Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL AND ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Parliament has beefed up the powers and duties of the European Regulators Group to be established following the passage into the law of the European Union’s new internal market package for the electricity industries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
Vertically integrated companies in the supply of gas and electricity will not be required to separate and sell off subsidiaries engaged in transmission under a compromise plan expected to be agreed by the European Parliament this week. The Parliament had originally insisted on complete separation but is now ready to accept a deal agreed by the EU council of ministers that permits common ownership but sets conditions on operations.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
POLYMERS used as raw materials in the manufacture of detergents, and other products used as intermediate chemicals in the production of cosmetics are to be spared strict registration requirements under the European Commission’s plans for chemical industry regulation.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE
THE CLUTCH of much-maligned offshore financial centres (OFCs) on remote Pacific islands have been swamped by so many accusations of impropriety, they are now struggling to stay afloat.

Labelled as palm-fringed, sun-drenched laundries for the world’s dirty money, these tiny island states and dependent territories are trying to fend off attempts by international organisations to excommunicate them from the global financial church.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKA
SRI Lanka Insurance Corporation officials are assessing catastrophic losses that have hit the country’s tea industry which have been wrought by flooding devastating low-lying plantations. Early estimates predict that the island’s economy could lose as much as SLRupees 2.8 billion (US$28.79 million) because of the disaster.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPE-WIDE campaign promoting safety in the construction sector has been launched by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Coordinated by the EU’s Senior Labour Inspectors’ Committee (SLIC), the campaign includes the dissemination of good practice and checklists, for instance on working safely from height.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE ESTABLISHMENT of a European Union Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work has been approved; it will help the European Commission prepare health and safety initiatives and boost cooperation between national health and safety administrations, trade unions and employers’ organisations.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
INSURANCE companies have been asked to subscribe to a European Road Safety Charter, committing them to back measures reducing road accidents. The move is part of a seven-year plan to improve road safety in the European Union that has been launched by the European Commission; it aims to halve the number of people killed in road accidents annually across the EU from 40,000 to 20,000 by 2010.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE TRANSPORT committee of the European Parliament has approved proposals by the European Commission to reduce pedestrian death and injury on the roads at speeds up to 40 kph but wants the legislation extended to deal with “pre-crash, in-crash and post-crash safety of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPE-WIDE campaign promoting safety in the construction sector has been launched by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Coordinated by the EU’s Senior Labour Inspectors’ Committee (SLIC), the campaign includes the dissemination of good practice and checklists, for instance on working safely from height.…