGE ADVISES USD66 MILLION CROSS BORDER VOLKSWAGEN DIESELGATE CLASS ACTION CASES ARE LEGAL
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.…
CORONAVIRUS SLOWS ITALY’S IMPORTANT TEXTILE SECTOR
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.…
HIGH TECH COATINGS DELIVER BETTER FUNCTIONALITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE TO AIRLINERS
THE USE of paint and coatings by airlines is far more than the choice of an elegant trip for tail fins and fuselages. High tech coatings help aircraft operate efficiently and play an increasingly important role in helping planes fly smoothly, reducing drag and hence carbon emissions.…
ITALIAN BRANDED FOOD RETAIL STILL OPERATING STRONGLY IN ITALY, BUT PROCESSORS COULD FACE LONGER TERM DAMAGE
Supermarkets in Italy will stay open through the Covid-19 crisis, guaranteeing sales for Italy’s retail food brands, the Italian government has confirmed. This is despite tough new prevention measures imposed across the country on March 11, to slow the virus’ spread – these may actually increase food retail sales as from March 12, all commercial activities across Italy were closed until March 25, including bars and restaurants, with only food delivery to homes allowed as regards food service.…
EUROPEAN COMMISSION CONSIDERS ADDING ZIRCONIUM TO EU CRITICAL RAW MATERIAL LIST
THE EUROPEAN Commission will next year (2020) consider whether to add zirconium to the European Union (EU) critical raw material list, with the aim of encouraging production and recycling of a mineral so resistant to corrosion, it is widely used in the nuclear industry.…
EUROPEAN COMMISSION MAY ADD CADMIUM TO EU CRITICAL RAW MATERIAL LIST
THE EUROPEAN Commission will early next year (2020) consider whether to add cadmium to the European Union (EU) critical raw material list, with the aim of encouraging production and recycling of this mineral that widely used in batteries, potentially helping the EU economy away from fossil fuels.…
ECB REVOKES AUSTRIAN BANK LICENCE OVER MONEY LAUNDERING
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. …
VIETNAM’S CAR IMPORTS SURGE AS THAILAND, INDONESIA-BASED MANUFACTURING FINALLY COPES WITH RED TAPE – INDICATING MAJOR POTENTIAL AS FUTURE MARKET
A sharp increase in imports of cars into Vietnam has underlined how this south-east Asian country of 96 million people, could become a major auto market, especially as Vietnamese drivers move from motorcycles to cars.
At present, the motorcycle is king in Vietnam.…
ISRAELI COMPANIES AND DESIGNERS INNOVATE IN CREATING NEW 3D PRINTING TEXTILE SYSTEMS
ON the back of Israel’s innovation-embedded work culture, the Middle East country is making headway in the 3D-printed garment sector. The country is the joint-headquarters of 3D-printer manufacturer Stratasys, which has a key base in Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv. Stratasys offers a wide range of 3D printers – https://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers…
THE GLOBAL SMART COATINGS SECTOR BECOMES EVER MORE INNOVATIVE AS IT TARGETS MARKET NICHES
THE GLOBAL smart coatings sector is expected to record a year-on-year average annual gain in revenue of 31.5% over the next five years, with the market projected to reach USD11.68 billion by 2024 – compared to USD 885.5 million in 2015.…
GERMAN COMPANY MAKES FIBRE FROM ICELANDIC SEAWEED IMPARTING HEALTH BENEFITS
A GERMAN fibre company is seeking to demonstrate how the cleansing and nourishing properties of seaweed can protect the skin of people wearing garments made from fibres embedded with this abundant ocean resource.
Sustainably-produced wellness fibres produced by Rudolstadt, Thuringia-based smartfiber AG have powdered organic seaweed mixed in during the production phase, helping the company create soft fabrics used in the manufacture of underwear and loungewear, baby and children’s clothes, footwear, home textiles, bedding, sport and lifestyle clothing ranges.…
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AND PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING BOOSTS GEOTEXTILE SALES
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.…
BIOHACKING AND IMPLANT TECHNOLOGIES
Are biohacking and new implanted technologies the new frontier in cyber fraud? That was the question addressed at an event organised by the Fraud Advisory Panel, an independent cross-border organisation that fights fraud, on October 18th, at the Chartered Accountants Hall in London’s Moorgate.…
GROWING DEMAND FOR ECO-FRIENDLY TURKISH TEXTILES
TURKISH fabric producer Söktaş is significantly expanding its range of sustainable textiles as it looks to meet growing demand for fabrics with eco attributes.
The company – which had expanded its premium shirting fabrics range to fabrics for jackets and trousers – has now introduced organic cotton fabrics into its stock-supported ranges.…
PROGRESS UNEVEN ON MYANMAR AIRPORT UPGRADES
THE COLOSSAL potential of Myanmar’s tourism industry combined with a severe lack of transport infrastructure has prompted the government to undertake a countrywide overhaul of its airport network.
Plans range from connecting remote regions using single runway sites to a new international airport for the commercial capital Yangon, but progress on all fronts has been slow and the future of key projects is highly uncertain.…
MEPs CALL FOR TIGHTENING COMMISSION’S SINGLE-USE PLASTICS PROPOSAL
ALL plastic bottle caps and lids put on the European Union (EU) market must contain at least 25% recycled content by 2025, Belgian Liberal MEP Frédérique Ries, has proposed as lead negotiator, for the European Parliament’s environment committee, on the European Commission’s controversial single-use plastics (SUP) proposal.…
PASSENGER EXPERIENCE COMES TO THE FOREFRONT AT DUBAI AIRPORT SHOW
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 18th edition hosted more than 350 exhibitors from 60 countries.…
INDUSTRY WELCOMES COMMISSION’S TESTS TO CURB DUAL QUALITY FOOD PRODUCT SALES
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.…
INDUSTRY WELCOMES COMMISSION’S TESTS TO CURB DUAL QUALITY FOOD PRODUCT SALES
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.…
FINANCIAL SERVICES MAY TURN FEWER BLIND EYES TO AML PROBLEMS, BUT COMPLIANCE IS STILL LACKING, EXPERTS WARN
The lure of banking bonuses, lack of dedicated resources, ineffective implementation of compliance mechanisms and whistleblower protection schemes have all been blamed for incidents of financial organisations turning a blind eye to money laundering.
But it seems that regulators are increasingly unimpressed – a fact that money laundering reporters need to heed.…
INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUND UP – CHINA SUGAR DUTIES CHALLENGED AT WTO
CHINA’S imposition of temporary safeguard duties to protect its sugar industry have been challenged at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), with sugar giant Brazil arguing Beijing’s tariffs break global commerce rules. In a signal that Brazil might be considering launching a disputes case against China, diplomats for the South American country told a WTO safeguards committee meeting that the duties broke the WTO agreement on safeguards and the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT). …
PUTTING ON A BRAVE FACE – JAPAN’S COATINGS SECTOR INVESTS ABROAD AS DOMESTIC SALES FACE DECLINE
JAPAN’S paint and coatings sector is putting on a positive face and playing up overseas expansion efforts, as well as its traditional strength in innovation, but analysts are concerned about the longer-term outlook for domestic companies.
