Search Results for: Bulgarian

THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked oil and gas companies to participate in a major public consultation designed to help it draft reforms promoting the development of new energy technologies. Brussels is planning to release a new policy paper on the subject in the middle of this year.…

BULGARIAN authorities have reported more than 350 cases of Newcastle disease in flocks of backyard poultry. According to the World Animal Health Organisation, the Office International des Épizooties (OIE) all sick birds have died. The outbreak follows a report from the OIE earlier this month from Czech Republic, where backyard pigeons were killed by Newcastle disease.  …

BY MARK ROWE AND CARMEN PAUN

AMIDST the fanfare that greeted Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union, there was little expectation that membership would eradicate corruption overnight. There were, though, reasonable grounds for anticipating tangible progress. Five years on, major corruption scrutiny bodies appear to have come to just such a conclusion: that Bulgaria at least has made substantial efforts to clean out some of the worst elements of corruption, but has plenty left to do.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE BULGARIAN government wants to secure European Union (EU) geographical indication protection for local rose oil. It says the cosmetics and perfume ingredient is of such high quality, that it should be registered in Brussels, preventing manufacturers selling ‘Bulgarian rose oil’ unless it is manufactured in Bulgaria by traditional methods.…

BY JOSEPHINE MCKENNA, IN ROME

Italy may not have the strongest tobacco black market, but it is a key portal into Europe for smuggling. This is fuelled by Italy’s long-coastline and strong organised crime organisations. Italian law enforcement has been fighting the problem, making seizures.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is launching an inquiry into establishing a European civil liability regime for offshore oil and gas companies involved in major accidents. They could then fund repairs and compensation for damage they cause without relying on local governments.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has taken another step towards focusing the European Union’s (EU) support for biofuel production on those fuels that create at least 35% less carbon emissions than fossil fuels. A key part of this process is using certification schemes to ensure that biofuels are green, taking account of the environmental impact of their production as well as use, and the Commission has now recognised seven of these systems.…

BY JULIAN RYALL, and EUGENE VOROTNIKOV

A PROPOSED joint venture under discussion between Japan’s Toshiba Corporation and Russia’s Techsnabexport (TENEX) is expected to focus supplying low enriched uranium, not only to Japan but to third-party markets, Fuel Cycle Week has been told.…

BY MARK ROWE and E BLAKE BERRY

GIVEN Poland’s reputation as a reliable member of the international community, it is perhaps surprising Poland was (until 2009 at least) reckoned by the European Commission and the US Department of State to have one of the EU’s poorest records for tackling money laundering.…

BY MARK ROWEAND ZLATKO ?ONKA?

IT is easy to see why the European Commission is upset over money laundering in Bulgaria, a key consequence of the widespread corruption bedevilling the country before and since it joined the European Union (EU) in 2007.…