Europe Agri articles from December 2003

Europe Agri archives from December 2003

WINE: AREV CALLS FOR APPELLATIONS TO BE PROTECTED.
December 5, 2003... Product promotion. AREV states that, in the current context of globalisation, which is imposing increasingly tough competition, the promotion of vine-related products must be one of the priorities in the EU's wine regime. It stresses that...

OBESITY: STUDY HIGHLIGHTS DIFFERING PERCEPTIONS AT EU LEVEL.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Whilst the first results of the Weber Shandwick study show that Europeans agree on the causes - identifying diet as the principal cause of obesity among young people, ahead of sedentary lifestyles, inactivity, genetic or hereditary causes -...

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON GM-FOOD RISK MANAGEMENT.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Leading figures from the worlds of politics, science and food will meet in Brussels on December 4-5 for a conference hosted by the European Union on oThe perception of risk with regard to genetically-modified foodo. The main speakers will...

COMMISSION REGISTERS DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN FOR SPANISH REGIONAL BUTTER.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Mantequilla de l'Alt Urgell y la Cerdagna (also known as Mantega de l'Alt Urgell i la Cerdanya), a top-quality Spanish butter was recently added to the European Union's register of protected designations of origin. In keeping with the...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: AUSTRIA ASKED TO IMPROVE TRAINING OF GM-FOOD INSPECTORS.
December 5, 2003... The EU Food and Veterinary Office report considers that the division of tasks among the relevant Austrian authorities is "well organised and structured" for GM-food, for novel food assessment, the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment...

GENETIC RESEARCH: UNABLE TO REACH AN AGREEMENT, MINISTERS CLOSE DEBATE ON STEM CELLS.
December 5, 2003... Community funding for research projects (covered by the EU's Sixth Framework Programme over the period 2003-2006) involving the use of human stem cells has been frozen until the end of this year. The Council and Commission had agreed to develop...

CALL FOR GUARANTEES BEFORE ANY LIFTING OF GM-MORATORIUM.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Although genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) currently authorised in Europe give consumers no real added value, French consumer association Que Choisir is not opposed in principle to biotechnologies which are likely to open up profitable...

FRANCE ADJUSTS TAX INCENTIVES FOR BIOFUELS.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Under the heading of its amending Finance Act for 2002, the French Government has proposed setting the rate of rebate from the domestic tax on consumption of petroleum products (TIPP) at Euro 33 per hectolitre of methyl ester derived from...

MEPS ADOPT REPORT ON GM CO-EXISTENCE WITH CONVENTIONAL CROPS.
December 5, 2003... The European Parliament's Agriculture Committee has turned up the heat on the European Commission over the thorny issue of co-existence between genetically-modified and conventional crops. MEPs in the Committee voted to adopt an own-initiative...

PESTICIDES: ACTION NETWORK SENDS OPEN LETTER TO COMMISSION.
December 5, 2003... In the letter sent to the Commission, the PAN protests against the "misuse" by some pesticide exporting companies of authorisations which may be granted in Europe in order to make their products available in third countries, without further...

EURO 800,000 FOR FOOT-AND-MOUTH SERUMS.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The European Commission has unblocked funding worth Euro 800,000 for the production, storage and distribution of serums to detect foot-and-mouth disease. The work will be carried out by the World Reference Laboratory in Pirbright, United...

FLAX AND HEMP REPORT RECOMMENDS ROLLING OVER EU REGIME.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... A report on the common market organisation (CMO) for flax and hemp has recommended putting off the planned review of the fibre plants sector for a further two years because full statistics are not yet available. The European Commission agreed...

DAIRY PRODUCTS: MILK SUPPLY VARIES LITTLE BETWEEN 1995 AND 2002.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Milk collection in the 15 EU Member States has barely changed in the eight years from 1995 to 2002, according to figures recently published in a booklet by the EU's statistics agency Eurostat. The aim was to show how the supply-side equation...

JULY FARM PRICES ON A PAR WITH JULY 2002, TRADE EASIER.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... After growth in May and June, the EU index of farm product prices in July 2003 fell back slightly to finish on a par with levels seen a year before. According to the EU Statistical Office Eurostat, a 1.6% fall in the price of livestock and...

FISHING FLEETS REDUCED BY 11% IN FIVE YEARS.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The latest figures from 2002 indicate that there were 91,000 fishing vessels in the EU, an 11% drop in the fleet compared to the 102,000 ships in 1997. According to the information published by the EU's Statistical Office Eurostat, the power of...

