Search Results for: France

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission has decided to come out fighting in its row with Member States over the liberalisation of energy markets. Calling on EU Ministers and the European Parliament to “rapidly adopt” its March 2001 proposals to completely liberalise gas and electricity markets by 2005, the Commission threatened to use exceptional powers granted to it under EU treaties to pass directives and decisions on market fairness, bypassing opposition from national governments and MEPs.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MULTILATERAL sea and river organisations are usually created to deal with existing problems that cross national borders, but a new body has been making progress on a shipping issue that has yet even to happen: the exploitation and transport of subterranean solid mineral deposits.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has allowed Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain to pay special income aid worth a total of some Euro 418 million, (about Pounds 250 million), to beef producers suffering losses between November 2000 and June 2001 because of the BSE crisis.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening legal action against the British government, claiming that it has failed to write the updated EU drinking water directive into UK national legislation. If Whitehall does not persuade the Commission within two months that it has satisfactory plans to implement its rules, it could face a case at the European Court of Justice.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission said today (Wednesday) it was taking France to the European Court of Justice over restrictions preventing alcoholic drinks producers from participating in the cross-border provision of television broadcasting services, sports sponsorship and advertising services.

Brussels said that the French Loi Evin “disproportionately restricts the cross-border media sales services by sports events organisers in other Member States” and restricted alcoholic drink producers from buying advertising and sponsorship services from sports events organised in other EU countries.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission has failed in its bid to force the French government to abandon its tough line over the right of driving instructors to deduct tax VAT for vehicles bought for their jobs; Paris insists that they can claim a rebate, only where automobiles are used “exclusively” for teaching.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is distributing 1.2 million leaflets this summer – many via EU hotel and tourism federations – which aims to educate holiday-makers on how to use the single European currency, the Euro.

With its notes and coins due to be launched in January, “Don’t forget to Pack the Euro” encourages tourists to get used to the concept of the single currency whilst vacationing abroad this summer.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
WILL there come a day when a genuine European market in health care takes its place among the other landmark achievements of the European Union?

In terms of economic efficiency and the functioning of the internal market, does it make much sense for a million patients in Britain, say, to have to wait sometimes for a year or more for important operations while people in France or Luxembourg can book them for the next day and some German hospitals have barely half their beds filled?…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WASTEWATER

The European Commission has decided to take France and Belgium to the court for flouting the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. France, alleges the Commission, has failed to identify enough sensitive areas bodies of water that are eutrophic, or are otherwise seriously polluted by wastewater.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has run out of patience with France and Belgium over their flouting of the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and has decided to launch legal cases against the two countries at the European Court of Justice.…