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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 96-09-30
From: HR-Net News Distribution Manager <dist@hri.org>
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Spokesman's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi du Porte-Paroleb
30 / 09 / 1996
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission agrees to acquisition of Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG by
Allianz AG Holding
[02] Tadjikistan and Kyrgystan: Commission approves humanitarian aid package
worth ECU 1.42 million
[03] Humanitarian aid: Asian news in brief
[04] Padraig Flynn says the benefits of the Information Society should be more
evenly shared
[05] Monika Wulf-Mathies cautions against opt out of single currency
[01] Commission agrees to acquisition of Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG by
Allianz AG Holding
Allianz intends to increase its participation in Hermes to a majority stake.
Hermes is one of the leading European credit insurance companies and the major
German supplier in this field. However, in the different national markets in the
European Union, the proposed concentration results in no or only insignificant
additions of market shares. Especially in Germany, where Hermes has most of
its activities, the proposed acquisition of the majority of the shares in Hermes by
Allianz is not likely to strengthen the existing market position of Hermes.
[02] Tadjikistan and Kyrgystan: Commission approves humanitarian aid package
worth ECU 1.42 million
The European Commission has approved a package of humanitarian aid worth
ECU 1.42 million for Tadjikistan and Kyrgyzstan, two of the poorest countries in
the former Soviet Union. The aid, channelled via the European Community
Humanitarian Office (ECHO), will enable Red Cross organisations and non-governmental organisations to carry out coordinated programmes in the field over
the next six months.
[03] Humanitarian aid: Asian news in brief
The European Commission has cleared a package of humanitarian aid worth a
total of ECU 1.2 million for victims of flooding in China and North Korea. The aid,
channelled via the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), will enable
the International Federation of the Red Cross and Medecins sans Frontieres-Netherlands to carry out the required emergency actions.
[04] Padraig Flynn says the benefits of the Information Society should be more
evenly shared
Speaking today in Dublin, at a European Colloquium on the "Challenges of Living
and Working in the Information Society," Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig
Flynn said that history has shown that if technological change is unmanaged, it
has the capacity to create great industrial and social unrest. We must ensure
that Europeans can develop their potential to use new technology and that this
happens "in a way that builds European cohesion..... The benefits and costs are
unevenly spread at present. I want us to recognise that we have a choice. We
have the choice of using technological change to achieve social progress or
letting it invade our societies unchecked ..... It means directing the process of
technological change so that it is a force for the spread of well-being."
[05] Monika Wulf-Mathies cautions against opt out of single currency
"The world of the single currency is not something the UK can ignore or opt out
of. You can opt out of the single currency perhaps, but you cannot opt out of the
effect that the single currency will have on your jobs and businesses", remarked
Monika Wulf-Mathies, Commissioner responsible for Regional Policy and
Cohesion, today at the Labour Party Congress 1996 in Blackpool. "It would be
harmful for Europe as well as for Britain if the UK because of internal division
could not play its full part", the Commissioner went on to say. She stressed that
there is no doubt that EMU will strengthen the European economies vis-à-vis the
yen and dollar zones and will help Europe to gain more influence on international
financial markets.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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