Search Results for: Dutch caribbean

Keith Nuthall
THE ITALIAN government is likely to come under pressure from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to increase the liberalisation of its groundhandling services market. In a formal opinion to the court, which are usually followed by judges, ECJ advocate general Philippe LÃ(c)ger has ruled that by protecting the social rights of existing groundhandling services and their staff, Italy is breaking directive 96/67/EC, the European Union’s first attempt to open up this airport sector.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRUSSELS whistle-blower and now anti-fraud MEP Paul van Buitenen has been using his new position to undermine his countrywoman competition-commissioner designate Neelie Kroes. Van Buitenen followed up a short broadside against Kroes’ commercial links at this week’s European Parliament hearing by circulating detailed allegations on paper to its press officers: these were all vigorously denied by Kroes as “unfounded and nonsensical”.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations agency coordinating the world’s airlines has claimed the industry is finally shaking off its post-September 11 gloom and will post robust growth figures this year and onto 2006. Predictions released by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) say that global airline passenger traffic should grow by 6.2% this year and continue to expand by 5.4% in 2005 and 5.2% in 2006.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN research consortium says it has adapted existing nanotechnology to create tiny switches that can further shrink the size of computers. The E! 2839 MESCI-I project – coordinated by European Union (EU) research network EUREKA – claims to “have succeeded where many others have failed – by making the production of miniature electric and computer systems economically viable”.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) current Dutch presidency has ruled out securing political approval for the EU’s proposed directive on energy efficiency and energy services in the remainder of its 2004 presidency. Speaking to the European Parliament’s energy committee, the Netherlands’ economic affairs Minister Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst said the proposed directive on the security of electricity supply would take priority.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S current strong performance in employing its citizens in general, and offering part-time jobs in particular, has been confirmed by a Eurostat report placing the UK above most other European countries. In a comparative study on employment rates, (rather than unemployment), the European Union (EU) statistical agency said 17.4% of Britons were in part-time employment, a larger proportion than in any other EU country, except in the Netherlands, where it is 32.8%.…

Keith Nuthall
NEELIE Kroes, the European Union (EU) Commissioner-designate for Competition – called the Commission’s second most important job after its president’s – vigorously defended herself at the European Parliament against allegations of divided loyalties today.

Appearing at a hearing before parliament’s economic committee earlier today, she endured a three hour grilling from cross-party tormentors who included her Dutch countryman Paul van Buitenen, formerly a whistle blower and now an MEP.…

By Alan Osborn
A threatened blockage in the shipment of all animal products from the EU countries to Russia has been averted following an agreement on veterinary certification reached at talks between the European Commission, the Dutch EU presidency and the Russian agricultural ministry.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Environment Agency (EEA) says the old 15 member European Union’s (EU) greenhouse gas emissions fell by 0.5% from 2001-2, following increases in the previous two years. Sadly, proactive anti-global warming measures were not top of the agency’s reasons for the cut.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IN the age of the Euro-sceptic politician, no one can deny that European Union (EU) institutions have a lot of power, and that their authority is felt in every economic sector, including the insurance business. With European rules currently being debated that will shape the future of car insurance, for instance, it is futile to deny the industry follows EU politics as closely as it does national public affairs.…