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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-03-22
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Tragic fire at the Permanent Representation of Spain - Statement by
Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission
[02] Commission accepts undertaking in competition proceedings regarding
German book price fixing
[03] La Commission autorise SCA à acquérir l'entreprise italienne de papier
tissu CartoInvest
[04] Commission clears acquisition of Alcatel by Sanmina
[05] Commission clears sole control of Arcor by Vodafone
[06] Green light for €22.306 million Leader+ rural development programme in
Baden-Württemberg (Germany)
[07] Premières estimations pour janvier, données révisées pour décembre -
Déficit de 0,6 milliard d'€ du commerce extérieur pour la zone euro en
janvier 2002 ; déficit de 7,5 milliards d'€ pour l'UE15
[08] Fourth quarter 2001 compared to fourth quarter 2000 - Euro-zone and
EU15 labour costs up by 3.1%
[09] Commission adopts new strategy for health and safety at work
[10] Services à accès conditionnel : la Commission décide de saisir la Cour
de justice à l'encontre de la Belgique, de la Grèce, du Luxembourg et de
l'Espagne
[11] Motor insurance : Commission calls on Finland to stop excluding car
passengers from cover when a driver is under influence of alcohol
[12] Impôts directs : procédures d'infraction contre la France et l'Espagne
[13] EU/Senegal fisheries agreement : negotiations suspended
[14] Günter Verheugen welcomes provisional closure of negotiations on free
movement of capital with Poland
[15] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 22/03/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 22/03/2002
[01] Tragic fire at the Permanent Representation of Spain - Statement by
Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission
"I was shocked to hear of the tragic fire at the Permanent Representation
of Spain to the European Union which took the lives of two men, a Spanish
policeman and a Belgian fireman. They died doing their duty and I pay
tribute to their selfless courage. The European Commission sends its
sincere condolences to the families of the victims and assures the Spanish
authorities of its readiness to assist them in any way it can."
[02] Commission accepts undertaking in competition proceedings regarding
German book price fixing
The European Commission will no longer pursue competition proceedings
regarding the German book price fixing system (so-called 'Sammelrevers').
Following the sending of a Statement of Objections (see IP/01/1035 of 19
July 2001), the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels e.V. (German
publishers' and booksellers' association), as well as the publisher
Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH and the bookseller Koch, Neff & Oetinger
GmbH, submitted an Undertaking which meets fully and definitively the
objections raised by the Commission. It guarantees the freedom of direct
cross-border selling of German books to final consumers in Germany, in
particular, via the Internet. In parallel, it establishes an exclusive list
of conditions under which the Commission exceptionally accepts that a
circumvention of the national price fixing occurs. These conditions ensure
that German publishers and booksellers cannot consider direct cross-border
Internet selling of cheaper books by foreign retailers to be a
circumvention of the 'Sammelrevers' system. Nor can they hinder these sales
by means of a collective embargo. As a result, if correctly implemented,
the current German price fixing system has no appreciable effect on trade
between Member States and thus does not infringe the European Union
competition rules.
[03] La Commission autorise SCA à acquérir l'entreprise italienne de papier
tissu CartoInvest
La Commission européenne a autorisé l'entreprise néerlandaise SCA Hygiene
Products (SCA), filiale à cent pour cent de la société suédoise de produits
forestiers Svenska Cellulosa AB, à acquérir l'entreprise italienne
CartoInvest. Les deux entreprises fabriquent des produits d'hygiène en
papier tissu, tels que papier hygiénique, essuie-tout, mouchoirs et
serviettes de table. L'opération ne soulève cependant pas de problèmes de
concurrence étant donné que SCA sera confrontée à une puissance d'achat
suffisante des supermarchés, en particulier pour les produits vendus sous
marque de distributeur.