MEPS ADOPT REPORT ON ARCTIC FARMING.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The European Parliament's Agriculture Committee adopted an own-initiative report by Finnish liberal Mikko Pesala on Arctic agriculture, which asks the policy-makers in the European Commission to explicitly survey and recognise the problems...

COMMISSION RATIONALISES RULES ON SUPPORT TO CITRUS SECTOR.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The European Commission has adopted a Regulation that it hopes will simplify EU legislation on support for certain citrus fruit, as defined in Regulation 2202/96/EC. On the basis of experience gathered in running the regime, and on the back of...

SEPTEMBER MILK COLLECTION RISES 1.9% COMPARED TO 2002.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Milk collection in the EU for the month of September rose 1.9% compared to the same period twelve months earlier. The biggest gains were in Greece (+11.3%), Germany (+5.5%), the Netherlands (+5.2%), Italy (3%) and the United Kingdom (+2.9%)....

FISHERIES: COMMISSION PROPOSES HARSH TACS AND QUOTAS FOR 2004.
December 5, 2003... Stocks. The stocks in the worst condition and for which closures have been recommended are all cod stocks outside the Baltic Sea except for the stock in the Celtic Sea for which very low catches have been advised. Other fisheries...

EU/ACP: ACP MINISTERS BACK DOHA ROUND RE-LAUNCH.
December 5, 2003... Ministers from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) backed the revival of the World Trade Organisation's Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks when they gathered in Brussels from November 27-28. However, they called for a more balanced...

JAMAICA ROLLS OVER OUTSTANDING SUGAR QUOTA FROM 2003.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The European Commission has decided to roll over Jamaica's unused sugar import quota from the marketing year 2002/03 to be included in the current year's quota. 9,925 tonnes of raw sugar will therefore be added to the annual 118,696 tonne...

SLOVENIAN PIGMEAT IMPORTS TO RESUME SOON.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The European Commission has given the green light for Slovenia to restart pigmeat imports to the EU, which were given the chop because of fears over classical swine fever (CSF) when a Decision (98/371/EC) on hygiene checks was adopted in 1998....

FISHERIES: 17% OF EU FISHERIES PRODUCTION COMES FROM AQUACULTURE.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... A new report from the EU Statistical Office Eurostat shows that 17% of EU fisheries production came from fish-farming in 2001. That works out at 1.3 million tonnes of fishery products, largely from the three main producers Spain (313,000...

FISCHLER'S FIVE TESTS TO KICK-START WTO TALKS.
December 5, 2003... EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler has announced the end of the Commission's period of reflection on how to bring world trade talks on the Doha Development Agenda to a successful close. Speaking at the Food and Agriculture Organisation General...

COLLAGEN CERTIFICATE FINALISED FOR US IMPORTS.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The European Commission has adopted a Decision on the look of food hygiene certificates to be used by the Americans on exports of collagen and gelatine to the EU. The decision clears the main obstacle to the implementation of new stricter rules...

NO MORE MAN FROM DEL MONTE, AS FOOD FIRM CRUMBLES.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Cirio Del Monte, the troubled European food group, is to be broken up and sold. The first subsidiary to be put up for auction is expected to be Del Monte's European canned fruit and vegetable operation, which could fetch up to Euro 143 million....

ABN AMRO CLEARED TO BUY SWEDEN'S GLOBAL GARDEN PRODUCTS.
December 5, 2003... The European Commission gave the green light to ABN Amro Capital Ltd - a UK subsidiary of the Dutch banking group - on November 27 to take full control of the group of companies owned by Global Garden Products Sweden Forvaltning AB (GGP Group)....

EUROCHAMBRES LAUNCHES TRAINING PROGRAMME ON EU ACQUIS FOR FUTURE MEMBER STATES.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Eurochambres, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry, has launched a training programme to create a pool of experts who will assist companies in the ten accession countries with the implementation of the Community acquis....

DIAGEO HEADS OFF WHISKY DISPUTE.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... A dispute over what makes a single malt whisky was headed off on December 4 at a meeting between Scotland's distillers and the world's largest drinks company, Diageo. Traditional distillers are furious about changes made to the Cardhu single...

DUTCH WESSANEN APPOINTS NIELS ONKENHOUT EXECUTIVE.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Dutch food group Wessanen NV said on December 4 that its shareholders had approved the appointment of Niels Onkenhout as a new executive board member at an annual meeting a day earlier. Onkenhout, a former executive at both consumer products...

SOMERFIELD INSURES WINE BUYER'S TASTE BUDS FOR [pounds sterling]10 MILLION.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Struggling United Kingdom supermarket chain Somerfield has put its money where its mouth is by insuring the taste buds of its senior wine buyer for [pounds sterling]10 million (Euro 14.3 million). The move by Somerfield gives Angela Mount a...

