Search Results for: european union

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EU consumer affairs Commissioner David Byrne has revealed details of a planned new European directive on food labelling to a round table on food quality, safety and production, that could lead to a dramatic expansion of the ingredient information that must be printed.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EU Council of Ministers has formally approved a three-year extension of the current flat-rate aid of Euro 480/hectare paid to European hops producers, up to and including the 2003 harvest. A Council statement has said that this would “allow decisions on providing aid to producers to be taken at the same time as decisions on special aid measures relating to temporary set-aside or permanent grubbing-up.”…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed that Portugal be allowed to apply a lower rate of excise duty levied in its two Atlantic island autonomous regions on locally produced and consumed spirits: rum and liqueurs in Madeira, and liqueurs and eaux-de-vie in the Azores.…

Keith Nuthall
ITALY is being taken to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission, which claims that it is maintaining illegal obstacles to the import of energy drinks from other EU countries.

By limiting the amount of caffeine in energy drinks to 125mg per litre, Italian legislation effectively prohibits the marketing of imported products as the majority of energy drinks on the EU market contain significantly more than this, said Brussels.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed that strict dioxin contamination limits are introduced from January 2002, covering foodstuffs including fish and fish feed.

Products with dioxin contaminants exceeding these levels would be considered “unsuitable for consumption.”

The following maximum levels for fish dioxins have been tabled:

*Fish oil: 6 nanogram/kg;

*Fish meal: 1.25 nanogram/kg;

*Fish feed: 2.25 nanogram/kg;

*Fish meat (farmed and wild): 4 nanogram/kg.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
NEW labelling requirements that will spell out in some detail the presence and history of genetically modified organisms, (GMO’s), in food sold in the 15 EU countries have been proposed by the European Commission. The regulation, which requires approval by the European Parliament and the EU national governments, extends present legislation, removes loopholes and brings in a new comprehensive traceability requirement.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EU consumer affairs and health Commissioner David Byrne has revealed details of a planned new European directive on food and drink labelling, which could lead to a dramatic expansion of the ingredient information that must be printed. If it is approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers, the directive would order the listing of all ingredients of foodstuffs and potential allergens.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has clarified its plans to propose a directive on environmental liability this year; Brussels is inviting comments on a new working paper, which could see chemical companies being forced to pay for the removal of serious pollution.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening legal action against the British government, claiming that it has failed to write the updated EU drinking water directive into UK national legislation. If Whitehall does not persuade the Commission within two months that it has satisfactory plans to implement its rules, it could face a case at the European Court of Justice.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE PORTUGUESE government has been ordered to scrap its reduced five per cent rate of VAT on equipment designed for research into alternative forms of energy, with the European Court of Justice ruling that it contravened the EU’s Sixth VAT Directive, which attempts to harmonise the application of sales taxes.…