Sales of paint in Japan came to Japanese Yen JPY 675 billion (USD6.10 billion) in 2016, a marginal increase of around 1% on the previous year’s figure, according to the Japan Paint Manufacturers Association.…
MEPS CLEAR COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY TAX TRANSPARENCY RULES
The European Parliament has voted for public country-by-country financial reporting in a new European Union (EU) law designed to boost corporate tax transparency. It would, ensure that taxes are paid where profits are made and stop multinationals avoiding tax through sweetener deals.…
NO MAJOR EVIDENCE THAT FOOD AND DRINK COMPANIES SHIRT CHANGER EASTERN EUROPE ON TASTE – BUT REPUTATIONS ARE RISKED ANYWAY
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.…
ITALY’S MOZZARELLA AND PROSCIUTTO AMONG EU TRADITIONAL PRODUCTS LISTED FOR PROTECTION IN CHINA
The European Union (EU) and China have struck a geographical indications deal involving both parties preventing the names of 100 traditional food and drink items from either jurisdiction being used by manufacturers not based in their historic production regions or following standardised production techniques.…
GERMAN COATINGS R&D CONTINUES TO LEAD THE WAY IN EUROPE
GERMANY’S paint and coatings companies, backed by the country’s formidable research organisation the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM), are pushing forward with developing innovative environment-friendly products. They are developing water-based protective coatings, sustainable coatings, biocide-substituting microbial protection and radiation curing, among other initiatives in the search to develop new products. …
NEW EUROPEAN PERSONAL PENSION WILL OFFER EU CITIZENS PRIVATE FINANCE PORTABILITY, SAY EXPERTS
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s plans to create a pan-European personal pension (PEPP), on which a legislative proposal is expected by summer 2017, will help the self-employed and facilitate the growing mobility of workers across the European Union (EU), experts have told Accounting & Business.…
BEAT TOBACCO COUNTERFEITERS AT SOURCE, SAYS EU FRAUD SUPREMO
THE DIRECTOR-general of the European Union’s anti-fraud office – OLAF – has argued that the only way to stop counterfeit cigarettes and other goods entering Europe is to tackle the trade at source. Giovanni Kessler spoke out at a joint OLAF press conference with the Belgian Customs and Excise Administration in December to showcase how their cooperation had smashed a cigarette smuggling ring.…
TECHNICAL TEXTILE FIRMS BOOST COLD WEATHER-RELATED INNOVATION AS 2018 WINTER OLYMPICS APPROACHES
WINTER sportsmen and women are busy training for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, in South Korea, from next February 9 to 28 (2018), and part of their preparation will be securing the best clothing and footwear made from carefully drafted technical textiles.…
INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUND UP – SUGAR PRODUCERS WANT EU PROTECTION MAINTAINED, DESPITE TRADE DEAL TALKS
THE INTERNATIONAL Confederation of European Beet Growers (CIBE) and the European Association of Sugar Producers (CEFS-Comité Européen des Fabricants de Sucre) have jointly called on the European Union (EU) to continue protecting producers with import tariffs, even as the EU negotiates 12 trade deals affecting the food industry.…
INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT MULLS PLANS TO GIVE INCENTIVES TO COUNTRY’S TEXTILE INDUSTRY
top official at Indonesia’s industry ministry has told WTiN that his government plans to give various incentives to the country’s textile industry to encourage exports and competitiveness in the global marketplace.
The ministry’s director general of international industrial cooperation Mr Harjanto (NOTE HE HAS ONE NAME ONLY) said officials were exploring the idea of applying energy cost refunds subsidising electricity bills for manufacturers who want to export textile products.…
EU LAWMAKERS SPLIT OVER WAY FORWARD FOR TYPE APPROVAL
European Union (EU) lawmakers in a key European Parliament committee are split over how to amend proposed reforms to the 28 country bloc’s automotive type approval controls. These members of the parliament’s internal market and consumer protection committee discussed on Thursday (September 29) changes suggested by British Conservative MEP Dan Dalton on proposals from the EU executive, the European Commission, to overhaul EU type approval rules – its key goal is making them sufficiently tight to prevent a repeat of the Dieselgate scandal where emissions controls were circumvented.…
FATF: CONFIDENTIALITY FAILINGS THREATEN REPORTING IN AUSTRIA
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.…
IRELAND STATE AID TAX CASE SIGNALS TOUGH APPROACH ON COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY TAXATION
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.…
FLUSHABLE WIPES: WHAT ARE MANUFACTURERS DOING TO BYPASS ISSUES
Flushable wipes range from adult moist toilet tissue to feminine hygiene wipes, and the sector has been steadily growing for years. According to UK-based market researcher Euromonitor International, the global retail volume for personal care wipes nearly doubled between 2003 and 2013, from 93 billion units to almost 170 billion units sold, respectively.…
MATURE EUROPEAN NONWOVENS SECTOR GROWS THROUGH INNOVATION
THE ONWARD march of nonwovens production in Europe appears to be relentless, but the drivers behind it have changed in recent years. Early markets for disposable products have matured and levelled off in many countries and newer applications have taken up the slack.…
BRUSSELS EXTRA SPENDS TO PROMOTE EU MEAT SALES IN FACE OF RUSSIAN BAN
THE POLISH, Scottish, Austrian and Belgian meat sectors are significant winners in the latest announcement of European Union (EU) marketing financing designed to help food companies seize more sales within and outside the EU.
They will benefit from multi-million Euro sales and marketing programmes, 50% funded by the EU, announced yesterday (Tues April 21).…
MEPS PUSH FOR RELEASE OF SLAUGHTER METHOD LABELLING REPORT
Members of the European Parliament are calling on the European Commission to release a delayed report on method-of-slaughter labelling in order to hold a “proper debate” on labelling and animal welfare issues.
However, overcoming some sensitive cultural areas could prove to be contentious, as certain factions seek to exploit attitudes to religious slaughter.…
BRUSSELS PROBES ALLEGED CHINA MOLYBDENUM ANTI-DUMPING DUTY EVASION
The European Commission has launched an investigation into potentially illegal manoeuvres to evade anti-dumping duties levied on imports into the European Union (EU) of certain China–made molybdenum wire.
Brussels’ probe follows complaints made by Austrian molybdenum wire manufacturer Plansee SE. It claims that exporters and importers have colluded to evade the duties by slightly changing the dimensions of the wire sold into Europe, to change their customs classification.…
INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUND UP – EU SUGAR PRODUCERS FEAR USA TRADE PACT
THE EUROPEAN Committee of Sugar Manufacturers (CEFS) has called on the European Union (EU) and US negotiators for a Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) to exclude sugar and high sugar products from this planned trade agreement.
“The US market is a mature and saturated market, not attractive for the EU,” Marie-Christine Ribera, CEFS director general, told TTIP negotiators during an event dedicated to interest groups affected by the agreement, held in Brussels on February 4.…
EU ROUND UP – DEHP FACES ADDITIONAL EU CONTROLS
ADDITIONAL European Union (EU) controls could be imposed on the use of common phthalate DEHP (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) over concerns about its environmental endocrine disrupting properties. The plasticiser is already on the EU’s candidate list for substances of very high concern (SVHC) and its EU use could be made subject to special authorisation from February.…
GENERAL UK UTILITY SUPPORT FOR HINKLEY POINT C DECISION, ALTHOUGH SOME PLAYERS QUESTION ITS FAIRNESS
The approval of the UK government funding scheme for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant has been welcomed by the industry and several associations. But some utility bodies have questioned the fairness of the level of public funding for the north Somerset plant.…
NEW APPROACHES ARISE TO TACKLE SMALL BRIBES
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.…
JUDGES SAY EU POULTRY RETAILERS MUST ENSURE SAFETY OF THIRD PARTY-PACKAGED AND MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS
European Union (EU) poultry retailers may be penalised if they sell salmonella-contaminated fresh products, even when they are processed and packaged by another company, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. Its judgement came in a case involving an Austrian supermarket and local food safety authorities.…
WORKWEAR MANUFACTURERS LINK QUALITY TO INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL STANDARDS
WORKWEAR producers know that their products must be reliable. And one excellent way to demonstrate that is ensuring and declaring that their production and materials are in line with those recommended by national and international standards organisations.
