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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 01-05-17
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 Service Presse et Communicationb
Midday Express 17/05/2001
[01] La Commission approuve le système de distribution sélective des
parfums Yves Saint Laurent
La Direction Générale de la concurrence de la Commission européenne a
décidé de ne pas soulever d'objections à l'encontre du système de
distribution sélective de la société Yves Saint Laurent Parfums (YSLP). Le
système de distribution, qui autorise les détaillants agréés à vendre les
produits également par Internet, est en accord avec les règles
communautaires de la concurrence.
[02] EU acts to integrate Least Developed Countries into world trading
system
(! embargo 1 pm !) Building on the EU's recent decision to open its market
completely to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) LDC exports through the
groundbreaking "Everything But Arms" initiative, European Trade
Commissioner Pascal Lamy today outlined further concrete and immediate
trade measures to help integrate the LDC's into the global economy in the
context of the 3rd UN-LDC Conference held in Brussels this week. In
addition to commitments to help bring LDCs further into the system through
technical assistance, capacity building and investment promotion, the EU
has worked hard to secure their "fast-track" accession to the WTO. This has
borne fruit with the EU playing a central rôle in brokering an
understanding with the other QUAD countries (US, Japan and Canada) to
considerably simplify and expedite accession procedures. The EU has called
upon all developed countries to follow its lead in refraining from the use
of anti-dumping measures against LDC's. This week the EU gave a green light
to a Programme of Action in relation to communicable diseases (HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis, Malaria). Commissioner Lamy confirmed the EU's commitment to
push for concerted action in these areas, including in the context of a new
WTO Round. He said : "The firm steps taken at this conference are a
testament to the EU's determination to do all it can to ensure that the
interests and needs of developing countries, and in particular the least
developed among them, are at the centre of the world trading system and are
fully taken on board in the context of a new Round of WTO negotiations".
[03] Commission grants euro 55.7 million in humanitarian aid to the Balkans
The European Commission has approved a comprehensive euro 55.7 million plan
for the Balkans enabling the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) to continue
providing assistance to refugees, displaced persons and other vulnerable
population groups. The countries concerned by the decision are Serbia,
Kosovo, Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and
Albania. The plan covers the period to the end of February 2002. More than
half of the sum available is for Serbia (euro 34.4 million), which has the
highest number of refugees in Europe. The aim is to meet humanitarian needs
on the ground and reduce dependence on humanitarian aid, thus preparing for
ECHO's gradual withdrawal from the Balkans and paving the way for longer-
term development strategies. Assistance will focus mainly on the housing,
health and social sectors.
[04] La Commission et la République du Congo (Brazzaville) signent un
programme de coopération d'un montant de 41.3 millions d'euros
La Commission européenne et le gouvernement de la République du Congo ont
signé aujourd'hui à Brazzaville un programme de coopération d'un montant de
41.3 millions d'euros. L'allocation de ces fonds non-remboursables provient
du 8e Fonds européen de développement (FED). La signature de ce programme
indicatif national pour la République du Congo (Brazzaville) a été retardée
par les conflits internes que le pays a vécus entre 1997 et 1999. Le
Commissaire chargé du développement et de l'aide humanitaire, M. Poul
Nielson, a déclaré que : "La décision de signer ce programme témoigne de la
volonté de la Commission d'apporter son soutien au processus de
développement et de démocratisation dans le pays. Les fonds sont destinés à
la réalisation d'objectifs prioritaires tels que la lutte contre la
pauvreté, la démocratisation, la promotion des droits de l'homme et l'Etat
de droit".
[05] Commission publishes progress report on women in science
In the world of science, as perhaps in most other areas of life, women are
severely under-represented. Worldwide, a meagre 3% of science, engineering
and technology researchers are women. This is not only inequitable it
denies the world of science an invaluable resource. Remedying this is
essential to fulfilling the strategic objective of the European Research
Area launched by European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin at the
beginning of last year. Now a new report has been produced by the
Directorate General for Research detailing the progress made in addressing
gender issues in European research since an action plan was launched at the
beginning of 1999. Its conclusion is that greater gender equality in
science is essential for scientific progress and will bring science close
to society. As to the representation of women in the Commission's own
evaluation panels for research projects the report shows that the
proportion of female evaluators has risen from 6% in 1996 to 30% in the
year 2000. However, the report issues a warning that gender equality in
science will only come into being as a result of shared commitments and
actions by all parties involved in scientific research. Full report
available at : http://europa.eu.int/comm/press_room/
[06] Autre matériel diffusé
Discours de M. Nielson : "The role of health" à la conférence des Nations-
Unies sur les pays les moins avancés (16/05)
Discours de M. Byrne : "Food Safety, Food Quality Challenges for the
European Union" au Bund für Lebensmittelrecht und Lebensmittelkunde und
Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Ernährungsindustrie (Berlin, ! embargo
17h00 !)
Speaking points of Pedro Solbes at the OECD ministerial meeting (Paris)
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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