Search Results for: European Union

BY KEITH NUTHALL
HIGHWAY authorities across the EU would be able to strike contracts with public road transport suppliers for eight years, three years longer than earlier proposals from the European Commission, because of amendments passed by the European Parliament to proposed legislation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRANCE has been added to a European Commission blacklist of Member States who have concluded so-called ‘Open Skies’ agreements with the United States, which grants relevant national airlines additional landing writes in America. Brussels opposes the deals, because they discriminate against carriers from EU countries which have not made similar agreements and also because they help US airlines compete with those based in Europe: the deals allow planes to fly onto a third country, a mixed blessing for EU carriers flying to the US, given its size.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Commission report Wastes Spread on Land has called for special care to be taken with the disposal of abattoir blood, guts and bones in this way, to minimise environmental problems. The study was written because of the increasing demand to reuse and recycle waste, and concludes that with abbatoir waste, “it is imperative that land application is handled with great care.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
GERMAN porcelain manufacturer Graf von Henneberg is facing an uncertain future, after the European Commission ruled that it must repay state aid of Euro 71.3 million, (DM 139.4 million), paid to it and a predecessor company, because it was paid in circumstances that break EU rules.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A POSITION Paper on Mercury has been released by the European Commission, which tries to accurately measure the effect of the metal on the EU environment and human health and makes recommendations on how to limit its impact.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A FORMAL state aid investigation has been launched by the European Commission into exemptions from excise duty on heavy oils used for the production of the aluminium raw material alumina, allowed by the governments of Ireland, France and Italy

They have used powers available to them under the 1992 Directive on the approximation of the rates of excise duties on mineral oils, to exempt alumina producers in, respectively, the Shannon region, Gardanne and Sardinia, from paying excise on the oils.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
GUIDELINES have been issued by the European Commission, advising local authorities on how they can promote social concerns by incorporating them in their public procurement procedures. Brussels’ Communication explains how this can be done without breaking EU laws on the subject, which are manly designed to ensure fairness and openness in bidding for public contracts.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
HEALTH experts have been discussing a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, (OECD), which has shown Britain performs poorly against its competitors in western Europe and north America, regarding the number of nurses employed per head of population in the late 1990’s.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FROM the beginning of next year exporters of medicinal products will find it easier to sell in Japan following completion of a Mutual Recognition Agreement between that country and the EU.

The deal includes a Good Manufacturing Practice agreement under which both sides will agree to honour each other’s testing, certification and approval of products.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has cleared the proposed merger between steel producers Usinor S.A. of France, Luxembourg-based Arbed S.A. and Aceralia Corporación Siderúrgica S.A. of Spain, a deal which would create the world’s biggest steel company. To secure regulatory approval, the companies have agreed to sell off steel production and distribution operations in France, Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy and Portugal.…