Search Results for: Finland

BY ALAN OSBORN

A projected fall in population for a number of EU countries by 2050 has given rise to widespread concern in the EU institutions about the consequences for higher education. According to the EU statistical agency Eurostat, Germany’s population of 82.6 million will fall to 74.6 million in 2050 and Italy’s from 58.2 to 52.7 million with smaller falls for other countries.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

WHEN the Soviet Union disintegrated, its vast military complex left stocks of toxic waste behind as it split or retreated to Russia. Now an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) project is trying to turn part of this refuse of war into something useful: rocket fuel into fertliser.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

WIND power is Europe’s big growth area for electricity generation, according to the latest comparative figures from European Union (EU) statistical agency Eurostat, with capacity growing by 154% between 2000 and 2004. Its report noted wind power "is responsible for more than half of the new generating capacity" in these years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has underlined its determination to forge a European Union (EU) energy policy with substance by a slew of legal actions against member states over renewables, liberalisation and biofuels. Brussels has started proceedings against Britain, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic for failing to report progress under the 2001 directive promoting renewable energy sources.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) political leaders have agreed medium-term (2007-13) budgets for crucial spending projects for the energy sector: Trans European Networks (TENs) and the EU seventh framework programme (FP7) for research. On TENs, the European Parliament, Commission, and EU Council of Ministers have agreed a Euro 7.2 billion budget, Euro 500 million above previous drafts, although this will have to be split with TENs transport projects.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRAZEN political manoeuvres to duck increased pollution clean-up costs imposed by the revised European Union (EU) bathing water directive have sparked 11 separate legal actions by the European Commission. It has reacted promptly to a massive delisting of 7,000 official bathing water sites by 11 EU governments, to avoid having to comply with new cleanliness standards.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRITAIN is more enlightened over flexi-time compared with the European Union’s (EU) other large economies, say new figures released by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The EU agency says only Sweden, Finland and Latvia practice more flexi-time, although Britain does not always perform well regarding the degree of flexibility allowed by employers.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

ATTEMPTS to duck increased pollution clean-up costs imposed by the revised European Union (EU) bathing water directive have sparked 11 separate legal actions by the European Commission. It has reacted promptly to a massive delisting of 7,000 official bathing water sites by 11 EU governments, to avoid having to comply with new cleanliness standards.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRITAIN is one of only seven European countries that are fully complying with key guidelines on institutional oversight of financial information issued by the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR). Its standard No.1 advises on how the harmonisation of institutional oversight systems in Europe maybe achieved, especially regarding enforcement of good practice.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SPECIAL European Parliament hearing on European Union (EU) energy liberalisation has heard concerns that cross-border supplies could actually raise prices in European countries currently enjoying cheap bills. The parliament’s industry, research and energy committee was told by Finnish green-left MEP Esco Seppänen that consumers in countries where energy prices have been low because of cheap nuclear and hydro power could rise: "We don’t want to have German or Dutch prices in Finland and our consumers don’t want to suffer because of the liberalisation of energy markets," he said.…