[04] Commission clears acquisition of Alcatel by Sanmina
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of sole of the assets and certain liabilities of three
manufacturing plants of Alcatel at Cherbourg (France), Gunzenhausen
(Germany) and Toledo (Spain) by Sanmina-SCI Corp of the United States. Both
firms provide electronics manufacturing services. (The operation was
examined under the simplified merger review procedure)
[05] Commission clears sole control of Arcor by Vodafone
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition by mobile phone firm Vodafone AG of sole of Arcor AG &
Co, a German firm which provides fixed telecommunications services and is
currently jointy controlled by Vodafone and Deutsche Bahn. (The operation
was examined under the simplified merger review procedure)
[06] Green light for €22.306 million Leader+ rural development programme in
Baden-Württemberg (Germany)
The European Commission approved the programme for the EU Initiative
Leader+ in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). Welcoming the decision, Franz
Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries,
said : "This program aims to pilot new ideas to help build a more
sustainable society, economy and environment for rural Germany. We want to
improve the quality of life for all those who live in rural areas. Leader+
will help to add value to local products and to make the best use of
natural and cultural resources." During the period 2001-2006, total
expenditure under the programme is €22.306 million. This includes an EU
contribution of €10.180 million and a contribution of €1.946 million from
the private sector.
[07] Premières estimations pour janvier, données révisées pour décembre -
Déficit de 0,6 milliard d'€ du commerce extérieur pour la zone euro en
janvier 2002 ; déficit de 7,5 milliards d'€ pour l'UE15
(! embargo 12h00 !) D'après les premières estimations publiées par Eurostat
aujourd'hui, pour le mois de janvier 2002, la zone euro a enregistré un
déficit du commerce extérieur de 0,6 milliard d'€ avec le reste du monde,
comparé à un déficit de 5,8 milliards en janvier 2001. L'excédent (révisé)
enregistré au mois de décembre 2001 était de 8,4 milliards, par rapport à
un déficit de 0,8 milliard en décembre 2000. Les premières estimations du
solde des échanges extra-UE15 pour le mois de janvier 2002 conduisent à un
déficit de 7,5 milliards d'€, comparé à -13,9 milliards en janvier 2001. Au
mois de décembre 2001, l'excédent (révisé) était de 2,0 milliards, contre
un déficit de 6,1 milliards en décembre 2000. En 2001, le commerce de la
zone euro a enregistré un excédent de 47,03 milliards, comparé à +5,3
milliards en 2000. L'UE15 a enregistré un déficit estimé à 45,9 milliards
en 2001 par rapport à -90,9 milliards en 2000.
[08] Fourth quarter 2001 compared to fourth quarter 2000 - Euro-zone and
EU15 labour costs up by 3.1%
(! embargo 12 am !) Total hourly labour costs in the whole economy of the
euro-zone grew by 3.1% in nominal terms in the fourth quarter of 2001
compared to the fourth quarter of 2000, Eurostat reports today. In the
third quarter of 2001 the increase was a revised 3.5%. For the EU15 the
rise was 3.1% in the fourth quarter, compared to a revised 3.6% in the
previous quarter. In industry, hourly labour costs rose by 2.7% in the euro-
zone and by 2.8% in the EU15.
[09] Commission adopts new strategy for health and safety at work
The European Commission has adopted a new strategy for health and safety at
work for the period 2002-2006. The purpose of the plans is to modernise EU
health and safety policy and rules to cover new types of workplace risk,
such as bullying and violence at work and stress-related conditions. The
strategy also seeks to consolidate a culture of risk prevention at work.
[10] Services à accès conditionnel : la Commission décide de saisir la Cour
de justice à l'encontre de la Belgique, de la Grèce, du Luxembourg et de
l'Espagne
La Commission européenne a décidé de saisir la Cour de justice européenne à
l'encontre de la Belgique, de la Grèce, du Luxembourg et de l'Espagne pour
non-communication des mesures nationales de transposition de la directive
98/84 concernant la protection juridique des services à accès conditionnel.
Ces derniers englobent les services de radiodiffusion télévisuelle ou
sonore et les services en ligne fournis à distance au public et moyennant
paiement.
