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KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has declared illegal on grounds of national discrimination the imposition of tougher penalties by the Italian authorities on erring foreign drivers than on Italians. Local drivers may appeal against a penalty within 60 days, but foreigners must appeal immediately and then post security of twice the minimum fine to avoid the immediate confiscation of their licence or vehicle.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has refused to abandon its American lawsuit against Phillip Morris, Japan Tobacco and R.J. Reynolds Nabisco, despite its case being thrown out by the New York District Court. Brussels has announced that it will not only appeal, but will prepare a new case focusing on money laundering allegations.…

KEITH NUTHALL
CONTINENTAL hauliers competing unfairly with British companies because of the low rate of duty of fuel in their home countries, may escape seeing tough rises in excise when the EU passes its long awaited energy taxation directive.

Agreeing that the legislation should be passed by December, heads of government at the recent Barcelona summit also performed an about-turn and said that the directive should “bear in mind the needs of professionals in the road haulage industry.”…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Parliament is resisting European Commission plans to introduce a “lightweight” common market regime for agricultural alcohol production, covering common definitions, improved statistical information, import and export licences and the creation of a sectoral EU committee. The parliament’s agricultural committee has asked the Commission to rewrite its proposal so that it also includes synthetic alcohol, which accounts for 50 per cent of EU alcohol consumption.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening Germany with legal action at the European Court of Justice because it claims labour protection laws designed to soften the effect of liberalising the country’s ground-handling services breaks EU legislation. Directive 96/67 orders the gradual introduction of free access to the groundhandling services market at EU airports by December 2003.…

Keith Nuthall
MEMBER governments of the World Trade Organisation have agreed to embark on two-phase talks to meet the 2003 deadline for completing negotiations on a multilateral registration system for geographical indications of wines and spirits.

The WTO’s TRIPS (trade related aspects of intellectual property rights) council has broadly agreed that a single draft document should be written by early next year, even if this included alternative options.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
Council secretariat officials have told Lloyds List that the March 25th and 26th transport and telecommunications Council of Ministers will try to reach political agreement on the establishment of a single EU committee on safe seas and on the prevention of pollution by ships, which would replace a number of committees covering these policy areas.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has decided to bring an action against Greece in the European Court of Justice over its interpretation of the EU’s maritime cabotage regulation of 1992 and its application to the number of crew on board cruise and other vessels engaged in services between the Greek islands.…

KEITH NUTHALL
A BID by a group of district heating companies to overturn massive fines levied by the European Commission, which found they had been participating in an illegal cartel, has been thrown out by the European Court of Justice’ Court of First Instance.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN is to be taken to the European Court of Justice over two allegations that it has broken European waste laws and one that it has broken the EU drinking water directive.

The government will have to defend its implementation of the hazardous waste directive, which the Commission claims has been incorrect, notably regarding its official definition of the waste controlled by its rules.…