THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) long term budget for 2014-2020 (called the multiannual financial framework (MFF) in Brussels’ famously complex jargon) is currently in limbo following a vote by the European Parliament last month (March) to reject the deal. The political deadlock is not likely to last, nor are the actual figures, agreed by EU heads of government in February, likely to be much changed, though.

A EUROPEAN Commission green paper on the EU’s medium-term energy strategy looking ahead to 2030, suggests that renewable energy might not need to be protected by growth targets in future. These have been a key plank of EU energy policy to 2020, but Brussels’ paper on ‘A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies’ noted renewables would be more mature in the next decade and “competing increasingly with other low-carbon technologies,” such as carbon capture and storage.…

SUMMER 2013 marks an important milestone in the evolution of the European Union (EU) regulatory framework and financial support for Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E) that will contribute towards the European Commission’s goal of a single-energy market for gas and electricity. Oil and carbon dioxide (CO2) transport from carbon capture and storage systems also figure in the picture.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) restrictions could be imposed in future on three chemicals used in the EU paints and coatings sector, with member states agreeing that they may be carcinogenic, mutagenic or harmful to reproduction. Toluene, ethylene oxide and tributyl phosphate (TBP) have been assessed under the EU’s ‘community rolling action plan’ (CoRAP) programme (NAME IS CORRECT), which is part of Europe’s chemical control system REACH.…

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has postponed by four months a long awaited decision on whether plastics ingredient bisphenol A is safe in food contact packaging. Its anticipated July opinion will now be a draft and open for consultation until November.…

ALTHOUGH China is known for skilled workers making clothing for big brand names, the country still relies heavily on imports when it comes to high performance nonwovens used in the medical, automotive, environmental protection and other fields, according to Beijing-based China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA).…

CORRUPTION costs the European Union (EU) EUR323 billion a year, three times more than previous estimates,  a study by the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, Germany, and the Brussels office of Germany’s Bertelsmann Stiftung (Foundation) suggests. In an April 9 report to the European Parliament, Hertie and Bertelsmann Stiftung calculated that EU member states could increase annual tax revenues by roughly this much if they reduced corruption to levels found in Denmark, ranked by Bertelsmann Stiftung as the least corrupt in the EU.…

THE FORMER Soviet, Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan is being wooed by the West for its oil and gas reserves, but attention is increasingly turning to its solid mineral wealth. According to the country’s State Committee on Statistics, explored mineral reserves are put at USD3.27 trillion and from a key plank of the country’s economy: in 2012, according to the committee, metals processing accounted for 17% of all the country’s industrial output and was valued at Uzbekistani Som UZS8.6 trillion (USD4.2 billion), a rise of 12.4% on 2011.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced a series of three-year spending programmes helping meat producers from around the European Union (EU) sell their products at home and abroad. The money funds “public relations, promotional or publicity campaigns” said Brussels, with spending being augmented by matching funding sourced from industry groups and national governments.…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research project has developed new means of rearranging molecules helping pharma companies manufacture more effective medicines for less money. The four-year Euro EUR3.6 million EUMET project has, claimed a European Commission report “made the process of synthesising compounds simpler, more efficient and greener.”…