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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-06-01
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Bathing Water Report 2003 : continued quality improvements in the EU15
[02] Financial Services Action Plan : good progress but real impact depends
on good implementation
[03] Commission indicator forecasts euro area quarterly GDP growth of 0.3%
to 0.7% for the 2nd and 0.4% to 0.8% for the 3rd quarter of 2004
[04] Premières estimations pour le premier trimestre 2004 : le PIB de la
zone euro et celui de l’UE25 en hausse de 0,6% ; +1,3% et +1,6%
respectivement par rapport au premier trimestre 2003
[05] Commission clears merger between Group 4 Falck and Securicor subject
to conditions
[06] Commission clears CRH stake in Secil, a Portuguese building materials
firm
[07] EU and Egypt strengthen their relations
[08] Sri Lanka co-chairs meeting
[09] International Agreement on Passenger Name Records (PNR) enters into
force
[10] Agreement reached on coke with China
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2004-06-01
Reference: MEX/04/0601
Date: 01/06/2004
EXME04 / 1.6
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Press and Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Général Presse etb
Communication
01/06/04
[01] Bathing Water Report 2003 : continued quality improvements in the EU15
Just ahead of the summer holiday season, the European Commission today
presented the annual report on the quality of Europe's bathing waters.
Overall, the picture is good : bathing water quality in the EU15 continues
to improve. The annual report is based on the requirements of the 1976
Bathing Water Directive and issued every year before the summer holiday
season to allow citizens to check the quality of the bathing water in their
favourite holiday destinations. In 2003, 98.6% of the EU coastal bathing
waters and 92.3% of all fresh waters complied with the Directive. This
confirms the positive trends of recent years. Many Member States are now
very close to full compliance with the quality standards and the monitoring
requirements under the Directive. However, one worrying aspect remains : in
some Member States, there is a tendency to ban bathing or declassify
bathing sites when there are problems, rather than removing the source of
pollution.
[02] Financial Services Action Plan : good progress but real impact depends
on good implementation
The completion on schedule of nearly all (93%) of the legislative measures
in the Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) has been a major success for
the EU according to the European Commission's latest Progress Report on the
FSAP, which will be presented to the 2 June Council of Economics and
Finance Ministers. This progress has been made possible by a clearly
defined objective and timetable, a carefully planned strategy, high quality
resources, systematic monitoring, and the goodwill of Member States, the
European Parliament and market participants. The FSAP is already a powerful
vector for change. However, it is much too early to evaluate whether the
FSAP has achieved its stated objectives : that will depend on the correct
and timely implementation and enforcement of all FSAP measures. Future
priorities, in addition to implementing successfully what has already been
agreed, include the rapid adoption by the Parliament and Council of the 8th
Company Law Directive on Statutory Audit and of forthcoming Commission
proposals for a Third Money Laundering Directive and for a Directive on
Capital Adequacy.
[03] Commission indicator forecasts euro area quarterly GDP growth of 0.3%
to 0.7% for the 2nd and 0.4% to 0.8% for the 3rd quarter of 2004
The indicator-based model for quarterly GDP growth for the euro area,
developed by the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and
Financial Affairs, forecasts a range of 0.3% to 0.7% for GDP growth in the
second quarter of 2004. Given some improvement in the underlying data, the
range for the third quarter is higher at 0.4-0.8%. Both forecasts are
unchanged compared to the previous release.
[04] Premières estimations pour le premier trimestre 2004 : le PIB de la
zone euro et celui de l’UE25 en hausse de 0,6% ; +1,3% et +1,6%
respectivement par rapport au premier trimestre 2003
Au cours du premier trimestre 2004, le PIB de la zone euro et celui de
l'UE25 ont augmenté de 0,6% par rapport au trimestre précédent, selon
les premières estimations publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat. Au cours du
quatrième trimestre 2003, les taux avaient été de +0,4% dans la zone
euro et de +0,5% dans l'UE25. En comparaison avec le premier trimestre 2003,
le PIB de la zone euro a enregistré une croissance de 1,3% et celui de
l'UE25 de 1,6%, contre respectivement +0,7% et +1,1% au trimestre
précédent.
