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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 01-09-18

Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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 18/09/2001

  • [01] Commission survey shows progress on banks' preparation for the euro changeover The second survey on the euro-area banks' preparation for the euro changeover published today by the European Commission shows significant progress. The majority of banks have taken up the Commission's recommendations and have forged ahead by preparing themselves, their clients and their systems for a smooth euro changeover. 83% of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the euro-area will provide euro-notes the first day of the new year and 98% by the end of the first week. 73% of the banks surveyed expect to provide small denominations (euro 5 or euro 10 notes) through their ATMs. All banks will change their customers' cash free of charge - 75% of them without setting a limit. Moreover, 57% of the banks are be ready to continue this free service for their clients after the end of the double circulation period. In a move that will greatly facilitate front-loading of retailers three quarters of banks will debit retailers which ask for front-loading of euro notes and coins after the 1 January 2002, in line with the Commission's recommendation. 83% of banks will not charge retailers handling fees for the return of national banknotes and 76% will do the same for national coins (IP/01/1281). The full results of the survey can be found at 13.00 on : http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/document/euro/survey0901fr.pdf
  • [02] Euro-denominated bond issuance stable in July-August 2001 According to the latest monthly note on the euro-denominated bond markets published today by the European Commission, total issuance in July/August amounted to euro 196 billion, compared to euro 202 billion in the same period of 2000. The small decline in issuance is attributable to lower pfandbriefe and financial-sector activity (particularly in July), while the corporate sector gained ground. The impact of the economic slowdown on Member State public finances has been reflected in a sustained year-on-year increase in government issuance since April. The share of highly-rated bonds (AAA and AA) in total issuance rose slightly, most likely reflecting reduced private sector activity over the summer period. Finally the steepening trend in the euro yield curve continued. The yield spread between 10- and 2-year paper widened over the period from about 100 basis points to just above 110 basis points. The full document can be found at 13.00 on : http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/document/eurobond/bondm070801en.pdf
  • [03] Août 2001 : le taux d'inflation de la zone euro en baisse à 2,7% ; le taux de l'UE15 stable à 2,6% (! embargo 12h00 !) Le taux d'inflation annuel de la zone euro a baissé de 2,8% en juillet à 2,7% en août 2001, indique aujourd'hui Eurostat. Un an auparavant, le taux était de 2,3%. Le taux d'inflation annuel de l'UE15 était de 2,6% en août, un taux identique à celui enregistré au mois de juillet. Un an auparavant, le taux était de 2,0%. En août, les taux annuels les plus élevés ont été relevés aux Pays-Bas (5,2%), en Grèce et au Portugal (4,0% chacun). Les taux les plus bas ont été enregistrés en France (2,0%), au Danemark, au Luxembourg et en Belgique (2,5% chacun).
  • [04] David Byrne et Franz Fischler invitent à une plus grande responsabilité politique à l'égard des OGM Lors du conseil Agriculture informel qui s'est tenu aujourd'hui à Alden Biesen, en Belgique, M. Franz Fischler, commissaire chargé de l'agriculture, du développement rural et de la pêche, et M. David Byrne, commissaire chargé de la santé et de la protection des consommateurs ont invité les responsables politiques à jouer un rôle de premier plan dans la question des organismes génétiquement modifiés (OGM). "Comme l'indique le débat public houleux que suscite cette question en Europe, il est primordial de prendre en compte les préoccupations de notre société. C'est ce qu'a fait la Commission en proposant un système d'étiquetage et de traçabilité efficace et une procédure d'autorisation fondée sur une évaluation scientifique. Selon moi, un responsable politique ne doit pas se faire l'écho de points de vue populistes et exploiter les craintes pour marquer facilement des points", a déclaré M. Fischler. M. David Byrne a ajouté : "Il est essentiel de garantir un haut niveau de protection, le libre choix du consommateur et des procédures d'autorisation transparentes, uniformes et efficaces afin d'encourager l'acceptation sociale et la confiance dans l'application de la biotechnologie aux alimentations humaine et animale. Le débat sur les OGM a souvent généré plus de confusion que de clarté. En tant que responsables politiques, il est de notre devoir de veiller à ce que des éléments objectifs soient soumis à l'examen et à la compréhension de nos citoyens. Le trop grand nombre de critiques non fondées ne reflète pas l'approche scientifique de la sécurité alimentaire que je préconise. Par conséquent, j'invite toutes les parties à mener un débat rationnel et à adopter une approche équilibrée. Aux yeux de la population européenne, la sécurité est "l'ingrédient" le plus important de leur alimentation. Mettre en péril la sécurité alimentaire ne mènera nulle part. La législation actuelle de la Commission relative aux OGM et les propositions soumises dans ce domaine reposent sur le principe selon lequel les alimentations humaine et animale génétiquement modifiées ne présentent pas et ne doivent pas présenter un risque pour la santé humaine ou animale ou pour l'environnement."