In the competitive American market, development organisations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colourists (AATCC) constantly update workwear-related safety and testing standards. …
EU ROUND UP – BRUSSELS LAUNCHED HYDROGEN FUEL CELL UNDERTAKING PHASE TWO
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.…
EU STEEL INDUSTRY WANTS LEADERS TO EASE ITS EMISSION TRADING COMMITMENTS
European steel industry association Eurofer has called on European Union (EU) heads of states and governments meeting tomorrow (June 27) in Brussels to ensure changes to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) after 2020 do not drive the sector out of Europe.…
ECC-NET’S 2013 ANNUAL REPORT - NATIONAL UNIT ROUND UP
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.…
BUDGET AIRLINES ARE LIFEBLOOD FOR MANY EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE AIRPORTS
BUDGET airlines have a major impact on airport expansion or contraction across Europe, but their importance can be particularly pronounced in countries towards the east, whose economies are still catching up with the west of the continent.
Even in Poland, which avoided recession since the financial collapse of 2008, some airports have asked city and regional governments for help when they cannot attract enough trade – in one recent instance following a decision by Ryanair to cut routes.…
EU INSTITUTIONS AGREE NEW RULES TO DEAL WITH NOISE AT AIRPORTS
THE EUROPEAN Commission, the European Parliament and the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers have agreed a law introducing measures that national and local authorities have to respect when they decide to set operating restrictions at European airports limiting aircraft noise.…
EU INSTITUTIONS AGREE NEW RULES TO DEAL WITH NOISE AT AIRPORTS
BY CARMEN PAUN, in Brussels
THE EUROPEAN Commission, the European Parliament and the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers have agreed a law introducing measures that national and local authorities have to respect when they decide to set operating restrictions at European airports limiting aircraft noise.…
TRADE ASSOCIATION SAYS RUSSIAN WTO ENTRY BOOSTS EUROPEAN TEXTILE EXPORTS TO RUSSIA
A SENIOR official within an organisation charged with increasing European textile exports to Russia has told WTiN.com that Russia’s 2012 accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has created real opportunities for European manufacturers to score Russian sales.
Igor Salomakhin, head of the Moscow liaison office of the Russia-Europe Textile Alliance (RETA), has told WTiN that it is helping a growing number of European textile businesses expand their sales in Russia by helping establish direct contact with new customers in Russia.…
SYRIA TURNS TO RUSSIA, IRAN IN FACE OF MULTILATERAL SANCTIONS
While Syria is mired in its bloody civil war, it remains targeted by multilateral sanctions. But despite being essentially cut off from the international banking system, Damascus is evading these sanctions by using Russian banks, and is being financially propped up by Iran.…
GLOBAL CLOTHING AND TEXTILE EXPERTS URGE CHANGES SO CHINA MANUFACTURING SECTOR CAN FACE NEW CHALLENGES
INTERNATIONAL clothing and textile experts gathered near Shanghai last week (September 23-7) to discuss solutions to China’s twin challenges – dealing with less foreign demand, while managing rising production costs.
Speaking at the 29th World Fashion Convention, Shanghai, staged in nearby Kunshan, Texhong CEO Hong Tianzhu told delegates it was time for Chinese manufacturers to upgrade their plant and processes, while moving some production outside China.…
MAJOR BAVARIA GAS CO-GEN PROJECT WILL HELP GERMAN GOAL TO DITCH NUCLEAR ENERGY
The 9.5MW J920 FleXtra gas engine formally installed in May this year by the municipal utility Stadtwerke Rosenheim, in Bavaria, Germany, ticks off a number of important innovations. The largest gas engine yet developed by the Austrian company GE Jenbacher, the unit is seen by the company as an illustration of the role distributed energy is now playing in Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ – the country’s policy to halt all nuclear power by 2022 and replace it with natural gas, renewable energy, and greater use of energy efficient technologies.…
GROWTH IN INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING JOBS EXPECTED IN CROATIA AFTER EU ACCESSION
AFTER 10 hard years of negotiations, Croatia finally became the European Union (EU)’s 28th member state on July 1, a move that will inevitably open its financial and related services markets to major EU companies and partnerships. One key issue for European financial professionals has been, and will be, the extent to which Croatian business and government is clean.…
NABUCCO IS DEAD; LONG LIVE THE TRANS-ADRIATIC PIPELINE
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.…
CROATIA'S ACCESSION SPURRED IMPROVEMENTS IN AML/CFT REGIME
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.…
COMMERCIAL CRIME CONCERNS STILL HIGH AS CROATIA JOINS EU
Concerns about commercial crime, corruption and fraud remained high in Croatia as it joined the European Union (EU) on July 1. And while progress has been made, both the EU and many within Croatia admit that the country must work harder to combat such problems.…
BRUSSELS BACKS TAKEOVER OF POLISH PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS COMPANY POLBITA
THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the acquisition of Polish personal care products retailer Polbita by Austrian banking group Erste and the Italian-owned Polish bank Alior Bank. Brussels waved through the deal imposing no conditions using its fast-track simplified merger review procedure.…
URBANISATION, COMPETITION FOR LABOUR IN CHINA’S TOBACCO TOWN
PROMOTED in China’s press as the Richmond, Virginia of China, driving into Yuxi, in the southern Yunnun province, you get the impression of how a successful tobacco sector can generate all kinds of wealth. Yuxi is home to China’s largest tobacco company, Hongta, and this has helped fuel real estate speculation – construction is everywhere.…
OECD WORKING GROUP PUSHES AGAINST GRAFT – BUT MANY GOVERNMENTS TURN BLIND EYE TO FOREIGN BRIBERY
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.…
NEW BIOMASS BIOCOAL COULD OFFER CARBON NEUTRAL SOLID FUEL OPTION FOR THE FUTURE
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.…
SPAIN, NETHERLANDS AND AUSTRIA NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB IN FIGHTING BRIBERY, OECD FINDS
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.…
CZECH REPUBLIC’S TEMELÍN EXPANSION TENDER APPROACHES END GAME
THE BIDDING for a contract to expand Temelín nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic is approaching decision time, with the winner of the four-year long tender process to be chosen in 2013. Worth USD10 billion, the contract represents the largest public tender in the country’s history and has generated considerable debate, from safety issues and the distinctions between the various reactor designs and their technologies, to political and economic issues regarding everything from energy security to the deal’s transparency.…
ROMANIAN BANKS SCAMMED FOR EUR85 MILLION IN LOANS FRAUD
BY CARMEN PAUN
TWO Romanian banks have been hit by staff issuing EUR85 million fraudulent loans to customers who should never have qualified for financing, the country’s directorate for the investigation of organised crime and terrorism (DIICOT) has revealed. The banks are BRD, controlled by France’s Société Générale, and Volksbank, part of the identically named Austrian group.…
PUBLISHERS WELCOME MORE TRANSPARENCY PROPOSED BY BRUSSELS ON THE COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS
A PROPOSED European Union (EU) directive should deliver more transparency and better governance for collective management of copyright and related rights on behalf of publishers and authors, a Brussels conference has been told.
