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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-10-30
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
30/10/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] La Commission autorise, sous conditions, la création de deux alliances
dans le secteur des télécommunications, Unisource et Uniworld
[02] Commission approves the creation of a joint venture "Hydrogas-Messer"
[03] "Duty-free will be abolished within the Union in 1999", confirms Mario
Monti
[04] Un excédent commercial de 17,3 milliards d'Ecus avec les pays tiers au
cours du premier semestre de 1997
[05] Hans van den Broek visits Turkey
[06] Emma Bonino receives the "Public Relations Award" for Best European
Communicator of the Year
[07] Padraig Flynn emphasises the importance of social policy concerns in
the enlargement negotiations
[01] La Commission autorise, sous conditions, la création de deux alliances
dans le secteur des télécommunications, Unisource et Uniworld
La Commission européenne a donné son approbation à la création de deux
alliances dans le secteur des télécommunications, Unisource et Uniworld.
Unisource se compose de la compagnie suédoise Telia, de PTT Telecom des
Pays-Bas et de Swiss Telecom. Uniworld est une entreprise commune sous le
contrôle conjoint de Unisource et de l'opérateur américain AT&T. La
Commission a accordé aux deux alliances une dérogation aux règles de la
concurrence jusqu'en 2001, révisable si des changements surviennent dans
les accords et les conditions imposées aux parties. Ces conditions
comprennent des provisions qui visent à assurer un comportement loyal et
non-discriminatoire des sociétés mères. L'étude de ces alliances a amené
la Commission à conclure que les positions dominantes existantes dont les
trois actionnaires d'Unisource jouissent sur beaucoup de leurs marchés
nationaux ne seront pas renforcées.
[02] Commission approves the creation of a joint venture "Hydrogas-Messer"
The European Commission has approved the creation of a joint venture
"Hydrogas-Messer" by Hydrogas A.S., a wholly owned Norwegian subsidiary of
Norsk Hydro ASA, and Messer Griesheim GmbH, a German subsidiary of Hoechst
AG. Both Hydrogas A.S. and Messer Griesheim GmbH are primarily active in
industrial gases and related equipment. Hydrogas-Messer will be a start-up
joint venture active in industrial gases and related equipment in Sweden, a
market in which its parents will not themselves have similar interests.
The Swedish industrial gas market is currently supplied almost exclusively
by Swedish companies AGA and Air Liquide. The Hydrogas-Messer joint
venture will therefore increase competition in the Swedish industrial gas
market, and the Commission has in consequence approved its creation.
[03] "Duty-free will be abolished within the Union in 1999", confirms Mario
Monti
"Duty-free sales for intra-Community travellers will be abolished in June
1999" confirmed Single Market Commissioner Mario Monti addressing the
Economic Committee in the European Parliament. The reasons for the 1991
Council of Ministers' unanimous decision are today even more valid: duty-
free sales are an anomaly within the Single Market and give rise to a
number of competitive distortions and other negative effects. European
institutions have to protect the general interest of European Union (EU)
citizens - tax payers and consumers - against the huge and vociferous lobby
from certain sectors of the travel, tobacco and alcohol industries. As the
Commission has previously made clear, specific problems for air and sea
routes and airports in peripheral regions, should they occur, may be
tackled through state subsidies. Such subsidies, which would have to be
compatible with EU competition rules, have the advantage of being both
transparent and targeted to where they are specifically required, whereas
profits from duty-free shops currently give most benefit to large, central
airports and the most frequently used air and sea routes.
[04] Un excédent commercial de 17,3 milliards d'Ecus avec les pays tiers au
cours du premier semestre de 1997
Le commerce de l'Union européenne (UE) avec les pays tiers a enregistré une
croissance dynamique au cours du premier semestre de cette année, selon les
données publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat, l'Office statistique des
Communautés européennes à Luxembourg. Par rapport au premier semestre de
1996, les exportations et les importations extra-UE ont augmenté
respectivement de 12,2% et 10,2%, alors que leur croissance n'avait été que
de 6,4% et 6,5% entre les premiers semestres de 1996 et de 1995.
