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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-11-11Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] EU anti-smoking campaign goes pop : music stars join chorus of "Feel free to say no to tobacco"Young people know their names and songs by heart: Moby, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Tiziano Ferro, A-Teens, Liberty X, Loona, Billy Crawford, Natural and many more - a long list of pop stars say no to tobacco and have joined the EU- wide campaign aimed at preventing smoking among young people. They appear in adverts which will be broadcast by 38 television channels in all Member States and by MTV throughout Europe. The ads will also be shown in more than 5,000 cinemas in the EU. "Feel free to say no" is the slogan of the EU- wide anti-smoking campaign to help combat smoking among children and adolescents. It started on 31 May with the kick-off of the tobacco-free World Cup and the active support of UEFA and dozens of European World Cup players. It is part of the Commission's broader tobacco control strategy and targets EU-wide 36.2 million young people between 12 and 18 years. The overall budget of the campaign is €18 million for three years (€6 million per year).[02] En consacrant en moyenne de 62% de leur temps de diffusion à des oeuvres européennes, les chaînes de télévision appliquent de mieux en mieux les "quotas" prévus dans la directive "télévision sans frontières"La Commission européenne a adopté aujourd'hui une communication sur la mise en oeuvre en 1999 et 2000 des articles 4 et 5 de la directive "télévision sans frontières" (TVSF), qui ont pour objectif la promotion de la diffusion d'oeuvres européennes, y compris celles émanant de producteurs indépendants des télévisions. Le temps moyen de diffusion d'oeuvres européennes a été de 60,7% en 1999 et de 62,2% en 2000 pour les Quinze. Quant à la promotion d'oeuvres, notamment récentes, de producteurs indépendants des télévisions, le temps d'antenne moyen qui leur a été consacré est de 37,5% en 1999 et de 40,5% en 2000, soit bien au-delà du seuil de 10% prévu par la directive.[03] Commission welcomes adoption of Directive on public access to environmental informationThe European Commission has welcomed the successful outcome of the Conciliation procedure between the European Parliament and the Council on the Commission's proposal for a Directive on public access to environmental information, which is now finally agreed. The Directive will replace the existing Directive 90/313/EC on the freedom of access to information on the environment. The new Directive improves the public information access provided by existing legislation and is also the first step towards EU ratification of the international convention on access to information, public participation in decision making and access to justice in environmental matters, which was adopted at Aarhus in June 1998.[04] Loin des objectifs de Lisbonne : l'Europe n'investit pas assez dans la connaissanceL'Europe doit faire plus pour devenir une vraie économie de la connaissance, comme demandé par le Conseil européen de Lisbonne de mars 2000. C'est ce qui ressort du dernier rapport de la Commission européenne sur les "Chiffres clés sur la science, la technologie et l'innovation" (2002). Selon l'indicateur synthétique de l'investissement dans l'économie de la connaissance développé par la Commission qui combine la recherche, l'éducation, la formation, et les ressources humaines, le Danemark, la Suède et la Finlande sont en tête, tandis que l'Italie et l'Espagne doivent de façon urgente mobiliser davantage de ressources. Un autre indicateur synthétique qui concerne la transition vers une économie de la connaissance montre également que la majorité des pays européens ne progressent encore que trop lentement.[05] Commission seeks views on whether pack sizes should be free or fixedThe European Commission is seeking the views of consumers, producers, retailers and other interested parties on where public intervention in pack- sizing is, or is not, justified. To this end, two complementary on-line consultations have been launched, consisting of a survey questionnaire, which is part of the Interactive Policy Making initiative, and a discussion forum. The Commission services have also produced a working paper to guide the debate. Both consultations can be accessed on the Your Voice in Europe site : http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice and on the Pack sizes site : http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/prepack/. They will be open for contributions until 31 January 2003. The review of existing EU legislation on pack-sizes is one of the proposals selected to undergo extended impact assessment (cf. IP/02/1590) under the Legislative and Work Programme for 2003, and is part of the Commission's wider commitment to better regulation and the new procedure for assessing the impact of legislation.[06] EU-Russia Summit (11/11)The 10th EU-Russia Summit will take place in Brussels on 11 November 2002. The President-in-office of the European Council, Danish Prime Minister Fogh Rasmussen, together with the President of the European Commission Romano Prodi, will meet the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. On the EU side Commissioners for External Relations, Chris Patten, for Trade Pascal Lamy, for Transport and Energy, Vice-president Loyola de Palacio, Danish Foreign Minister and President-in-office of the Council, Per Stig Moller as well as High Representative and Secretary General of the Council Javier Solana will also participate. President Putin will be accompanied by a great number of top Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Presidential Special Representative on Kaliningrad and Chair of the Duma Committee on International Affairs Dimitry Rogozin. This is the second Summit with Russia this year, following the one in Moscow held last May.[07] Commission provides prompt emergency aid for victims of volcanic eruption in EcuadorThe European Commission is providing humanitarian assistance worth €448,000 for relief efforts in the region of Ecuador affected by Sunday's eruption of the "El Reventador" volcano. The aid is being channelled through the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) which comes under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson. The funding decision, taken under the "primary emergency procedure", enables assistance to be dispatched immediately to the affected population.[08] EU contributes €55 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in 2002The European Commission has decided to provide its annual contribution of €55 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for the year 2002. The EU funds will support UNRWA's work supporting around 3.9 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza strip. The objective is to support education, health, relief and social services programmes. The decision has been taken in the context of the new funding convention signed between the EU and UNRWA in September, which boosted Commission support to €237 million for the period 2002-2005.