EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.
Defra: Traditional Grimsby Smoked Fish is the latest UK product to be recognised under the EU Regionally Protected Food Names (PFN) scheme for its quality & regional identity. The product was awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status because the way the cod & haddock is specially prepared is traditional to the Grimsby area.
The award means that 39 UK products now enjoy protection under the EU PFN scheme, which legally protects food names on the basis of their link to a specific geographical area, or because they are made to a traditional recipe.
Press release ~ Defra: Protected food names scheme ~ EU Protected Food Names products and applications ~ EU agricultural product quality policy ~ ADAS
ScotGov: A Scottish delegation, led by First Minister Alex Salmond, was in Frankfurt last week for Euro Finance Week - the largest financial services gathering in Europe. The delegation, which included Scottish Development International, Scottish Financial Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and the Financial Services Advisory Board was be seeking ways to strengthen economic links with Europe and reinforce Scotland's position in financial services.
Press release ~ Euro Finance Week - Frankfurt ~ Scottish Development International ~ Scottish Financial Enterprise ~ Scottish Enterprise ~ Financial Services Advisory Board
CLG: Local Government Minister Rosie Winterton has signed a ‘historic democratic agreement recognising the rights of citizens across Europe to have their views heard by their local leaders’. The new protocol to the Charter of Local Self-Government was agreed by Ministers from across Europe at a Conference in Utrecht last week.
It sets out that citizens in States across the Continent should ‘be engaged at every stage in local affairs from voting in their elected representatives to being consulted on local policy that matters to them’.
Press release ~ European Charter of Local Self-Government ~ New Protocol (scroll down to ‘Additional Protocol’)
Defra: 98.3% of England’s bathing waters met the EC’s minimum water quality standards in 2009, up from 96% in 2008, tests carried out by the Environment Agency show. 414 coastal & freshwater bathing water sites were monitored in England in 2008 and 2009.
In 2007 and 2008, exceptionally wet weather contributed to lower standards of bathing water. Heavy rainfall caused pollution from agriculture & from urban areas to run off and lead to more frequent operation of Combined Sewer Overflows.
The Environment Agency investigates the causes of failure at each bathing water site that falls below mandatory standards and takes appropriate measures to address sources of pollution. Measures taken to reduce & mitigate pollution from agriculture include the Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative and the establishment of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, which now cover approximately 70% of England.
