Search Results for: european union

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE DEVELOPMENT of sophisticated electronic devices embedded within every-day objects would be a priority of the oncoming Sixth Framework Programme of EU research, under detailed plans being drawn up by the European Commission. Speaking at an IST information day in Brussels, information society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said that the studies would assist a “radical shift from the current PC based systems and from the keyboard, mouse and screen towards almost invisible technology of natural and effortless use.”…

BY ALAN OSBORN
LEADING City banks and other financial institutions have agreed to take part in a large-scale computer re-cycling operation costing Pounds 1 million. The scheme, which is jointly financed by Lambeth Council and the European Commission’s LIFE-Environmental programme, has been selected by Brussels as a possible model for other EU cities.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
*Final approval has been given for a the spending by the European Commission until 2006 of Euro 15.4 million on rural development projects in Northern Ireland under the EU LEADER plus initiative. The scheme covers all province rural areas and will especially focus on farm families, women, young people and the long-term unemployed, funding training programmes, advice and assistance for rural enterprises, processing of local products and e-commerce initiatives.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKE
EUROPEAN Union hauliers have been encouraged to install a ground breaking wind power system for lorries, where two and three units of compact propellers and generators are fitted on the cab roof. The resulting electricity powers the air conditioning, saving fuel.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IN the years of the Cultural Revolution, when the bamboo curtain separated the world’s most populous country from the rest of the globe, the idea of sending bulk agricultural exports to China would have seemed laughable. Even today, Chinese export markets buy up a fraction of British farming produce, but in the future, this could change.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Union’s financial watchdog the Court of Auditors has criticised three controls operated by the European Commission and EU Member States, which are supposed to prevent fraud and mismanagement frittering away Brussels’ budgets.

It has strongly criticised checks to ensure that agricultural products that attract EU export refunds are actually released onto non-EU markets.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
DETAILS on the agreement reached by China on the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organisation, thereby opening up the world’s potentially largest consumer market to international drinks manufacturers, distributors and retailers, have been revealed in a briefing paper.…

KEITH NUTHALL
FRANCE is being threatened with massive fines because of its alleged failure to abide by an ECJ ruling that it should set up redress procedures provided for in the EU legislation allowing suppliers, who feel they have been unfairly excluded from tendering for contracts in the renewable and non-renewable power sectors, to make formal complaints and launch appeals.…

KEITH NUTHALL
URGENT action to boost airport security in the wake of the destruction of New York’s World Trade Centre has been ordered by the European Union Council of Ministers (transport).

In an emergency session, EU Member States agreed to implement recommedations from the European Civil Aviation Conference,” including recommendations on machine readable travel documents, using accident investigation experts, information and communications and the treatment of inadmissable persons and deportees.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A later briefing paper issued by the European Union also confirmed that the accession deal involved China conceding the right for foreign private firms to import silk directly from China. In the past, this has been subject to a state run export monopoly.…