Search Results for: European Union

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has been asked by justice and internal affairs ministers of the 15 EU countries to consider legislation that would make it compulsory to include an adjective and alphanumeric code specifying the colour of a vehicle on the registration certificate.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
VINEYARDS in Kosovo are bearing fruits for the first time in more than a decade because of a joint regeneration programme developed from the Commission, the United Nations and the European Agency for Reconstruction.

In 1990, nearly 10,000 acres of vineyards produced high-quality wine to traditional recipes, 80 per cent of which was exported creating a thriving wine industry in the region.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN IT companies will be able to apply for grants from a budget of Euro 3.6 billion, which has been earmarked for information society research from 2002-2006, if new proposals from the European Commission for a new framework research programme, are agreed by EU ministers and the European Parliament.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DIGITAL third generation mobile operators are likely to be disappointed by the result of the first EU joint telecoms-transport council, which has refused to abide by their concerns over the European Commissions new draft guidelines regarding Significant Market Power (SMP).…

KEITH NUTHALL
DISCUSSIONS are to be held between the European Commission and ACEA, the European car producers’ association, on striking a voluntary agreement on guidelines for car front designs, that will minimise pedestrian casualties in accidents.

A statement from the Commission, following a meeting with manufacturers, said that there were benefits in a voluntary deal over a regulation, in that “a negotiated agreement can be considerably faster to implement and thus more lives could be saved faster.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN utilities will be able to apply for grants from budgets of Euro 1.7 billion, which has been earmarked for energy, transport, sustainable development and global change and of Euro 3.6 billion, for information society research – including telecommunications – if proposals from the European Commission for a new framework research programme, are agreed.…

Keith Nuthall
A REPORT on allegations of irregularities and fraud regarding EU subsidies paid for the production of flax in Spain, has been sent to the Spanish authorities by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The report, which is expected to lead to criminal proceedings, has also been sent to Michaele Schreyer, the EU budget commissioner, the European Parliament and to the European Commission’s DG agriculture.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
PROPOSED new European legislation that would make it compulsory for motor vehicle registration documents to carry an adjective and alphanumeric code specifying the colour of the original paint is not expected to cause major problems in the UK paint or motor industries.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
IN an attempt to stamp out smuggling and fraud, the European Commission is proposing that excise duties on popular cigarettes sold throughout the 15 EU countries should be brought much closer together. In a proposed new directive, the Commission says there should be a minimum fixed amount of excise duty of Euro 70 (about Pounds 42) per 1,000 cigarettes in the most popular price category, which would be in addition to the existing minimum excise requirement of 57% of the retail price.…

KEITH NUTHALL
Transport ministers of the 15 EU countries have agreed a regulation

that would require road transport companies to pay the same wages and

benefits to drivers from third countries as they do to EU nationals.

The EU Council said the regulation would put an end to “social

dumping” under which EU road companies have taken on drivers from east

European countries, for instance, at significantly lower wages than those

paid to nationals.…