Search Results for: France

BY ALAN OSBORN
MINISTERS of the 15 European Union countries have reached agreement on the Trans-European Energy Networks directive. The ministers have essentially supported the Commission proposal of last year and Brussels officials predicted that the European Parliament will do likewise later this year.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
RESTRICTIONS imposed by the French government on personal imports of standard and homeopathic medicines via the post, from other European Union Member States, are to be challenged at the European Court of Justice. The European Commission is bringing a case against Paris, claiming that the rules “constitute a disproportionate obstacle to free movement of medicinal products in the internal (EU) market.”…

KEITH NUTHALL
This is based on a feature I wrote for Geographical Magazine a couple of years ago but which I am now focusing solely on Tasmania rather than nationwide.

Tasmanian aquaculture

Matthew Brace, Sydney

Australia is sold to the world as a vast baking continent with quartzite ridges stretching to the horizon like the fossilised carcasses of fallen dinosaurs.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Investment Fund has agreed to invest Euro 25 million in “Merlin Biosciences III,” a pan-European scheme investing on infant companies that develop human healthcare products or allied technologies. Merlin Biosciences III will exclusively focus on biosciences, with particular attention to post-genomics, cell therapy, computational approaches to biosciences, bionics, nano-technology and system biology.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PRODUCERS of wine in Belarus can heave a sigh of relief; if they import wine must from France to ferment, they can still brand it as French wine, under a global rule of origin proposed by a special World Trade Organisation committee.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union’s research Commissioner Philippe Busquin has backed bids by both France and Spain to host the large ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) in, respectively, the cities of Cadarache and Vandellós. His support follows the announcement that Japan has formally proposed the city of Rokkasho as a site, joining Canada in making a formal application.…

BY MARK ROWE
CAN the European Union’s single skies plan become a reality inside 30 months? It is a topical subject, with the recent crash over Germany underlining the arguments in favour and against the project, which should lead to planes flying above 28,000 feet being guided and controlled by unified units of air traffic controllers, replacing the current piecemeal system of national flight monitoring and guidance.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has filed an appeal against the dismissal of its cigarette smuggling action in the US against three tobacco companies: Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds and Japan Tobacco. Notably, it has received formal support in the proceedings from the US Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association for its action, along with the World Health Organisation, the US Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.…

BY ALAN OSBORN AND PHILIP FINE

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s competition authority has cleared the purchase

by General Motors of a series of production and sales outlets of the South

Korean car manufacturer Daewoo.

GM is to acquire some of Daewoo’s production facilities for passenger cars

and light commercial vehicles in Korea and Vietnam together with sales

subsidiaries in Austria, the Benelux region, (Belgium, Netherlands and

Luxembourg), France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.…

KEITH NUTHALL
SPINOFF technology from the European Space Agency has been used to create knitted steel flameproof textiles, which have been designed to protect the outside of road haulage containers from vandals. French company Société Ariégeoise de Bonneterie has adapted materials used on ESA’s Ariane rocket launchers, modifying the knitting technique to create a flexible fabric of steel wire that is extremely difficult to cut.…