Search Results for: Greece

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GREEK government is being taken to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for allowing sludge from a new wastewater treatment to leach into the environment, polluting the air and water supplies. The European Commission alleges that Greece is breaking European Union (EU) urban wastewater directive by failing to treat and safely transport sludge from a sewage works in Psitallia near Athens.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WITH Greece and Cyprus are taking over the key European Commission jobs for the cosmetics, soap and perfumery sectors, the enthusiasm of Brussels for tougher environmental, consumer protection and animal welfare rules could wane.

Cypriot Markos Kyprianou has been appointed as health and consumer affairs commissioner in the new Commission that takes office in November.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
GREECE and Cyprus are taking over the key European Commission jobs in the environmental health world, in the new team unveiled by incoming Brussels president José Durão Barroso. Taking over from Sweden’s Margot Wallström as environment commissioner will be Greek Stavros Dimas, who has served as stand in employment commissioner since his compatriot Anna Diamontopoulou returned to national politics in March.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is reclaiming Euro 143.86 million in food production subsidies from 12 member countries, including Britain, because of financial irregularities, largely in the meat sector. While the UK’s repayment of Euro 1.8 million is small and for missing general payment deadlines, France faces the largest demand – for Euro 50.7 million in bovine-product premiums, especially in Corsica.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening seven European Union (EU) countries with legal action at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to apply EU law and give local companies the option of applying International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39 on financial instruments.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
REQUIREMENTS on national telecommunications regulators within the European Union (EU) to analyse a list of specific markets to see if controls are required on a dominant operator are to be frozen for 18 months. The European Commission had been due to review this so-called ‘ex ante’ recommendation last month, but has postponed this until December 2005.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S tax burden as a proportion of GDP fell sharply in 2002 to 35.8% from 37.3% in 2001, confirming the UK as among the lightest taxed jurisdictions in the European Union (EU). The contrast is especially marked with its key competitors Germany (40.2% in 2002), France (44.2%), and Italy (41.7%), according to the latest available comparative figures from EU statistical agency Eurostat.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is reclaiming Euro 143.86 million in food production subsidies from 12 member countries, including Britain, because of financial irregularities, largely in the meat sector. While the UK’s repayment of Euro 1.8 million is small and for missing general payment deadlines, France faces the largest demand – for Euro 50.7 million in bovine-product premiums, especially in Corsica.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WITHIN the newly expanded European Union (EU), Poland is the cheapest country in which to buy a car, although under current trends that honour may not last long. According to the latest European Commission figures, Polish car prices are on average 9% cheaper than those in Finland, the cheapest country using the single European currency.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has formally threatened Greece with legal action at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), over its alleged failure to implement European Union (EU) legislation on solvency margins for non-life and life insurance companies. These rules had been written into EU insurance ‘winding-up’ directives and were supposed to have been transposed into Greek law by last September 2003.…