The European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers are now debating this tabled law on on collective management of copyright and related rights.…
SOUND ACCOUNTS HELP SMEs IN THE SEARCH FOR FINANCE
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.…
USDA CALLS FOR BIO-FABRIC PRODUCERS TO SUBMIT PRODUCTS FOR PRIORITY GOVERNMENT PURCHASES
BY LEAH GERMAIN
THE US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has asked textile companies to propose new biobased fabrics for inclusion in a special catalogue of products that receive preferred purchase considerations by all US federal agencies and contractors. Part of USDA’s BioPreferred programme, the department is trying to increase the number of biobased materials, from marine, animal, renewable plant and forestry sources, used in American products.…
AUSTRIAN SCRAP METAL DEAL APPROVED BY EU
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’.…
ALGAL R&D DEMONSTRATES MOMENTUM
BY ROBERT STOKES
ALGAE have been heralded as the universal raw material of the future for biofuels, agricultural feed, nutritional supplements, biochemicals and cosmetics. They gobble up CO2, can clean up waste water, and many will thrive in seawater when the fresh variety is usually limited to the sunnier climes where algae can be grown more cheaply.…
ASSET TRACERS CHEW THE FAT ON OFFSHORE EUROPE
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.…
ALGAL R&D DEMONSTRATES MOMENTUM
BY ROBERT STOKES
ALGAE have been heralded as the universal raw material of the future for biofuels, agricultural feed, nutritional supplements, biochemicals and cosmetics. They gobble up CO2, can clean up waste water, and many will thrive in seawater when the fresh variety is usually limited to the sunnier climes where algae can be grown more cheaply.…
EU MOULDERS GET A BOUNCE FROM BILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS
BY MJ DESCHAMPS
BILATERAL trade agreements between European Union (EU) and emerging economies have helped cushion EU plastics moulders and machinery suppliers as more important domestic markets have weakened in recession and the Eurozone crisis.
It is a two-way street: lower priced machinery from China and India has made inroads into EU markets for applications requiring less technologically sophisticated kit.…
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION ROUND UP - SUBSTANCES OF HIGH CONCERN HIGHLIGHTED BY ECHA
BY KEITH NUTHALL
PLASTICS companies selling products and materials in the European Union (EU) will have to check whether they are using seven ingredients placed on an EU list of substances of potential very high concern regarding damage to the environment and human health.…
INTERNATIONAL ROUND UP - EU SUGAR QUOTAS TO GO
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has confirmed it is scrapping sugar production quotas across the European Union (EU) in 2015 when proposing a comprehensive reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). There have been calls from some member states and MEPs for the quota regime to be renewed, but the Commission has stuck to its guns and will continue with abolition.…
EU ROUND UP - EU PUBLISHES RIG SAFETY STANDARDS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed its long-awaited package of measures designed to prevent major oil or gas rig accidents that could pollute European Union (EU) waters. They have been collated into a proposed regulation, which would have to be followed to the letter by member states, if the proposal is approved by MEPs and EU ministers.…
SAFETY WARNINGS RELEASED ON SKIN WHITENERS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) consumer safety network RAPEX has warned certain skin whiteners have been blocked from sale over health concerns. The main problem was illegal hydroquinone use, breaching the EU cosmetics directive. This was why Portugal customs blocked imports of Democratic Republic of the Congo-made imports of Angel Cosmetics’ Clairmen brand and ‘Caro White’ cream, plus Ivory Coast-made ‘Skin Light’ cream; Austrian shops withdrew Ivory Coast-made ‘Skin Light’ cream; while France warned about French-made ‘Fair & White’ cream.…
THE COGENERATION MARKET
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.…
EU ROUND UP - BRUSSELS PLOTS LAW TO BREAK GAS INFRASTRICTURE FINANCING LOGJAMS
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.…
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME BUREAU REPORTS FAKE SCRAP SHIPMENT SCAMS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Maritime Bureau (IMB) has warned scrap buyers to beware of fraudsters selling phantom waste metal cargoes that never arrive at port. The IMB – part of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – says the scam involves a sophisticated abuse of bills of lading, letters of credit and associated documents.…
MEPS CLAIM CONFLICT OF INTEREST CRITICS ARE FRONT FOR ANTI-GLOBALISATION GROUP
BY MJ DESCHAMPS
MEMBERS of the European Parliament accused of having close links with key raw materials sector vested interests have dismissed the allegations and attacked their critic – campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), saying its members are related to anti-globalisation group ATTAC International.…
EU ROUND UP - BIOETHANOL GROWTH COULD DAMAGE EU FOSSIL FUEL SECURITY OF SUPPLY, SAYS EU REPORT
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."…
CONVERTERS LOOK FOR PRECISION AND HIGHER OUTPUT WHEN IT COMES TO COATING AND LAMINATION MACHINERY
BY MJ DESCHAMPS
AS one of the final stages in the converting process, it is important that the coating and laminating of raw materials goes off without a hitch to produce the best possible end product for paper, plastic and textile packagers.…
ECJ JUDGE SAYS OFFICIAL EU MEDICINE MARKET APPROVAL CAN OCCUR BEFORE A COUNTRY BECOMES A MEMBER STATE
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.…
BRUSSELS PUSHES FOR REFORM ON EMISSIONS REGISTRIES TO FIGHT CYBER-CRIMINALS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed short-term reforms to the European Union’s (EU) carbon emissions trading registries, after being found vulnerable to cyber-attacks in January. Brussels suspended spot trading on the EU emissions trading scheme after the digital theft through Austrian, Czech and other national markets of Euro 30 million’s worth of emissions credits.…
BRUSSELS TO ASSESS EU-WIDE PLASTIC BAG BAN
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to assess whether a European Union (EU)-wide ban on plastic bags is feasible and a good idea in principle, an official has told Plastics & Rubber Weekly. A spokesperson for the Commission’s environment directorate general Monica Westeren said: "There’s a willingness to look into the issue.…
EU-ROUND UP - MORE EFFORT NEEDED TO GREEN EUROPE'S ENERGY SECTOR - BRUSSELS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
DESPITE having set a clear goal of ensuring 20% of the European Union’s (EU) energy consumption is drawn from green sources, such as biogas and biofuels, more money and resources must be wheeled into action. That is the claim of the European Commission, in a long-awaited policy paper from its energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, assessing the EU’s renewable energy directive.…
BRUSSELS PLOTS SECURING VULNERABLE EU EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEM AGAINST FRAUD
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?…
BRUSSELS PLOTS SECURING VULNERABLE EU EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEM AGAINST FRAUD
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission will this year release proposals to reduce the vulnerability of the European Union’s (EU) emissions trading system (ETS) to fraud, just as cyber-criminals launched a lucrative attack on its systems this month. Brussels suspended spot trading on the scheme after the digital theft through Austrian, Czech and other national markets of Euro 30 million’s worth of emissions credits.…
GERMAN COSMETICS WITHDRAWN FROM SALE SAYS RAPEX
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) consumer protection alert service RAPEX has warned two German cosmetic products have been withdrawn from sale in Europe. One was hand-washing paste ‘Der Spezialist Walter’, recalled by the distributor in Lithuania for posing "a microbiological risk because it has a total bacteria count of 8.2 x 106 CFU/g of Pseudomonas aeruginosa".…
SWEDEN AND AUSTRIA GET EXTRA YEAR TO SPEND EU AUTO INDUSTRY FUNDING
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.…
LIQUORICE REMAINS NORTHERN GERMAN FAVOURITE - SHUNNED BY SOUTHERN CO-PATRIOTS
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.…
COMPLEX TEXTILE FRAUD SPARKS HUGE FINE FROM AUSTRIAN COURT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A CHINESE man has been fined Euro 48 million and jailed by an Austrian court for two-and-a-half years for a complex textile trade fraud costing his adopted country Euro 17.9 million in import duties. He was jailed by the Vienna criminal court after investigations by European Union (EU) anti-fraud office OLAF, Austrian customs and other member states.…
HUNGARIAN DRIVERS PLAY IT SAFE TO OVERTAKE RECESSION
BY ZSOLT BALLA
IT may not be the easiest way to make a living – as it nowhere is – but even amidst the ongoing economic crisis, Hungarian truck drivers seem better off than their average east European peers. Those who work hard can make decent money, and, given the usual pessimist attitude of Hungarian people, drivers talking to Commercial Motor were surprisingly positive.…
EUROPEAN COMMISSION SEEKS LEGAL BAN ON CHARGING VAT ON CAR TAXES
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.…
OPEL DEAL UNDER INTENSE POLITICAL PRESSURE OVER SUBSIDY CONCERNS
BY ALAN OSBORN
THE SALE of General Motors’ European auto-manufacturing subsidiary Opel to a Canadian-Austrian-Russian consortium is developing into a bitter dispute over how job losses arising from the deal are allocated between European Union (EU) member countries and who provides the funds for Opel’s restructuring.…
Solana waits too long for creation of first multi-national foreign service
By David Haworth, in Brussels
After a decade as the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy supremo, Javier Solana is to step down this autumn – sadly for him – he could not wait long enough for the creation of the world’s first multinational ‘foreign minister’ post.
