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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-06-17
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Romano Prodi rencontre Antoine Ghonda, ministre des Affaires
Etrangères de la République Démocratique du Congo
[02] La Commission adopte le programme de travail Daphné II 2004 pour
combattre la violence envers les enfants, les adolescents et les femmes
[03] Revised rules on the culling of animals potentially affected by BSE
[04] Decision on genetically modified oilseed rape to be referred to
Council
[05] La Commission approuve sous conditions le rachat de la Socpresse par
le Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault
[06] Commission clears joint control of US automotive applications firm
Autocam
[07] Food quality and safety : EU awards €192 million to new research
projects and networks
[08] Stavros Dimas meets social partners
[09] April 2004 compared to March 2004 : industrial production up by 0.2%
in euro-zone ; EU25 up by 0.5%
[10] Premier trimestre 2004 comparé au quatrième trimestre 2003 : la
production du secteur de la construction en baisse de 0,2% dans la zone
euro ; hausse de 0,4% dans l'UE25
[11] eGovernment high-level conference (17-18/06, Dublin)
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2004-06-17
Reference: MEX/04/0617
Date: 17/06/2004
EXME04 / 17.6
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
17/06/04
[01] Romano Prodi rencontre Antoine Ghonda, ministre des Affaires
Etrangères de la République Démocratique du Congo
Le Président de la Commission européenne Romano Prodi a reçu
aujourd'hui le ministre des Affaires Etrangères et de la Coopération
Internationale de la République Démocratique du Congo, Antoine Ghonda,
pour discuter du processus de transition vers la démocratie et la paix.
[02] La Commission adopte le programme de travail Daphné II 2004 pour
combattre la violence envers les enfants, les adolescents et les femmes
La Commission européenne vient d'adopter le plan annuel de travail 2004 de
son programme Daphné II (2004-2008), qui vise à prévenir et à combattre
tous les types de violence envers les enfants, les adolescents et les
femmes et à protéger les victimes et les groupes à risque. Ce document
résume les actions mises en oeuvre sur une période de sept ans - de 1997
à 2003 - qui ont permis le financement de 303 projets pour un total de 33
millions d'€.
[03] Revised rules on the culling of animals potentially affected by BSE
A European Commission proposal to revise the BSE eradication rules was
agreed by the Member States through the Standing Committee on the Food
Chain and Animal Health. The revised rules will reduce costs for farmers
and industry while maintaining the EU's high level of protection against
BSE. Until now, Regulation (EC) 999/2001 required the slaughter and
destruction of all bovine animals on the same holding as an animal having
died of BSE, as well as any recent calves. In addition, all animals of the
"cohort" (animals of the same age born or reared in the same herd as the
BSE case, having received the same potentially infected feed when they were
calves) had to be destroyed. According to the revised rules, only the
animals of the cohort will have to be destroyed and the definition of the
cohort is revised to make it clear that the rules apply to animals of both
the "birth" and "rearing" cohort. In fact, most Member States were already
using a derogation to limit culling to the cohort rather than destroying
the whole herd. The new rules will clarify this situation by making cohort
culling the rule rather than the derogation. In addition, the revised rules
will allow Member State veterinary authorities to decide not to destroy
certain animals of the cohort if evidence is provided that these animals
did not have access to the same feed as the BSE case. The modification of
the Regulation brings the BSE eradication rules more into line with the
advice of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and with the animal
health code of the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health).
[04] Decision on genetically modified oilseed rape to be referred to
Council
Following vote in the Regulatory Committee (16/06) on the release of
genetically modified organisms into the environment, the decision to
authorise the import and processing of the genetically modified oilseed
rape known as GT73 will pass on to the Council of Ministers. The Committee,
which is set up under Directive 2001/18 and representing the Member States,
did not reach the qualified majority necessary to support the Commission
proposal to authorise the oilseed rape. The European Commission will now,
in the coming weeks, formally adopt the proposal to be sent to the Council
of Ministers. The Council can either adopt or reject the proposal with a
qualified majority. If no decision is taken after three months, the file
returns to the Commission which can then adopt it. If authorized, the
oilseed rape, which has been modified for increased tolerance to the
herbicide glyphosate, would be clearly labelled as containing GM oilseed
rape, in accordance with the new legislation in force since 18 April 2004.
[05] La Commission approuve sous conditions le rachat de la Socpresse par
le Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault
La Commission européenne a autorisé, en vertu du Règlement
Concentrations, le projet d'acquisition de la Socpresse par le Groupe
Industriel Marcel Dassault (GIMD), après que GIMD se soit engagé à céder
le magazine La Vie Financière pour résoudre les problèmes de concurrence
soulevés par l'opération.
