Award winning musicians at the Wighton

From Sheena Wellington :

Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library – Lunchtime Recital 
Wednesday 7th March at 1.15pm

Svetlina Stoyanova (mezzo soprano) and Kristina Yorgova (piano)

We are once again delighted to welcome  brilliant young musicians from Live Music Now.

Both born in Bulgaria, Svetlina Stoyanova and Kristina Yorgova are students at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS). Svetlina is part way through a Masters Course in performance and Kristina is currently studying for a Bachelor of Music in performance.

Svetlina sang in the Children’s Choir of the Bulgarian National radio and as the main soloist has travelled and sung in many European and Asian countries. As a mezzo-soprano she has taken part in many opera productions and solo concerts. She has won many prizes, most recently, she won 3rd prize in Le Grand Prix de l’Opera and was the highest ranked female singer. Svetlina is very grateful to have received a Help Musicians UK Tutton Award, the RCS Trust scholarship and also to Live Music Now Scotland and Mrs Ulrike Wilson and her family for their continued support.

Having started her music education in Germany and then Bulgaria, Kristina has won many piano competition, amongst which is the 23rd National Competition for Young Musicians ‘Svetoslav Obretenov’, for which she was awarded with a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria.

In 2015 she won the International Beethoven sonata piano competition in the RCS and 3rd prize at Bamber/Galloway piano competition. Kristina had a solo recitals as part of the 2014 and 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She is grateful to the RCS trust for awarding her a scholarship throughout her undergraduate studies.

Since meeting in Glasgow in 2013, Svetlina and Kristina have been working as a duo. They have done many concerts and recordings together including a Live Music Now recital in Bulgaria. At the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland they work under the tutelage of Clare Shearer and Fali Pavri.

Admission free – donations for the work of Live Music Now welcomed.


Complex supply chains and industrial integration

There is a strain of advice going to Ministers from officials,the CBI and others of the Remain persuasion that we now have complex supply chains in business, and that European integration of industrial activity means we have to stick close to the single market.

In the 1980s before I became a Minister I chaired a large quoted industrial group. Between 2003 and 2010 in the opposition years I chaired an industrial group servicing the global market with some European production, as well as plants in the USA, India and China. I now realise I was in charge of complex supply chains. They did not cause problems at the time, despite the fact that components and finished product crossed many borders both within and outside the EU.

I have two main conclusions from my experience. The first is it is true that just in time and high quality production required careful management of suppliers. Sourcing was global, not regional. There is a high degree of mutual dependence in modern industry on a range of suppliers around the world. Large companies do not rely just on the EU or just on the US these days.

The second is we had no more difficulties with non EU sourced components than with EU products, despite all such products if needed in EU based factories having to come in under WTO rules.

The crucial things we had to manage were the quality and quantity suppliers could deliver, and the ability of the transport system to deliver them over long distances in some cases. Government interference in the process was rarely the main problem. Goods moved with electronic manifests, were always traceable and well known to the authorities in the countries they were travelling through.

There is absolutely no need to bend or drive UK policy on some fear about supply chains. Cheaper good quality components and products will still get there from EU and non EU places as they do today, whatever Agreement or lack of Agreement we end up with.

In the case of the pharmaceutical industry some claim to worry about the degree of UK/EU business integration, whilst ignoring the fact that UK/US business integration is much closer for the majors and takes place across WTO rules based frontiers.



EU Cities for Fair & Ethical Trade Award

For the first time, the European Commission will grant an EU city with a Fair and Ethical Trade Award.

The aim of the Award is to highlight the important role of cities in providing platforms for fair and ethical trade schemes. The contest was officially launched in Brussels on 7 December 2017 and applications will be accepted until 13 April 2018.

Source: http://www.trade-city-award.eu

What is the EU Cities for Fair & Ethical Trade Award?

The Award is part of the EU’s efforts to raise awareness about how purchasing decisions of EU consumers can affect the environment and livelihoods of people in other countries – and the role that cities and local authorities must play.