ITALIAN DRINKS GIANT CAMPARI SWALLOWS BARBERO FOR EURO 150 MILLION.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Irish drinks and snacks group Cantrell & Cochrane has sold key brands from its Italian spirits and wine business, Barbero, to another Italian drinks group, Campari, for Euro 150 million. The group, which could seek a stock market listing next...

CARLSBERG INVESTIGATES ROLE IN SWEDISH ALCOHOL BRIBES.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... Denmark's Carlsberg Breweries said on December 1 that it was holding an internal investigation of its Swedish unit's role in alleged bribery at Swedish state liquor retail monopoly Systembolaget. Carlsberg's information manager Margerethe Skov...

FOOD SAFETY: PARMA TO HOST EUROPEAN AUTHORITY.
December 19, 2003... The EU Heads of State and Government decided during their European Council meeting on December 13 that the European Food Safety Authority will have its headquarters in Parma (Italy). The agency had been running with a provisional office in...

INDUSTRY CRITICAL OF PROPOSED MAXIMUM LEVELS FOR MYCOTOXINS.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The European Commission notified proposals to set maximum levels for mycotoxins in cereal products destined for human consumption to sector stakeholders at the beginning of September 2003. In France, professionals endorse the move but are...

OLIVE OIL: FRENCH INDUSTRY UNPERTURBED BY SECTOR REFORMS.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... French olive oil - on average three times more expensive that Italian and five times dearer that Spanish oil - accounts for 18% of food oils consumed in France - compared with 12% 20 years ago - but 40% in value terms, the most significant...

NUTRITION: COMMUNITY PROJECT ON SELF-HELP GUIDES FOR BULIMIA SUFFERERS.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The guide contains a series of diagnostic and therapeutic tools designed to help users to monitor, observe and manage information relating to their behaviour, thoughts and emotions. By gradually progressing through the modules, patients are...

COMMISSION RECORDS DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN FOR GERMAN SAUSAGES.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Three German designations for meat-based farm produce and foods were added to the EU list of protected geographical indications (PGIs) on December 17: Thuringer Leberwurst, Thuringer Rotwurst and Thuringer Rostbradwurst. They have been added to...

EU SPONSORS CONFERENCE ON ORGANIC COTTON PRODUCTION.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... From February 10 to 13, 2004, a conference is being held in Hamburg under the auspices of German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development on the subject of organic cotton production. The event is being stages in the context of a...

PACKAGING WASTE: AGREEMENT IN CONCILIATION ON PACKAGING WASTE DIRECTIVE.
December 19, 2003... The new Directive amends and updates the 1994 Directive on packaging and packaging waste. The latest discussions stumbled over two main issues, namely: whether incineration of packaging waste should be count as "recovery" or not, and the...

RESEARCH: BUSQUIN HIGHLIGHTS ADVANTAGES OF CHEMICAL REGISTRATION SYSTEM.(European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers Federation)(European Chemical Employers Group)
December 19, 2003... The European Commission's representative, Philippe Busquin, launched into a speech in defence of REACH, fending off attacks by industry, which claims the new system would hinder or stick a spoke in the wheel of innovation. He first of all...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: MEPS LEAVE CHOICE UP TO FARMERS AND CONSUMERS.
December 19, 2003... The European Parliament is generally pushing for measures to ensure stricter, more effective protection against any accidental contamination of the crop and seeds available to conventional and organic farmers. They stress the need for the EU to...

NICE HOSTS SEMINAR ON INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGIES.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The City of Nice is to host a seminar from January 19 to 23, 2004 on industrial property rights in the biotechnology sector. The event is open to individuals using intellectual property rights to optimise the profitability of innovation efforts...

BIOTECHNOLOGY: EU EXPERTS DIVIDED OVER SALES OF TRANSGENIC MAIZE BT 11.
December 19, 2003... During the Committee meeting, only six countries (Spain, Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland) were in favour of authorising Bt 11, six voted against (France, Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Portugal and Greece) and three others...

ENVIRONMENT: POLICY REVIEW URGES SPEEDIER REFORMS.
December 19, 2003... With regard to decoupling economic growth from environmental pressures, the Commission suggests giving priority to: - guaranteeing an effective implementation of existing legislation on the environment; - ensuring efficient...

ENVIRONMENT: MEPS SAY CONSUMERS NEED BETTER INFORMATION ON DETERGENTS.
December 19, 2003... The MEPs are calling for the new legislation to be reassessed after three years and reviewed after five years in the light of separate legislation which is in the pipeline on the biodegradability of surfactants, a key ingredient of detergents....

DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH: COMMISSION APPROVES EURO 200 MILLION FOR CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAMME.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The programme will be led by Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, Sweden and Norway. These countries have agreed to co-ordinate and exchange knowledge, best practice,...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: SHORT DISTANCE BETWEEN CROPS IS ENOUGH TO LIMIT GENE TRANSFER.(UK. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs)
December 19, 2003... According to the study by the UKs Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), a distance of 25 metres is enough to ensure the threshold of 0.9% authorised by the EU is respected. A distance of 80 metres reduces the transfer rate...

FISHERIES: MEMBER STATES OVERTURN PROPOSED ANCHOVY QUOTA CUTS FOR END-2003.
December 19, 2003... The EU Council of Ministers has adopted a Regulation that turns plans to cut anchovy quotas at the end of 2003 on their head, by increasing catches in certain Baltic herring fisheries and for anglerfish and deleting any reference to anchovy at...

STATE AID: REFORM OF STATE AID RULES FOR AGRICULTURAL SMES UNVEILED.
December 19, 2003... Block exemption. The Regulation adopted by the Commission will cover all SMEs as defined in Regulation 70/2001/EC (up to 250 employees and Euro 40 million turnover) with the aim of facilitating their economic development without adversely...

FARM PRICES: PROFITABILITY CLIMBS HIGHER IN AUGUST.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Farm prices continued their recovery in August 2003 with a further rise compared to the situation twelve months before, according to figures released by EU statistics office Eurostat. Coupled with feeble increases in agricultural costs, farmers...

TWO NEW MICRO-ORGANISMS APPROVED FOR PIG AND POULTRY FEED.(Enterococcus faecium )(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Two new micro-organisms have been approved for use in animal feed by the European Commission for the next four years. Following approval from the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, Enterococcus faecium has been authorised...

MAXIMUM RESIDUE LEVELS SET FOR TWO MORE VETERINARY MEDICINES.(Annex 1 of Regulation 2377/90/EEC.)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Two new veterinary medicines have been assigned maximum residue levels in animal products that find their way into the food chain, allowing their use to be regulated according to human health concerns. Cefquinome in horses and Imidocarbe in...

MEPS ADOPT REPORT ON ARCTIC FARMING.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report by Finnish liberal Mikko Pesala on artic agriculture, which asks the policy-makers in the European Commission to explicitly survey and recognise the problems faced by farmers north of the...

TOBACCO FUND CONTRIBUTION OF 3% APPROVED BY MEPS.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The way looks clear for the Tobacco Fund to remain at 3% of aid payments to the sector, after the European Parliament rubber-stamped the European Commission's proposal for a Council Regulation. The consultation report by Joseph Daul (EPP-ED,...

MEPS APPROVE AZORES DAIRY QUOTA HIKE.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The Azores Islands are closer to securing their sought-after rise in the milk quota of 50,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes per year, after the European Parliament gave its formal Opinion on the matter on December 16. The EU Council of Ministers...

MEPS SUPPORT PROPOSED 2004/05 SEED AID.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The European Parliament also adopted a report by Joseph Daul (EPP-ED, France) endorsing without amendments a Commission proposal on Community aid for seed prices in 2004/05 (COM(2003) 552). The proposed Regulation should now be adopted without...

FARM MINISTERS AGREE TO REDUCTION IN LAND SET-ASIDE RATE.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Farmers sowing arable crops in the first half of 2004 will only have to put 5% of their land into the set-aside system, after Farm Ministers meeting in the Council on December 17 adopted a Regulation halving set-aside requirements. The...

FARM COUNCIL: MINISTERS DISCUSS ANIMAL WELFARE, PIGS, BASMATI RICE & RISK MANAGEMENT.
December 19, 2003... The Farm Council held a spirited debate on the crisis situation facing the pig sector, after prices continued their downward plunge in December and feed costs continued to rise. On December 15, the Management Committee for Pigmeat backed a...

DEBATE ON COTTON, OLIVE OIL, TOBACCO AND HOPS REFORMS HEATS UP.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Farm Ministers have run through their accustomed arguments on reform of the cotton, olive oil, tobacco and hops sectors at yet another debate in the Farm Council on December 17. "It's the usual picture", said Giovanni Alemanno, sitting...

FISHERIES MINISTERS ADOPT 2004 GUIDE PRICES.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... EU Fisheries Ministers have adopted without discussion the European Commission's proposal on next year's guide prices for most species of fish caught by EU fisherman, as well as the producer price for tuna. The guide prices are set annually...

