Search Results for: European Parliament

KEITH NUTHALL
THE DEVELOPMENT of alternative energy sources within the European Union is important, not just for improving the environment, but also to help guarantee the security of the EU’s electricity supplies, energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio has said.

Speaking at the Sanderstølen Conference 2002, she stressed that with Europe being increasingly reliant on imported fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, the need for the EU to develop its own fuel supplies – such as biofuels – was becoming more important, especially in the current climate of political and economic instability.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has authorised the takeover of Berlin district heating and electricity company Berliner Kraft-und Licht Aktiengesellschaft, (Bewag), by the diversified Swedish energy group Vattenfall AB, which also supplies heating services. Via the deal, Vattenfall will acquire full ownership and control over Bewag.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched a general action plan to promote biotechnology in the EU, which will especially focus on encouraging innovation in food production. Brussels fears that the EU could lose competitive advantage against its competitors if the opportunities offered by biotechnology are not seized.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE CO-GENERATION of electricity from waste oil is being promoted in the European Union through excise duty exemptions, which have been erected in the face of official EU environmental policy, a new European Commission report says.

Its “Critical Review of Existing Studies and Life Cycle Analysis on the Regeneration and Incineration of Waste Oils” points out that Council Directive 75/439/EC on Waste Oils tries to make Member States prioritise regeneration over burning.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union Council of Ministers has approved an application from France to extend for another seven years its right to reduce by up to half the rate of excise duty applied in mainland France to traditional rum from the French Caribbean and Indian Ocean departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion and Guyane.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
REQUESTS by France and Italy for authorisation to pay national aids to wine producers in connection with the distillation of table wine have been sharply criticised by the EU wine commissioner, Dr Franz Fischler for removing incentives for European wine makers to produce quality vintages.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States government has informed the disputes settlement body of the World Trade Organisation that it “intended to comply” with the final Havana Club ruling issued at the start of this year, although it warned diplomats that it “would require for that purpose a reasonable period of time.”…

Keith Nuthall
EUROPEAN Union ministers have approved two new directives that toughen EU-wide rules insisting that insurance companies have deep enough financial reserves to meet their policy commitments in the most unexpected of circumstances.

These solvency margin directives, (one for life insurance and the other for non-life), increase the minimum amounts of capital that must be held by these companies, (the so-called minimum guarantee fund).…

Keith Nuthall
INDIA V USA

THE EUROPEAN Union and Bangladesh are to join formal World Trade Organisation talks launched by India, which is challenge changes made by the USA to its rules of origin legislation, that New Delhi claims favour the American and European Union textile industries, unfairly discriminating against Indian producers.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced reforms to its state aid rules for large-scale projects, which particularly affect the European Union’s synthetic fibre sector. From January 1, 2003, the industry will be subject to transitional rules maintaining the strict approach of the current sector specific rules; in particular, projects will not be eligible for investment aid.…