Search Results for: Latvia

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A MAJOR reshuffle of the proposed European Commission due to take office on November 1 will be made with president-elect José Manuel Barroso withdrawing his team because of opposition to its appointment within the European Parliament. Although the prime concern of MEPs has focused on Italy’s nominee as Commissioner for justice, freedom and security Rocco Buttiglione, the Netherlands’ competition Commissioner-designate Neelie Kroes is also in the firing line.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ISSUES of commercial crime have been moving up the European Union’s (EU) policy agenda in recent years. With the arrival of a 25-member European Commission under Jose Barroso, the subject has even greater prominence and involves the responsibilities of three new Commissioners.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s campaign against restrictions on personal tobacco imports between European Union (EU) member states could intensify after a new taxation Commissioner takes office in November. Answering a European Parliament questionnaire, Latvia’s Ingrida Udre said she would “not hesitate” to take legal action against governments imposing “systematic controls” on private travellers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s campaign against restrictions on personal alcohol imports between European Union (EU) member states may intensify after a new taxation Commissioner takes office in November. Answering a European Parliament questionnaire, Latvia’s Ingrida Udre promised a strong line, stressing that “systematic controls” on private travellers importing wine, beer and spirits from foreign member countries “are incompatible” with EU treaty rules.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
ESTONIA’S prime minister Juhan Parts has refused to increase his government’s planned 20% hike in strong alcohol duty rates, despite pressure from neighbouring Finland for a steeper rise. Visiting Helsinki, Mr Parts heard arguments that next year’s planned tax change would add only a few cents to a bottle of strong grain liquor which retails for about Euro 3 in Estonia, while selling for Euro 9 a bottle in Finland.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN governments should exploit the scare tactics of the 1980’s when AIDS campaigns shocked promiscuous sex devotees and intravenous drug users into changing their behaviour, stemming HIV infections, the World Health Organisation has claimed. It fears dramatic increases in HIV cases in eastern Europe that are amongst the world’s worst, notably in Estonia, Latvia, Russia and the Ukraine “where the epidemic continues to spread unchecked”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S performance in reducing heart disease deaths could be much improved compared with many of its European Union (EU) partners, a new World Health Organisation heart disease atlas, has shown.

Dividing a country’s annual deaths from heart disease with its population, saturated fats and beer loving Britain had a comparative factor of 2, based on 120,530 deaths in 2002 amongst a population of 59 million.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S small shops and off-licences can expect no help from the incoming European Commission in their fight against personal alcohol and tobacco imports. Answering a European Parliament questionnaire ahead of assuming office in November, Latvia’s Ingrida Udre promised to take a strong line on efforts to restrict this trade, assuming she is confirmed as taxation and customs union Commissioner.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
ESTONIA’S prime minister Juhan Parts said his government would not boost a planned 20% hike in strong alcohol duty rates, despite pressure from neighbouring Finland. Visiting Helsinki, Mr Parts heard arguments that next year’s planned tax change would do little to halt the boom in personal alcohol imports to Finland since Estonia joined the EU in May.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A REPORT from market analysts IDC has revealed 37% of business programmes used in the EU are pirated. The study, involving 5,600 interviews, identified Greece as having the worst problem, with 63% of business software being pirated, followed by Poland and Lithuania (58%), Latvia (57%) and Estonia 54%.…