[09] 8th round of EU-Mercosur association negotiations starts implementation of work programme agreed at the July ministerialThe 8th round of negotiations between the EU and Mercosur on a bi-regional Association Agreement will take place from 11 to 14 November 2002 in Brasilia. This is the first negotiating session following the EU-Mercosur Ministerial meeting on 22 July 2002, during which an ambitious programme was established to guide the trade negotiations until the second half of 2003. The negotiations will focus on a wide range of rules related issues as well as the modalities to be followed for the negotiation of liberalisation of trade in goods and services. Ahead of the meeting European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said : "At the July Ministerial Meeting both the EU and Mercosur gave a political impetus to the negotiations by fixing an ambitious programme of work to be carried out until 2003. It is now important that the negotiators on both sides work constructively to agree on a set of common rules to govern our bi-regional trade relations and to underpin the process of regional integration within Mercosur". Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten declared : "We are determined to make a success of these negotiations. They are a sign of the EU's confidence in the future of Mercosur. Regional integration and market opening are the key to overcoming current problems in the region."[10] Franz Fischler calls for realism in enlargement end gameSpeaking at a press conference in Prague today, Franz Fischler, European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, urged his Czech partners to focus on the possible and on what is best for the Czech Republic during the endgame of the EU accession negotiations. "The time for playing politics is over. Realism and pragmatism must be the order of the day. Following the decision of the Brussels Summit, from 2007 on, the progressive increases in the direct payments for the new Member States must be funded from a fixed budget which is based on 2006 spending. The budget does not, therefore, cover such increases - the money must be found by savings within the fixed envelope. Furthermore, any additional market expenditure arising, for example, from increases in the number of suckler cows, beyond those calculated in our first proposal of January last, will also have to be found through savings within the fixed envelope. You will understand that this means the margin of manoeuvre of the EU-15 has become far narrower". Mr Fischler also praised the Czech farming sector : "They have come a long way in terms of restructuring and modernisation. But still much work has to be done in the run-up to Czech accession. I know that especially Czech farmers ask themselves sometimes : 'Is the effort worth it?' My answer is yes. What should never be forgotten is that the Czech farming sector will earn more money after enlargement, with or without direct payments," he said.[11] Franz Fischler met ministers from all candidate countriesYesterday, Franz Fischler, European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries met the Agriculture Ministers from all the 13 candidate countries in Prague. This meeting marked the last opportunity for an exchange of views before the final round of enlargement negotiations for ten candidate countries. Mr Fischler urged the ministers to pursue a realistic approach in the end game of the enlargement negotiations : "We have a mere six weeks to complete them. To achieve this common goal we need realism and pragmatism. Rather, the last few weeks should be used to carefully assess what improvements in the negotiating position of the EU you think you can justify, on the basis of objective data, convincing enough for the Member States to be prepared to defend the results to their own farmers. Changes which incur additional budgetary expenditure will be the most difficult. The decision of the Brussels Summit to freeze the CAP budget means that any improvement can no more be covered by an increase in the available budget. It will have to be paid by other EU farmers. Don't forget that the money for the phasing in of direct payments for the new members after 2006 will not fall from the sky - it has to be found within the ceiling now established". Commissioner Fischler also insisted that the economic situation of farmers after accession would improve for four reasons : (1) better opportunities in an EU-market of 500 million consumers, (2) higher prices and other CAP support mechanisms, (3) substantial rural development support and (4) the phasing in of direct payments.[12] EU formally recognises Russia as market economy countryThe EU yesterday formalised the recognition of Russia as a market economy in the context of trade defence by amending the EU's anti-dumping and anti- subsidy laws. This new regime will be applicable to all cases initiated after 8 November 2002, date of entry into force.[13] Ouverture de la conférence "La recherche européenne en 2002" à Bruxelles : lancement du programme scientifique et technologique de l'UELe lundi 11 novembre, M. Philippe Busquin, commissaire européen chargé de la recherche, et M. Guy Verhofstadt, Premier ministre belge, ouvriront à Bruxelles la plus grande conférence sur la recherche dans l'UE jamais organisée en Europe. M. Erkki Liikanen, commissaire chargé des entreprises et de la société de l'information, y participera également. L'événement, d'une durée de trois jours (11-13 novembre), attirera plus de 8.000 participants et 200 conférenciers, dont 20 ministres, 3 lauréats du prix Nobel et un grand nombre de chefs d'entreprise. Il marquera le lancement du nouveau programme-cadre de recherche de l'UE (2003-2006), avant les premiers appels à propositions qui seront publiés sous peu. Avec un budget de 17,5 milliards d'€, le sixième programme-cadre est l'un des plus importants programmes de recherche dans le monde. Il soutiendra des projets dans des secteurs stratégiques sélectionnés et stimulera la mise en place de l'Espace européen de la recherche, véritable marché intérieur des connaissances et de la science.[14] Autre matériel diffuséSpeech by Franz Fischler : "EU Accession of the Czech Republic - challenges for Agriculture and Rural Areas" at a meeting with Farmers' Associations and Agri Business Representatives (07/11, Prague)Discours de Mme Reding : "Intensifier le dialogue entre le sport et politique en Europe" au 11ème Forum européen du Sport (07/11, Copenhague) Note sur la préparation du Conseil Culture (11/11) et Education (12/11) Myths on the proposal for a Tobacco Advertising Directive Calendrier du 11 au 15 novembre From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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