Search Results for: european union⊂mit=Search

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union Council of Ministers (transport) has approved the latest European Commission airport noise directive, accepting European Parliament technical amendments that would make the legislation tougher than originally proposed.

MEP’s had voted for changes time-limiting for 10 years an exemption allowing the noisiest aircraft registered in developing countries to continue operating in Europe, adding that these aeroplanes must be prevented from moving to new routes in the EU.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Agency for Safety and Health at Work has released a public appeal for project proposals tapping a Euro 4 million funding scheme to encourage higher safety and health standards in small and medium-sized businesses. The agency will provide co-financing grants of between Euro 25,000 and Euro 200,000, with applications being accepted from businesses themselves, as well as commerce organisations and public sector groups.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MEP’s are trying to water down a strongly centralised European Union “Community Patent” system, that would grant jurisdiction over disputes to a new EU intellectual property court; instead, the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee is calling for national courts to be given the job.…

Keith Nuthall
A POLITICAL dispute between the European Parliament and the European Union Council of Ministers could delay legislation improving security standards at EU airports following the September 11 disaster. MEP’s are insisting that airports and airlines do not foot the whole bill and that costs should be shared with Member States, because damage from airline terrorism is not just felt in the air industry.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
A PAPER released yesterday (Thursday) by the financial services of the European Commission says that supervision of the EU audit profession “must be enhanced” in the wake of the Enron disaster. “There are currently no agreed auditing standards in the EU and no European mechanism to deal with such supervision,” the paper notes, adding that the Commission will present later this year a Communication (discussion paper) on auditing strategy.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CONSTRUCTION companies in Germany, Italy, Greece and Portugal may soon be forced to use quieter plant, including concrete mixers, mobile and tower cranes, dumper trucks and hydraulic excavators, because of legal threats against their national governments. The European Commission is warning it may launch cases at the European Court of Justice to force them to implement directive 2000/14/EC on noise emissions from outdoor equipment.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to seek authorisation from European Union member governments to negotiate the formal accession of the EU to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Brussels said that in spite of the EU’s economic strength and the independent political power of its institutions, it carried little weight in the adoption of essential international rules in the transport sector.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to seek authorisation from European Union member governments to negotiate the EU’s formal accession to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Brussels said that as a non-member, the EU carried little weight in the adoption of essential international transport rules, being able to participate only if specifically invited.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE SPANISH Presidency of the European Union has been given a mandate to negotiate a wide-ranging judicial cooperation deal with the United States that would lead to the mutual exchange of relevant data and the establishment of joint investigation teams.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A RAFT of legal cases are being prepared by the European Commission against eight European Union Member States, to force them to monitor and restrict their production of the key greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

In a bid to make the EU stick to its Kyoto Protocol commitments, the Commission has formally warned Britain, Luxembourg, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain and Germany of potential legal actions at the European Court of Justice.…