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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 96-10-03
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
03 / 10 / 1996
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission adopts proposals on identification of cattle and labelling of
beef and beef products
[02] The EU requests WTO consultations over Indonesia's car policy
[03] Hans van den Broek visits Slovenia
[04] Forum international sur les services publics: la Commission met l'accent
sur le citoyen-consommateur pour accélérer les libéralisations
[05] European conference on "tobacco or health"
[06] La Commission et le Comité des Régions participent à un séminaire sur
l'aménagement de l'Arc Atlantique à Santiago de Compostela
[07] Christos Papoutsis: "New requirements places on SMEs from the changing
external environment call for more active Community action"
[01] Commission adopts proposals on identification of cattle and labelling of
beef and beef products
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for two regulations relating
to the identification and traceability of cattle on the one hand and the labelling of
beef and beef products on the other. On identification of cattle, it is proposed to
introduce a computerized data base in each member state and a passport for
each animal which will allow animals to be traced back to all of the holdings they
has been on. The regulation on labelling of beef and beef products lays down
the requirements necessary for a coherent and reliable labelling system. The
decision on whether or not to label beef and beef products is optional for
operators and organisations. The label may include information concerning the
animal, the method of fattening and other information in relation to feeding.
[02] The EU requests WTO consultations over Indonesia's car policy
The European Commission has decided to launch a formal complaint with the
World Trade Organisation against Indonesia's policy on the import of cars. The
EU is concerned at the discrimination against European and other foreign
vehicles in favour of "national" vehicles. The Commission's decision follows the
duty-free importation into Indonesia of a consignment of automobiles from Korea
which took place this week and follows unsuccessful informal talks on the issue.
The EU considers that aspects of the measures adopted by Indonesia are
contrary to the basic principles of the multilateral trading system. The Union's
main concerns relate to a discrimination between so-called "national vehicles"
(which are either assembled in Indonesia or in Korea) and vehicles imported from
the EU, a discrimination against imported parts and components by way of local
content requirements and through the granting of favourable tax treatment to
certain domestic products.
[03] Hans van den Broek visits Slovenia
External Relations Commissioner Hans van den Broek will pay an official visit to
Slovenia on 2 and 3 October 1996. The Commissioner will meet the President
of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Milan Kucan, Prime Minister Dr Janez Drnovsek,
and other members of the Slovenian Government. Moreover he will encounter
Members of the Committee for International Relations of the Slovenian National
Assembly. The purpose of the visit will be i.a. to give a new impulse to the pre-accession strategy established between the EU and Slovenia, to discuss the
actual state of play of the political and economic reform process in Slovenia,
including the need to pursue consistently the course of restructuring and
liberalisation, notably in favour of foreign investments. During the visit, Mr van
den Broek will sign a Financial Memorandum concerning an ECU 4.7 million
Cross-Border Cooperation Programme between Slovenia and Austria, in the
context of the PHARE-Programme for the period.
[04] Forum international sur les services publics: la Commission met l'accent
sur le citoyen-consommateur pour accélérer les libéralisations
La Commission européenne et l'Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del
Mercato (autorité italienne chargée de la réglementation et du contrôle de la
concurrence et du marché) organisent, à l'initiative de Emma Bonino,
Commissaire responsable pour la politique des consommateurs, et du Président
Giuliano Amato, un Forum sur "La libéralisation des services publics et des
services aux consommateurs", avec la participation de Karel Van Miert,
Commissaire responsable de la concurrence. Le Forum, qui se tiendra à Rome
les 4 et 5 octobre, a pour objectif d'approfondir les questions liées au processus
de libéralisation et à la sauvegarde de la cohésion sociale et des intérêts des
citoyens/consommateurs, en examinant les expériences déjà acquises au niveau
européen et dans certains États membres.
[05] European conference on "tobacco or health"
Speaking today at a European Conference on "Tobacco or Health" in Helsinki,
Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn called for the public to recognise the
extent of the health problem caused by smoking. "The annual toll of half a million
Europeans who die from tobacco-related diseases should be understood for what
it is - a huge problem for our society". He went on to blame the social
acceptability of smoking in European culture, "skilfully reinforced by the use of
marketing involving sports personalities, film stars, fashion models and rock
singers." He condemned the cynical methods of the tobacco companies who use
almost any method to hook young people on tobacco at the earliest opportunity.
[06] La Commission et le Comité des Régions participent à un séminaire sur
l'aménagement de l'Arc Atlantique à Santiago de Compostela
La Commission européenne, le Comité des Régions et la Région de la Galicia,
organiseront le 8 octobre 1996 à Santiago de Compostela un séminaire sur "La
Coopération pour l‘aménagement du territoire européen - Zone Atlantique". Cette
zone inclut le Portugal, l‘Irlande et un certain nombre de régions de l‘Espagne,
de la France, et du Royaume-Uni. L'objectif de ce séminaire est d'abord
d'informer les autorités régionales et locales sur les activités menées au niveau
communautaire dans le domaine de l‘aménagement du territoire. Il vise ensuite
à faciliter et à favoriser la participation des instances régionales à la coopération
qui s‘engage dans ce domaine grâce au programme Europe 2000, à l'initiative
INTERREG et aux projets pilotes du Fonds européen de développement régional.
Pour les représentants des institutions européennes, il s'agira de prendre
connaissance du point de vue et de l'expérience concrète des principaux acteurs
régionaux et locaux de la politique d‘aménagement du territoire.
[07] Christos Papoutsis: "New requirements places on SMEs from the changing
external environment call for more active Community action"
In a speech given today at a Conference in Bologna, Italy, on 'European policy
in favour of SMEs', Commissioner Christos Papoutsis, responsible for Enterprise
Policy, said that within the triad Europe-USA-Japan tendencies towards the
globalisation of markets are to a large extent strengthened by parallel moves,
such as the deregulation of financial markets, liberalisation of trade, much faster
product innovation and the spread of new ways of organising production. He
further said that "the implications for European enterprises are profound", and
internationalisation "which has always been perceived as a development strategy
of larger enterprises, has now become a reality for smaller enterprises". And
Mr Papoutsis emphasised that "the changing external environment and the new
requirements place on enterprises by these developments call for a more
considered active response on the part of the enterprise policy of the
Community".
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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