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By Eric Lyman in Rome

There are problems in the world that cannot be confronted with any success by a single state, no matter how powerful. Big environmental issues and world hunger and poverty immediately come to mind, along with many regional peacekeeping needs and most economic and trade-related problems.

Enter multilateralism, the consensus-driven process that democratically pulls countries together for collective problem solving, usually under the auspices of an umbrella organisation such as the United Nations or the World Trade Organisation.

Multilateralism has been hailed as the natural evolution from the bipolar world order that marked the period after World War II – with influence split between the camps of US and the Soviet Union – and the unipolar order based on the power and influence of the US since the end of the Cold War.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FOOD manufacturers changing the particle size of an additive will have to secure a fresh market authorisation for European Union (EU) sales under a newly approved assessment system. This has been written into four regulations on additives, flavourings and enzymes, which have been approved by the European Parliament following talks with the EU Council of Ministers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FRESH market authorisations for European Union (EU) sales will be needed when confectionary manufacturers change the particle size of an additive in future under a newly approved assessment system. This has been written into four EU regulations on additives, flavourings and enzymes, which have been approved by the European Parliament following talks with the EU Council of Ministers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CONSTRUCTION materials taxes, such as Britain’s aggregates tax, should be used widely to encourage the building sector to waste fewer materials, the European Environment Agency has said. In a new report, it claimed the British tax gave the construction sector confidence when purchasing materials, "since part of the levy revenues have been used to support the development of quality standards for recycled aggregates".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PROPOSED reforms to the European Union’s (EU) Eurovignette are expected to increase pressure for Britain to introduce a version of the road charging system.

Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani will push hard for swift agreement over allowing member states to impose additional charges to compensate for lorry pollution, noise and congestion, saying: "Among the results will be greener transport, fewer emissions, up to 8% less fuel consumption by lorries and fewer hold-ups for all road users."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A FUND managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) has agreed to grant aid Euro 70 million four projects cleaning up nuclear contamination in north-west Russia.

As manager of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) Support Fund, the EBRD signed the funding agreements with Rosatom, the Russian State Corporation for Atomic Energy.…

By Keith Nuthall

The European Commission has proposed the creation of a new legally distinct organisation for incorporating major research projects, so that they would be able to operate without paying sales tax (VAT). Under the proposals from EU research Commissioner Janes Poto?nik,…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) environmental health legislation followed by plastics manufacturers and their customers may need comprehensive reform to take account of nanotechnologies, a European Commission policy paper has warned. Its publication comes as the Commission has launched a public consultation with organisations and companies potentially handling or regulating the use of nanotechnologies, with Brussels looking for evidence that tiny nanoparticles may cause breaches of existing EU environmental health and safety legislation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IRELAND has been censured by the European Court of Justice for failing to subject wind power generation projects to environmental impact assessments demanded by European Union law. Judges made the ruling over planning consents given for a wind farm at Derrybrien, County Galway – a controversial large project destroying 263 hectares of coniferous forest.…

BY DOMINIQUE PATTON

CHINESE government authorities are taking extreme measures to reduce the city’s infamous air pollution ahead of the summer Olympic Games.

A World Bank report in 2004 ranked Beijing the 13th most polluted city in the world, with an average air quality reading of 89 PM10, well above the guideline level of 50 PM10 (micrograms of inhalable particulate matter per cubic metre).…