[11] Motor insurance : Commission calls on Finland to stop excluding car
passengers from cover when a driver is under influence of alcohol
The European Commission has decided to ask Finland to change its
legislation according to which, when the driver of a vehicle is intoxicated,
insurance cover for injuries caused to passengers in the vehicle concerned
might be excluded. The Commission considers that Finnish legislation
allowing such a reduction of cover contravenes the Second Motor Insurance
Directive (84/5/EEC). The Commission's request takes the form of a
'reasoned opinion', the second stage in the infringement procedure under
Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If Finland fails to respond satisfactorily
within two months of receiving the reasoned opinion, the Commission may
decide to bring the matter before the Court of Justice.
[12] Impôts directs : procédures d'infraction contre la France et l'Espagne
La Commission européenne a décidé de saisir la Cour de Justice à l'encontre
de la France pour son refus d'appliquer le taux réduit de prélèvement
libératoire aux revenus découlant de placements et de contrats lorsque le
débiteur n'est pas domicilié ou établi en France. Par contre, quand le
débiteur réside en France ce régime est applicable. La Commission a
également décidé de demander formellement au Royaume d'Espagne de modifier
sa législation en ce qui concerne la différence entre le régime fiscal des
plus-values des actions négociées dans les bourses espagnoles et celui des
actions négociées dans les bourses des autres Etats membres. La demande est
sous forme d'un avis motivé (deuxième étape de la procédure d'infraction
prévue par l'article 226 du Traité CE). La Commission estime que ces
régimes en France et en Espagne sont contraires aux principes de la libre
prestation des services (article 49 du Traité CE) ainsi qu'à la libre
circulation des capitaux (article 56 du Traité CE).
[13] EU/Senegal fisheries agreement : negotiations suspended
Negotiations between the EU and Senegal on the renewal of their fisheries
protocol, which expired last December, have been suspended. The eighth
round of negotiations was held in Brussels from 19 to 21 March 2002. The
two parties have resolved almost all the outstanding issues except for the
amount of the financial contribution. The European Commission delegation
felt that additional fishing possibilities would have been necessary to
justify the substantial increase in the compensation requested by the
Senegalese representatives. However, additional fishing possibilities could
not be justified on the basis of the information available on the state of
the fish stocks. In order to guarantee responsible and sustainable
fisheries, the EU delegation proposed to enter into a partnership with the
Senegalese authorities. The EU offered to help evaluate the state of the
stocks in order to verify whether an increase in fishing possibilities
could in the future be justified. The two parties have agreed to resume
negotiations in the coming weeks.
[14] Günter Verheugen welcomes provisional closure of negotiations on free
movement of capital with Poland
European Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen yesterday welcomed the
provisional closure of two negotiating chapters with Poland : taxation and
free movement of capital. This was achieved during yesterday's accession
conference. "In particular, the provisional closure of the negotiations
with Poland on free movement of capital represents a breakthrough. This
chapter, which includes sensitive questions such as purchase of land and
secondary residences, has been the most difficult - politically and
psychologically - in the negotiations with Poland so far. The European
Union made great efforts to accomodate Poland's particular needs. This
proves that the Union takes the sensitivities and particular concerns of
the different candidate countries seriously. I am confident that on both
negotiating chapters, i.e. free movement of capital as well as taxation,
Poland will fully implement what was agreed."
[15] Autre matériel diffusé
Discours de M. Prodi à la Conférence internationale sur le financement du
développement (Monterrey, ! embargo 17h00 !)
Déclaration de M. Vitorino à la session plénière de la Convention (21/03,
PE)
Speech by Frits Bolkestein : "The Internal Market: facing the challenge of
an enlarged EU" (Budapest)
Note sur la préparation du Conseil Télécommunications (25/03)
Note sur la préparation du Conseil Transports (26/03)
Calendrier du 25 au 29 mars 2002
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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