The Argentine media group Clarin presented a plan Monday to divide its media assets into six different companies to comply with a controversial media antitrust law. The move was announced shortly after the head of the authority set up to enforce the law offered assurances that the group would be allowed to keep its most valuable TV and radio licenses.
The Falkland Islands Government has announced that an updated version of the FIG Oil Readiness Checklist is now available online. The checklist refers to key areas from the FIG ongoing program for the development of the hydrocarbons industry as it grows into a production phase.
A member from the European parliament, Jean Pierre Audy who headed a mission to Brazil last week said he was confident that next year the long standing negotiations for a free trade and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Mercosur could be concluded.
Uruguay's President Jose Mujica said he plans to withdraw his country's peacekeeping troops from Haiti because of the lack of democratic progress and pointed to delays in convening Senate elections and a general political impasse in Haitian society.
The idea that one day Spain would share sovereignty in Gibraltar is a non-starter, according to Spanish Civil War expert and Madrid based journalist William Chislett. In Gibraltar for the first international Literary Festival, Mr Chislett gave his opinion on the developing cross-border political strife and also commented on the current political climate surrounding Spain.
The European Commission has received no ‘well-founded’ complaints alleging Gibraltar’s failure to cooperate on tax, financial and money-laundering matters, according to Michel Barnier, the Commissioner for Internal Market and Services. In response to questions in the European Parliament, Mr Barnier also confirmed that Gibraltar was fully up to date with the transposition of EU legislation in all three fields, according to a report from the Chronicle.
Argentina's clash with Uruguay over the Botnia/UPM pulp mill has led to furious retaliations from Buenos Aires severely limiting trade and not allowing Argentine exporters to make use of the port of Montevideo for transshipment.
The administration of President Cristina Fernandez is preparing a package of measures in an attempt to further impede the outflow of hard currency, mainly US dollars, for which it is planning to establish a double exchange rate system. The measures target tourism, a bill of 8 billion dollars which has become dearer than the energy deficit.
Argentina Secretary of Domestic Trade Guillermo Moreno anticipated that the current policy implementing obstacles to contain foreign trade will continue to promote the domestic market and production, and ”because I follow the orders from the President (Cristina Fernandez)”.
The Uruguayan government announced it has renewed until 2016 Botnia/UPM pulp mill license so it can continue with production since it complies with the necessary environmental requisites and is committed to the additional standards demanded, said Housing and Environment minister Francisco Beltrame.