  • [05] Commission clears purchase of Yorkshire Power Group by CE Electric The European Commission has granted regulatory approval to CE Electric's proposed acquisition of UK electricity distribution company Yorkshire Power Group. The deal does not pose any competition concerns as the two electricity distributors largely operate in different regions in the United Kingdom.
  • [06] Commission clears acquisition of SSM Coal by Rheinbraun The European Commission has granted clearance under the European Union's merger control law to the proposed acquisition of sole control over SSM Coal B.V. of the Netherlands by Germany's Rheinbraun Brennstoff GmbH. The proposed take-over does not raise any competition concerns in the market for fuel grade petroleum coke, also referred to as "petcoke".
  • [07] Commission defines the conditions for packaging waste disposal systems to be compatible with the European competition law in the DSD case The European Commission has adopted a positive decision with obligations vis-à-vis a set of contracts concluded by the Duales System Deutschland AG (DSD) concerning its system of selective collection and recovery of sales packaging waste. After having already adopted a groundbreaking abuse decision for this sector in the same case on April 20, 2001 this decision defines further the Commission's competition policy in the field of collection and the recovery of packaging waste. The Commission, for the first time, sets clear principles for the competitive assessment of exclusive, long-term service agreements in the waste management sector. Concerning DSD's service agreements this has led to significantly reduced contractual duration times. In addition the principle of free and unimpeded access to the collection infrastructure for competitors of DSD has been established. This decision takes into account the objectives of the relevant environmental legislation and it is expected that the consumer will benefit from overall lower disposal costs.
  • [08] EU welcomes conclusion of work in Geneva to ensure China's accession to the WTO Yesterday, the EU welcomed the fact that the Working Party charged with preparing China's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concluded its task successfully. Welcoming the consensus reached, European Trade Commission Pascal Lamy said : "It is very satisfying to see over 15 years of hard work bear fruit. China's accession will make the WTO a truly global organisation. The WTO is about binding countries peacefully together through close trading links in a multilateral system. At this difficult time, the important work concluded Geneva provides this system and us all with a much-needed boost of confidence and hope for the future." Mr Lamy payed tribute to Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng for their "unwavering commitment to the huge challenge of bringing China into the WTO which they demonstrated to me on numerous occasions". He also praised his predecessor Sir Leon Brittan "who expended so much energy on behalf of the EU to get China into the WTO".
  • [09] Salvador : 25 millions d'euros pour un programme de soutien à la reconstruction La Commission européenne a adopté hier la décision de financement relative à un programme de soutien à la Reconstruction du Salvador, pour un montant total de 32 millions d'euros, qui sera exécuté à partir de novembre 2001. La contribution de l'Union européenne sera de 25 millions d'euros, tandis que la participation du pays bénéficiaire sera de 7 millions d'euros. Cet important programme bénéficiera environ 200.000 personnes, la plupart en situation de pauvreté extrême dans les départements les plus touchés par les séismes de janvier et février de cette année.
  • [10] Merger approved under the simplified procedure RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria AG (D) / Verbund Stromvertriebsgesellschaft mbH / JV
  • [11] Autre matériel diffusé Speech by Pedro Solbes : "€ -106; state of play and the final efforts ahead" at the ECB Euro 2002 Information Campaign Conference (17/09, Helsinki) Discours de M. Lamy : "La politique commerciale de l'Union après le 11 septembre 2001" devant la commission ITRE (17/09, PE) Discours de M. Fischler : "Intégration de nouvelles technologies dans l'agriculture" au Conseil informel Agriculture (Alden Biesen) Speech by David Byrne : "New Technologies in Agriculture Biotechnology" at the Informal Agriculture Council (Alden Biesen)

    MIDDAY EXPRESS


    From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
    © ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996


    Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
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