Search Results for: Ireland

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A FORMAL state aid investigation has been launched by the European Commission into exemptions from excise duty on heavy oils used for the production of the aluminium raw material alumina, allowed by the governments of Ireland, France and Italy

They have used powers available to them under the 1992 Directive on the approximation of the rates of excise duties on mineral oils, to exempt alumina producers in, respectively, the Shannon region, Gardanne and Sardinia, from paying excise on the oils.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission is preparing a potentially groundbreaking initiative to overcome the problems created by the existence of 15 different tax systems throughout the European Union, which could involve setting a harmonised EU corporation tax. In a report due to be released shortly, obtained by Accountancy Age, the Commission says differing tax national systems have caused losses in economic efficiency, generated compliance costs and contributed to a lack of transparency.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has lifted the foot and mouth disease inspired ban on exports of pigmeat from parts of the UK, namely most of Scotland, bar Dumfries and Galloway, eastern England, and parts of north Wales. The ban for Northern Ireland was lifted in June.…

Keith Nuthall
EUROPEAN Union competition Commissioner Mario Monti has announced that Brussels is to clamp down on special tax regimes affecting financial services in 11 Member States, which it claims are probably so lax, they constitute illegal state aid payments that could unfairly favour local companies.…

BY ALAN OSBORN AND KEITH NUTHALL
A NUMBER of tax regimes run by European Union countries are being investigated by the European Commission, which is following up suspicions that they are so loose, they amount to a breach of the EU’s competition laws.…

KEITH NUTHALL
LEGAL pressure is being brought to bear on the Irish government to force it to prepare anti-pollution programmes for shellfish waters, under the EU Shellfish Water Directive. The European Commission is threatening Dublin with possible legal action at the European Court of Justice, if it does not by the end of this month, (September), advise it of a plan to implement the directive.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
*Final approval has been given for a the spending by the European Commission until 2006 of Euro 15.4 million on rural development projects in Northern Ireland under the EU LEADER plus initiative. The scheme covers all province rural areas and will especially focus on farm families, women, young people and the long-term unemployed, funding training programmes, advice and assistance for rural enterprises, processing of local products and e-commerce initiatives.…

Alan Osborne
THE EUROPEAN Agency for Safety and Health at Work has published a series of good practice case studies from around the continent, in a bid to advise companies how to improve their record in protecting employees from harm.

Called Quality of Work: New Approaches and Strategies in Occupational Safety and Health, the report is available for free and focuses on initiatives in Britain, Spain, Ireland, France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PRACTICAL advice on how local authorities can cope with the growing threats posed by floods and droughts have been included in a new report from the European Environment Agency, which claims that flooding is “the most common and most costly type of natural disaster in Europe.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced that it is taking Ireland, Italy and Greece to the European Court of Justice, for failing to abide by EU directives on the transport of dangerous goods. Ireland has already been censured by the court for ignoring EU rules regarding their road transport rules and the Commission’s action could lead to Dublin being ordered to pay massive fines.…