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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 99-12-20
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-Parole 20/12/1999b
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] La Commission accorde un délai supplémentaire à l'Espagne, à l'Italie,
à la Grèce, au Portugal et à la France pour transposer la directive
relative aux carburants
[02] Commission approves joint venture between Sedgwick Noble Lowndes and
Woolwich
[03] Commission clears acquisition by KKR Associates of Siemens Nixdorf
Retail and Banking Systems
[04] Commission approves acquisition of Viking Resins Group by Solutia
[05] La Commission autorise l'acquisition du contrôle conjoint d'un
opérateur marocain de téléphonie mobile par Telefonica et Portugal Telecom
[06] Commission clears joint venture of Deutsche Bahn and NS Groep
[07] La Commission propose une série de réductions de taxes en faveur de
l'emploi
[08] Economic forecasts for candidate countries autumn 1999
[09] Commission adopts strategy on endocrine disrupters, substances which
disrupt human and wildlife hormone systems
[10] Venezuela floods : humanitarian aid worth euro 400,000
[01] La Commission accorde un délai supplémentaire à l'Espagne, à l'Italie,
à la Grèce, au Portugal et à la France pour transposer la directive
relative aux carburants
La Commission européenne a décidé d'autoriser l'Espagne, l'Italie et la
Grèce à continuer de commercialiser de l'essence plombée pendant deux
années supplémentaires. Le Portugal est autorisé à vendre du carburant
diesel et de l'essence sans plomb dont la teneur en soufre ne dépasse pas
les niveaux actuels, respectivement jusqu'en janvier 2001 et janvier 2002.
La France est, quant à elle, autorisée à vendre de l'essence plombée
jusqu'en janvier 2005 dans trois de ses départements d'outre-mer. En ce qui
concerne la Réunion, la France peut autoriser la vente d'essence sans plomb
et de carburant diesel dont la teneur en soufre ne dépasse pas les niveaux
actuels jusqu'en janvier 2003. Grâce à ces dérogations, les Etats membres
en question pourront informer correctement leurs concitoyens et bien les
préparer au passage à des carburants plus écologiques, et les opérateurs
économiques concernés auront la possibilité de procéder aux adaptations
nécessaires.
[02] Commission approves joint venture between Sedgwick Noble Lowndes and
Woolwich
The European Commission has approved a joint venture between British
companies Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Limited, part of the Marsh & McLennan
group, and Woolwich plc. The joint venture company will be active in the
provision of independent financial services in the UK and will continue to
face significant levels of competition. There is a large number of
companies providing independent financial services in the UK, each with
small market shares. The joint venture will have no material impact on this
high level of fragmentation. Even using the narrowest possible market
definition, the concentration will not lead to the creation of a dominant
position on any market within the Common Market or the European Economic
Area and the Commission has therefore decided not to oppose the operation.
[03] Commission clears acquisition by KKR Associates of Siemens Nixdorf
Retail and Banking Systems
The European Commission has authorised an operation whereby US-based KKR
Associates Ltd acquires sole control of Siemens Nixdorf Retail and Banking
Systems through the acquisition of all of its stock capital. There are no
horizontally or vertically affected markets in the sense of the Merger
Regulation, and the operation, therefore, will not raise any competition
concern.
[04] Commission approves acquisition of Viking Resins Group by Solutia
The European Commission has approved the acquisition of the whole of Viking
Resins Group Holdings B.V. by the American company Solutia Inc. The
parties' activities overlap in the production and sale of amino resins for
industrial liquid coatings and reinforced rubber. The merger will lead to
an increase in market share for Solutia on these two markets in the
European Economic Area. However, it does not raise any competition concerns
since the market shares are comparatively modest, less than 25% and there
are several other significant competitors, including Cytec, which has
larger market shares. Furthermore, the combined entity faces strong
bargaining power from its customers which, on both markets, are large
multinationals.