“Enough is enough,” the former Spanish foreign minister and for four years head of NATO, says the EU High Representative of Foreign and Security Policy and added that he remains “calm and satisfied.”
His departure is not a surprise after such a long tenure but it comes at an ironical point. Just as he leaves, the EU will take the first concrete steps in its long held plan to establish the infrastructure of its own foreign service.…
Solana waits too long for creation of first multi-national foreign service
By David Haworth
After a decade as the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy supremo, Javier Solana is to step down this autumn – sadly for him – he could not wait long enough for the creation of the world’s first multinational ‘foreign minister’ post.…
LINDT RISKSEFSA BACKS REDUCTION IN ANIMAL TESTING
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" to prevent other companies using an existing bunny chocolate design.…
LINDT RISKS LOSS OF CHOCOLATE EASTER BUNNY TRADEMARK
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".…
LINDT RISKS LOSS OF CHOCOLATE EASTER BUNNY TRADEMARK
BY KEITH NUTHALL
SWISS chocolate giant Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli will – as expected – have to demonstrate to Austrian judges that its trademarking of the shape and wrapping of its popular Easter bunny line was not designed to drive a rival chocolate bunny maker out of business.…
ECJ DECLARES ILLEGAL AUSTRIAN BOOK PRICE FIXING SYSTEM
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.…
LEGAL SHOWDOWN LOOMS OVER CHOCOLATE EASTER BUNNIES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
LAWYERS for Swiss chocolate giant Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli will be closely monitoring the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling, on whether it can trademark the shape and wrapping of its popular Easter bunny line.…
ECJ SAYS DRINKS COMPANIES CAN BLOCK ASSUMPTION OF TRADEMARK RIGHTS THOUGH FREE DRINKS GIFTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has ruled drinks companies can block non-drinks companies from automatically gaining trademark rights to freely gifted promotional drinks carrying the name of these other goods. Its precedent-making ruling came in a case involving Austrian clothing company Maselli claiming trademark rights for drinks it gave away branded with its Wellness clothing brand.…
ECJ SAYS CLOTHING COMPANIES CANNOT ASSUME TRADEMARK RIGHTS ON FREE GIFTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that clothing companies cannot automatically gain trademark rights to non-clothing products they give away free to promote their wares. The precedent-making decision comes in a case involving Austrian clothing company Maselli-Strickmode GmbH, which claimed it had secured additional trademark rights for free gifts (a non alcoholic-drink) branded with its established WELLNESS clothing mark.…
MEMBER STATES CAN REFUSE TO RECOGNISE SECOND EU FOREIGN DRIVING LICENCES AFTER A DRIVING BAN
BY KEITH NUTHALL
DRIVING licence authorities within the European Union (EU) can refuse to recognise a pre-existing second foreign EU licence, if a driver had another home country licence issued by that authority withdrawn by a court: that is the formal opinion of European Court of Justice advocate general Yves Bot.…
PROTEIN RESEARCH COULD SPUR ADVANCES IN SKIN CARE PRODUCTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN scientists have identified proteins – called lamins – that play a key role in the maintenance and regeneration of skin and muscle. Their research, under the Euro 2.5 million EURO-Laminopathies project, found that mutations in lamins are to blame to various skin and muscle problems, such as premature ageing.…
EUROPEAN COMMISSION SEEKS LEGAL BAN ON CHARGING VAT ON CAR TAXES
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.…
EU RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO DISCOVER SOURCE OF FOOD ALLERGIES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) researchers are investigating why the citizens of poorer European countries are less likely to contract food allergies by those in richer states. The EU’s EuroPrevall project has noted that between 2% to 4% of EU adults suffer from food allergies, with 6% of children younger than three-years-old suffering from the problem.…
GREEK GOVERNMENT CAN RESTRICT NON-GREEK EU HAULIERS FROM COMPLETE COMBINED TRANSPORT TRIPS: ECJ
BY KEITH NUTHALL
RESTRICTIONS on the rights of non-Greek European Union (EU) hauliers to freely deliver cargoes on the last road-leg of a combined transport shipment to Greece have been declared legal by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Its ruled Greek police were right in preventing an Austrian haulier choosing the railhead closest to his Greek customer to offload and deliver ordered goods.…
COMMISSION THREATENS AUSTRIA WITH FINES OVER ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTION INSPECTION LAW
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.…
COMMISSION THREATENS AUSTRIA WITH FINES OVER ORGANIC FOOD INSPECTION
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.…
NABUCCO SUPPORTERS PUSH TO SOLVE TURKISH PROBLEMS WITH CRUCIAL EUROPE GAS PIPELINE
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.…
EU ROUND UP - EU UNBUNDLING COMPROMISE PROPOSED
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.…
BRITAIN OPPOSES PIGMEAT EXPORT REFUNDS DESPITE PORK PRODUCER DEMOS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE BRITISH government has opposed Polish government proposals for introducing export refunds to promote European Union (EU) pigmeat sales abroad, despite recent London demonstrations by UK pork producers. Around 200 pig rearers picketed the 10 Downing Street residence of prime minister Gordon Brown earlier this month, protesting at low prices paid by supermarkets.…
BRUSSELS LAUNCHES PROBE INTO MOL TAKEOVER BID
By Alan Osborn
The European Commission believes that the proposed acquisition by the Austrian oil and gas group OMV of the Hungarian oil and gas company MOL "may raise competition concerns in a number of markets." Brussels has ordered an "in-depth" investigation of the deal and will make a decision within 90 days.…
UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY COULD BOOST COMPETITION IN HIGHER EDUCATION, EUA CONFERENCE HEARS
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.…
CORRUPTION IS HOLDING UP CROATIA'S EU ACCESSION, SAY OFFICIAL REPORTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
NEGOTIATIONS designed to lead to Croatia joining the European Union (EU) are being held up by concerns that its government is failing to sufficiently tackle corruption problems, say assessments from European Commission and the European Parliament. Its representative on the issue Austrian Socialist MEP Hannes Swoboda has warned this could delay Croatian accession beyond 2011.…
EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S CLIMATE CHANGE PACKAGE FACES STORMY WATERS
BY KEITH NUTHALL and CHRIS JONES, in Brussels
INTENSE well-informed debates are likely to follow the release in January of a comprehensive package of legislation by the European Commission on fighting climate change through emissions trading, renewable energy, pollution caps, biofuels and environmental state aid.…
ECODRIVING GIVES LOCAL AUTHORITIES OPPORTUNITY TO BE GREEN AND BE SEEN BEING GREEN - IEA CONFERENCE
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.…
EU MINISTERS BACK PIGMEAT STORAGE REGIME
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers have backed the European Commission’s move to introduce private storage aid for pigmeat to fight current low prices. Under the programme, pigmeat producers can claim EU aid when storing meat for between three and five months.…
AUSTRIA'S COMMERCIAL CRIME EXPOSURE RISES WITH EASTERN EUROPE FRONTIER CONTROLS FALLING
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.…
BRUSSELS SETS COMBINED TRANSPORT AID PRECEDENT
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.…
EU ROUND UP - EU INSTITUTIONS, GOVERNMENTS PREPARE FOR BATTLE OVER ENERGY LIBERALISATION
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.…
BRUSSELS OPPOSES LORRY BANS BASED ON LOAD TYPES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has declared illegal under European Union (EU) freedom of trade laws, lorry bans based on cargo carried (other than dangerous goods). The precedent setting declaration, opposes a Austrian plan to block lorries carrying bulk goods, such as waste, cereals, timber, cork, stones, soil, rubble, motor vehicles, trailers, building steel and ceramic tiles from using the A12 motorway in the Inn valley, part of an Alpine pass.…
EU HEARING FOCUSES ON VAT FRAUD CONTROLS
BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels, and KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union VAT fraud is still growing at such a pace, that the accuracy of member states’ trade statistics remains under serious threat, a recent seminar of tax experts and accountants sponsored by the European Commission concluded.…
EASTERN EUROPE MAKES INCREASING PROGRESS ON NUCLEAR SAFETY - FEATURE
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.…
EU RESEARCHERS CREATE NEW ALZHEIMERS CURE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
ALZHEIMER’S Disease is being targeted by a European Union (EU) research project wanting to stimulate immune systems into attacking the condition’s 42 amino acid-peptides that kill brain cells. The Mimovax project differs from previous Alzheimer’s vaccine prototypes by prompting immune systems to attack only these specific peptides, rather than risking attacks on healthy beta amyloid proteins whose degeneration actually creates the disease’s dangerous peptides.…
ECJ BACKS AUSTRIA'S GRADUAL CIGARETTE TRADE LIBERALISATION
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.…
AUSTRIA CENSURED BY ECJ OVER HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL CONTROLS
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.…
SALE OF FISHING LICENCES SHOULD ATTRACT VAT SAYS EU COURT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FISHERMEN selling fishing rights to foreign EU nationals have been offered a tax-break by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It has ruled that where a buyer of licences or rights does not intend to sell fish they catch, maybe using the licence or rights for leisure purposes, the seller can reclaim VAT paid when securing the rights in the first place.…
AUSTRIA GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR GREEN ENERGY FEED-IN TAX
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.…
AUSTRIA GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR GREEN ENERGY FEED-IN TAX
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.…
EU ROUND UP - OLAF, IP CRIME, ETC
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) anti-fraud unit OLAF is always at the centre of Brussels’ efforts to suppress the torrents of financial crime that mar its well-intentioned efforts. OLAF’s old boss has been reappointed, but there’s still trouble afoot. Keith Nuthall reports.…
ECJ MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS GERMANY AUSTRIA
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.…
FISCHLER SPEECH EU RENEWABLES PROMOTION CALL
STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL
A LEADING member of the previous two European Commissions, Austrian politician Franz Fischler has called on the current regime to better promote renewable energy and dissuade the use of dirty fossil fuels. Fischler, whose country currently holds the European Union’s presidency, was speaking at a European Parliament seminar.…
FISCHLER ENERGY REFORM CALL ANTI-NUCLEAR PRO-BIOFUELS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE CURRENT European Commission’s energy policies have been criticised by a leading member of the previous two Commissions, Austrian politician Franz Fischler, whose country currently holds the European Union’s (EU) presidency. Speaking at a European Parliament seminar, Fischler questioned whether Europe should be securing its energy supplies with more gas pipelines to the "unstable" Middle East or Russia, from whom additional gas imports "would mean sealing dependency and not increasing security".…
EU FOOD HEALTH CLAIMS DIRECIIVE AGREEMENT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
Agreement has been reached on two key EU directives covering respectively nutrition and health claims for food and the addition of vitamins, minerals and other substances to foods. The deal, which has already attracted criticism from consumer groups as being too weak, was struck this week between the Austrian EU presidency, representing the 25 EU member states, and the European Parliament and will be formally voted on by the Parliament next Tuesday.…
UNIDO CHEMICAL LEASING PLAN - REDUCING CHEMICAL STOCKPILES
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.…
AUSTRIA TYROL MOTORWAY ALPINE PASS LORRY BAN ECJ CASE
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.…
GM FOOD APPROVALS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has responded to pressure from the current Austrian presidency of the EU to be more rigorous in its assessment of market approvals for new GM products. It has, for instance, asked the European Food Safety Authority to provide more detailed justification of any dismissal of scientific objections raised by national regulators.…
EU TAXATION SYSTEM PROSPECTS ANALYSIS
BY ALAN OSBORN
SPEAKING to the European Parliament just before Christmas, the Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel promoted an idea that has been discussed in the European Union (EU) for years, thus far without making headway, an "EU tax." This would be paid as usual to national revenue or customs organisations, but proceeds would be earmarked for Brussels.…
ELECTROCHEMOTHERAPY TUMOUR ELECTRIC SHOCK TREATMENT
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.…
UNIDO CHEMICAL LEASING PLAN - REDUCING CHEMICAL STOCKPILES
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.…
EU LAW IGNORED ECJ RULING AUSTRIA CASE UNAPPEALLED NATIONAL JUDGEMENTS
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.…
MOLDOVA RUSSIA UKRAINE GAS ROW AUSTRIA EU PRESIDENCY
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.…
CZECH REPUBLIC AUSTRIA NUCLEAR CONTAMINATION ECJ CASE TEMELIN
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…
AUSTRIA ECOPOINTS ALLOCATION ALPINE CROSSINGS ECJ CASE
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".…
AUSTRIA SUN REFLECTION MIRRORS - WINTER SUN BOOSTERS
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.…
IRAQ OIL FOR FOOD - ADHESIVES - SADDAM KICKBACKS REPORT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
ADHESIVES supplies companies paid together tens-of-thousands 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. A report said they paid Iraq to secure humanitarian supply contracts under the scheme, out of 2,200 companies overall.…
AUSTRIA ECJ TYROL MOTORWAY LORRY BAN RULING
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.…
REGIONAL GM BANS ILLEGAL
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.…
AUSTRIA/SWITZERLAND FEATURE
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.…
EU ROUND UP
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.…
EP - CIGARETTE FRAUD
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FURTHER action to fight cigarette smuggling has been demanded by the European Parliament’s budgetary control committee, which has underlined concerns about it losing at least Euro 200 million in revenue to European Union (EU) coffers in 2003. The issue is of particular importance, because customs duties are generally earmarked for EU spending as so-called “own-resources”.…
CIGARETTE SMUGGLING
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FURTHER action to fight cigarette smuggling has been demanded by the European Parliament’s budgetary control committee, which underlined concerns about its losing Euro 200 million in revenue to European Union coffers in 2003. It adopted a report by Austrian MEP Herbert Bösch demanding better cooperation between member states and Europol.…
AUSTRIA ECJ
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.…
EU ROUND UP
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”.…
EU WINE PUBLICITY
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission will spend Euro millions over the next three years promoting French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Austrian wines in key foreign markets. Announcing the latest of a series of such grants, (matched by national funding), Brussels noted that the main targets would be north America, China, Russia, India, Japan and non-European Union countries in central and eastern Europe.…
EU WINE PUBLICITY
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission will spend the majority of a new Euro 5 million budget over the next three years promoting French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Austrian wines in key foreign markets. Brussels noted that the main targets would be north America, China, Russia, India, Japan and non-European Union countries in central and eastern Europe.…
FISCHER BOEL INTERVIEW
BY DAVID HAWORTH
RURAL development will be the CAP’s cornerstone for at least the next decade in its twin ambitions of creating regional growth and supporting farmers who need to modernise, promises the recently arrived European Union (EU) agriculture Commissioner, Mrs Mariann Fischer Boel.…
BIOMASS RESEARCH
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.…
EU ROUND UP
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.…
BIOMASS INVENTION
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.…
