Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked European Union (EU) ministers to authorise payments of Euro 21.9 million from the EU Solidarity Fund to compensate victims of floods and forest fires in France, Spain and Malta. The fund was set up in 2002 to help Member States cope with exceptionally savage natural disasters.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTRODUCTION of a European Union (EU) health insurance card that would guarantee medical treatment for EU citizens on temporary stays in another EU country – maybe damaging demand for commercial travel insurance – has been approved by the EU Council of Ministers.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
A GROWING list of American health insurers are phasing out coverage for obesity related procedures such as gastric bypasses. In the last year, companies such as Kentucky-based Humana Inc. and UnitedHealthcare (SPELLING CORRECT), the country’s largest insurer, have stopped paying for such surgeries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN ITALIAN law protecting large businesses in financial difficulties from closure has been deemed illegal under European Union (EU) state aid rules, with the European Commission ordering the repayment of any government grants authorised under its terms. The ruling could expose insurance companies to significant commercial risk, given that the law – “urgent measures in favour of employment” – applies to companies with more than 1,000 employees under a specific Italian insolvency proceeding (amministrazione straordinaria).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has written the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) shipping and port security code into EU law, approving a final draft of legislation agreed by the European Parliament. The agreement of the implementation legislation comes three months ahead of the July 1 deadline for putting the code into affect.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
FOLLOWING the terror attacks in Madrid the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has urged member countries to speed up implementation of agreed new measures for promoting safety at sea. The new maritime security regime is due to enter into force on July 1, but a number of members, mostly developing countries, have admitted they cannot meet the deadline because of lack of resources and training.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN coastguard service should be established to tighten protection of European Union (EU) shores, the European Parliament’s temporary committee on improving safety at sea has recommended following its Prestige disaster inquiry. The organisation would have the authority to assign emergency moorings and ports in the even t of a maritime accident, strictly monitor the following of ships to correct routes and prosecute the illegal entry of vessels.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IMPROVEMENTS must be made to the European Union’s (EU) civil protection system, which coordinates the sending of expert emergency response teams and equipment from all EU Member States, to help countries mitigate the affect of large-scale disasters, says the European Commission.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GOVERNMENTS and international institutions of the European Union (EU) need to better prepare for cooperative responses to large-scale natural and mad-made disasters that inevitably cause damage on a cross-border scale, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has claimed.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE NEW proposed European Union (EU) regulation setting coverage rules for civil airlines should soon be approved, with the European Parliament only slightly amending the legislation in its second reading. EU ministers have been asked to accept excluding microlights and small gliders because the costs would be excessive.…