Search Results for: Germany

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A COMPREHENSIVELY gloomy forecast for the future of the European Union (EU) coal industry has been issued by the European Commission, underlining its determination to press for closures of most unprofitable mines to trim Brussels’ and Member States’ state aid budgets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to redraft its controversial proposals on nuclear safety, radioactive waste and Euratom spending, after accepting that a blocking minority opposed to the plans exists at the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers. The move will – claim opponents – buy the Commission time, allowing it to release fresh proposals in April, one month before 10 new member countries join the EU, many from nuclear power states from eastern Europe.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has begun a formal investigation into regional development assistance for the German wine marketing company Gesellschaft für Weinabsatz Pfalz (GfW) suspecting that the aid may breach EU rules for state aid.

Brussels said the Reconstruction Fund for the Rhineland-Palatinate winegrowing area (WAK) had decided to waive part of its outstanding claims on GfW exceeding Euro 5 million for 2001, did not claim interest on debts and had agreed to subordinate certain claims in favour of other creditors.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) electricity federation Eurelectric has called for the creation of a pan-EU market for renewable energy, that avoids relying on long-term subsidies such as grid feed-in laws, used in countries such as Germany.

The group has released a report warning that if the EU’s renewable energy directive’s 2010 targets on production and consumption are met, “a very substantial level of expenditure will result if the existing direct support schemes continue.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
REVISIONS to a European nuclear energy liability convention will increase the total accident compensation available from operators in 15 countries to Euro 1.5 billion, up from Euro 350 million. Britain, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey have now signed the Protocols to amend the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy and the Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE FIRST step towards admitting “interspecific” vines, or hybrids, to the top wine classifications in Europe has been taken by the European Commission, which has ordered a study to see if such vines can produce quality wines to rival Bordeaux, Graves or Chianti.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EURATOM has released its 2002 report on inquiries carried out by its European Commission officials tasked with checking the safety and security of nuclear installations across the European Union (EU); although the paper’s conclusions was generally satisfactory, it notes a number of problems detected that required resolution.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
REVISIONS to a European nuclear energy liability convention will increase the total accident compensation available from operators in 15 countries to Euro 1.5 billion, up from Euro 350 million. Britain, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey have now signed the Protocols to amend the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy and the Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) sub-committee on fish trade has ordered the promotion of cost-effective and global standards to trace a fish’s progress through the commercial chain, from harvesting to consumption. At a meeting in Bremen, Germany, many national representatives expressed concerns about health and safety issues affecting the international fish trade, including consumer perceptions over problems such as antibiotic residues in farmed fish.…

BY MARK ROWE
RUSSIAN smokers have undergone a quantum leap in the past 10 years. From smoking the notorious unfiltered Soviet-era papirossi, they now have a wide choice of international brands, for whom this liberalisation has been commercially significant. Russia remains one of the more appealing markets for tobacco companies, with fewer barriers and, for the time being, a fairly laissez faire approach to advertising, as well as a burgeoning middle class with the disposable incomes to afford premium cigarettes.…