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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-02-20
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
20/02/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Jacques Santer: "Deng's heritage will live on in a self-sustained
development of increasing economic and social freedom"
[02] Helms Burton - Sir Leon Brittan reacts to the nomination of the WTO
panel
[03] Une contribution de la recherche européenne dans le traitement de la
leucémie
[04] La Commission autorise l'acquisition par le groupe Sidmar du contrôle
de Ferrometalli Safem SpA
[05] Financial services: Mario Monti welcomes adoption of investor
compensation Directive
[06] EU and South Africa make progress in bilateral negotiations
[07] Croissance de 0,81% du PIB de l'UE au troisième trimestre 1996
[01] Jacques Santer: "Deng's heritage will live on in a self-sustained
development of increasing economic and social freedom"
"The mark Deng Xiaoping has made on the twentieth century shall be
remembered by the whole world well into the twenty-first", European
Commission President Jacques Santer said today. "Deng's leadership has
made an immense contribution to modernisation and economic reform in China,
and to opening up the country to the rest of the world. He has set in
train a process of market reform which has now become irreversible. This
has enabled Europe and China to build up a flourishing relationship in
trade and investment and to begin the process of deeper political ties. I
am confident that Deng's heritage will live on in a self-sustaining
development of increasing economic and social freedom, which will benefit
not only all the people of China but their partners in the region and in
the wider world. Political openness in the future will boost China's role
as a force for peace and stability in Asia and beyond."
[02] Helms Burton - Sir Leon Brittan reacts to the nomination of the WTO
panel
"During intensive discussions with the US Administration over the last few
weeks, I believe we have made good progress regarding the dispute over the
extraterritorial aspects of US legislation. While our negotiations have
not yet produced an outcome that the EU considers sufficient to suspend its
action before the WTO, I am determined that we should remain in the close
bilateral contact following the nomination of the panelists by the WTO
Director-General this morning. This nomination is a purely procedural step
which does not signify a change of a gear in the EU's complaint against the
Helms-Burton Act. The fact that the Panel is now becoming operational in
no way limits our ability to continue bilateral negotiations, and further
clarification, examination and discussion are needed. It will remain our
aim to achieve a negotiated settlement, and of course the Panel procedure
can be halted or suspended at any time if the parties reach agreement."
[03] Une contribution de la recherche européenne dans le traitement de la
leucémie
Les contributions récentes du Centre Commun de Recherche (Commission
européenne) aux études de cancer affichent des résultats significatifs et
prometteurs dans le traitement de la leucémie. Les scientifiques de
l'Institut des Transuraniens (ITU) du CCR, implanté à Karlsruhe, placé sous
la responsabilité du Commissaire Mme Edith Cresson, ont en effet préparé un
radioisotope, le bismuth-213, qui vient d'accéder au stade d'essais
cliniques préliminaires du traitement de la leucémie au Memorial Sloan-
Kettering Cancer Center de New York. Cette performance met en valeur
l'expertise acquise par le Centre Commun de Recherche de l'Union européenne
dans le domaine du nucléaire et permet d'appliquer cette expertise à la
santé publique.
[04] La Commission autorise l'acquisition par le groupe Sidmar du contrôle
de Ferrometalli Safem SpA
Sidmar NV ("Sidmar") est une filiale du groupe Arbed SA. Ses activités
principales consistent à fabriquer et à distribuer des produits plats,
notamment de la bande laminée à chaud et à froid, ainsi que de la tôle à
revêtement métallique et/ou organique. Ferrometalli Safem SpA
(Ferrometalli) est un centre sidérurgique de services italien dont
l'activité consiste à découper et à refendre des feuillards en fonction des
besoins de la clientèle. Ferrometalli appartient actuellement au groupe
Falck.
[05] Financial services: Mario Monti welcomes adoption of investor
compensation Directive
Adoption of the Directive on Investor Compensation Schemes by the European
Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers has been welcomed by Financial
Services Commissioner Mario Monti. The Directive requires Member States to
ensure that minimum safeguards are in place to compensate investors
(essentially for smaller investors) in the case of failure of an investment
firm (bank or non-bank), where the firm proves unable to refund to
investors the money or securities belonging to them. The Directive does
not provide for compensation for losses incurred as a result of customers'
investments losing market value. Mr Monti commented that "this long
awaited measure will substantially reinforce the Single Market for
securities trading by serving to increase investors' confidence".
[06] EU and South Africa make progress in bilateral negotiations
Representatives of the Republic of South Africa and the European Commission
had a further round of negotiations on the establishment of a comprehensive
framework for co-operation between the European Union and South Africa. In
this regard a work programme with provisional dates was agreed upon for
future technical sessions on a spectrum of subjects which underline the
comprehensive nature of co-operation between the European Union and South
Africa.
[07] Croissance de 0,81% du PIB de l'UE au troisième trimestre 1996
Le rythme de croissance du PIB de l'Union européenne (UE) en termes réels
(0,81%) s'est accéléré au troisième trimestre de l'année dernière, selon
les estimations d'Eurostat, l'Office statistique des Communautés
européennes à Luxembourg. La croissance observée au cours du deuxième
trimestre était de 0,46%. Au cours des neuf premiers mois de 1996, le PIB
a augmenté de 1,4% par rapport à la même période en 1995. Sur cette même
base de comparaison, la croissance a été plus élevée aux Etats-Unis (2,2%)
et au Japon (3,5%). La croissance trimestrielle observée pour l'UE est due
principalement à la consommation privée (en hausse de 0,74%) et aux
exportations qui ont augmenté de 2,23%.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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