Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL
INTERNATIONAL financial assistance is required in the eastern European shipbuilding and repair industries, if they are to withstand increased competition following the planned entry of their countries to the European Union, a report ordered by the European Commission has concluded.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A CONSULTANTS report written for the European Commission by Pricewaterhouse Coopers has claimed that the EU’s GALILEO satellite navigation project is not only positive in cost-benefit terms, but should show an operational profit from 2011 onwards.

The assessment comes after the European Parliament threw doubt on the financing of the scheme, which the Commission hopes will attract more than Euro 2 billion private sector investment.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE POSSIBILITY of a major increase in shipping between the European Union and Iran is being furthered by preparations to strike a trade and co-operation agreement between the two sides. Following preliminary discussions with Iranian diplomats, the European Commission has drawn up negotiating directives for such talks, which are expected to be approved by ministers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EU Council of Ministers for the environment has given political agreement to the creation of official guidelines for Member States on Integrated Coastal Zone Management. It means that EU governments will have to develop strategies coordinating national, regional and local regulations and initiatives fighting the pollution of coasts, covering beaches and cliffs as well as the sea.…

BY MARK ROWE
THE ENGINEERING and power group Malaysia Mining Corp is to buy a US$ 505 million stake in Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia’s newest port. The company told the Malaysian stock market last Tuesday that it had purchased a 50.1 per cent holding in the country’s newest port in Tanjung Pelepas, in a move designed to expand its infrastructure business.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Trade Organisation has agreed to launch a new wide-ranging round of talks on liberalising commerce, negotiations that will include industrial goods, which will be combined with the ongoing discussions on services and agricultural products.

Ministers at the summit in Doha, Qatar, struck a deal after six days of bargaining, with their task being made achievable by the wide-ranging draft communiqué that was drawn up beforehand.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the takeover of Filtrauto S.A., the French manufacturer of automotive filters, by its Italian rival Sogefi S.p.a. Brussels cleared the deal on competition grounds, because the merged company will still have to fight for sales, facing opposition particularly from German manufacturers Mann & Hummel and Mahle.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
HIGHWAY authorities across the EU would be able to strike contracts with public road transport suppliers for eight years, three years longer than earlier proposals from the European Commission, because of amendments passed by the European Parliament to proposed legislation.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is about to complete its own recommendations on safety improvements in long road tunnels. Its proposals include roadside checks on lorries to detect overheating and also rules on the amount of fuel carried through tunnels.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has called for swift political agreement on a range of draft proposals promoting the safety of both road tunnels and hauliers themselves, as a response to the latest trans-Alpine disaster at St Gothard, Switzerland.

EU transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio has called for “concerted action” between the EU and the Swiss government, implementing initiatives “with vigour and as rapidly as possible.”…