Search Results for: Belgium

IT is a long way to the UK from the German terminus of the Russian-dominated Nord Stream gas pipeline – but major energy companies are seriously considering building a fixed link to Britain. BP has been in talks with Gazprom, the UK and the Russian government.…

EUROPE risks falling behind its international rivals in rolling out high-speed broadband technology because of European Union (EU) policies, warns Erzsébet Fitori, director of the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), which represents new telco entrants. In an exclusive interview with European Communications at her Brussels office, Fitori said Europe will not have end-to-end fibre networks if the currently recommended policy approach, which rewards investment in partial network infrastructure upgrades such as VDSL, is endorsed.…

THE GREEN light has been given to 11 European Union (EU) member states to forge a harmonised financial transaction tax, the first time common taxation has been agreed through the EU’s ‘enhanced cooperation’ system. This allows EU member states to pass EU laws that apply to a limited group of member states – in this case Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) offers a more favourable investment environment compared to north America or south-east Asia in the eyes of Chinese investors, according to a recently released study of Chinese companies investing in Europe. Africa however is seen as the most welcoming destination for Chinese investment, by 85% to 15%, according to the survey of 74 Chinese firms carried out by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), in cooperation with KPMG and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

ELCORE GmbH, a German maker of fuel cell micro-CHP (FC mCHP) units currently has only a few being put through their paces in homes in its domestic market. It has high hopes, though, of selling plenty on a fully commercial basis from late next year before spreading its wings into other European markets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A REPORT released by the European Union’s (EU) umbrella groups for gas and electricity regulators has claimed wholesale energy prices within the EU are beginning to converge, as cross-border sales develop. Consumer prices still varied significantly between the EU’s 27 member states, however.…

BY CARMEN PAUN, RAGHAVENDRA VERMA AND KITTY SO

THE DEMAND for eco-friendly additives is growing and will continue to, as long as the paints and coatings incorporating them have a similar price and functionality those with regular additives, according to Carine Lefèvre, general manager at the Belgium-based Coatings Research Institute (CoRI).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPE’S new airport policy network Airpol has started showing its operational worth, helping coordinate a two-day operation targeting 28 airports in 15 European counties, where 10 smugglers of cash, drugs and counterfeit goods were arrested. Airpol was launched late 2010 and has since developed operations as a coordinator of European network police.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

Counterfeit, mislabelled and substandard meat products have been seized in an international police operation spanning 29 countries, coordinated by Interpol and European police agency Europol. Sausages, ham, lamb, chicken and beef were seized, a Europol spokesman told globalmeatnews.com.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL AND ROB STOKES

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has rejected final appeals by Dutch brewers Heineken, (including subsidiary Heineken Nederland) and Bavaria NV, against European Commission fines of Euro EUR198 million and EUR20.71 million respectively over a Netherlands beer cartel.…