[05] La Commission autorise l'acquisition du contrôle conjoint d'un
opérateur marocain de téléphonie mobile par Telefonica et Portugal Telecom
La Commission européenne a autorisé les sociétés Telefonica InterContinental
(Espagne) et Portugal Telecom International à acquérir le contrôle conjoint
de Médi Télécom, le deuxième opérateur de téléphonie mobile du Maroc. La
Commission a estimé que l'opération ne créerait ni ne renforcerait de
position dominante et qu'elle n'aboutirait pas non plus à une coopération
anticoncurrentielle entre les sociétés mères.
[06] Commission clears joint venture of Deutsche Bahn and NS Groep
The European Commission has approved the proposed joint venture of two
subsidiaries of the national railway groups Deutsche Bahn AG and NV
Nederlandse Spoorwegen respectively, to test service stores in German
railway stations. The service stores will operate under the label and
according to the concept "DB Service Store" at the passenger stations of
the Deutsche Bahn. The stores combine food retailing with gastronomy as
main items, and a ticket office. After a pilot phase the activities should
be extended to the operation of a number of locations all over Germany.
Since the NV Nederlandse Spoorwegen is not active in Germany there are no
overlaps and the operation will not lead to any competitive problems. For
these reasons the Commission has decided not to oppose this operation and
to declare it compatible with the common market and with the European
Economic Area agreement.
[07] La Commission propose une série de réductions de taxes en faveur de
l'emploi
A partir du 1er janvier 2000 et ce jusqu'au 31 décembre 2002, les Etats
membres seront autorisés à appliquer un taux réduit de taxe sur la valeur
ajoutée (TVA) de certains services à forte intensité de main-d'œuvre tels
que la coiffure, le nettoyage des vitres et les petites réparations selon
la proposition que la Commission européenne vient de soumettre au Conseil
des ministres pour décision. La proposition fait suite aux demandes
effectuées par plusieurs Etats membres conformément à une directive adoptée
par le Conseil le 22 octobre 1999. Cette Directive avait été demandée par
le Conseil européen de Vienne en décembre 1998, parmi d'autres initiatives
pour combattre le chômage.
[08] Economic forecasts for candidate countries autumn 1999
According to the autumn economic forecasts of the European Commission for
candidate countries real GDP growth is expected to average 1.8% for central
European candidate countries (-1.4% for Turkey) in 1999 compared to 2.1%
for the European Union. The unfavourable external economic environment has
put a break on economic developments in the candidate countries thereby
delaying the necessary catching-up process. However, this average evolution
still hides large differences between countries, with expected growth rates
in 1999 ranging between -4.3% in Romania and close to 4% in Hungary and
Poland. In 2000 and 2001, continued economic reforms and the economic
recovery in the EU should generate the conditions for more dynamic economic
growth in most candidate countries. Real GDP growth expected to accelerate
to 3.5% in 2000 and 4.4% in 2001 (4.5% and 4.6% respectively for Turkey).
The inflation outlook remains broadly in line with the Commission's spring
forecast. Central European candidate countries' inflation is expected to
average 10.2% in 1999 and decline to 7.3% in 2000 and 6.1% in 2001.
[09] Commission adopts strategy on endocrine disrupters, substances which
disrupt human and wildlife hormone systems
The European Commission has adopted a Communication on a Community Strategy
for Endocrine Disrupters - a range of substances suspected of interfering
with the hormone systems of humans and wild life. The strategy focuses on
man-made substances, including chemicals and synthetic hormones, which may
harm health and cause cancer, behavioural changes and reproductive
abnormalities. The objectives of the new strategy are to identify the
problem of endocrine disruption, its causes and consequences and to
identify appropriate policy action on the basis of the precautionary
principle in order to respond quickly and effectively to the problem. The
strategy points to the need for further research, international cooperation,
communication to the public and appropriate policy action and identifies
actions in the short, medium and long-term to meet these requirements.
[10] Venezuela floods : humanitarian aid worth euro 400,000
The European Commission is making available emergency humanitarian aid
worth euro 400,000 for Venezuela, struck by catastrophic flooding and
landslides over the past few days. Government sources say thousands of
people have died, and thousands are still unaccounted for. Venezuela has
appealed for international aid. The aid will be channelled via the European
Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), whose partners for this programme
will be the Spanish and German Red Cross societies. The Commission is
monitoring the situation closely and plans to make further aid available in
the near future.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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