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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 00-01-26
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 26/01/2000b
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[I] Résultats de la Commission de ce jour - Outcome of today's Commission
meeting
[01] Commission proposes new farm funding rules for candidate countries
[02] European Community Investment Partners (ECIP)
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[03] Carrefour/Promodes : la Commission renvoie aux autorités françaises et
espagnoles l'examen au niveau local et autorise, sous réserve d'engagements,
les autres aspects de la fusion
[04] Euro-zone and EU15 annual inflation up to 1.7% in December
[I] Résultats de la Commission de ce jour - Outcome of today's Commission
meeting
[01] Commission proposes new farm funding rules for candidate countries
The European Commission has adopted a communication on the financial
management of the new agricultural pre-accession instrument SAPARD (Special
Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development). The Commission
envisages a decentralised management approach - from project selection to
payments. Each candidate country will have to establish a SAPARD agency
which will be audited by the Commission before first payments will be made.
To ensure the proper use of euro 520 million of EU funds a year for
targeted rural development measures a clearance of accounts procedure shall
apply, allowing for financial corrections in the case of non-respect of
SAPARD rules like, for example, a lack of controls at national level. In
the weeks to come the Commission will put forward a formal implementing
regulation which follows the guidelines of the present communication.
[02] European Community Investment Partners (ECIP)
In order further to reinforce the technical and financial management and
follow-up of the European Community Investment Partners (ECIP) scheme and
particularly to absorb the backlog of contracts, payments, closures, and
reimbursements of ECIP financings, the European Commission has decided,
since the legal basis Council Regulation 213/96 has expired on 31.12.1999 :
(1) not to approve or finance new ECIP actions after 31.12.1999 ; and (2)
to propose to the budgetary authority (European Parliament and Council) a
budgetary transfer (euro 1,955,000) for budget line B7-872A to finance the
Technical Assistance Units, and financial audits in the year 2000 necessary
in order to assure the continuous sound management of the execution and
closure of the ECIP project portfolio. At the same time the Commission has
proposed a legal basis to cover this process until end 2001 in order
prudently to allow adequate time to complete the majority of the closure
tasks and to terminate the technical assistance units by end 2001. The
Commission's services are presently making a long term reassessment of
ECIP's policy purposes and operational design and required budgetary and
human resources to manage the programme. The Commission will present in due
course its conclusions.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[03] Carrefour/Promodes : la Commission renvoie aux autorités françaises et
espagnoles l'examen au niveau local et autorise, sous réserve d'engagements,
les autres aspects de la fusion
La Commission européenne a décidé de renvoyer l'analyse de l'acquisition
par Carrefour de Promodes aux autorités nationales de concurrence
françaises et espagnoles. Les demandes de renvoi portent sur des marchés
locaux de la distribution. "Nous nous sommes assurés que nos décisions de
renvoi couvrent la totalité des zones susceptibles de soulever des
problèmes de concurrence en ce qui concerne les possibilités de choix du
consommateur", a expliqué Mario Monti, Commissaire à la Concurrence. La
Commission a aussi autorisé les autres aspects du projet d'acquisition,
sous réserve d'un certain nombre d'engagements. Carrefour s'est engagé à
remédier à certains problèmes identifiés sur les marchés de l'approvisionnement
notamment en supprimant tous les liens existants avec son concurrent direct
Cora.
[04] Euro-zone and EU15 annual inflation up to 1.7% in December
(! embargo 12 am !) Euro-zone annual inflation rose from 1.5% (revised) in
November to 1.7% in December, Eurostat reports today. EU15 annual inflation
rose from 1.4% (revised) in November to 1.7% in December. Both figures were
in line with market expectations. The annual average inflation of the euro-
zone remained stable at 1.1% between 1998 and 1999. The EU15 and the EEA
rates fell from 1.3% in 1998 to 1.2% in 1999. Highest annual rates were in
Ireland (3.9%), Denmark (3.1%) and Spain (2.8%). Lowest rates were in
Sweden and United Kingdom (both 1.2%), and Germany and France (both 1.4%).
Compared to December '98, the biggest relative rises were in Sweden (0.0%
to 1.2%) and Germany (0.2% to 1.4%) ; biggest relative falls were in
Portugal (2.8% to 1.7%) and Greece (3.7% to 2.4%). Annual inflation rose
from 1.3% to 1.7% in Switzerland and from 2.6% to 2.7% in USA (indices not
strictly comparable with EU harmonized indices).
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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