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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-05-16
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Internal Market Scoreboard shows progress, but trade obstacles remain
[02] Audit : la Commission publie une recommandation concernant
l'indépendance du contrôleur légal des comptes
[03] April 2002 - Euro-zone annual inflation down to 2.4% ; EU15 down to
2.2%
[04] David Byrne welcomes Parliament backing of proposals to combat food-
borne diseases
[05] David Byrne welcomes endorsement of food hygiene proposals by the EP
[06] Commission welcomes Parliament's green light for €17.5 billion 6th
Research Framework Programme
[07] UEFA teams up with EU on fight against young people smoking
[08] Viviane Reding à la réunion des ministres des Sports (17/05, Alméria)
[09] Margot Wallström visits Denmark to meet incoming Presidency and mark
enlargement of European Environment Agency (EEA)
[10] Sommet UE-Amérique latine et Caraïbes (ALC) (16-18, Madrid)
[11] EU-Russia relations special meeting in Kaliningrad
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 16/05/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 16/05/2002
[01] Internal Market Scoreboard shows progress, but trade obstacles remain
According to the latest Internal Market Scoreboard, there are still
significant delays in implementing at national level many pieces of EU law
approved by Member States' Ministers in the Council and by the European
Parliament. Only seven Member States (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the UK, the
Netherlands, Belgium and Spain) currently meet the target set by EU leaders
at the Stockholm European Council in Spring 2001, of having an
implementation deficit of 1.5% or less: in other words, of having passed
into national law at least 98.5% of Internal Market Directives. The UK and
Belgium have made particularly good progress in the last six months to
achieve the target, while France, Greece, Germany and Ireland are furthest
away from the target. The Commission also urges Member States to devote
more attention to proper application in practice of Internal Market rules
so as to reduce the practical problems encountered by companies and
citizens seeking to take advantage of their rights within the Internal
Market. The Scoreboard puts the spotlight on technical barriers to the free
movement of goods within the Internal Market. The analysis suggests that
where barriers persist (e.g. in construction products), the overall
economic performance of the sector is held back. The results of a price
survey on general grocery and household items indicate wide price
differences across Europe. For the same product, consumers in some Member
States can pay more than twice as much as consumers in other Member States.
[02] Audit : la Commission publie une recommandation concernant
l'indépendance du contrôleur légal des comptes
La Commission européenne a publié aujourd'hui une recommandation concernant
l'"Indépendance des contrôleurs des comptes dans l'UE". Ce texte énonce une
série de principes rigoureux de haut niveau et recommande notamment qu'il
soit interdit aux contrôleurs d'effectuer un contrôle légal - exigé par loi
- s'ils ont avec leur client une relation quelconque qui pourrait
compromettre leur indépendance. Cela peut comprendre toute relation
financière, d'affaires, d'emploi ou autre, ou toute situation dans laquelle
le contrôleur fournit à un même client des services complémentaires au
contrôle. La recommandation traite deux questions clés d'indépendance
soulevées par la faillite d'Enron, à savoir la "fourniture de services
complémentaires" par le contrôleur et le fait qu'il soit "employé par son
client". Bien que la recommandation n'ait pas force de loi, elle
constituera une règle claire de bonne pratique que la Commission entend
voir immédiatement appliquée dans tout le secteur de l'audit dans l'UE.
Dans trois ans, la Commission examinera comment la recommandation a été
appliquée dans la pratique et si une législation contraignante de l'UE est
nécessaire. Néanmoins, la Commission peut agir plus tôt si l'application de
la recommandation par les Etats membres ne la satisfait pas.
[03] April 2002 - Euro-zone annual inflation down to 2.4% ; EU15 down to
2.2%
Euro-zone annual inflation fell from 2.5% in March to 2.4% in April 2002,
Eurostat reports today. A year earlier the rate was 2.9%. EU15 annual
inflation fell from 2.3% in March to 2.2% in April 2002. A year earlier the
rate was 2.6%. In April highest annual rates were in Ireland (5.0%), the
Netherlands (4.2%) and Greece (4.1%) ; lowest rates were in Germany and
Austria (1.6% each) and Belgium (1.7%).
[04] David Byrne welcomes Parliament backing of proposals to combat food-
borne diseases
European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne
welcomed that the European Parliament yesterday gave its broad support to
two legislative proposals designed to cut the incidence of food-borne
diseases. The proposals, adopted by the Commission in August of last year
(see IP/01/1167), provide for a thorough revision of current EU legislation
and are designed to improve measures to protect against "zoonoses" those
diseases transmissible between animals and humans.
[05] David Byrne welcomes endorsement of food hygiene proposals by the EP
The European Parliament yesterday delivered its first reading on the "food
hygiene package" adopted by the European Commission on 14 July 2000. The
package represents a major recast of the food hygiene legislation currently
in force. The Parliament considered proposals on general food hygiene, the
hygiene of food of animal origin and on the animal health rules for food of
animal origin. Under the proposals food operators right through the food
chain will bear primary responsibility for food safety. The new regulations
will merge, harmonise and simplify very detailed and complex hygiene
requirements previously scattered over seventeen existing directives. They
innovate in making a single, transparent hygiene policy applicable to all
food and all food operators, from farm to table. The focus is on setting
objectives while leaving business flexibility in deciding the safety
measures to take, rather than prescribing them in great detail.
[06] Commission welcomes Parliament's green light for €17.5 billion 6th
Research Framework Programme
In a landmark vote yesterday in Strasbourg the European Parliament gave its
go-ahead to the European Commission's proposal for next EU Research and
Development Framework Programme (FP6). "I welcome this key vote", said
Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin. "This new R&D Programme will run
until 2006, with a €17.5 billion budget, a 17% increase on the last
programme. A major innovation in FP6 is the way in which researchers will
work together in Europe : on a selected number of priorities, in an
integrated way, and with streamlined administrative procedures. Once the
Council has endorsed Parliament's vote, it will be the first time that the
scientific community and industry will have more than six months to draft
proposals before the formal entry into force. We shall keep working with
the Parliament and Council to implement the Programme, that represents a
big EU financial and policy effort to upgrade European scientific knowledge,
quality of life and competitiveness."
