Search Results for: France

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FRENCH wine producer Castel has continued its steady expansion through mergers and acquisition with the European Commission clearing its latest gambits: a 50%-50% joint takeover (with Japan’s Suntory) of France-based wine company Grands Millésimes de France, and sole purchase of French wine and spirit company Savour Club and wine company MAAF Subsidiaries.…

BY VILLEN ANGANAN

THE FINISHING and dyeing plants of the Indian Ocean island state of Mauritius are feeling the pinch of high cotton yarn prices, putting profit margins under pressure.

"The order book of our dye house is relatively full as we have seen over recent months customers coming back to as they are looking for alternatives to Chinese producers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FRENCH cosmetics company Pierre Fabre has been warned its ban on distributors selling certain products via the Internet probably breaks European Union (EU) competition law.

European Court of Justice (ECJ) advocate general Jàn Mazák’s formal opinion criticises this restriction as "disproportionate".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SERIES of bilateral civil aviation agreements negotiated by the European Union (EU) have remained unenforced because some EU member states have failed to ratify their terms. The European Commission has issued a report branding this "unfortunate", noting this "has the consequence of delaying their entry into force".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FRENCH government nuclear scientists have warned that radioactive material, usually totally absent from food, has been discovered in milk in France. They are blaming radioactive clouds belching from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. The French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) says radioactive iodine-131 has been found in densities of Becquerels(bq)/litres(l) of 0.09bq/l near Paris and 0.15bq/l in the Loire valley, western France.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) consumer protection network RAPEX has warned three Brazil-made personal care have been subject to recalls in France because their formaldehyde content was found exceeding EU cosmetics directive limits. These included a hair conditioner with chocolate called ‘Lissage Ultime’, sold under the SOCAP Professionnel Paris brand; a ‘Nanokeratin system’ hair straightener; and a BHOME hair shampoo and styling treatment package.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IT almost seems like yesterday when European policymakers were hailing biofuels as the practical green alternative to fossil fuels, so clean – cars, vans and trucks might as well have been running on water. However, with the growing and widespread acceptance that producing many biofuels (and burning them of course) produces substantial carbon emissions, those days are well and truly over.…

BY KACI RACELMA

THE MOROCCAN textile and clothing industry has been recovering energetically from the 2009 recession, with North Africa’s recent political turmoil yet to significantly impact on its fortunes, although it has prompted concerns in the industry.

Exports to Europe are of critical importance to Morocco’s clothing manufacturers, with the government and industry groups combining efforts to improve standards, promote sales abroad and create a nascent design hub for the sector within this north African kingdom.…

BY GERARD O’DWYER

UPPSALA Ärna Airport, which currently operates as one of Sweden’s 20 military airports, has encountered a setback in its plans to launch commercial flight services by low-fare airlines in June 2011. The airport’s board blames unexpected bureaucratic holdups, with the planned development awaiting a number of clearance permits from Swedish government transport departments.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

FRANCE is far ahead of the curve in terms of weaning itself off fossil fuels and sports the closest thing to energy independence of any country in Europe. Ever since 1974 when the government decided to rapidly expand the country’s nuclear power capacity, France has not felt the intense stress of energy insecurity nor been particularly impacted by the rising and falling prices of fuel.…