Search Results for: Switzerland

BY KEITH NUTHALL

SYSTEMIC advantages given to biofuels in the European Union (EU) through tax breaks and subsidies could take a knock this year, with the European Commission examining their indirect contribution to greenhouse gas production.

Brussels already takes account of their direct effect, through production and use emissions, and land use changes on fields used to grow feedstocks: only biofuels with a proven 35% emissions advantage over fossil fuels qualify for environment-linked tax breaks and handouts, under the EU’s renewable energy directive.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THERAPY dogs can be a great nursing aid, but new European Union (EU)-funded research has shown how pure bred dogs can be powerful resource for investigating the sources of disease in human patients. The fact is that dogs suffer from many of the same diseases as their two-legged owners, and it is a lot easier to investigate the genetic causes of such illnesses in pure bred dogs.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

IT sounds like every child’s dream job – chocolate testing: something out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. But it is of course a deadly serious business – not just to ensure chocolate tastes good and is healthy – but also to comply with laws on chocolate composition.…

BY MARK ROWEAND ZLATKO ?ONKA?

IT is easy to see why the European Commission is upset over money laundering in Bulgaria, a key consequence of the widespread corruption bedevilling the country before and since it joined the European Union (EU) in 2007.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

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THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the takeover by Unilever of Sara Lee’s body and laundry care businesses, on condition it sells off the US company’s Sanex brand and related business in Europe. Following an inquiry as the European Union’s (EU) lead competition authority, Brussels concluded there were particular concerns regarding Unilever’s future dominance of some EU deodorant markets.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

A NETWORK exchanging security information between airports in the 27 European Union (EU) countries, (plus the associated Schengen open border treaty countries – Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) has been agreed by the EU Council of Ministers. The new AIRPOL network will be a permanent multi-disciplinary cooperation network of police, border guards and other relevant law enforcement services "with the mission of contributing substantially to increasing security in airports," said a Council official.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS, KEITH NUTHALL

THE KNITWEAR sector, especially at the higher end of the market spectrum, is a prey for organised counterfeiters. Sophisticated illicit manufacturers, especially in emerging markets, create copies of established brands, that can be high enough quality to fool, but poor enough to disappoint the consumer after a few wears.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

COUNTRIES negotiating a plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) fighting fake products have announced that all remaining problems have been resolved and a final text is being drafted. This will allow the European Union (EU) and its member states, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the USA to ratify the treaty.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN scientists studying the geological disposal of nuclear waste have released papers indicating that the process could be safe over the very long term. Indeed, an assessment of European Union (EU)-funded projects on the issue published by the European Nuclear Society (ENS) has suggested that "spent fuel is an effective isolation barrier for tens of thousands to millions of years".…

BY EMMA JACKSON, MAGGIE DESCHAMPS

THERE are many good reasons for fleets to use natural gas powered vans running on compressed or liquefied natural gas (CNG/LNG). However, so far, British fleets have yet to be convinced and the market is tiny.…