[07] UEFA teams up with EU on fight against young people smoking
What have Paolo Mandini, Carsten Jancker, Rui Costa, Emile Mpenza and Ebbe
Sand in common with dozens of other top European World Cup players ? They
say "No". No to cigarettes. Just before the start of the World Cup, UEFA
teamed up with the European Union for an anti-smoking campaign targeting
young people between 12 and 18 years old. The cooperation agreement will be
signed by Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne and UEFA
President Lennart Johansson at the World Cup warm-up match between Denmark
and Cameroon in Copenhagen tomorrow, 17 May. A television spot including
well-known football players will be shown for the first time at the press
conference just before the kick-off of the match. Eight out of ten people
who smoke start when they are between 12 and 18 years old. David Byrne said
: "Let's face it: a young boy or a young girl who starts smoking and gets
hooked by the nicotine has no longer a real choice. That's why we want
young people to feel free to say no to tobacco when they still have the
choice." "Feel free to say no" is the slogan of the EU anti-smoking
campaign. The official campaign launch on 31 May coincides with the World
anti-smoking Day and the World Cup kick off.
[08] Viviane Reding à la réunion des ministres des Sports (17/05, Alméria)
Les ministres des Sports des Quinze se réuniront demain à Alméria
(Espagne). A l'ordre du jour figure notamment la présentation par Viviane
Reding, Commissaire européenne en charge des Sports, des grandes lignes du
Plan d'action communautaire contre le dopage, que la Commission pourrait
adopter à l'automne. Les ministres et la Commissaire évoqueront aussi la
situation de l'Agence mondiale antidopage, le possible rôle du sport dans
la Convention et l'avenir du modèle sportif européen. Les conclusions de
cette rencontre seront présentées lors d'une conférence de presse qui aura
lieu demain (17 mai) à 18h00 à Alméria.
[09] Margot Wallström visits Denmark to meet incoming Presidency and mark
enlargement of European Environment Agency (EEA)
European Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström will be in Copenhagen on
16 and 17 May. The purpose of her visit is to meet with representatives of
the Danish government, which will take over the Presidency of the EU from
July 2002. Commissioner Wallström will meet Prime Minister Anders Fogh
Rasmussen and Environment Minister Hans Christian Schmidt to discuss and
coordinate work on environment policy priorities to be established by the
Presidency, and to prepare together the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable
Development, which takes place in August/September. The Commissioner will
also speak at a high-level conference celebrating the enlargement of the
European Environment Agency (the EEA).
[10] Sommet UE-Amérique latine et Caraïbes (ALC) (16-18, Madrid)
Le sommet UE-ALC réunira 48 chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement de l'UE,
d'Amérique latine et des Caraïbes. C'est seulement la deuxième
manifestation de ce type. Le Sommet approfondira les relations bilatérales
entretenues par l'UE tant avec l'Amérique latine qu'avec les groupements
régionaux des Caraïbes et les différents pays en cause. Il marque la
conclusion des négociations relatives à un accord d'association avec le
Chili, les progrès substantiels accomplis dans la négociation d'un accord
similaire avec le Mercosur et l'adoption d'un plan d'action de
simplification des échanges à mettre en oeuvre immédiatement entre l'UE et
le Mercosur. Il devrait permettre de lancer une nouvelle initiative en
faveur d'un dialogue et d'une coopération politiques renforcés entre l'UE,
la communauté andine et l'Amérique centrale (San José), et d'engager de
nouvelles mesures de coopération économique et commerciale. Le Sommet
prendra acte aussi du lancement prochain des négociations consacrées à un
accord de partenariat économique à conclure avec la région des Caraïbes. Il
devrait étoffer la dimension politique du partenariat UE-ALC, en mettant
l'accent sur l'attachement commun des deux régions considérées au
multilatéralisme (soutien au programme de développement de Doha,
ratification du protocole de Kyoto, adhésion au futur Tribunal pénal
international). Le Sommet devrait avaliser aussi une nouvelle initiative de
lutte contre les inégalités sociales qui sont spécifiques de la région et
qui nourrissent l'instabilité tant économique que politique. La Commission
européenne y sera représentée par le président Romano Prodi, par M. Chris
Patten, commissaire chargé des relations extérieures et par M. Pascal Lamy,
commissaire chargé du commerce.
[11] EU-Russia relations special meeting in Kaliningrad
Senior officials of the European Commission and Russia met on 15 May in
Kaliningrad to discuss the implications of EU enlargement for Kaliningrad.
The meeting of the Cooperation Committee was chaired by Catherine Day
(Deputy Director General for External Relations of the Commission). Maxim
Medvedkov (Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Trade of Russia)
and Governor Egorov of Kaliningrad headed the Russian delegation. The
agenda covered a wide range of issues including visas, border control,
organised crime and environmental pollution as well as questions of
security of energy supply and transport and telecoms links. The outcome of
the Cooperation Committee will serve as input for discussions on
Kaliningrad at the EU-Russia Summit on 29 May in Moscow.
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Declaration by Poul Nielson to the European Parliament in view of the World
Food Summit, 10-13/06 in Rome (Strasbourg)
Declaration by Poul Nielson to the European Parliament on external aspects
of Sustainable Development (Strasbourg)
Speech by Erkki Liikanen : "Mercosur and EU business relations the Lisbon
process" at the MEBF (15/05, Madrid)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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