Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
CANADA DIRECTORS
BY MONICA DOBIE
THE BASIC pay of directors at 58 of the 60 largest Canadian public companies increased dramatically in 2003, due to longer working hours and the need for more attractive incentives to lure American talent. A Report on Business survey, published in the country’s Globe and Mail newspaper, found that base retainers paid to directors climbed 28 per cent in 2003 from 2002.…
EU FRAUD DIRECTIVE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
AS EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states search for a comprehensive withholding tax solution on preventing tax avoidance via savings accounts, the Council of Ministers has reformed how national tax authorities cooperate to fight fraud. The updated directive allows them to conduct simultaneous control checks on taxpayers operating in several countries of the EU, sharing information obtained.…
PASSPORTS ADD
BY KEITH NUTHALL
*A high level group on trans-Atlantic travel security including top officials from the US and the EU is discussing creating an international stolen passports database.…
COUNTERFEITING DIRECTIVE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has approved a counterfeiting and piracy directive. The legislation widens powers available to EU customs and trading officials to seize fake goods and also for rights holders to secure financial compensation, injunctions, damages and the destruction and recall of illegal goods.…
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.…
EURODAC REPORT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) new illegal immigrant and asylum seeker fingerprint database has detected 17,287 illicit multiple asylum applications in more than one EU country. Refugee status claimants are only supposed to lodge one application in the EU.…
CHINA DEAL
BY KEITH NUTHALL
CHINA and the European Union (EU) have struck a customs cooperation agreement that involves the rapid exchange of information and documents between EU and Chinese officials to crack down on trade fraud. Chinese exports to Europe have been beset with fake rules of origin declarations, with goods being funnelled fraudulently through neighbouring Asian countries.…
COURT OF AUDITORS VOTE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has ignored a European Parliament appeal to not approve Slovakia’s nominee to the EU financial watchdog the Court of Auditors over his alleged insufficient experience in financial forensics. Following May 1’s EU expansion (sparking the need for new court members), parliament accepted a “negative opinion” on Julius Molnár, European cooperation and international relations director for Slovakia’s supreme audit office.…
TRADE MARKINGS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Reference Materials (ERM®) seal has been launched, based on a quality assurance system operated by the EU’s Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM), Britain’s Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC) and others, that can guarantee the authenticity of products and materials.…
VAN BUITENEN SLATE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
HIGH-PROFILE European Commission whistleblower Paul van Buitenen has detailed the recent series of European Union (EU) scandals and corruption cases within a manifesto, issued to promote his campaign for election to the European Parliament on June 10. Exploiting rules that allow European Commission officials to stand for the parliament and make detailed election statements, van Buitenen’s manifesto is actually a German and Dutch language book ‘In the Trenches of Brussels’.…