Search Results for: japan

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission will spend Euro millions over the next three years promoting French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Austrian wines in key foreign markets. Announcing the latest of a series of such grants, (matched by national funding), Brussels noted that the main targets would be north America, China, Russia, India, Japan and non-European Union countries in central and eastern Europe.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
COLLECTIVE bargaining remains dominant for settling pay and working time conditions in European workplaces, covering around two-thirds of workers in the European Union (EU). This contrasts with one-fifth of the Japanese workers and only one-eighth of American workers, said a report from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to spend Euro 468,500 over one year on promoting the sale of Italian beef and veal in Japan, north America, Russia and non-European Union (EU) European countries. There will be matching national government funding for public relations, promotion and publicity campaign coordinated by cooperative organisation Naturalcarni.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Forum for Renewable Energy Sources (EUFORES) is opposing European Commission plans to roll its Intelligent Energy for Europe (IEE) programme into a new umbrella scheme promoting competitiveness and innovation. Brussels is considering its medium-term spending plans from 2007-2013 and wants more flexibility in its ability to boost economic productivity in the European Union (EU), following its so-called ‘Lisbon strategy’ to outpace the US and Japan.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A UNITED Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction, in Japan, has agreed a “Hyogo Framework for Action: 2005 – 2015,” which calls on governments to put disaster risk management at the centre of their national policies and for rich states to help improve disaster preparedness in poor countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE LEATHER industry could shed significant numbers of jobs in poor and rich countries following a successful World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha Development Round agreement on industrial and textile goods. Its aim is to slash tariffs across the board, and in that instance, said a UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, there will be winners and losers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Japan have joined Mexico in demanding formal talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over American anti-dumping duty procedures protecting its steel industry. Mexico is challenging US tariffs on its exports of stainless steel sheet and strip in coils, alleging American trade officials erred when calculating dumping margins used to set duty levels.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW United Nations inter-agency programme has been launched to minimise the loss of life and property damage caused by floods. The International Flood Initiative will be headquartered at the Public Works Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan. The initiative would “integrate the scientific, operational, educational and public awareness raising aspects of flood management, including the social response and communication dimensions of flooding and related disaster preparedness,” said UN cultural and scientific organisation UNESCO director-general Koïchiro Matsuura.…

BY TAMARA VANTROYEN, in Hong Kong

IT is not just a rumour anymore: China is officially upgrading its water quality, a move welcome to drinks manufacturers that rely on and control costs through guaranteed clean water supplies. China launched new drinking water standards in June, raising the number of forbidden water pollutants from 35 to 101.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

IMPORTANT changes in the European auto manufacturing industry are expected next year following the introduction of a new crackdown on dangerous chemicals by the European Union (EU). The proposed legislation, known as REACH (registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals), has been recently adopted by the European Parliament and now requires the assent of the 25 EU member countries and this is likely to be given – at least in principle – before the year-end.…