Search Results for: Portugal

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CONTINENTAL European countries have started making major pushes to increase the amount of electric cars in operation. The initiatives mirror efforts by the UK government, with prime minister Gordon Brown recently promising GBPounds 90 million to support the development of electric, hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research project has been launched to prevent allergic reactions to wine, by finding alternatives to sulphur dioxide – widely used by the industry to prevent micro-biological damage to taste and colour.

Organised under the umbrella of EU research network Eureka, wine industry specialists are testing a variety of alternative substances and treatments to reduce the amount of sulphites in wines, which are regarded as an allergen.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Energy Agency (IEA) has concluded that 50% of global electricity supplies must come from renewable sources by 2050 to avert the most serious effects of climate change. In a new report, the Paris-based agency said the most effective renewable energy policies involve Germany, Spain, Denmark and Portugal developing onshore windpower and China cost effective solar heating.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE MUCH praised Mediterranean diet – relying on fresh fruits and vegetables – is being discarded by consumers in countries where it was created. The UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is warning growing prosperity in southern Europe, and to some extent the Levant and north Africa, has led locals to eat fattier more calorific foods.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released Euro 5.4 million in grants to European Union (EU) wine producers helping them market products across the EU. The money will be funnelled through national producer and marketing organisations, funding "public relations, promotional or publicity… highlighting EU products’…quality, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or environment-friendliness…" The payments include Euro 750,000 to the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (Burgundy), France; Euro 750,000 to port promoter Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto, of Portugal; Euro 1.63 million to the Italian Wine Union (UIV); Euro 1.15 million to Italy’s ATI – Wine experiences organisation; and Euro 1.15 million to CVR Alentejana, southern Portugal.…

By Keith Nuthall

The launch of a new Euro-Mediterranean University in Slovenia dedicated to higher education courses focused on issues of importance to European, African and Levantine countries bordering the sea has been given a formal seal of approval. The creation of the institution was welcomed within a joint declaration issued by heads of state and government from 43 countries at a Paris summit launching a Mediterranean Union organisation.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE EUROPEAN Commission has "put on hold" its investigation into the proposed acquisition of parts of the Netherlands food ingredients company GBI by Associated British Foods of the UK because certain information sought by Brussels had not arrived by the time of an inquiry deadline.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has today announced the release of Euro 5.4 million in grants to European Union (EU) wine producers to help them market their products across the EU. The money will be funnelled through national producer and marketing organisations and will pay for "public relations, promotional or publicity… highlighting EU products’…quality, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or environment-friendliness…" said a Commission note.…

By Alan Osborn

The 27 EU member states will have to speed up their educational progress if they are to meet a range of self-imposed targets deemed necessary if the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs is to be successful by 2010.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE MUCH praised Mediterranean diet – relying on fresh fruits and vegetables – is being discarded by consumers in countries where it was created. The UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is warning growing prosperity in southern Europe, and to some extent the Levant and north Africa, has led locals to eat fattier more calorific foods.…