[06] Commission clears joint control of US automotive applications firm
Autocam
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of joint control of Titan and its automotive
applications company Autocam Corp by US investment bank Goldman Sachs, US-
based private equity fund Transportation Resource Management, LLC and John
C. Kennedy, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Autocam. (The
operation, notified on 13 May 2004, was examined under the simplified
merger review procedure).
[07] Food quality and safety : EU awards €192 million to new research
projects and networks
Today at a conference in Dublin (Ireland) on "Thinking beyond tomorrow: a
safe and nutritious food chain for the consumer", the European Commission
announced it would award €192 million for food quality and safety
research in the second year of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme for
Research (FP6, 2002-2006). These funds will go to 31 research projects and
networks of excellence and 13 smaller support actions, which will tackle a
range of consumer-driven issues with an impact on the "fork-to-farm"
approach. The short-listed projects will tackle issues such as traceability,
contaminants in food, emerging pathogens, diseases affecting animals and
crops, food allergy, obesity and various aspects of nutrition. The
consortia behind these projects will now negotiate funding contracts for
the next three to five years with the Commission. This will bring to €402
million the EU contribution to research in this sector over the first two
years (2003 and 2004) of the Sixth Framework programme. Pursuing its effort
in this field, the Commission is about to publish the next call for
proposals with research priorities and an indicative budget of €360
million for the next two years.
[08] Stavros Dimas meets social partners
Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs,
will today urge the European level social partners to start negotiations
with a view to reaching an agreement relating to working time. At a meeting
with high-level representatives of European employers' and trades unions,
Commissioner Dimas will remind the social partners of the particular role
they are given in the legislative process in the field of labour and social
policy, and will express the hope that a solution can be found as quickly
as possible to the issues identified in the Commission's two consultation
documents issued in January and May 2004.
[09] April 2004 compared to March 2004 : industrial production up by 0.2%
in euro-zone ; EU25 up by 0.5%
Seasonally adjusted industrial production increased by 0.2% in the euro-
zone in April 2004 compared to March 2004, Eurostat estimates today.
Production increased by 0.3% in both March and February. Output in the EU25
increased by 0.5% in April 2004, after a rise of 0.2% in March and of 0.3%
in February. In April 2004 compared to April 2003, industrial production
increased by 1.7% in the euro-zone and by 2.4% in the EU25.
[10] Premier trimestre 2004 comparé au quatrième trimestre 2003 : la
production du secteur de la construction en baisse de 0,2% dans la zone
euro ; hausse de 0,4% dans l'UE25
Selon les estimations publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat, la production
corrigée des variations saisonnières du secteur de la construction a
reculé au premier trimestre 2004 par rapport au quatrième trimestre 2003
de 0,2% dans la zone euro, mais a augmenté de 0,4% dans l'UE25. Au
quatrième trimestre 2003, la production avait progressé de 0,4% dans la
zone euro et de 0,9% dans l'UE25. Par rapport au premier trimestre 2003, la
production a augmenté au premier trimestre 2004 de 1,1% dans la zone euro
et de 3,8% dans l'UE25, après avoir progressé respectivement de 0,6% et 2,
0% au quatrième trimestre 2003.
[11] eGovernment high-level conference (17-18/06, Dublin)
Academics and policy-makers will share insights at a high-level eGovernment
conference in Dublin on 17-18 June on measuring the benefits of on-line
public services and how to deliver these services more efficiently and
effectively by redesigning organisations. The conference, organised by the
Irish Presidency with the help of the European Commission, will help the
leaders of national eGovernment initiatives to design the next steps in
their eGovernment strategies for modernisation and innovation in public
administrations. The Commission will use these outcomes in further work on
indicators for measuring the progress of eGovernment, as part of the
eEurope 2005 Action Plan.
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by David Byrne : "Changes in the air" at Tobacco Control Conference
(Limerick)
Discours de M. Barrot : "Perspectives pour une politique de cohésion
européenne" à la session plénière du Comité des Régions (16/06)
Speech by Péter Balázs : "Two key challenges for Cohesion policy:
enlargement and simplification" at the plenary session at the Committee of
Regions
Speech by Franz Fischler : "Weichenstellung für Politik und Märkte -
Chancen und Risiken für die Unternehmen" at Raiffeisen-Wirtschaftsforum
(Köln)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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