Ljubljana, 17 December - Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Jure Leben is not happy with the outcome of the Katowice Climate Change Conference because the agreement does not acknowledge the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He told the press on Monday that he would propose bold emission-cutting policies for the future. Ljubljana The rest of this news item is available to subscribers.Buy the news item. Price: 2 tokens; on account: 0 tokens. … [Read more...] about Environment minister unhappy with Katowice Climate Conference
Environment
Romanian business environment reacts to Liviu Dragnea’s new attempt to implement corporate turnover tax: “Honest businesses will be wrongfully punished”
During his speech at the Social Democratic Party’s National Council on Sunday, party leader Liviu Dragnea launched a series of attacks against multinational companies, especially those in energy and telecommunications, as well as banks, and spoke once again about the idea of introducing a tax on their turnovers. Business Review talked to a few of the most important Romanian businessmen about the consequences companies would face if this tax were introduced. Dragos Anastasiu, the president of Eurolines, the biggest tourism agency network in Romania, told Business Review that it is vital for such a measure to discussed with business leaders before being approved.The implementations of the corporate turnover tax has to be based on the right economic arguments and such measures should be negociated and debated with the business environment”, Dragos Anastasiu explained. Viorel Catarama, the owner of Elvila, one of the biggest Romanian furniture producers and retailers, told … [Read more...] about Romanian business environment reacts to Liviu Dragnea’s new attempt to implement corporate turnover tax: “Honest businesses will be wrongfully punished”
Laura Ashley to close 40 more stores blaming “challenging environment”
Laura Ashley is to close about 40 stores as the company's new chairman pushes ahead with a fresh vision for the brand which includes expansion in China. Speaking to the Press Association, Andrew Khoo said he expects to reduce the number of UK stores from 160 to 120, continuing a strategy that has seen 40 retail units close since the beginning of 2015. Khoo, who took over as chairman of Laura Ashley's owner from his father Khoo Kay Peng last week, said: "The direction I want to go is to have not so many stores, but maybe the ones we have could be larger. It's more about showcasing the brand. It doesn't really matter if they buy online or offline, we just want them to get inspired." He added that the group would look at moving staff from any stores which close to the enlarged shops. Meanwhile Laura Ashley will roll out bricks and mortar stores in China once it has built a significant online customer base. "We're moving to Asia in a much bigger way," said Khoo. "We have a regional office … [Read more...] about Laura Ashley to close 40 more stores blaming “challenging environment”
Environment Canterbury staff to strike over pay ‘slippage’
Environment Canterbury (ECan) workers are walking out the door on Monday over salary issues. Nearly three-quarters of union members claim they are paid less than the standard rate for their positions. Public Service Association organiser Angela Collier says it's unacceptable. "Some members have experienced slippage of up to 4 percent over a three-year period, with stalled wages failing to keep up with the market." The members are striking from midday, following what they call "protracted negotiations at ECan and fundamental disagreements over the current salary system". They want a 4.9 percent pay rise, ECan said. Other concerns the union has include exclusion of recognition of Te Tiriti and ECan obligations to staff. "ECan have claimed they have a legal opinion about not putting in a clause in the collective agreement recognising Te Tiriti and obligations to staff," said Ms Collier. "We have asked for their legal opinion on this, and they have failed to provide it." ECan told RNZ at … [Read more...] about Environment Canterbury staff to strike over pay ‘slippage’
The pre-electoral environment in Moldova is monitored by an NDI mission in Washington
A pre-election evaluation mission of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Washington calls for democratic consolidation in the run-up to the parliamentary elections to be held in Moldova on 24 February 2019 by restoring public confidence in electoral processes. Mission representatives say that Moldova can and must be a successful history of democracy in the region and maintain a competitive and pluralistic political environment, including demonstrating the ability to hold genuine elections with motivated voters. In a press conference at IPN, Laura Jewett, NDI regional director for Eurasia, said the mission assesses the context and the pre-electoral environment in the Republic of Moldova as well as the factors that could affect the integrity of the electoral process. During this week, the NDI delegation had meetings with party representatives across the political spectrum, as well as representatives of national and international election monitoring groups and organizations. NDU … [Read more...] about The pre-electoral environment in Moldova is monitored by an NDI mission in Washington