Search Results for: Greece

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN UNUSUALLY tough political row between European commissioners has stalled plans to control the emission of carbon dioxide from cars, with intense disagreements erupting over whether limits should be voluntary or compulsory.

On one side is environmental Commissioner Stavros Dimas, of Greece, who wants to set compulsory CO2 emissions for European Union carmakers, because they are likely to break 2004 promises to reduce CO2 emissions to an industry average of 140 grammes per km, or 25% of 1995 levels by 2008.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has demanded refunds of Euro 232 million in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies from Greece because of alleged frauds and mismanagement in administration and management. Euro 163.7 million was demanded for olive cultivation, because a compulsory register checking declarations was not set up; Euro 37.4 million was to be repaid for cotton subsidies, where Athens failed to cross-check production aid and did not penalise errors; and Euro 30.9 million was to be returned over poorly checked grape aid, paid for an overestimated geographical area.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is casting around for allies in central Asia and north Africa in its diplomatic tussle with Russia to secure cheap and reliable energy supplies. EU energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has flown to Algeria to discuss closer energy ties with this major gas and oil producer.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced it will spend around Euro 4.7 million in helping German, Greek, Italian and Polish food producers and processors export to the USA, Canada, Japan, China, India and other big non-European Union (EU) markets.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has ordered Greece to repay Euro 30.9 million in European Union aid for dried grape production because of fraudulently inflated claims; a poor statistical database; and diversion of grapes to other uses.

ENDS…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced it will spend around Euro 4 million helping Cypriot, Greek and Portuguese wine producers export to the USA, Canada, Japan, China, India and other big non-European Union (EU) markets. As usual in these cases, Brussels is funding 50% of planned marketing programmes, matching financing from national governments or private sources.…

BY MARK ROWE

DESPITE devastating hailstorms along Italy’s Adriatic Coast and concerns over damage from the olive fly, the forecast for the olive oil market for the 2006 season is positive, according to the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC).

"All the information available predicts a good harvest for this season" said a spokesman for the IOOC.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has ordered Greece to pay back Euro 37.4 million to European Union (EU) coffers that Brussels says have been misspent on cotton production subsidies. The Commission said Greece had failed to stage adequate spending checks, including spot checks, and had not penalised discrepancies that were nonetheless discovered via regional spending assessments.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH

GREECE has usually been at the better end of any crime statistic league table, but the picture has darkened recently, writes David Haworth. The country is the European Union’s second most corrupt (after Poland), while money laundering and drugs have also made their ugly marks.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE LATEST report on the fight against money laundering in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) is a working document issued in November this year from the staff of the European Commission and it makes depressing reading. Reviewing the past year the report finds that "limited progress" has been made in this sector, at least partly because of a lack of qualified staff and because existing legislation is "inadequate".…