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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 01-10-16

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 16/10/2001

  • [01] Commission proposes comprehensive preferential trade package for Pakistan Further to the conclusion of a series of negotiating rounds with Pakistan, the European Commission today presented a comprehensive package of trade measures designed to significantly improve access for Pakistani exports to the EU. The proposed package would give Pakistan the best possible access to the EU short of a Free Trade Agreement by making it eligible for the new Special Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Scheme for countries combating drugs. It has been specifically tailored to target clothing and textiles accounting for three-quarters of Pakistan's exports to the EU. It would remove all tariffs on clothing and increase quotas for Pakistani textiles and clothing by 15%. In return, Pakistan will improve access to its market for EU clothing and textile exporters. Announcing the package to be presented to the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament for approval, Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said : "We have made this negotiation a top priority because Pakistan is in an exceptional situation. We have targeted those areas where Pakistan can benefit most, namely clothing and textiles. Trade is a weapon of peace. Through trade and the fostering of greater economic ties with Pakistan the EU can contribute to alleviating in some measure its current difficulties."
  • [02] La Commission approuve une enveloppe de 155 millions d'euros pour lutter contre les maladies animales La Commission européenne a approuvé une aide financière pour lutter contre les encéphalopathies spongiformes transmissibles (EST) et d'autres maladies animales dans l'Union européenne en 2002. Le budget de l'Union européenne (UE) contribuera à raison de 114 millions d'euros au financement de la surveillance de l'ESB et de la tremblante. Ce montant servira à l'achat de kits de diagnostic. La Commission a également adopté des mesures de financement pour les programmes 2002 d'éradication des maladies animales et de prévention des zoonoses. L'UE consacrera 40,45 millions d'euros, provenant de ses ressources dans le domaine vétérinaire, à l'éradication et à la surveillance de 13 maladies animales importantes dans les Etats membres. Les maladies ciblées par les programmes ont des effets à la fois sur la santé humaine et sur la santé animale ou provoquent de graves pertes dans le secteur de l'élevage et constituent donc des entraves aux échanges intra-communautaires ou internationaux.
  • [03] Structural Funds : Commission approves euro 97 million support for transnational cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region The European Commission has approved a support programme for the Baltic Sea Region covering the period 2000-2006. This Interreg III Community Initiative programme provides euro 97 million in financial support from the European Union. It concerns transnational cooperation between Denmark, North-East Germany, Sweden and Finland in the European Union, and also includes Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Belarus. The European funding will attract a further euro 85 million in investment from the public sector and euro 4 million from the private sector. Around euro 32 million will be contributed from other sources, including the Phare programme and Norwegian national contributions, creating total resources of euro 218 million.
  • [04] Postal services : Commission welcomes political agreement on further liberalisation The European Commission has welcomed the political agreement reached at the EU's Council of Telecommunications Ministers in Luxembourg on 15 October to further liberalise the Internal Market for postal services. Under the agreement, that will now be submitted to the European Parliament for its second reading, Member States would have to open up a substantial additional market share to competition from 2003 and a further share of the market from 2006. The Commission would make a proposal in 2007 confirming accomplishment of the Internal Market in postal services from 2009 unless there were adverse effects on the provision of universal service. The March 2001 Stockholm European Council, called for a new postal Directive to be agreed before the end of this year.
  • [05] Romano Prodi meets Hugo Chávez European Commission President Romano Prodi met with the President of the Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela, Mr Hugo Chávez on Monday 15 October. The two presidents exchanged views on the process of regional integration in the Andean Community and EU-Venezuela cooperation.
  • [06] Winter clothing for North Korea children : Commission provides euro 1.275 million in humanitarian aid The European Commission has allocated euro 1.275 million to help protect children in North Korea from extreme conditions during the coming winter. North Korea continues to face chronic structural economic problems leading to a worsening humanitarian crisis. The situation has been exacerbated by extreme climatic events. This humanitarian decision targets 74,000 vulnerable infants and primary school children in four of the country's provinces. Four projects implemented by NGO partners will be supported, with the main focus on providing sets of winter clothing. Expected benefits of this operation include reduced incidence of winter-related illness among the children concerned and lower absenteeism from school. The aid will be channelled through the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) which comes under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson.
  • [07] 19 projets de coopération universitaire avec les Etats-Unis et le Canada sélectionnés en 2001 13 projets de coopération universitaire entre les Etats-Unis et l'Union européenne et 6 projets entre le Canada et l'Union Européenne ont été retenus sur les 66 présentés pour 2001. Ils couvrent un large éventail de domaines académiques, de l'architecture aux sciences sociales, de l'environnement au commerce. Les projets de coopération prennent diverses formes : développement de cours communs, échange d'étudiants, reconnaissance des périodes d'études, etc.
  • [08] Deuxième trimestre 2001 : la production dans le secteur de la construction en baisse de 1,4% dans la zone euro et de 0,6% dans l'UE15 - Un nouvel euro-indicateur publié trimestriellement par Eurostat (! embargo 12h00 !) Dans le secteur de la construction, la production corrigée des variations saisonnières, a baissé de 1,4% dans la zone euro et de 0,6% dans l'UE15 au cours du deuxième trimestre 2001 par rapport au premier trimestre, selon les estimations publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat. Ceci fait suite à des baisses de 1,5% dans la zone euro et de 1,0% dans l'UE15 au cours du premier trimestre 2001. Sur une base annuelle, la production a diminué de 2,7% dans la zone euro et de 2,0% dans l'UE15 au cours du deuxième trimestre 2001, après avoir enregistré des baisses respectivement de 2,0% et 1,9% au cours du premier trimestre 2001.