USA-EU ALCOHOL DEAL
Keith Nuthall
THE UNITED States and the European Union (EU) are making real progress towards concluding a comprehensive wine and spirits agreement, Brussels’ outgoing agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler has told the EU Council of Ministers. The Austrian said that since talks in the long running negotiations had been resumed last month (on wine), the European Commission and the US government have been striving to secure a preliminary deal, upon which a final agreement could be built.…
IRRIGATION PROJECT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A MORROCAN-French-Austrian consortium has won a contract in what the International Finance Corporation says is the first private-public-partnership irrigation project. The group building the US$85 million Guerdane scheme’s dam and water channels will be led by Morocco’s Omnium Nord-Africain (ONA).…
NEW COMMISSIONERS THINK PIECE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
POLITICAL change can be like growing seasons, it moves gradually, but in a month or two, the landscape has completely changed. So when the recently appointed European Commission takes office in November, the new commissioners of concern for the farming industry will face challenges unanticipated this summer.…
EFSA GM CRITICISM
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority has undermined Austrian and Greek blocks on sales of GM maize and oilseed rape (respectively) possessing prior EU market approval. EFSA concluded they had “no new scientific evidence” of human health or environmental risks.…
AUSTRIAN WOMEN - MINES
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.…
INTERNET FEE VARIATION
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has claimed that a competition investigation that it launched last December has been responsible for forcing 18 European airlines to cease charging different prices for tickets on the basis of a customers’ country of residence.…
SLOVENIA TRANSMISSION
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.…
ECJ TAX CASE
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.…
CODE OF HONOUR
BY KEITH NUTHALL
GERMAN and Austrian MEPs have signed a so-called ‘code of honour’ not to fiddle expenses by over-claiming for flights to Strasbourg and Brussels. Until now MEPs have been paid the costs of (often expensive) normal economy flight tickets.…
VOESTALPINE AG
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) is lending Austrian pre-shaped steel manufacturer Voestalpine AG Euro 50 million to help it boost its metallurgical, welding and steel-forming processes plus undertake automotive sector research and development. The money would help fund a pre-rolling stand at the Leoben/Donawitz plant and a high-performance rolling mill at Voestalpine’s Schienen GmbH.…
EASTERN EUROPE FEATURE
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.…
HEMP/FLAX CARS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union (EU) backed research project is promoting the use of hemp and flax to make fibreboard used in car manufacture. Coordinator Helmut Zimmer of Austrian renewable raw materials specialist Funder Industries said the Hi-Fi project would generate an “added-value opportunity” for hemp and flax producers, improving fibreboard door panel production.…
EASTERN EUROPE
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.…
AUSTRIAN MARMALADE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed changes to a EU directive insisting “marmalade” is made from only citrus fruits, allowing Austrian jam makers to continue their traditional use of the term for non-citrus preserves.…
HEMP/FLAX CARS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union (EU) backed research project is promoting the use of hemp and flax to make fibreboard used in car manufacture. Coordinator Helmut Zimmer of Austrian renewable raw materials specialist Funder Industries said the Hi-Fi project would generate an “added-value opportunity” for hemp and flax producers, improving fibreboard door panel production.…
BUDGETARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament’s budgetary control committee has called on relevant European Union (EU) institutions to toughen their efforts to fight EU fraud, concluding there was “a long way to go” to tackle the problem. Approving a report from Austrian socialist MEP Herbert Bösch, the committee said the European Commission should review its policy of decentralising responsibility for financial management.…
EP FRAUD MOTION
Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Parliament’s budgetary control committee has called on relevant European Union (EU) institutions to toughen and improve their efforts to fight EU fraud, concluding that there was “a long way to go” to successfully tackle the problem. Approving a report from Austrian socialist MEP Herbert Bösch, the committee said the European Commission should review its policy of decentralising responsibility for financial management, whilst separating competences for the budget, accounts, financial control and combating fraud, now all under one Commissioner.…
SUBSTANCE ABUSE LEGISLATION: EU
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.…
ECJ - AUSTRIA
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.…
EURATOM REVIEW
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE IRISH government 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.…
ECJ - BUD V BUD
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.…
EURATOM REFORM
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.…
EURATOM REFORM
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.…
AUSTRIAN TROUT DEATHS
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.…
AUSTRIA LORRY BAN
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.…
INTEGRATED POLLUTION CONTROL
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.…
INTEGRATED POLLUTION CONTROL
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.…
EIB AUSTRIA LOAN
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.…
AUSTRIA - ECOPOINTS
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.…
WITHOLDING TAX
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.…
LISTERIA - ECJ
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has backed the Austrian government’s zero-tolerance policy regarding the contamination of smoked fish with listeria monocytogenes, ruling that Council Directive 91/493/EEC on placing fish products on the market allows such strict measures. The court rejected arguments that it and associated legislation banned a zero contamination rule as excessively tight.…
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
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.…
WITHOLDING TAX
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.…
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
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.…
PALMOLIVE CASE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has undermined a case brought by the Austrian authorities against two cosmetics executives, who had allowed the phrase ‘dermatologically tested’ to appear on their products. Gottfried Linhart, managing director of Colgate Palmolive GmbH, and Hans Biffl, managing director of Haarkos Parfumeriewaren und Kosmetika GmbH, were found guilty of administrative offences for releasing a liquid antibacterial soap and dandruff-controlling conditioner respectively with packaging containing this claim without any qualifying information about the tests that led to this conclusion.…
FLOODS - EU
Keith Nuthall
INSURANCE companies will be able to reduce their exposure to natural and technological disasters within the European Union and eastern Europe in the future, assuming EU ministers agree plans to establish a central contingency emergency aid fund commanding between Euro 500,000 and Euro 1 billion; it would be raided by Member States and eastern European countries wanting to join the EU that fall victim to such disasters.…
MID-TERM CAP REVIEW
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRANZ Fischler has given himself a tough job; trying to persuade dairy farmers it is time to expose themselves to unfettered world markets when prices are at rock bottom, while facing hostility to further CAP reform from some European Union governments, notably France.…
CADMIUM CASE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
TOUGH restrictions applied by the Austrian and Swedish governments on the use of cadmium in their territories are likely to be scrapped, after the European Court of Justice ruled that amendments to EU legislation permitting them to retain these rules were actually illegal.…
JUST DRINKS
From Alan Osborn
The European Commission has ordered Germany to stop blocking the
sale of the Austrian drink Original Schwedenbitter by claiming it to be a
medicinal product which requires special authorisation.
