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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-09-05
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
05/09/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] EU presses US further to change satellites rules
[02] EU presses Japan for fair access to Japanese ports
[03] L'inflation annuelle de l'UE a augmenté à 1,7% en juillet
[04] European Conference on Women: Co-entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurs and
Business Owners, Copenhagen, 5-6 September 1997
[01] EU presses US further to change satellites rules
The European Commission has warned the United States today that it risks
violating its world trading obligations on satellite-based services by the
way it is planning to put the recent World Trade Organisation's (WTO) basic
telecommunications agreement into US law on satellites. The EU is concerned
that the draft US rules could enable the US to deny access for foreign
operators to sell direct-to-home services and digital satellite services in
the US. Furthermore, the draft rules could enable the US to withhold
satellite licences to foreign operators because they pose an ill-defined
threat to the public interest or to commercial competitors in the US. The
EU is asking the US to change the rules, and reserves its right to
challenge them under the WTO. The warning follows a broader complaint made
last month about the way the US was implementing its general WTO
obligations for other telecommunications services.
[02] EU presses Japan for fair access to Japanese ports
The European Commission has expressed serious concern to the Government of
Japan at the failure to remove obstacles to the free and fair way container
vessels may dock, load and unload at Japanese ports. Foreign and domestic
shipping lines need prior approval from the Japan Harbour Transport
Association (JHTA) - a monopoly body which runs stevedoring in Japan - for
example on small changes to their schedules. This can cause major
disruption and additional costs, given the high price of a day's loading
and unloading. The EU has for a long time been urging the Japanese
Government to reform the so-called 'prior consultation system' of the JHTA,
and opened WTO consultations with Japan last October. This prompted the
Government to promise improvements by July, but progress has been slow. The
United States shares EU concerns, and its Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)
has now imposed sanctions on Japanese shipping lines. Commission officials
in Tokyo have recently made further representations to urge the Japanese
Government to substantially reform the prior consultation system.
[03] L'inflation annuelle de l'UE a augmenté à 1,7% en juillet
L'inflation annuelle de l'Union européenne a augmenté légèrement de 1,6% en
juin à 1,7% en juillet, selon les données publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat,
l'Office statistique des Communautés européennes à Luxembourg. Elle est
revenue ainsi au niveau du mois de mars. En mai et en avril, elle s'était
stabilisée à 1,5%. En juillet 1996, elle avait atteint 2,4%. Les taux les
plus bas ont été constatés en Autriche (0,9%), en France et en Finlande
(tous les deux 1,1%). La Grèce a gardé le taux le plus élevé, avec 5,2%,
devant Danemark et les Pays-Bas (tous les deux 2,1%). Le taux d'inflation
de l'EEE s'est établi également à 1,7%. L'inflation est tombée à 2,2% aux
Etats-Unis et à 1,9% au Japon. En Suisse, le taux s'est stabilisé à 0,5%.
[04] European Conference on Women: Co-entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurs and
Business Owners, Copenhagen, 5-6 September 1997
The European Commission (DG XXIII) is sponsoring a conference on women: co-
entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and business owners organized by the Danish
Federation of Craft and Small Businesses (Håndværksrådet) together with the
City of Copenhague in Copenhague on the 5th and 6th September 1997. Other
sponsors include the Equal Status Council, the Danish Agency for Trade and
Industry, and the European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for SMEs.
This conference is one of the eleven preparatory seminars for the Third
European Conference on Craft and Small Enterprises organized by the
Commission which will take place in Milan on the 20th and 21st November
1997.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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