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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-03-05
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] L'UE tient son engagement de ratification précoce du protocole de
Kyoto
[02] Financial services : Commission welcomes Council's Common Position on
collateral Directive
[03] January 2002 - Euro-zone unemployment stable at 8.4% ; EU15 steady at
7.7%
[04] La Commission lance une plate-forme pan-européenne sécurisée pour les
services de e-gouvernement
[05] Commission clears acquisition by EnerSys of the Invensys Energy
Storage Business
[06] Commission approves Norsk Hydro's acquisition of German aluminium
producer VAW
[07] La Commission autorise l'acquisition par Merloni d'une participation
de 50% dans le producteur de produits électroménagers britannique GDA
[08] Commission clears acquisition of industrial cleaning products
manufacturer DiverseyLever by Johnson Wax
[09] Commission clears Swerock stake in Aros, in Swedish construction
sector
[10] Statement of Chris Patten on the election of the President and Prime
Minister of Kosovo
[11] "Publishing in the Digital Age" : Commission meets European publishing
industry
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 05/03/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 05/03/2002
[01] L'UE tient son engagement de ratification précoce du protocole de
Kyoto
Le Conseil des Ministres de l'Environnement de l'UE a adopté hier la
proposition de décision de la Commission européenne sur la ratification du
Protocole de Kyoto. La Commission se félicite de cette décision. En
l'adoptant, l'UE a ainsi réaffirmé son engagement à rechercher des
solutions multilatérales aux sujets de préoccupations planétaires. En
décidant de ratifier le protocole au niveau de l'UE, l'Union est fidèle à
son ambition de permettre l'entrée en vigueur de cet instrument au moment
du sommet mondial sur le développement durable, en août-septembre
prochains. Cette décision donne également force juridiquement contraignante
aux engagements pris en juin 1998 (dans le cadre de l'accord dit de
"partage de la charge") par les Etats membres en matière de réduction des
émissions de gaz à effet de serre. L'UE continue d'appeler les Etats-Unis à
participer au cadre mondial pour l'action sur le changement climatique.
[02] Financial services : Commission welcomes Council's Common Position on
collateral Directive
The European Commission has welcomed the Common Position on the
Commission's proposal for a Directive on collateral agreed unanimously,
without discussion, by the 5th March Council of Finance Ministers. The
Directive will create a clear and uniform EU legal framework to limit
credit risk in financial transactions through the provision of securities
and cash as collateral. The Commission's proposal was presented on 27 March
2001 (see IP/01/464 and MEMO/01/108). The Directive is a priority measure
under the Financial Services Action Plan (see IP/00/1269), endorsed by the
Lisbon and Stockholm European Councils as a key element in the making
Europe's economy the most competitive in the world by 2010. Collateral is
already a huge market in the EU, with the total value of outstanding
contracts on the market for repurchase agreements ('repos') alone estimated
to be worth around euro 2 trillion.
[03] January 2002 - Euro-zone unemployment stable at 8.4% ; EU15 steady at
7.7%
Euro-zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 8.4% in January 2002,
the same as December 2001, Eurostat reports today. It was also 8.4% in
January 2001. The EU15 unemployment rate was 7.7% in January, the same as
December 2001. It was also 7.7% in January 2001. In January 2002, lowest
rates were registered in the Netherlands (2.4% in December), Luxembourg
(2.6%), Austria (3.9%), Denmark (4.2% in December), Ireland (4.2%), and
Portugal (4.3%). Spain's 12.8% remained the EU's highest rate.
[04] La Commission lance une plate-forme pan-européenne sécurisée pour les
services de e-gouvernement
La Commission européenne a annoncé aujourd'hui qu'elle avait mis en place
une infrastructure de communication sécurisée pour l'échange d'informations
entre administrations publiques européennes. Conformément à l'initiative e-
Europe, ce service, qui est financé et géré au titre du programme Echange
de données entre administrations (IDA), fournira une plate-forme pour les
nouveaux services pan-européens de e-gouvernement destinés aux citoyens et
entreprises en améliorant la coopération entre les services publics
européens à tous les niveaux de gouvernement.
[05] Commission clears acquisition by EnerSys of the Invensys Energy
Storage Business
The European Commission has approved the acquisition by US company EnerSys
Holdings Inc. of the Energy Storage Business (ESB) from Invensys Plc of the
United Kingdom.
[06] Commission approves Norsk Hydro's acquisition of German aluminium
producer VAW
The European Commission has approved under the European Union's Merger
Regulation the acquisition by Norwegian company Norsk Hydro of VAW
Aluminium AG (VAW), an aluminium company based in Germany. The acquisition
does not give rise to any competition concerns in Europe due to only minor
overlaps of the companies' activities and limited market shares.
[07] La Commission autorise l'acquisition par Merloni d'une participation
de 50% dans le producteur de produits électroménagers britannique GDA
La Commission européenne a autorisé la société Merloni, qui produit des
appareils électroménagers, à racheter à la société britannique Marconi
Corporation Plc une participation de 50% dans General Domestic Appliances
(GDA). L'autre moitié des actions est en fait détenue par la société
américaine General Electric.
[08] Commission clears acquisition of industrial cleaning products
manufacturer DiverseyLever by Johnson Wax
The European Commission has approved the acquisition by US-based Johnson
Professional Holdings Inc. of Dutch-based DiverseyLever, the worldwide
industrial and institutional cleaning and hygiene products arm of the
Unilever group. The Commission's review of the case showed that the
companies' activities were mostly complementary and that where they overlap
there will remain sufficient competition.
[09] Commission clears Swerock stake in Aros, in Swedish construction
sector
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition by Sweden's Swerock AB of a stake in Swedish
construction company Aros Grusförädling AB and Aros Grusförädling KB. Aros
is currently owned and controlled by Jehander and AB Färdig, both Swedish.
(The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure)
[10] Statement of Chris Patten on the election of the President and Prime
Minister of Kosovo
European External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten made the following
statement yesterday : "I extend my warm congratulations to Ibrahim Rugova
on his election as President of Kosovo, and to Bajram Rexhepi on his
election as Prime Minister. Both men face a formidable task. The people of
Kosovo look to them to make the newly established provisional institutions
work effectively, and to work tirelessly to move Kosovo ahead. The European
Commission looks forward to continuing to lend its full support to their
work, and to maintaining its strong commitment to a peaceful and prosperous
future for the people of Kosovo."
[11] "Publishing in the Digital Age" : Commission meets European publishing
industry
High-level representatives of the European publishing industry will meet
Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, European
Commission officials and Members of the European Parliament in a one-day
event in Brussels on 5 March 2002 to exchange views on policy issues
affecting the publishing industry. These include the role of self-
regulation and co-regulation, content and editorial liability, advertising
in the digital economy, data protection and privacy, and applicable law in
the sector. The European publishing and content industries are key growth
catalysts for the Information Society in Europe and should help deliver on
the March 2000 Lisbon European Council aim of making Europe into the most
competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by the next decade.
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Franz Fischler : "You are what you eat - Education, Innovation
and Investment for Better Quality" at the Alimentaria Fair (04/03,
Barcelona)
Speech by Pascal Lamy at the Opening Ceremony of the 9th Round of EU/Chile
Association Negotiations (04/03, Santiago de Chile)
Discours de Mme de Palacio : "La politique énergétique européenne et accès
des citoyens à l'énergie" au Séminaire 'Ouverture des marchés'
Note sur la préparation du Conseil Emploi
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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