Archive

Keith Nuthall
THE SWIFT referral of merger cases from the European Commission to national authorities in Member States where the deal will have an overwhelming impact, has been suggested in a green paper has been issued by Brussels. The Commission currently has jurisdiction over some larger merger cases, even where participants are from the same Member State and Brussels wants these quickly transferred to national competition tribunals.…

Keith Nuthall
BANK fees for moving money from country to country within the Eurozone will match those for making payments within one EU Member State in the future, because of a new European regulation agreed by the EU Council of Ministers.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
BRITAIN and the Netherlands have been authorised by the EU council of finance ministers to begin negotiations with associated territories – in the UK’s case the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Caribbean dependent territories – for the elimination of secret savings accounts.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAKA
INDIAN paper giant JK Paper Ltd. of India has launched discussions with foreign paper companies into striking an outsourcing deal for coated paper under the ‘JK Paper’ brand name. The company sees the strategy as a way of helping it double its volumes from existing 150,000 tonnes per annum to 300,000 in the next 2-3 years, along with planned mergers and acquisitions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has fined 10 companies Euro 313.7 million for forming a cartel in the carbonless paper industry, the second largest such penalty imposed by Brussels. Arjo Wiggins Appleton PLC received the heaviest charge; Euro 184.27 million, with the rest being shared by Carrs Paper Ltd Euro 1.57 million, Papierfabrik August Koehler AG Euro 33.07 million, Zanders Feinpapiere AG Euro 29.76 million, Bolloré SA Euro 22.68 million, Mitsubishi HiTech Paper Bielefeld GmbH Euro 21.24 million, Torraspapel SA 14.17 million, Papeteries Mougeot SA Euro 3.64 million, Distribuidora Vizcaina de Papeles S.L.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched an investigation into state aid payments made by the French government to compensate shellfish farmers harmed by the oil spill following the sinking of the tanker Erika in the Bay of Biscay and also damages from a particularly violent storm, both in December 1999.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MEMBER countries of the World Trade Organisation have sought to exploit the deal struck in Doha, Qatar, to strive for more comprehensive liberalisation in the ongoing agricultural round than has so far been discussed. At an informal meeting of the food trade talks, meat exporter Australia has been calling for an end to trade preferences favouring exports from developing countries, claiming that they encourage them to be dependent on a small range of uncompetitive products.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament has again voted for a name change for the proposed European Food Authority, which will henceforth be known as the European Food Safety Authority, unless the EU Council of Ministers overturns the move. MEP’s also voted to streamline its management board and boost its democratic accountability, regarding public meetings and documents.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FATHER Christmas would have been appalled; European Commission officials have been censured for enjoying the hospitality of a Russian game exporter, which they subsequently granted permission to send reindeer meat to the European Union.

Jacob Söderman, the European Ombudsman has played Santa, ruling that these Eurocrats compromised themselves during a fact-finding mission to Russia, by allowing Sweden-based company Norrfrys Ab to lay on lunch, hotel and flight reservations, temporary fax facilities, interpretation services and inspection cars.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
ITALY and Spain are in breach of European Union competition regulations by refusing to allow the term “chocolate” to be used for products which contain other vegetable fats as well as cocoa butter, a judge at the European Court of Justice has said in a preliminary ruling.…