Search Results for: Netherlands

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union (EU)-research project is developing small-scale hydrogen generators, which could be operated by homes and businesses to refuel hydrogen-autos. The aim of the Hyvolution scheme is to create practical technology that could form part of a sustainable and widespread refuelling network, something that is essential for hydrogen fuel-cell transport to take off.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SHARP decline observed in European butterfly populations by an international study has raised parallel concerns about worsening environmental conditions in general. The report published in the Journal of Insect Conservation says that butterflies "are very good candidates to build biodiversity indicators".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) member states have been authorised to levy until January 2011 low rates of VAT on clothing and household linen repair services. The decision continues for four years an experiment that has thus far been renewed annually and which has been exploited by Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands – who have charged 6% VAT on these services and – Greece, which has charged 8%.…

BY JANE MOIR, in Hong Kong

CONSTRUCTION is on the up, people are eagerly buying homes, cars are being churned out at a rapid pace and the 2008 Beijing Olympics are just around the corner. The demand for paint and coatings in China should never have been better.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ACCOUNTING firms working in the banking, insurance and securities sectors have been asked how European Union (EU) rules controlling mergers and acquisitions in these financial industries might be improved. The European Commission says national regulators have inconsistently implemented a rule allowing them to block takeovers and alliances if they consider a target company’s "sound and prudential management" at risk.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DEBATES are continuing in European Union (EU) institutions over whether vaccination is a safe response to Europe’s growing bird flu problem. With Germany, France, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy and other countries all reporting cases, the EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health approved the first vaccination campaigns.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission and the Belgian Federal Food Chain Security Agency are investigating the contamination of animal feed with poisonous dioxins, some of which have been exported to Germany and the Netherlands. Hundreds of farms have been closed in the alert in all three countries, which was caused by defective filters at Belgian chemical producer Tessenderlo Chemie.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched a broadcast public health campaign, including the production and exchange of documentaries that are designed to persuade European Union (EU) citizens to adopt healthy lifestyle choices. EU health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said the "Health in Europe" involved the creation of a network of public broadcasters in Europe, committed to collaborate in producing such material.…

BY WESLEY GIBBINGS, in Port of Spain, Trinidad

WITH its multiple small jurisdictions, offshore tax havens and proximity to both drug producing countries in Latin America and the United States, the Caribbean has always been a focus of global anti-money laundering efforts.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

SPECIAL VAT rules designed to drive tax evasion from the European Union (EU) materials recycling sector have been approved for Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. The EU Council of Ministers has allowed all three countries to derogate from standard VAT rules until December 2009.…