|
|
|
European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-10-24
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission launches a wide consultation to improve rail passenger
rights
[02] La Belgique garantit le retour de la Commission dans son siège du
Berlaymont en 2004
[03] Commission gives qualified welcome to Parliament's vote on
pharmaceutical legislation
[04] Fisheries : new agreement between the EU and Mozambique
[05] EU and USA co-sponsor international measurement campaign on Arctic
ozone loss
[06] Anna Diamantopoulou répond en direct aux questions des internautes
concernant les femmes musulmanes en Europe
[07] Pascal Lamy in Russia to discuss WTO accession
[08] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 24/10/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 24/10/2002
[01] Commission launches a wide consultation to improve rail passenger
rights
In the framework of the White Paper on European Transport Policy, that
placed the user at the heart of the transport system, the European
Commission services have prepared a consultation document to assess the
situation on the rights of international railway passengers. The document,
already available in the internet (http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/rail/library/consultation.pdf)
addresses key issues including information provided to passengers, quality
of the services, complaint handling, compensation for delays, etc. All the
interested parties are invited to submit their comments on this
consultation paper by 24 November 2002 (e-mail tren-rail@cec.eu.int). A
hearing of the European organisations representing the railway industry and
the passengers' interests will be held on 15 November, in presence of
Member States representations. From the results of this open debate, the
Commission intends to table a draft regulation on the issue by the end of
the year.
[02] La Belgique garantit le retour de la Commission dans son siège du
Berlaymont en 2004
La Commission européenne et le gouvernement belge ont conclu hier le
contrat fixant les conditions du retour de la Commission au Berlaymont. Ce
contrat remplit toutes les conditions fixées dans le protocole d'accord
signé par les deux parties en juillet 2001 : il garantit une date de
livraison fixe, prévoit un prix fixe et comporte un certain nombre de
garanties détaillées en ce qui concerne les dispositions relatives aux
sanctions et les dispositions juridiques. La date de livraison du bâtiment
de base est le 31 décembre 2003 et celles des travaux supplémentaires
requis sont le 31 mars et le 30 juin 2004. La part de la Commission aux
frais de rénovation est fixée à 503,3 millions d'€, y compris 35,6 millions
d'€ pour les travaux supplémentaires demandés par la Commission pour
garantir que le bâtiment soit adapté à une Union élargie. Comme convenu en
1997, la Commission acquerra la structure du bâtiment pour le montant fixe
de 49,6 millions d'€ et le terrain pour la somme symbolique d'un euro. Cela
correspond à une valeur actuelle nette du bâtiment et du terrain du
Berlaymont de 552.879.207 €. Le nouveau bâtiment abritera quelque 3.000
fonctionnaires et comprendra un centre de presse totalement nouveau.
[03] Commission gives qualified welcome to Parliament's vote on
pharmaceutical legislation
Yesterday the European Parliament voted on the European Commission's
proposals to reform European legislation on pharmaceutical products. The
Commission welcomes this vote, but hopes that agreement on a series of
important issues, such as the balance between innovation and generic
medicines and better information to patients, may be reached in the future.
The Commission's wide-ranging proposals to review the EU pharmaceutical
legislation aim to strike a balance between a high level of health
protection for European citizens and the need to boost the competitiveness
and innovative capability of the European pharmaceutical industry. These
proposals will also facilitate the free movement of medicines and pave the
way for EU enlargement. Swift action is necessary to ensure that patients
have access to innovative medicines and to high-quality information on
these products. Since European industry is lagging behind its international
competitors, more incentives are needed to trigger innovative research and
development. At the same time, the viability of health-care services
necessitates reinforced generic competition. The proposals consist of one
Regulation and two Directives. The vote was the first of two readings of
the European Parliament under the co-decision procedure. The proposals now
need to be endorsed by the EU's Council of Ministers before the European
Parliament may complete its second reading.
[04] Fisheries : new agreement between the EU and Mozambique
The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union, and the Republic
of Mozambique have initialled a new fisheries agreement in Maputo. This
agreement and its protocol will become applicable on the 1st January of the
year following their adoption by the Council, expected some time next year,
for a period of three years. This protocol will provide fishing
possibilities for tuna and deep-water shrimp for a total of 59 EU vessels.
The financial compensation which will be entirely dedicated to targeted
measures to strengthen Mozambique's efforts at ensuring sustainable fishing
amounts to €4,090,000 per year.
[05] EU and USA co-sponsor international measurement campaign on Arctic
ozone loss
The ozone layer is thinning and we do not yet know to what extent future
ozone losses will be affected by climate change, or what impact this will
have on human health. For this reason, the European Research Commissioner
Philippe Busquin yesterday welcomed the start of the first phase of the
VINTERSOL (Validation of International Satellites and Study of Ozone Loss)
campaign, composed of national and EU projects. VINTERSOL will be closely
coordinated with the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE
II), a US NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) sponsored
campaign. The kick-off meeting takes place in Brussels today. The joint
initiative will involve 350 scientists from the European Union, Canada,
Iceland, Japan, Norway, Poland, Russia, Switzerland and the United States.
Aircraft, large and small balloons, ground-based instruments and satellites
will be used to measure ozone and other atmospheric gases and particles.
The project aims to improve understanding of Arctic ozone depletion, and at
upgrading satellite observation of the ozone layer.
[06] Anna Diamantopoulou répond en direct aux questions des internautes
concernant les femmes musulmanes en Europe
Dans le cadre des efforts déployés par l'UE pour lutter contre la
discrimination et promouvoir l'égalité, et comme suite à ses récentes
visites dans les territoires palestiniens et en Israël, Mme Anna
Diamantopoulou, commissaire chargée de l'emploi et des affaires sociales,
participera aujourd'hui, en direct sur le Web, à une conférence en ligne
consacrée aux "femmes musulmanes de l'Union européenne". Les lignes seront
ouvertes de 16h00 à 18h00 HEC.
[07] Pascal Lamy in Russia to discuss WTO accession
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy visits Russia on 24-26 October. The
primary purpose of the visit is to discuss Russia's WTO accession
negotiations, but he will also address other bilateral trade issues. During
his visit he will meet Prime Minister Kasyanov, Deputy Prime Minister
Kudrin, Trade Minister Gref, members of the Duma and various
representatives of European and Russian industries. On the eve of his visit
Mr. Lamy said : "We are keen to make good progress in the WTO accession
talks, but this means hard work ahead in one or two key areas, such as
services. But if we can make good progress, Russia's entry into the WTO
cannot be far away."
[08] Autre matériel diffusé
Propos liminaires de M. Prodi à la conférence de presse avant le Conseil
européen informel
Remarks by Erkki Liikanen on Echelon at the plenary session of the European
Parliament (23/10, Strasbourg)
Discours de M. Liikanen : "eEurope 2005 pour une économie numérique
européenne compétitive" au ministère français de l'Economie, des Finances
et de l'Industrie (Paris)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
|
