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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 03-09-24
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Agricultural reform continued : Commission proposes sustainable
agricultural model for Europe's tobacco, olive oil and cotton sectors
[02] La Commission ouvre la discussion sur la réforme du régime européen du
sucre
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[03] Commission's proposal on biometric identifiers for visa and residence
permit for third country nationals
[04] La Commission poursuit la lutte contre les maladies professionnelles
[05] €10 million advance payments for the eradication of avian influenza in
the Netherlands
[06] Commission welcomes "decisive action" by the North-west Atlantic
Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) to rebuild Greenland halibut stocks
[07] Pascal Lamy in Prague and Budapest to address trade implications of EU
enlargement
[08] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 24/09/2003
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 24/09/2003[I] Résultats de la Commission
du 23 septembre 2003 - Outcome of Commission meeting of 23 September
[01] Agricultural reform continued : Commission proposes sustainable
agricultural model for Europe's tobacco, olive oil and cotton sectors
The European Commission has put forward proposals for a fundamental reform
of the common market organisations (CMO) for olive oil, raw tobacco and
cotton in line with the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP)
decided by the Council in June 2003. For these three sectors, it is
proposed to transfer a significant part of the current production-linked
payments to the decoupled single farm payment scheme, the key feature of
the future CAP. As was the case in the June 2003 CAP Reform, this payment
as well as other direct payments will be linked to the respect of
environmental and food safety standards through cross-compliance. To
facilitate a sustainable policy for the raw tobacco sector in the future,
the Commission proposes a phasing out of the current regime over three
years, a decoupling of the existing tobacco premium, a phasing out of the
Community Tobacco Fund and the setting up of a financial envelope for
restructuring tobacco-producing areas. In the olive oil sector, 60% of the
production-linked payments for the reference period would be converted into
new entitlements to the single farm payment scheme. Member States would
retain the rest for the granting of an additional direct payment for low
output and marginal olive groves and for quality policy. For cotton, 60% of
the producer-support expenditure per Member State would be transferred as
new entitlements to the single farm payment scheme whilst Member States
would retain 40% for a new direct area payment to producers. The balance
with the cotton expenditure for the reference period would finance inter-
branch organisations and restructuring in cotton-producing areas. The
reform is expected to bring better market orientation, environmental
benefits, enhanced competitiveness and more stable income for farmers, due
to the higher transfer efficiency of decoupled payments.
[02] La Commission ouvre la discussion sur la réforme du régime européen du
sucre
La Commission européenne a présenté une communication présentant les
implications de trois scénarios de réforme pour le secteur communautaire du
sucre. Avant de soumettre une proposition formelle, la Commission souhaite
d'abord ouvrir la discussion sur les objectifs du régime communautaire du
sucre dans le nouveau contexte, en se basant sur les informations contenues
dans l'évaluation d'impact approfondie du secteur européen du sucre. Cette
évaluation décrit les trois principales options politiques. Dans la
première, le régime actuel serait prorogé au-delà de 2006. La réduction
nécessaire des quotas, des tarifs et des prix se ferait au sein de
l'actuelle organisation commune de marché (OCM). La deuxième option
impliquerait la suppression progressive des quotas de production et le prix
interne à l'UE pourrait s'ajuster à celui des importations non-
préférentielles. Ce scénario de réduction des prix a également fait l'objet
d'un examen quant à son impact sur la structure des échanges mondiaux et
comprend la possibilité de permettre aux producteurs de sucre de bénéficier
du système de paiement unique par exploitation découplé de la production.
Enfin, la troisième option envisage une libéralisation complète du régime
actuel du sucre. Les producteurs seraient intégrés dans le système de
paiement unique par exploitation. Dans ce scénario, on a évalué l'incidence
de la suppression complète des restrictions tarifaires et quantitatives à
l'importation sur le marché européen du sucre. Par cette communication et
l'évaluation d'impact approfondie du secteur du sucre qui l'accompagne, la
Commission respecte son engagement d'élaborer un rapport en 2003 sur le
régime communautaire du sucre et ses perspectives.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[03] Commission's proposal on biometric identifiers for visa and residence
permit for third country nationals
The European Commission has adopted today and sent to the Council and
European Parliament two proposals on the modification of the Regulations
laying down a uniform format for residence permits of third country
nationals (EC) 1030/02 and laying down a uniform format for visas 1683/95.
[04] La Commission poursuit la lutte contre les maladies professionnelles
La Commission européenne demande aux Etats membres de prendre les mesures
nécessaires pour prévenir un certain nombre de maladies qui peuvent
couramment être reliées au lieu de travail. De telles mesures devraient
également permettre aux malades de demander une indemnisation.
[05] €10 million advance payments for the eradication of avian influenza in
the Netherlands
The European Commission today decided to pay an advance of €10 million to
the Netherlands to reinburse compensation paid to farmers for losses they
occurred during the avian influenza epidemic in the first half of 2003. The
EU contribution to this compensation is 50%. Farmers have been compensated
for animals killed and eggs destroyed. Compensation is also paid for the
costs of destruction of carcasses, eggs, contaminated feedingstuff and
equipment and the cleaning and desinfection of holdings. In total, more
than 25 million poultry units have been killed and 130 million eggs
destroyed in the Netherlands during this epidemic. The final and total
amount of the EU contribution to the Netherlands will only be fixed after
the Netherlands have introduced their official and final claims and after
the Commission has carried out financial and veterinary inspections in the
Netherlands.
[06] Commission welcomes "decisive action" by the North-west Atlantic
Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) to rebuild Greenland halibut stocks
On behalf of the EU, which is a member of the North-west Atlantic Fisheries
Organisation (NAFO), the European Commission has welcomed the adoption of a
long-term rebuilding plan for Greenland halibut in this area. The decision
was taken in response to the latest scientific advice on the state of this
stock recommending an unexpectedly substantial cut in the Total Allowable
Catch (TAC) in 2004. The 15-year rebuilding plan includes much reduced TACs
until 2007 and ways of setting TACs to ensure the rebuilding of the halibut
stock for the following years. Measures will also be taken to ensure
compliance with the conservation measures. This plan underlines the
consistency between the EU internal and external fisheries policy and its
commitment to achieving sustainable fisheries.
[07] Pascal Lamy in Prague and Budapest to address trade implications of EU
enlargement
On 25 and 26 September European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy travels to
the Czech Republic and Hungary to discuss EU trade policy questions with
government, business community and civil society. On the eve of his visit,
Mr Lamy said : "Next year we will be enlarging the EU family to ten new
members and like any family, we should take the time to prepare this event
together. I want to share views with Czech and Hungarian administration and
citizens and explain my view of how the enlarged EU, speaking with one
voice on trade, can promote our view of harnessed globalisation."
[08] Autre matériel diffusé
Discours de M. Barnier : "Vers une Constitution européenne" (PE,
Strasbourg)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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