Archive

BY ALAN OSBORN
MINISTERS of the 15 European Union countries have reached agreement on the Trans-European Energy Networks directive. The ministers have essentially supported the Commission proposal of last year and Brussels officials predicted that the European Parliament will do likewise later this year.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
EUROPEAN Commission energy officials have welcomed a recent joint declaration on natural gas by presidents Putin, of Russia, and Kuchma, of the Ukraine, as a “vital first step” in agreeing funnelling investment into improving the legal, safety and technical aspects of transporting Russian natural gas to the EU.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the development of an international utility Internet service, which will allow water companies to reduce their procurement costs by calling in bids from a wide range of suppliers.

Ondeo Nalco, a subsidiary of the French group Suez, and RWE’s Thames Water are co-operating to form a joint-venture that will offer electronic procurement, as well as information and bid management services to companies in water-related sectors.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
THE EUROPEAN Commission has given the green light to a proposed joint venture between the Spanish companies, Canal de Isabel II and Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico which will develop power supplies in Madrid, including generation, distribution and supply. Water services company Canal already provides electricity services in Madrid through its subsidiary Hidráulica de Santillana, while power company Hidroeléctrica’s base is in Asturias, in northern Spain.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE
A FEAT of legal logistics is about to be performed on the remote South Pacific island of Pitcairn.

Midway between New Zealand and Chile, Pitcairn was settled by the Bounty mutineers in 1790 and their descendents still populate this tiny British colony.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKA, in Columbo
THE INDIAN and Sri Lankan governments are to launch a drive to promote the export of tea to untapped markets. New Delhi and Columbo will promote the sale of ‘tea futures’ on financial markets and their respective Tea Boards will study future market openings.…

BY JONATHAN THOMSON
FIGURES from the Wine Development Board of Ireland show that the country’s wine market has grown by 15 per cent in the first four months of 2002, further closing the gap on beer. Women are apparently driving growth, consuming 57 per cent of wine sold in Ireland.…

Keith Nuthall
WINE produced direct from grapes should be considered from the country of fermentation and manufacture, while wines made from grape must should be considered legally from the country where the grapes were grown; this apparently contradictory recommendation has been made by a special WTO rules of origin committee trying to harmonise rules of origin internationally.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked Eurpopean Union ministers to authorise in the EU a new intense sweetener used in soft drinks called sucralose. The EU Scientific Committee on Food has approved its safety and set an Acceptable Daily Intake of 15 mg/kg of bodyweight.…

Keith Nuthall
THE WORLD Trade Organisation’s general council has been asked to approve global trading rules stating that instant coffee should generally be considered a product of the country where its coffee beans are grown, not where it is processed. The exception would be for blends where the dominant ingredient is less than 85 per cent of the whole, when the product would be considered from the country of manufacture.…