Search Results for: European Union

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPE’S notorious IT skills shortage was a focus of a Brussels eLearning ‘summit’ between computing and communications companies, EU politicians and officials last week, (May 10-11). Delegates in particular examined how a growth in remote Internet education packages could help satisfy the EU’s demand for trained IT professionals.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s long running bid at the European Court of Justice to undermine the series of bilateral ‘open skies’ agreements struck between individual EU Member States, and the USA has taken a further step forward, with the opening of oral proceedings.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has decided to take France to the European Court of Justice, for failing to implement the EU gas directive before its August 2000 deadline. Paris has pointed out that draft legislation has been adopted, but Brussels asked the ECJ to order it to comply, because there is no date for it to be approved by the national assembly.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE REVIEW of the Common Fisheries Policy is likely to create the largest overhaul in European Union fishing policy in years, matching the crisis in stock levels in European waters. At its heart is the integration of environmental and conservation concerns into the organisation of the EU fishing market, a principle that – judging by conclusions agreed by the Council of Ministers – will have significant consequences when changes are put in place next year.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRAUDSTERS are still fleecing the European Union’s budget of hundreds-of-millions of Euros, according to the latest European Commission fraud report. It says that Member States last year alerted Brussels to 2,400 new cases of fraud or irregularity affecting revenue collection, involving Euro 535 million, (of mostly import duties), and 4,200 cases regarding spending programmes, involving Euro 600 million.…

Keith Nuthall
A REPORT from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) calling for liberalisation is a little like a report from the Pope suggesting more prayer, but the world’s premier international think tank has refined its arguments regarding utilities in a recent formal recommendation to its member governments.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced an in-depth investigation into a planned online travel agency to be formed by the internet service

provider T-Online, and the travel companies TUI and C&N (Neckermann), which could lead to Brussels blocking the deal on competition grounds.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE COOPERATION agreement signed between Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines is facing an uncertain future, with the European Commission threatening to withhold regulatory approval because of concerns that it would damage competition in the German and Austrian travel market.

In a statement, the Commission claimed that it has reached a preliminary conclusion that the deal “would eliminate competition on a large number of routes between Austria and Germany.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has said that the average annual budget for the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, that will replace the spending of the soon-to-lapse European Coal and Steel Community, should average at Euro 45 million. Around 72 per cent will be devoted to the steel industry, with the remaining 28 per cent being set aside for studies into the coal sector.…

BY KATE REW
A NEW groundbreaking IT-banking joint-venture is now operating in the UK, with 1,700 staff of high street bank Abbey National plc being transferred to the organisation.

It decided earlier this year to outsource its banking processes by setting up a joint venture to handle the work, in partnership with Texas-based Electronic Data Systems.…