Search Results for: France

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS; DAVID HAYHURST, IN PARIS; MICHAEL KOSMIDES; AND KEITH NUTHALL

THE DEBATE about whether compulsion or voluntarism best aids energy efficiency is one of the oldest in the electricity sectors: do we save more energy by being ordered to switch off the lights; or by being advised our bills will fall if we do?…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT; AND MARK GAO, IN ISTANBUL

MOST states in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) have mulled developing nuclear power over the past decade, from Morocco to Egypt, and Jordan to Saudi Arabia, but only the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is coming close to embarking on the nuclear option thus far.…

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

THE MOMENTUM behind forging a single standard for the public charging of electric vehicles in the European Union (EU) seems to be becoming unstoppable, with the auto and electricity industries and the EU executive all backing the idea.…

BY ANDREW KURETH, IN WARSAW

MAJOR international nuclear-energy technology providers are signing a wave of agreements with Polish energy companies and research institutes to curry political favour as they compete in the race for the tender to supply Poland’s first nuclear power plant, set to come on line in 2023.…

BY GERARD O’DWYER, IN HELSINKI

A TOUGH legislative response to the rising problem of money laundering-related crimes in Sweden appears to be having a meaningful impact on curbing illegal activities within the country – with the latest statistics from Finanspolisen, the Swedish financial crime police, revealing that while the number of reports pertaining to money laundering grew by 30% to 11,892 in 2010 (year-on-year) that figure dropped to 11,135 in 2011.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared illegal under European Union (EU) law a French 25% tax on dividends distributed to undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities (UCITS) that are based outside France. The problem is UCITS based in France pay no tax on these dividend transfers – and judges said this broke EU capital movement rules.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF

Fast fashion has had a fundamental impact on the apparel industry in the space of just a few decades, with global fashion giants such as Zara and H&M demonstrating a previously unthinkable production speed, with the ability to get a garment from concept to store in less than 12 weeks.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE SCHMALLENBERG virus (SBV) may survive this coming winter and infect livestock to the south and east of its current core outbreak areas in Germany, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has warned. Its experts say it is possible the virus will die off – but if not, EFSA has predicted it is most likely to re-emerge between mid-April and the end of May and "that any outbreak of SBV is likely to be of a similar size to the one that occurred in 2011".…

BY MARK ROWE

WITH its location adjacent to Europe’s key fashion centre Italy, a highly skilled labour force and low wages, Albania’s textile industry is repositioning itself amid the unrelenting economic crisis that is gripping Europe. A well-educated workforce and widely spoken Italian, English and Greek add to the appeal, according to Diana Cekhodima Sokolaj, president of the Albanian Fashion Designers Association.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BEAUVAIS airport, in northern France, is the subject of a competition probe by the European Commission, which fears public subsidies it received could break European Union (EU) state aid rules. The airport, 75km north of Paris, is used by RyanAir for passengers visiting the French capital.…