Search Results for: Portugal

BY ALAN OSBORN
A DECISION by the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Court of First Instance to uphold a move by the European Commission to block the proposed acquisition of Gas de Portugal by Energias and ENI has dismayed the European electricity industry, which believes the prohibition stands in the way of creating a genuine pan-European electricity market.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has called on European Union (EU) countries to further liberalise their professions, including legal specialists, although a Communication’ policy paper praises Britain for its reforms. The UK “is making good progress” across the board in fighting restrictive practices regarding profession entry, fees and advertising, along with Denmark and the Netherlands, said Brussels.…

BY MARK ROWE
IT’S summer, so in southern Europe there are, once again, forest fires. Villagers and firefighters in Spain and Portugal have been battling wildfires in recent days that have destroyed thousands of hectares of forest and scrubland, while French firefighters have also fought blazes in Provence, the Var department in the Côte d’Azur, and Greoux-les-Bains, near the French Alps.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has authorised the Portuguese government to grant Euro 45.2 million in state aid to pharmaceutical company Portela and C° SA (BIAL), for researching and developing two new medicines for the central nervous system. Brussels approved the subsidy on regional development grounds because the company is based in a poor area of northern Portugal.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
LUNG cancer, blamed on smoking by most health professionals, is declining throughout the European Union (EU) amongst men, but not women, according to a new British Medical Journal report. The UK performs well, with lung cancer mortality rates for both men and women falling.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has started moving against established rich member states of the European Union (EU) who prevent citizens of the 10 new EU countries exercising their rights to work across Europe. It has formally requested that the Netherlands reviews rules often insisting employers secure working permits for staff temporarily posted from these eastern and southern EU countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE NETHERLANDS, Greece and Poland have come under legal pressure from the European Commission to reform their car taxation rules so that it is easier to move vehicles around the European Union (EU). It has sent their governments formal requests to reform their systems, which – if ignored – could lead to a referral to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed the abolition of registration taxes that it says impede the transfer of vehicles to the 16 European Union (EU) member states that impose them. Britain is not among the countries concerned, but they include Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Austria and Poland.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A PROACTIVE competition inquiry has been launched into the European Union’s (EU) natural gas sector, with the aim of rooting out anti-competitive practices. If the European Commission discovers instances of gas companies breaking existing EU competition law, legal action could follow.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission will spend Euro 26.1 million on 26 programmes promoting the sale within the EU of organic food products, olive oil, milk and cheese, ham, fruit and vegetables, plus some drinks products. There will be matching funding from participating countries Britain, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, Hungary, Poland and Cyprus.…