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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-06-10
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Spokesman's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi du Porte-Paroleb
10/06/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Business and consumer surveys: the economic climate continued to
improve in the European Union
[02] Commission authorises the acquisition of AST by Samsung but considers
imposing a fine for late filing
[03] Aide humanitaire: nouvelles en bref - Cambodge, Burkina Faso, Tchad,
Guinée Bissau
[04] Padraig Flynn reaffirms EU's commitment to core labour rights
[01] Business and consumer surveys: the economic climate continued to
improve in the European Union
In May, the economic sentiment indicator improved in all member countries
of the European Union for which data were available, except in Denmark and
Italy. According to the results of business and consumer surveys carried
out by the European Commission, the improvement of the climate was due to
increasing industrial confidence and higher share prices. Export orders
again boosted industrial confidence. The confidence indicators for
construction, consumer and retail trade all remained constant.
[02] Commission authorises the acquisition of AST by Samsung but considers
imposing a fine for late filing
The European Commission has cleared a concentration by which the Korean
company Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd (Samsung) acquires control of the
whole of the California based, US company, AST Research, Inc. (AST) by way
of public bid. The business being acquired includes the manufacture and
sale of personal computers. In this market AST and Samsung's sales in the
European are small (below 5%) and there will be virtually no overlap
resulting from the proposed operation.
[03] Aide humanitaire: nouvelles en bref - Cambodge, Burkina Faso, Tchad,
Guinée Bissau
La Commission européenne a approuvé des projets d'aide humanitaire pour les
pays suivants : le Cambodge (400.000 Ecus destinés aux victimes des mines
terrestres); le Burkina Faso (470.000 Ecus pour lutter contre la
méningite); la Guinée Bissau (60.000 Ecus d'aide alimentaire) et le Tchad
(270.000 Ecus d'aide alimentaire). Ces aides permettront aux organisations
de la Croix-Rouge et des Nations-unies ainsi qu'à des organisations non
gouvernementales de mener à bien les projets sur le terrain.
[04] Padraig Flynn reaffirms EU's commitment to core labour rights
Speaking today in Geneva to the International Labour Conference, Employment
and Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn said that the European
Union's (EU) interest in the question of core labour rights (freedom of
association and collective bargaining, prohibition of forced labour and
child labour and non-discrimination) is based on the principles of
solidarity, social cohesion and respect for fundamental rights which form
the very bedrock of the EU. He said: "We do not ask countries at different
stages of development, or with different social structures, to align their
policies with those of the EU. We do not demand that countries with lower
productivity adjust their wages and working conditions to our levels.
Wages must be decided in accordance with economic reality. The EU, while
having, on average, higher wages than most other countries, still has a
trade surplus thanks to better labour productivity. What we seek is a
guarantee that fundamental freedoms will be respected - as higher living
and working standards will flow from this."
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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