Archive

Keith Nuthall
The end of the Marta Andreasen affair, which at one time cast

doubts over the discharge of the EU’s pounds 65 million budget for 2001,

may be in sight according to Brussels insiders. The betting is that

European Commission vice-president Neil Kinnock will drop disciplinary

proceedings against Ms Andreasen, the EC’s former chief accountant who was

suspended by Mr Kinnock last year after voicing criticism of the

Commission’s accounting procedures.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has signalled a move within Europe to cutting subsidies promoting increases in fishing industry capacity, formally proposing that all such grants and tax breaks in the fisheries sector worldwide should be banned. Brussels has tabled such a proposal at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on behalf of the 15 EU member countries, saying it was part of the EU’s commitment to sustainable development, which was a key goal of the WTO’s ongoing Doha development round talks.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Free Trade Area (EFTA) Surveillance Authority is threatening Iceland with legal action over its alleged failure to implement European Economic Area rules on the sale and production of farmed fish. It has given Reykjavik two months in which to explain how it will write directive 91/67/EEC, as amended in 1993, 1995 and 1998, into its national statutes.…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
THE BRITISH Columbia Salmon Farmers Association has scrambled to head off a local boycott by the Canadian province’s restaurateurs on using farmed salmon, in place, say several Vancouver restaurants, because of customer fears about the health safety of the product.…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
THE SPREAD of the oyster disease, MSX off the Atlantic provinces of Canada is proving to be less virulent and dangerous than originally had been feared. Following tests, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans said has said MSX had not spread to the Gulf of St Lawrence beds, but that Seaside Organisms (SSO), a relation to MSX, but much less harmful and contagious, was mistaken for the disease.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Union is facing growing opposition at the World Trade Organisation to its stance on geographical indications, where it refuses to grant protection to traditional regional names of drinks and food products from non-EU countries, unless their governments roughly copy Europe’s own rules.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
POLITICAL pressure has been placed on European Union ministers to press for reforms to the world coffee trading system, which has experienced a 50 per cent drop in producer prices over the past three years, slashing the income of producers.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKA, in Columbo
A CHILLED goods retailer has predicted the opening of markets in the north of Sri Lanka following the peace agreement between the Columbo government and the Tamil Tigers should boost its soft drinks sales by six per cent this year.…

Keith Nuthall
WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) wine and spirits rules of origin register talks chairman Eui-yong Chung, of South Korea, has released his draft proposal designed to end the long running negotiations. It tries to crystallise positions so a deal can be struck at the WTO TRIPs council, July 2-3.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CHILE has moved to create a disputes panel at the World Trade Organisation, opposing Uruguay’s Specific Internal Tax system, which Santiago claims levies heavier taxes on imported alcohol, (including wines, spirits, beer and mineral waters), than on domestically produced lines.…