Search Results for: France

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DETAILS of a rich nine-year fishing access deal struck between the European Union (EU) and the Federated States of Micronesia, in the western Pacific, have been released by the European Commission.

Noting that the western Pacific is “the richest tuna fishery ground in the world (it accounts for 50% of total tuna catches world-wide)”, the Commission stressed: “The current state of the stocks is good and that, for certain species, the maximum safe level of exploitation has not been reached yet.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A FRENCH perfume and clothing company has failed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to trademark the "smell of ripe strawberries", because judges deemed this insufficiently precise to serve as a unique identifier. Eden SARL, of Paris, cited a previous case, where the ECJ had ruled non-visual signs, such as sounds or odours, could become trademarks "provided that they can be represented graphically".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) has welcomed the spread of programmes tackling violence as a public health priority instead of just a crime problem, with the WHO saying such an approach fosters effective holistic policies. A recent conference, the 2nd Milestones of a Global Campaign for Violence Prevention, in San Francisco, co-hosted by the WHO and the California Wellness Foundation, heard of many new national models.…

BY MARK ROWE
IN times of conflict, cultural property, such as archaeological sites, works of art, museums and monuments, can also suffer grievously at the hands of opposing military and guerrilla forces. In recognition of this, such objects are accorded protection by the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has opened a formal state aid investigation into Hungary’s long-term power purchase agreements, concluded between state-owned electricity network operator MVM Rt and foreign-controlled power generators. These deals say MVM Rt must buy a fixed quantity of electricity at a fixed price, guaranteeing, said Brussels, a “return on investment to the generators without any risk”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SPAIN has been singled out for criticism by a European Environment Agency (EEA) report on urban wastewater treatment, noting that despite Euro 3.8 billion in targeted subsidies, it does not comply with relevant European Union (EU) laws. The EEA said only 55% of the population is connected to public sewage treatment plants, “and advanced treatment remains an exception”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE CHAIRMAN of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) agricultural liberalisation talks has warned that the December 13-18 Hong Kong trade summit is highly unlikely to agree comprehensive final goals for the negotiations. New Zealand Ambassador Crawford Falconer said that there remained significant disagreements on market access (tariffs, import quotas, etc).…

Keith Nuthall
A HEALTHY-DOSE of Nordic culture has been prescribed by the world’ premier anti-corruption organisation Transparency International, which has again hailed northern Europe as the region most free of graft, bribes and kickbacks. Such financial crime is rarest in Iceland, says the 2005 corruption rankings from the German group, with Finland and New Zealand tying at second place, Denmark, fourth, Sweden sixth, and Norway eighth.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INDEPENDENT Inquiry Committee into the United Nations’ Iraq Oil for Food programme scandal has claimed 14 British companies paid kickbacks to the Saddam Hussein regime to secure contracts to supply humanitarian supplies under the scheme. There were also four British companies that paid “surcharges” to secure contracts to lift oil from Iraq to help buy medicines, food and other supposed essentials.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has largely frozen spending on the restructuring and conversion of vineyards within the European Union (EU) balancing an oversupplied wine market. Despite approving a series of compulsory distillation subsides this year, Brussels will spend Euro 450 million on conversion and restructuring in 2005/6, the same as in 2004/5.…