Help your city apply!

Civil society organisations, NGOs and other stakeholders are welcome to complete city applications with the approval, in the form of a Mayoral Declaration, of the relevant municipality authority.

Applications are open to all EU cities that contain at least 20.000 inhabitants.

You will find all the relevant information regarding the contest here
http://www.trade-city-award.eu



Environment ministers discussed the Circular Economy and the Plastics Strategy

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Katharina Pausch-Homblé
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Urgent action is needed to protect our oceans and seas from an invasion of plastics

At today’s Environment Council, ministers exchanged views on the package presented by the Commission on 16 January 2018, which aims at delivering on the circular economy action plan. The package consists of the following elements:

  • European strategy for plastics in a circular economy 
  • a Monitoring framework for the circular economy
  • Implementation of the Circular Economy package: options to address the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation 

They based their debate on a note prepared by the Presidency and took into account the interventions of Commissioners Vella and Arias Cañete, who were present.

Ministers agreed that they welcome the presentation of the new EU plastics strategy. They highlighted the need to move forward with the plastics strategy as it aims to improve how we use and recycle plastics. Plastics have been instrumental in achieving the economic and social standards we have today. However, in recent years marine littering and other undesirable consequences linked to the use of plastic have been a concern to environment ministers. All Ministers welcomed the Commission package and called for an urgent implementation of concrete measures, in particular to increase the recycling of plastics, find solutions to the widespread use of single-use plastic and to find a holistic approach to the value chain of plastic production. Eco-design for plastic products can play a very important role here. In their exchange of views, ministers mentioned several other possible actions to be taken at EU or at national levels:

  • campaigns for raising consumer awareness
  • increasing the quality of recycled products through setting standards
  • green public procurement
  • the use of the rules on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), similar to the one which was agreed recently in the waste package, together with financial incentives and voluntary commitments by the industry.

Finally, ministers agreed that they are all looking forward to the Commission legislative proposal on single use plastics.

We need to protect our environment from plastic pollution. We also need to protect our seas from microplastic particles. Today we have made a very important first step towards commitments which will enable us to deliver on our promise to protect the environment and the health of our citizens.

Neno Dimov, the Bulgarian Minister for Environment and Water

On the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation, many ministers highlighted the need for availability of information on substances of concern in products. According to several speakers the same rules should apply to the content of hazardous substances in primary and in secondary raw materials, which underlines the importance of the substitution of such substances as far as possible. A number of speakers also addressed the need for more harmonised end-of-waste rules throughout the EU. 

While many Ministers focused in their interventions on the plastics strategy and the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation, as suggested by the Presidency, several speakers also highlighted the importance of another element of the package, namely the monitoring framework regarding progress towards a circular economy. The proposed indicators were generally welcomed, but some ministers asked to broaden the scope of the indicators to other areas than the waste sector. In this context, they stressed the substantial contribution which the circular economy can make to the fulfilment of the climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. 

Finally, Environment Ministers underlined the need to fully involve other Council formations in the discussions and the work on circular economy throughout different sectors.

The Bulgarian Presidency is planning to have Council conclusions adopted on the above topics in June.



News story: 2018 Groceries Code Adjudicator annual sector survey

Take part in the survey on the YouGov website

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (the GCA) has launched her fifth annual survey of the groceries sector. The annual survey allows the GCA to collect the most comprehensive set of views on current Code-related issues facing suppliers.

The GCA is seeking experiences and views from suppliers and others in the sector on how the 10 regulated retailers are complying with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

The survey will be an important source of information for the GCA about current retailer practices and changes over the past twelve months. The information provided will help the Adjudicator focus her attention for the year ahead.

All the information you provide is treated in strict confidence.

All answers are collated and analysed by YouGov and respondents are not identified to the GCA without their prior consent.

The results will be presented at the GCA Conference on 25 June 2018.

The survey will be open from 5 March 2017 to 22 April 2018.