FISH COUNCIL: COD, HAKE RECOVERY PLANS ADOPTED AND 2004 TACS.
December 19, 2003... Franz Fischler said: "On Wednesday we began this Fish Council with a lunch, and during that lunch I said the test would be to see how seriously we take our fisheries policy in social terms. We have passed the test referred to at the start of...

FISH COUNCIL: COMPROMISE ON COD AND NORTHERN HAKE TABLED.
December 19, 2003... The key part of the compromise tabled deletes any reference to the kilowatt/day method of limiting fishing effort, which was the point of most contention among Member States. Meanwhile, the initial proposal contained an automatic mechanism for...

EU/CHINA: COMMISSION DROPS CITRUS SAFEGUARD INVESTIGATION.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The European Commission has terminated one of its investigations into Chinese citrus imports without taking any measures. The inquiry was launched under Council Regulation 427/2003 on July 11, 2003 following complaints from Spain that a flood...

COUNCIL ROLLS OVER US WINE DEROGATIONS FOR TWO YEARS.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... After negotiators failed to clinch a mini-deal in the talks on wine trade with the United States, the Council of Ministers has adopted a proposal to extend existing derogations for imports of US wine (Regulation 1037/2001/EC). The Regulations...

NESTLE AND COLGATE JOINT VENTURES CLEARED.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Proposed joint ventures between Nestle and Colgate were cleared by the European Commission on December 12. The joint ventures between Swiss food giant Nestle S.A. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. will develop, produce, market and sell sugar-free...

COMMISSION CLEARS AGCO'S PURCHASE OF VALTRA.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The European Commission gave its green light on December 15, for AGCO, a US-based manufacturer and distributor of farm machinery, to buy the Finnish tractor manufacturer, Valtra, from Kone Corp. The Commission Merger Task Force's routine...

NESTLE SELLS TURKISH DAIRY UNIT TO DANONE.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Swiss food giant Nestle announced on December 17 that it is to sell its chilled dairy and UHT milk products operations in Turkey to France's Danone in a move to focus on core businesses. It gave no financial terms in a statement. Nestle will...

BULGARTABAK TO BE BROKEN UP IN 3RD SALE ATTEMPT.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Sofia has re-launched the privatisation of state tobacco producer Bulgartabak, in a third attempt to sell the industrial giant. This time, a new strategy to break up the group and sell it, piece-by-piece, to strategic investors offers the only...

TURN AROUND SPECIALIST STEPS IN TO SAVE PARMALAT.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The chairman and chief executive of Parmalat, Calisto Tanzi, who over four decades turned a family business into a global food and dairy giant, resigned on December 15 in the wake of a financial problem that has pushed the company to the brink...

EURO 5 MILLION PROFIT FOR SLOVAKIAN PAPER GROUP KAPPA STUROVO.(Kappa Sturovo)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
December 19, 2003... The pulp and paper mill group Kappa Sturovo expects to close this year with a net profit of around Euro 5 million (SKK 246.2 million), with operating profits of Euro 7.6 million. However, the falling price of fluting (corrugated layer in...

MORRISON SUPERMARKET CHAIN OFFERS [pounds sterling]3 BN FOR RIVAL SAFEWAY.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... William Morrison Supermarkets Plc has agreed a new [pounds sterling]3 billion (Euro 4.2 billion) bid for rival Safeway Plc on December 15 to challenge for third position in the UK's supermarket sector. It brings the long-running takeover battle...

AHOLD BAILED OUT BY SHAREHOLDERS.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Shareholders in Dutch food retailer Ahold NV have subscribed to more than 90% of an offering of 3 billion euros in new shares. Ahold, the world's third-largest supermarket operator in terms of sales after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of the US and...

RADEBERGER TAKES STAKE IN RIVAL BREWER STUTTGARTER HOFBRAEU.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... German brewer Radeberger is to take a 50% stake in Stuttgarter Hofbraeu AG's brewing and property assets as part of a Euro 60 million deal, the Stuttgart-based beer maker said on December 10. Hofbraeu said that the brewery would be run as a...

ROMANIAN FARM CONSULTANTS TRAINED IN AMERICA.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Five agriculture consultants and entrepreneurs from lasi County in Eastern Romania have taken part in a two-week study trip to the US as part of a pilot programme for the development of services for small and medium-sized farms. The programme...

ROMANIA DEVELOPING AN ANTI-HAIL MISSILE SYSTEM.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... A company belonging to the Romanian national armaments company, Romarm, is to supply up to 500 missiles for a future system aimed at preventing the "stone rain", as hail is popularly called in the country. It is hoped that such a system will...