Search Results for: Spanish

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A SPANISH professor of shipping sciences has told a European Parliament inquiry into the Prestige disaster that the ill-fated tanker’s captain Apostolos Mangouras should not be blamed for the tragedy. Instead, said Felipe Louzán Lago, also a merchant navy captain, blamed the Spanish authorities for not allowing Mr Mangouras to sail to a port of refuge.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has delayed a decision over whether it should fund a controversial Spain water transfer scheme, with environment commissioner Margot Wallström saying she needed more proof that transferring water from the Júcar river follows European Union (EU) environmental laws.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has threatened legal action against Spain over the transfer of insurance portfolios in that country, which Brussels says are in violation of European Union’s (EU) insurance directives and the principle of free movement of services.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BINDING energy conservation targets have been proposed for European Union (EU) Member States by the European Commission, a move that could further tighten fuel economy rules for Europe’s transport sector. Brussels has proposed a general energy saving target of one per cent a year from 2006-12, measured against average energy distribution from the previous five years.…

BY PHILIP FINE

THE UNITED States government has integrated information on all its consumer product recalls onto one central website, offering a convenient service to retailers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has launched the English and Spanish-language site (www.recalls.gov) in collaboration with five other federal agencies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SPANISH nut and locust bean producers are to be paid up to Euro 241.50 per hectare in aid to improve production under proposals approved by the European Commission.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S legitimate tobacco trade may face a renewed increase in black-market supplies, if renewed pressure from the European Commission on the British government to reduce customs seizures of EU-duty-paid tobacco is successful.

The Commission has started formal European law infringement proceedings against the UK, seemingly unimpressed by concessions from its government over the amounts of tobacco and alcohol that can be imported from other member countries for personal use.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and ALAN OSBORN
EUROPEAN Commission president Romano Prodi has announced a string of reforms designed to further toughen his organisation’s ability to fight internal fraud and mismanagement. Stung by criticisms following the Eurostat scandal that he has failed to deliver on his goal of squashing European Union (EU) financial misconduct, he told the European Parliament’s budgetary affairs committee that the Commission would increase the political responsibility of Commissioners for the actions of their officers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SPANISH nut and locust bean producers are to be paid up to Euro 241.50 per hectare in aid to improve production under proposals approved by the European Commission.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has granted competition clearance to the acquisition by Spain’s Vidacaixa of Swiss Life España (SLE) from the Swiss Life Insurance and Pension Company Holding. Brussels has investigated concerns that the merged company could be too dominant in the Spanish life insurance sector, but concluded that highest possible combined market share would “not exceed 20 per cent” and that “there remains a sufficient number of strong competitors”.…