Original Schwedenbitter is sold in Austria without restriction as a
herb-based alcoholic beverage but is traditionally bought in Germany as a
cure for several illnesses.…
BOOK PRICING - EU
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament has called for a European Union book-pricing directive protecting existing national systems from being undermined by cross-border sales from Member States which have no such controls.
In a formal motion, it has called upon the European Commission to propose this law, although the EU bureaucracy can ignore the appeal if it chooses; under EU treaties, the parliament cannot itself table legislation.…
WASTE SHIPMENTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
NATIONAL regulatory authorities have the power to refuse to allow waste shipments to leave EU ports or cross their territories via inland waterways, whether they represent the country sending a cargo, receiving it or being used for transshipment, the European Court of Justice has ruled.…
WASTE SHIPMENTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
NATIONAL regulatory authorities in the European Union have the power to decide whether the cross-border transport of waste to infill a disused mine is, in effect, underground landfilling, and so should be subject to tight EU rules regulating such shipments.…
WASTE SHIPMENTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
NATIONAL regulatory authorities have the power to block waste shipments from leaving EU ports or crossing their territories via road, rail or inland waterways, whether they represent the country sending a cargo, receiving it or being used for transshipment, the European Court of Justice has ruled.…
GERMANY - BRUSSELS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A DEAL has been struck between the European Commission and the German publishing industry which will lift the threat of legal action by Brussels to fight collective embargoes imposed on book sales from foreign websites.
Indeed, Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels e.V.…
LIECHTENSTEIN CASE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A RESIDENCY qualification for directors of companies established in the Alpine Principality of Liechtenstein, set up to help its authorities fight abuse of its liberal business laws, including money laundering, has been declared illegal.
The European Free Trade Area Court has ruled that the regulation discriminates against citizens of other EFTA countries, (Switzerland, Iceland and Norway), breaching fair trade treaty commitments made by Liechtenstein on joining the association.…
BOOK PRICING
BY KEITH NUTHALL
IMPORTS of books into European Union Member States with fixed-price regimes should also be subject to the same controls as locally published books under a comprehensive, but very flexible, EU directive on book-pricing, the European Parliament’s legal committee has said.…
E.ON AND VERBUND
KEITH NUTHALL
THE CREATION of a hydro electricity joint venture by German electricity giant E.ON and Austrian electricity producer Verbund has been approved by the European Commission; European Hydro Power will produce electricity for its parents, which will continue to sell the power separately to their customers in Germany and Austria.…
CHILD MAINTENANCE
BY KEITH NUTHALL AND ALAN OSBORN
A CHILD of divorced parents is entitled to receive an advance on maintenance payments from a foreign government in the European Union if one separated parent lives in its country, the European Supreme court has ruled.…
WTO LATEST THINK PIECE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRANZ Fischler has been making a lot of speeches recently. It is not because he has time on his hands, he is in charge of the European Commission’s largest two budgets, agriculture and fisheries after all. Rather it is because he is cross with the Americans, whom he accuses of playing Janus at the WTO.…
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament’s environment committee has called for the European Union to have a comprehensive water pricing policy, with meters being installed on farms, industry and private households across its territory.
A report adopted by its MEP’s says that such a move is crucial, if the threat of acute water shortages over the coming decades is to be averted.…
WATER PRICING
BY KEITH NUTHALL
WATER pricing reform is on its way in the European Union. The water framework directive passed last year imposes a commitment on Member States by the year 2010 to ensure that their pricing policies “provide adequate incentives for users to use water resources efficiently.”…
DE PALACIO - TUNNELS
KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has called for swift political agreement on a range of draft proposals promoting the safety of both road tunnels and hauliers themselves, as a response to the latest trans-Alpine disaster at St Gothard, Switzerland.
EU transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio has called for “concerted action” between the EU and the Swiss government, implementing initiatives “with vigour and as rapidly as possible.”…
LENZING ETC
Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission has blocked the planned takeover by London-based CVC Capital Partners Group Ltd, (CVC), of Austrian man-made fibres manufacturer Lenzing AG. Because CVC already controls Acordis, Lenzing’s principal rival in Europe, and only rival in the United States, Brussels has ruled that a merged company would have a dominant position in a number of fibres markets, that could “reduce choice and lead to higher prices for customers and end consumers.”…
HOLIDAY DAMAGE
KEITH NUTHALL
TOURISTS have the right under European law to claim damages for the loss of enjoyment in a holiday marred by negligence from travel companies, in addition to the compensation due for the non-performance of a package travel contract, an advocate general to the European Court of Justice has stated.…
ECOPOINTS
KEITH NUTHALL
THREATS of delays to the distribution of ecopoints permits, allowing hauliers to cross ecologically sensitive Austrian Alpine passes, have been lifted, with the European Commission abandoning plans to cut back allocations. The move had been opposed by the EU Council of Ministers, leading to concerns about an political stand-off.…
ECJ CASES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has been active recently, using its unique powers within international law to bring EU Member States to heel for failing to implement European legislation promoting health and safety.
Unlike any other international court, the ECJ has the power to fine sovereign states, which ignore its rulings.…
CVC - LENZING
BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to open an in-depth investigation into the planned acquisition of the Austrian man-made fibres group Lenzing by the London-based multinational CVC Capital Partners Group. The latter company already controls Acordis, which produces man-made fibres for industrial, textile, medical and hygiene applications in Austria.…
EU FRAUD REPORT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
CRIMINALS are still fleecing the European Union’s budget of hundreds-of-millions of Euro, according to the latest European Commission fraud report. But Brussels is refusing to throw in the towel, unveiling more anti-fraud proposals, Keith Nuthall reports.
THE ANNUAL report on the Protection of the Communities’ (EU’s) Financial Interests and the Fight Against Fraud always seems to have been misnamed, in that it usually focuses on how much money the European Union has been losing to fraudsters, rather than saving.…
LUFTHANSA - AUSTRIAN AIRLINES
KEITH NUTHALL
THE COOPERATION agreement signed between Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines is facing an uncertain future, with the European Commission threatening to withhold regulatory approval because of concerns that it would damage competition in the German and Austrian travel market.
In a statement, the Commission claimed that it has reached a preliminary conclusion that the deal “would eliminate competition on a large number of routes between Austria and Germany.”…
ICE WINE
BY MONICA DOBIE
THE EUROPEAN Commission has agreed to allow Canadian ice-wine, the specialised dessert wine made from frozen grapes, to be sold within the EU, after a long battle to have the designation of recognised by Brussels was finally won.…
OLAF
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE PERFORMANCE of OLAF, the European Union’s new and supposedly independent anti-fraud office, has been criticised by the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee; it has suggested that it has not worked more effectively than its predecessor UCLAF, the European Commission’s in-house fraud busting unit.…