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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 08-10-07Midday 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
MIDDAY EXPRESSNews from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefingNouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb07/10/08[01] Antitrust: Commission requests Slovakia to re-open competition in the hybrid mail sectorThe European Commission has decided that recent amendments to Slovakia's postal legislation infringe EC Treaty rules on dominant market positions (Article 82) in conjunction with Article 86. These rules require Member States to ensure that measures concerning public companies or companies to which Member States confer special or exclusive rights comply with all Treaty rules, including the antitrust rules. The Commission's decision is directly legally binding on Slovakia, which must inform the Commission within one month of the measures undertaken to ensure that hybrid mail services remain open to competition. The amendment in question extended the monopoly of the incumbent operator, Slovenská Poata, to the delivery of hybrid mail services, while this activity had until then been open to competition. As a consequence, Slovak postal operators which had already entered this market are prevented from continuing their activity and their economic viability is endangered. On 18 June 2008, the Commission asked Slovakia to clarify the amendments in question because it had doubts as to their compatibility with EU competition law (see <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/969&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">IP/08/969). However, the replies have not dispelled these doubts.[02] Conference « 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The defenders take the floor»Sixty years ago, on 10 December, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations solemnly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On 7- 8 October, 2008, a major conference organised by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the United Nations will mark this anniversary and aim at reaffirming and illustrating the scope of the Universal Declaration through the work of human rights defenders. This event underlines that the respect of human rights is a necessary condition to attain key policy objectives: build democracy, promote sustainable and human development and prevent armed conflicts.[03] Commission to launch public consultation on monitoring of aviation emissionsThe European Commission will today launch an online public consultation on guidelines for the monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions from civil aviation. Such guidelines are necessary to ensure that the requirements of the EU Emissions Trading Directive will be applied in a harmonised way to all aircraft operators when the aviation sector is brought into the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in 2012 (see <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1114&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">IP/08/1114). The consultation, which runs until 3 November 2008, is likely to be of particular interest to the airline industry, emission verifiers and national regulatory authorities. A meeting for interested stakeholders will be held in Brussels on 24 October as part of the consultation.The consultation will be carried out through the 'Your voice in Europe' site at <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/consultations/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/consultations/index_en.htm Rediffusion [04] Concentrations: la Commission autorise le projet de rachat d'Hercules par AshlandLa Commission européenne a autorisé, en vertu du règlement CE sur les concentrations, le projet d'acquisition d'Hercules par Ashland, deux producteurs américains de produits chimiques à usages spéciaux. Après examen, la Commission est parvenue à la conclusion que l'opération n'entraverait pas de manière significative le jeu d'une concurrence effective dans l’Espace économique européen (EEE) ou une partie substantielle de celui-ci.[05] Catherine Ashton appointed as new EU Trade CommissionerCatherine Ashton has today been confirmed as the new European Commissioner for External Trade. The appointment by the Council of Ministers follows the departure of Peter Mandelson to take up the position of Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in the United Kingdom. Commissioner Ashton assumes the duties of Trade Commissioner as of today. She will soon appear in front of the trade committee of the European Parliament.[06] Autre matériel diffusé• Memo on State aid: Commissioner Kroes meets Ireland's Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to discuss bank guarantees• Memo Position de la Commission sur la lettre de M. Sarkozy, Président de la République française, relative à l’amendement 138 adopté par le Parlement européen lors de la session plénière du 24 septembre • Discours du Président Barroso "Des Régions et des Villes dans un Monde Plein de Défis", Bruxelles • Welcome address at the Opening session "OPEN DAYS 2008 - European Week of Regions and Cities" • Speech by Commissioner Hübner "Turning territorial diversity into the strength of Europe", Brussels • Remarks of President Barroso on the financial crisis, Brussels • Speech by Commissioner Kroes 'Dealing with the current financial crisis', Brussels • Speech by Vice-President Wallström 'The ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty: where are we at?, Brussels • Speech by Vice-President Wallström, The EU contribution to decent work throughout the world, Brussels A disposition au secrétariat de Jonathan Todd (BERL 03/315): Notification préalable d'une opération de concentration : Barclays/Investcorp/N&W Global Vending ZF / Cherry
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/ Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |