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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-07-09

Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

09/07/97


CONTENTS / CONTENU

[I] Résultats de la Commission de ce jour - Outcome of today's Commission meeting

  • [01] Conditional access services: Commission proposes Directive on legal protection
  • [02] Services financiers - La Commission approuve une Recommandation concernant les instruments de paiement électronique
  • [03] Commission proposes Directive on environmentally friendly handling of end of life vehicles: 9 million tonnes of waste each year
  • [04] 1997 report of the demographic situation in the European Union
  • [05] ECU 13.4 million for the protection of forests in the European Union
  • [06] La Commission demande au Portugal de supprimer l'aide en faveur de Empresa Para a Agroalimentação e Cereais, S.A. (EPAC)
  • [II] Other news - Autres nouvelles

  • [07] Chômage dans l'UE: tendances divergentes au sein des Etats membres
  • [08] Increased confidence leads to modest investment growth
  • [09] Commission helps consumers get better booking information from travel agents
  • [10] Règles de concentration pas applicables à la fusion Union Bank - Minit Intenational SA
  • [11] La Commission décide un avis motivé à l'encontre de la Grèce à cause de restrictions sur l'acquisition de biens immobiliers

  • [I] Résultats de la Commission de ce jour - Outcome of today's Commission meeting

    [01] Conditional access services: Commission proposes Directive on legal protection

    The European Commission has proposed a Directive on legal protection of television and radio broadcasting and information society services offered to the public at a distance where access is subject to payment. Such services include pay-TV, video-on-demand, music-on-demand, electronic publishing and a wide range of other on-line services. If adopted by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament (co-decision procedure) the Directive will require Member States to prohibit and provide appropriate sanctions against all commercial activities related to unauthorised access to a protected service, such as the sale of pirate decoders, smart cards or software. It will also prohibit Member States from invoking "anti-piracy" grounds to restrict the free movement of legitimate services and conditional access devices originating in another Member State. The proposal does not address the use of encryption for security or confidentiality reasons. It forms part of a package of measures related to electronic commerce foreseen in the Single Market Action Plan and the Commission's Electronic Commerce Communication.

    [02] Services financiers - La Commission approuve une Recommandation concernant les instruments de paiement électronique

    La Commission européenne a approuvé une Recommandation adressée aux Etats membres et aux émetteurs des instruments de paiement électronique, définissant les règles minimales en matière de transparence, responsabilité et voies de recours applicables aux instruments de paiement électronique. La Recommandation s'appliquera aux instruments de paiement d'accès à distance à un compte bancaire (les cartes de paiement traditionnelles, la banque à domicile et par téléphone) ainsi qu'aux produits de monnaie électronique (les cartes à prépaiement et le cyber-argent). La Commission examinera l'application de cette Recommandation à la fin de 1998 et, si elle jugera sa mise en oeuvre insuffisante, elle remplacera la Recommandation par un instrument plus contraignant. Cette Recommandation, qui remplace et complète la précédente de 1988 portant sur le même sujet, s'insère dans une Communication de la Commission décrivant toutes les mesures à prendre pour accroître la confiance des clients dans les moyens de paiement à l'intérieur du Marché unique.

    [03] Commission proposes Directive on environmentally friendly handling of end of life vehicles: 9 million tonnes of waste each year

    End of life vehicles should no longer be a source of pollution and a waste of resources. The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive which makes vehicle dismantling and recycling more environmentally friendly, sets clear quantified targets for reuse, recycling and recovery of vehicles and their components and pushes producers to manufacture new vehicles also with a view to their recyclability. Discarded vehicles today result in 8 to 9 million tonnes of waste each year in the European Union (EU). The target of the proposal is to reach a level where by the year 2005 85% of the vehicles' weight should be reused and/or recovered, and 80% reused and/or recycled. By 2015 the level should be 95% reused and/or recovered, and 85% reused and/or recycled. The proposal respects the hierarchy of priorities established by the reviewed EU waste management strategy, by giving to material recycling a clear priority over energy recovery. It also applies the important principle of producers' responsibility by establishing that collection and recycling of end of life vehicles shall not be a burden of public authorities but shall be the responsibility of the automotive sector's economic operators.

    [04] 1997 report of the demographic situation in the European Union

    The European Commission adopted the 1997 report of the demographic situation in the European Union (EU). The report focuses on three main areas: the impact of demographic change on the labour market, the regional dimension of ageing, and finally, the demographic situation in the countries which have applied to join the EU. The analysis which covers the period 1995-2015, predicts that after the year 2010, there will be more people leaving the workforce than entering it. It also shows that demographic decline has stronger effects in most of the extreme regions of Europe, interacting with the relatively poor economic performance in these regions. Countries which have applied to join the EU will also experience a significant fall in the working population post 2010. Commenting on the report, Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner, Padraig Flynn, said "the report shows that significant changes in the demography of the working age population have to be expected. This will have a profound effect on the labour market."

    [05] ECU 13.4 million for the protection of forests in the European Union

    The European Commission has decided to grant a total amount of ECU 13.4 million to projects to be carried out by the Member States in relation to the protection of forests against atmospheric pollution and fire. These actions are based on the Council of Ministers regulations (EEC) n° 3528/86 and 2158/92 which were both recently extended by the Council until the year 2001 under which all Member states can submit projects for cofunding. The Commission decision concerns 18 projects (in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Finland and Sweden) relating to the protection of forests against atmospheric pollution and 107 projects (in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Portugal) relating to forest fire prevention.

