Search Results for: Czech Republic

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ENVIRONMENTAL health officers may think there are a lot of smokers in the UK – in 2005, 24% of adults aged 16 or over in Britain smoked cigarettes, but spare a thought for officials in Greece – home of Europe’s keenest smokers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE LEVEL of incineration and recycling of municipal waste within Britain is as low as former communist countries in eastern Europe, a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report has concluded. In an assessment of the contrasting waste management practices in the 27 European Union (EU) member states, the EEA bracketed Britain with Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers have backed the European Commission’s move to introduce private storage aid for pigmeat to fight current low prices. Under the programme, pigmeat producers can claim EU aid when storing meat for between three and five months.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A PROPOSED liberalisation of European Union (EU) design rights legislation, allowing car parts makers to copy and sell spares already made by vehicle manufacturers across the EU has been accepted by the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee. It said: "The directive will allow suppliers to produce motor vehicle components which are identical to the original parts without infringing design protection."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

SPANISH wine makers will receive the most money – Euro 162 million – for improving their vineyards, in the latest tranche of European Union (EU) grants earmarked for this purpose.

The European Commission will spend Euro 510 million across the EU on viticulture reform in 2007/8, with money allotted for variety conversion, relocation of vineyards and improvements to vineyard management techniques.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) research network Eureka has developed inorganic antibacterial chemical additives that can be incorporated into polypropylene fibres, to improve the hygiene and comfort of people wearing artificial textiles. The invention has particularly been designed to help manufacturers of sports and protective clothing, and could also be used in textiles that are a mix of natural and polypropylene fibres.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE BRITISH road transport sector has to play catch up with many of its European Union (EU) competitors regarding the introduction of sulphur-free fuels, a report from the European Commission has shown. It shows that as long ago as 2005, member states such as Germany, Italy and Ireland were already selling this environmentally-friendly petrol and diesel, while Britain was still selling low sulphur fuel, of between 10 and 50 parts per million sulphur content.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

European Commission officials are deciding whether to launch legal action against 22 member states of the European Union (EU) who have failed to implement key legislation allowing researchers to move between EU universities. Because non-EU researchers have faced burdensome immigration procedures when undertaking research projects involving working at different European universities, the EU approved a ‘researchers’ visa’ directive in 2005, ordering member states to introduce a fast-track immigration system.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A WORLD Trade Organisation assessment of oil-rich central African republic Gabon claims it should exploit current wealth generated by high oil prices to boost its general infrastructure, improve governance and increase fair competition within its economy. "Oil resources could still be used, before reserves are depleted, to improve infrastructure and reduce production and transaction costs," it concluded.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has secured approval for new European Union (EU) legislation that will force EU member states to improve their surveillance, monitoring and publicity regarding cases of bluetongue. With the disease rampaging across northwestern Europe, the EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health have agreed to make monitoring compulsory in all infected countries, while bluetongue-free member states must undertake "surveillance proportionate to the risk".…