  • [09] An instrument for economic analysis of the euro zone and the EU, a new Eurostat Internet site pools the main short-term economic indicator (! embargo 12 am !) Eurostat and the Member States' statistical offices have opened a new Internet site devoted exclusively to euro-indicators. This site (www.europa.eu.int/comm/euroindicators) provides an essential information tool for analysing short-term economic developments in general, and the evolution of the euro zone in particular.
  • [10] Lancement d'un nouveau réseau européen pour aider les consommateurs à résoudre les litiges transfrontaliers sans recourir à la justice Le commissaire européen à la Santé et à la Protection du Consommateur David Byrne et la Présidence belge ont lancé aujourd'hui la phase pilote du réseau extrajudiciaire européen (réseau EJE). Ce réseau, destiné à résoudre les litiges de consommation sans procédure judiciaire, facilitera le recours des consommateurs dans des litiges les opposant à des fournisseurs d'un autre pays de l'UE, de Norvège ou d'Islande. A cet effet, chaque pays participant a établi un point de contact central, appelé "centre d'information et d'assistance", auprès duquel les consommateurs pourront obtenir des informations et de l'aide pour accéder aux systèmes de résolution extrajudiciaire des litiges. Le réseau EJE est complété par FIN- NET, qui est le réseau déjà opérationnel de résolution extrajudiciaire des litiges pour les services financiers. Le lancement du réseau EJE coïncide avec l'ouverture d'un nouveau centre européen des consommateurs pour la Belgique, inauguré aujourd'hui à Bruxelles par les ministres belges Charles Picqué, ministre de l'économie, et Magda Aelvoet, ministre de la protection de la consommation et de la santé publique. Le centre européen des consommateurs fera office de centre d'information et d'assistance belge pour le réseau EJE.
  • [11] Anna Diamantopoulou at the European Conference on Migration European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs Anna Diamantopoulou, speaking today at the European Conference on Migration, will make five points in the discussion on common policies for economic migration. First, labour mobility and migration are linked. As long as obstacles to free movement of labour persist, migration and immigration can only be a 'drop in the ocean' of EU-wide skill shortages. That is why the Commission launched its New European Labour Markets initiative earlier this year. Second, the principle of free movement of workers applies equally to candidate countries as to existing EU member states. The only purpose of any transitional arrangements is to help new member states to manage the transition smoothly from relatively low productivity/low income countries to high productivity/high income countries. This takes time. Third, large- scale migratory pressures reflect political and economic failure. EU immigration and asylum policies have a part to play in helping victims of such failure, but poverty in the world must also be addressed at its root in the countries of origin. Fourth, migration is not gender-neutral. The proportion of women migrants has varied over time, depending on such factors as rules on family reunification. We must monitor trends. Fifth, we must develop a coherent EU approach to migrant rights, for example in order to counter discrimination on grounds of ethic origin.
  • [12] Eurobaromètre 55 : rapport complet Les premiers résultats du sondage Eurobaromètre le plus récent (numéro 55), réalisé en avril et mai 2001, ont été publiés le 17 juillet dernier. Le présent rapport fournit des résultats plus détaillés pour chaque pays de l'Union européenne, et couvre un nombre important d'autres questions.
  • [13] Seminar on consumer policy for EU candidate countries Enforcing consumer protection legislation in the internal market, and the role of consumer associations in this context, is the overall theme of this year's seminar on consumer policy for candidate countries. The seminar focuses on the revised General Product Safety Directive (see IP/01/1367) as it provides a very good illustration of the issue. It takes place in the Charlemagne building in Brussels on 17 October. Journalists are invited to participate. The programme is available in Breydel offices 6/94 and 6/166. The European Commission has been organising seminars for representatives of consumers associations together with the administrative bodies from the applicant countries as well as the EC Consumer Committee since 1998. David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer protection, will give the opening speech. Results of the seminar will be presented to the Annual Assembly of Consumer Associations in Europe which takes place in the Charlemagne on 18-19 October.
  • [14] Press seminar on the WTO ministerial meeting and agriculture A background seminar for journalists with Franz Fischler, European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural development and Fisheries, takes place in Brussels in the Centre Borschette, room 4B, on 18 October from 9h30 to 11h45. The second speaker will be João Pacheco, Head of the unit in DG Agriculture which deals with WTO, OECD, USA and Canada. Their presentations will be followed by a question and answer session. Journalists who want to participate and who are accredited to the Commission need to register in order to gain access to the Centre Borschette. The registration form is available in Breydel offices 6/94 and 6/166.
  • [15] General Assembly of consumer associations in Europe "How can consumer organisations help make the internal market a reality for consumers ?" - This annual meeting of consumer organisations in Europe is important in several ways. It is a communication tool for the Commission to consult and inform the consumer representatives thoroughly on Commission consumer policy. It stimulates the consumer movement in Europe and raises awareness about consumer questions. It provides a forum in which consumer representatives can exchange views on policy and share best practice, around 250 representatives from more than 110 consumer organisations will be present. Therefore, it also gives the Commission an opportunity to experience the very broad spectrum of opinion that is to be found within the consumer movement. Participants in this years Assembly include David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer protection, Charles Picqué, Belgian Minister for Economy and Scientific Research, and Guido Sacconi (MEP). The programme is available in Breydel offices 6/94 and 6/166. The assembly takes place in the Charlemagne building in Brussels on 18-19 October. Journalists are invited to participate in the plenary session on Thursday, Friday is dedicated to six different workshops on particular subjects like the role of new technologies.
  • [16] Mergers approved under the simplified procedure - Xchange B.V (NL) / BAE Systems plc. (UK) - Maersk IT A/S (DA) / LM ericsson A/S (SW) / WAC A/S
  • [17] Autre matériel diffusé Discours de M. Vitorino sur la politique d'immigration à la Conférence Européenne sur les Migrations, organisée par la Présidence belge

    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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