Search Results for: European Court of Justice

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE PORT of Durrës, in Albania – one of Europe’s poorest countries – is to receive a much needed financial shot in the arm of Euro 17 million from the European Investment Bank, which will pay for the rehabilitation and upgrading of cargo handling facilities and quays.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FLEXIBILITY is required in the regime setting the European Union’s minimum excise duty rates for tobacco, says the European Parliament, which has voted for changes to a proposed duty floor of 57 per cent of the retail sale price and Euro 70 for 1000 cigarettes tabled by the European Commission.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WITH the rulebook of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming all but written, the European Commission has been considering innovative ways regarding waste management in which it can help reduce the EU’s production of greenhouse gases.

A new paper written for the Commission’s directorate general by consultants AEA Technology proposes the segregation of municipal waste, so that materials such as paper, metals, textiles and plastics can be recycled, and decomposable refuse be composted.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
A NEW model contract drawn up by the European Commission has been published to try and simplify life for companies engaged in personal data transfers while at the same time safeguarding them from claims under EU data protection legislation.…

KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW report from the European Environment Agency has tried to explain why there is indeed a wide gulf between Member States’ performance on renewables; for instance, Britain has more wind than Germany, but significantly less wind power electricity generation and Greece has failed to develop solar panels as quickly as fellow southern Mediterranean EU Member State Spain.…

KEITH NUTHALL
A FINNISH district heating business has been given permission by the European Commission to secure sole control of a Swedish electricity joint venture in which it already has 50 per cent ownership. Fortum Oyj will now be able to own 100 per cent of Birka Energi AB, which is currently part owned by the City of Stockholm.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has accepted a Greek government request that local small dealers in recyclable waste such as glass, paper, board, scrap iron and steel and suppliers of any size in non-ferrous metals, should be exempted from paying VAT in Greece, because of tax evasion concerns.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union has launched the first stage of disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation over provisional safeguard duties imposed by the Philippines government on imports of glazed and unglazed ceramic wall and floor tiles. The European Commission has called for formal talks on the matter with the Filipino government; if these fail, then Brussels could ask a WTO panel to arbitrate on the matter.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Union is to suspend Chinese imports of rabbit meat and poultry following the discovery of “serious deficiencies” in China’s medical residue control system and “problems related to the use of banned substances in the veterinary field.”…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to re-examine the safety of azocolourants, used for dyeing textile and leather materials, at the request of the German and Danish governments who argue that a ban agreed late last year by the EU Council of Ministers does not go far enough.…