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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-02-11
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Spokesman's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi du Porte-Paroleb
11/02/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] EU goes to WTO over Japanese pigmeat imports
[02] L'avenir des relations UE/ACP: le débat autour du Livre Vert change de
vitesse
[03] Padraig Flynn hits back at critics of European social policy
[01] EU goes to WTO over Japanese pigmeat imports
The European Union (EU) has requested formal consultations with Japan,
under the dispute settlement procedure of the World Trade Organisation
(WTO), over what it regards as Japan's failure to administer the import of
frozen pigmeat in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner. The periodic
use of emergency import restrictions by Japan since November 1995 has
caused market disruption, effectively pricing European pigmeat exports out
of the Japanese market for most of the year. The EU believes that the way
these emergency measures are being used contravenes the terms of the
Uruguay Round Agreement. Canada has announced that it will join the EU's
request for WTO consultations.
[02] L'avenir des relations UE/ACP: le débat autour du Livre Vert change de
vitesse
Le débat autour du Livre Vert de la Commission européenne sur l'avenir des
relations entre l'Union européenne et les pays ACP prend une nouvelle
allure avec le lancement, ce 13 février, à Madrid, d'une série de colloques
ouverts à la société civile. A l'initiative du Prof. João de Deus Pinheiro,
des spécialistes des affaires de développement, des représentants d'ONG et
des chercheurs, ainsi que des responsables politiques, seront appelés à se
prononcer lors de séances de débat organisées dans différentes capitales
européennes et aussi dans des pays ACP. Cette discussion publique vise à
enrichir la réflexion en cours au sein de la Commission et des autres
institutions européennes en préparation des négociations pour la révision
de la Convention de Lomé au-delà de l'an 2000.
[03] Padraig Flynn hits back at critics of European social policy
Speaking today in Brussels to the British Chamber of Commerce, Employment
and Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn hit back at those who blame
the European Union for over-regulation which kills business. He said that
we should not oversimplify. Today's reality consists of navigating a path
between "the rabid deregulators, who offer us the low pay, low productivity
route and those within an equally rigid view of social progress, who see
change as anathema and offer us only the high unemployment, low flexibility
and dual labour market route". We need "new approaches to skills, work
organisation and re-integration into the labour market.... new partnerships
between government, business and organised labour, and a new focus on
investment in people for productivity growth and competitive sucess". The
Commissioner pointed out that social legislation is mainly a matter for
national authorities and that provision at European level is only concerned
with equal opportunities; free movement of workers; health and safety in
the workplace and classic labour law. He argued that we cannot create a
competitive economy in a social wasteland.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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