[05] Commission clears merger between Group 4 Falck and Securicor subject
to conditions
The European Commission has granted regulatory clearance to the proposed
merger between Securicor and Group 4 Falck after the companies successfully
resolved concerns about reduced competition in some security service
markets in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Anglo-
Danish merger will create the second largest security company in the world
after Securitas of Sweden.
[06] Commission clears CRH stake in Secil, a Portuguese building materials
firm
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of joint control of the Portuguese building materials
firm Companhia Geral de Cal e Cimento, S.A. (Secil) by CRH plc, an Irish
company active in the same field, and Sociedade de Investimento e Gestao,
SGPS S.A. (SEMAPA). Portuguese investment firm SEMAPA previously held sole
control in Secil. (The operation, notified on 26 April 2004, was examined
under the simplified merger review procedure)
[07] EU and Egypt strengthen their relations
The Association Agreement between the European Union and the Arab Republic
of Egypt enters into force today, opening a new era in their relationship.
Following ratification by the two parties, all aspects of the Agreement –
political, economic, and social - are now operational. The trade and trade
related provisions of the Agreement entered into force provisionally on 1
January 2004. The Agreement will be instrumental in bringing Egyptian law
more closely in line with EU legislation and promoting economic reform. It
will also upgrade the current political dialogue with the objective of
developing shared political values. This is the sixth Association Agreement
to enter into force in the Mediterranean region, bringing one step closer
the region-wide Free Trade Area which the Barcelona Process aims to create
by 2010.
[08] Sri Lanka co-chairs meeting
Today ChrisPatten, European Commissioner for External Relations, will
preside at a meeting of the Co-chairs of the Tokyo Conference on
Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka (the United States, Japan,
Norway and the European Union). They will review the status of the Sri
Lankan Peace Process, review assistance efforts and assess how best the
international community can support Sri Lanka on the road from the
Ceasefire Agreement to a permanent peace settlement. They will voice their
support the resumption of the Norwegian facilitated Peace Talks between the
Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which
have been suspended for over a year.
[09] International Agreement on Passenger Name Records (PNR) enters into
force
An International Agreement was signed on 28 May between the European
Community and the United States that makes possible the transfer of air
passenger data to the US, under certain conditions. It enters into force
with immediate effect. The agreement was signed in Washington DC by US
Secretary for Homeland Security Tom Ridge, Ambassador Noel Fahey of Ireland
representing the EU Presidency, and Ambassador Guenter Burghardt, Head of
the European Commission Delegation in Washington. This agreement goes hand-
in-hand with the Decision adopted two weeks ago by the European Commission,
establishing the adequacy of US Bureau of Customs and Border Protection's
personal data protection.
[10] Agreement reached on coke with China
The European Commission announced on 28 May, after further intensive but
constructive discussions with the Chinese government, that agreement had
been reached on the export of coke from China to the EU for 2004. The
agreement reached will ensure that quantities of coke supplied to EU
industry in 2004 will be no less than in 2003 (4.5 million tonnes) and that
export licences will be delivered without cost or delay (so prices of the
coke should be fair, transparent and non-discriminatory vis a vis Chinese
domestic industry). Both sides agreed to monitor developments and consult
closely, and in particular will to try to solve jointly in the forthcoming
weeks the questions relating to licensing post-2004. Trade Commissioner
Pascal Lamy said : "We are obviously very pleased that agreement has been
confirmed on 2004 coke exports from China, which are obviously of vital
importance to EU steel industry. It shows the growing maturity and strength
of the EU-China trade relationship. I hope we can tie up the remaining
aspects quickly and finally put this one to bed."
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Bathing Water Report 2003 - Overview of the results for individual Member
States
Carte européenne d'assurance-maladie - foire aux questions
Note sur la préparation du Conseil Ecofin
Speech by Janez Potočnik : "Enlargement and the European Neighbourhood
Policy" at the plenary assembly of Eurochambres (28/05)
Discours de M. Jacques Barrot : "Compétitivité et territoires : les clés
d'une stratégie industrielle réussie en Europe" la World Investment
Conference (28/05, La Baule)
Speech by Pascal Lamy : "The role of Europe in today's globalised world" at
the 7th Conference on Globalisation – Felix Meritis Connecting Cultures
(31/05, Amsterdam)
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