L'excédent de la balance commerciale au premier semestre de 1997 a atteint
17,3 milliards d'Ecus, contre 10 milliards pour la même période de l'année
dernière. Eurostat affirme que l'excédent commercial du premier semestre
de 1997 est dû principalement à une forte croissance des échanges au
deuxième trimestre. Par contre, le commerce intra-UE n'a augmenté que de 5,
8% entre les premiers semestres de 1996 et 1997. Cette hausse est cependant
supérieure à celle de 3,4% enregistrée entre les premiers semestres de 1995
et 1996. La plupart des Etats membres présentent des excédents pour le
total du commerce extra- et intra-UE au premier semestre, les plus forts
ayant été enregistrés par l'Allemagne (29,4 milliards d'Ecus), l'Italie (11,
7 milliards), les Pays-Bas (8,6 milliards) et la Suède (7,4 milliards).
Cinq Etats membres ont accusé un déficit: le Royaume-Uni (-11,7 milliards),
la Grèce (-5,7 milliards), l'Espagne (-5,5 milliards), le Portugal (-4,3
milliards) et l'Autriche (-3,0 milliards).
[05] Hans van den Broek visits Turkey
European Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek will visit Turkey
on 30 and 31 October 1997. It is his first visit to Turkey since the new
government has been in place. He will meet Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz,
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, and
President of the Parliament Hikmet Cetin. Since Mr van den Broek's last
visit, the Commission has adopted Agenda 2000 and a Communication on the
deepening of relations with Turkey. Mr van den Broek will elaborate on the
contents of these documents and investigate with the Turkish government ways in which a number of dossiers can move forward regarding human rights, Cyprus, the customs union and disputes with regard to the Aegean. "The main message that I will bring to Ankara is that the European Union (EU) remains firmly committed to developing further our links with Turkey, a country which is eligible for EU membership", commented Commissioner van den Broek, "Turkey can best contribute to this process by demonstrating beyond any doubt its commitment to the values which we share and by contributing actively to the solution of problems which are our common concern."
[06] Emma Bonino receives the "Public Relations Award" for Best European
Communicator of the Year
"Emma Bonino's understanding of the contribution that good media relations
can make in delivering complex messages to diverse audiences is not only
refreshing, but also extremely positive" read the citation drawn up by the
judging panel chaired by Sir Bernard Ingham. The Best European
Communicator of 1997 is amongst the top awards that recognize outstanding
achievement during the year by an individual and was presented last evening
in London under the auspices of the British magazine "PR Week". There were
no runners-up. On the occasion, Commissioner Bonino declared that
"communicating is not about style or form alone, but mostly about good
ideas and hard work" and that she dedicated this prestigious award to the
women of Kabul.
[07] Padraig Flynn emphasises the importance of social policy concerns in
the enlargement negotiations
Speaking in Dessau (Sachsen-Anhalt) to the Labour and Social Affairs
Ministers of the German Länder, Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner,
Padraig Flynn, said: "Social standards in the CEECs are, as we know, much
lower than in the European Union (EU). That reflects their lower
productivity and income levels, not a preference for low standards. They,
like us, want to do better. Our policy aim with respect to enlargement is
two-fold. The first aim is to demonstrate to existing EU citizens the
benefits of the enlargement of the Union, notably in terms of their own
employment and living standards. The second aim is to indicate to
candidate countries the main lines along which they should continue to
develop their employment and social policies if they are to fulfil entry
conditions, as well as to derive the maximum benefits from EU membership.
In preparing the accession negotiations, we must ensure that our arguments
are effectively presented in public debates. We must ensure that due
priority is given to social policy concerns. And we must ensure real
compatibility between the candidate countries and the present Member
States. Developed social policies are not optional extras. They are an
integral part of the European success story."
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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