    [06] La Commission demande au Portugal de supprimer l'aide en faveur de Empresa Para a Agroalimentação e Cereais, S.A. (EPAC)

    La Commission européenne a adopté une décision finale négative à l'encontre d'une aide octroyée par le gouvernement portugais en faveur de la société à capitaux publics EPAC, S.A. active dans le secteur de la commercialisation de céréales. L'aide accordée concerne la prestation d'une garantie d'État sur un montant maximal de 30 milliards d'escudos (± 154 millions d'Ecus) dans le cadre d'un prêt obtenu par EPAC auprès d'un groupe de banques. Le prêt, équivalant à la totalité de la dette de cette entreprise, soit 48,7 millards d'escudos (± 250 millions d'Ecus), vise la restructuration du passif bancaire à court terme en passif à moyen terme. La Commission demande au Portugal de supprimer les mesures dans un délai de 15 jours et de récupérer les aides incompatibles dans un délai de deux mois à compter de la date de notification de la décision.

    [II] Other news - Autres nouvelles

    [07] Chômage dans l'UE: tendances divergentes au sein des Etats membres

    Le taux de chômage de l'Union européenne (UE), corrigé des variations saisonnières, s'est établi à 10,8% en mai, taux identique à ceux des trois mois précédents. C'est ce qu'indique aujourd'hui dans son rapport Eurostat, l'Office statistique des Communautés européennes à Luxembourg. En mai l'année dernière, il s'élevait à 10,9% et en mai 1995 à 10,7%. Le taux de chômage est orienté à la baisse au Royaume-Uni (6,9% en mai), en Irlande (10,8%), aux Pays-Bas (5,4% en avril) et en Espagne (20,8%). Il tend à augmenter en Allemagne (9,8%), en France (12,6%), en Italie (12,4% en avril) et en Finlande (15,9% en avril). Dans les autres Etats membres, les changements sont peu notables. L'Espagne a, de loin, le plus fort taux de chômage de l'UE (20,8%); le Luxembourg (3,7%) et l'Autriche (4,4%) les plus faibles. Le taux de chômage aux Etats-Unis s'élève à 4,9% et à 3,3% au Japon selon les chiffres du mois d'avril. Eurostat estime que 18,2 millions de personnes étaient sans emploi dans l'UE en mai. Il s'agit là d'un chiffre corrigé des variations saisonnières, conformément aux critères du Bureau International du Travail.

    [08] Increased confidence leads to modest investment growth

    The European Commission today published the first results of its Business and Consumer survey for June 1997. According to the March/April investment survey, manufacturing investment increased by 5% in volume in 1996 and is expected to grow by 3% in volume in 1997. As the economic sentiment is on an improving trend, 1997 investment may become more dynamic than suggested by present investment plans. Indeed, the economic sentiment indicator increased again (101.8 in June compared to 101.4 in May), following increases in all its components. Consumer confidence rose for the first time since January 1997.

    [09] Commission helps consumers get better booking information from travel agents

    The European Commission, which is pledged to ensuring that consumers get proper benefit from the advantages of the single market in trade and travel, today proposed a revision of existing European Union law to improve the scope and guarantee the transparency of booking information offered by travel agents. For the first time rail operators will be allowed to distribute details about their services on the computer reservation systems that currently carry airline booking information. This should lead to a greater demand for rail services and facilitate rail/air interconnections. The law would also oblige travel agents to provide the consumer with the broadest range of options available for any journey. Furthermore the proposal will make binding a number of recommendations aimed at cost efficient operation of Computerised Reservation Systems by travel agents. These recommendations are today contained in the Code of Ethics of IATA, the International Air Transport Association.

    [10] Règles de concentration pas applicables à la fusion Union Bank - Minit Intenational SA

    La Commission européenne a décidé que la concentration resultant de l'acquisition du contrôle unique de Minit International SA par Union Bank of Switzerland n'entre pas dans le cadre des dispositions du règlement concentration. Après avoir examiné l'opération, qui a été notifiée le 6 juin 1997, la Commission européenne a considéré que le chiffre d'affaires communautaire de Minit International SA, une des entreprises concernées, ne tombait pas dans les seuils prévus par le règlement concentrations et, par conséquent, la Commission a décidé que la concentration n'avait pas une dimension communautaire.

    [11] La Commission décide un avis motivé à l'encontre de la Grèce à cause de restrictions sur l'acquisition de biens immobiliers

    La Commission européenne a décidé l'envoi d'un avis motivé à la Grèce concernant le refus de la part des autorités helléniques de permettre aux citoyens de l'Union européenne (UE) l'accès à la propriété de biens immobiliers situés dans une zone frontalière. Cette pratique de la part des autorités helléniques est considérée comme incompatible avec les dispositions du traité sur la libre circulation des capitaux (article 73 B du Traité sur l'UE), la libre prestation des services (article 59) et le droit de séjour des citoyens communautaires (article 8 et directives 90/365 et 90/364).

    MIDDAY EXPRESS


    From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
    © ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996


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