Julia Fioretti News

The United Nations shipping agency reached an agreement on Friday to cut carbon emissions, following years of slow progress. The compromise plan, which will cut emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared with 2008 levels, fell short of more ambitious targets. Kitack Lim, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), said the adoption of the strategy "would allow future IMO work on climate change to be rooted in a solid basis". The IMO said it would also be pursuing efforts towards phasing out CO2 emissions entirely.

European Union lawmakers and member states have agreed on a long-term plan to end over fishing of cod, sprat and herring stocks in the Baltic Sea, the first such plan of its kind under the EU's reformed fisheries policy. The multi-annual deal clinched late on Tuesday will combine the management of cod, herring and sprat stocks into a single plan to take into account their interdependence and ensure they are sustainably managed. Cod eat sprats and herrings while herrings and sprats feed on the eggs of cod, meaning the health of one stock affects the others. Currently, only cod are subject to a management plan. "The plan sets the basis for the sustainable management of the most important fish stocks in the Baltic Sea," EU Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella said.

The European Union extended on Tuesday a suspension of sanctions on Iran for six months following a nuclear deal between the Middle East country and six major world powers.   In a statement the EU said it had "prolonged until January 14 2016 the suspension of EU restrictive measures" on Iran.   The deal clinched on Tuesday caps more than a decade of negotiations to try to curb Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti)

The European Commission extended its rescue mission off Italy until at least the end of the year, it said on Thursday, and gave Rome extra funding to deal with an influx of migrants from Africa and the Middle East. The Commission launched the mission, dubbed Operation Triton, in November just as Italy wound down a much larger and more costly programme known as Mare Nostrum. Triton, managed by the European Union's border control agency Frontex, was only expected to run for a few months and has fewer ships and a smaller operational area than Mare Nostrum -- drawing criticism from human rights groups. "We are willing to go further," said Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos.

The European Commission proposed a ban on imports of fish from Sri Lanka for not tackling illegal fishing properly and lifted a ban on fish imports from Belize following the reform of its vessel inspection practices. The Commission on Tuesday also lifted warnings on Fiji, Panama, Togo and Vanuatu, saying they had implemented concrete measures to combat illegal fishing. The four countries thus avoided being placed on the "red list" of nations that are not allowed to sell fish to the 28-nation European Union, the world's biggest fish importer. "Our policy of resolute cooperation is yielding results," EU Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki said in a statement. "Five countries receive today our appreciation for getting serious on illegal fishing.

The European Union plans to launch a mission to help Italy cope with swarms of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa, the EU said on Tuesday. Called Operation Triton, the mission will be managed by Europe's border control agency, Frontex. It will reinforce Italy's own rescue operation, Mare Nostrum, which began after 366 people drowned just a mile from the Italian island of Lampedusa when their boat capsized a year ago. Italy has repeatedly called for more help from the EU to cope with the record number of sea-borne arrivals from conflict-torn Libya and Syria over the past year. Mare Nostrum, or "Our Sea," has been costing Italy 9 million euros a month, straining the resources of its navy and coastguard.

The European Commission said on Wednesday it would launch an EU version of Italy's sea rescue operation to help it deal with the droves of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in crowded boats from North Africa, something Italy has repeatedly called for. Europe's border control agency Frontex will take over the new operation, dubbed "Frontex Plus", by merging two existing ones and eventually it will replace Italy's costly mission to patrol the seas for boat migrants. "The aim is to put in place an enlarged Frontex Plus to complement what Italy has been doing," said Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, on Wednesday. The civil war in Syria and breakdown of order in Libya have pushed the number of sea-borne arrivals in Italy to a record of more than 100…

Taxation of Dutch ports could breach EU competition rules. France, Belgium warned over their tax treatment of ports; EU executive could broaden investigation to other EU ports. The European Union's competition watchdog on Wednesday opened an investigation into tax exemptions granted to ports in the Netherlands and warned France and Belgium their taxation of ports may breach EU state aid rules. The EU will look into whether corporate tax exemptions for some Dutch public companies - including the operator of Rotterdam port, Europe's biggest by annual cargo - breach the EU's rules against governments giving unfair advantages to some companies, thereby distorting competition. "There should be a level playing field between ports in the EU," said Joaquin Almunia, the EU's antitrust commissioner.

OPEC is ready to pump extra oil in the event of any supply disruptions caused by Iraq and its biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, can ramp up to capacity if needed, oil officials said on Tuesday. For now the market is well-supplied and prices above $114 a barrel are the result of market nervousness, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said. An official from Saudi Arabia, the only OPEC member with significant spare capacity, said it was committed to supplying the market if needed. Saudi Arabia, which produces around 9.7 million bpd, has the ability to pump to its full capacity of 12.5 million bpd, the official told Reuters. "Saudi Arabia has the capability to produce up to 12.5 million bpd when the customers ask for it.