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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-03-17
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
17/03/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission imposes the dissolution of UIP's Pay-TV distribution joint
venture
[02] EU and South Africa make progress in the negotiations for a bilateral
agreement
[03] European Commission launches ambitious trade promotion in Japan
[04] João de Deus Pinheiro: Les accords de coopération devront inclure une
clause anti-corruption
[01] Commission imposes the dissolution of UIP's Pay-TV distribution joint
venture
Following the intervention of the European Commission Directorate-General
for Competition, the parties to UIP Pay-Tv, a joint venture company created
by a series of agreements by the same parties in UIP-BV, have agreed to
dissolve the branch of the company which is active in the distribution of
films produced by the three parent companies, to pay-tv broadcasters. The
dissolution was necessary to safeguard competition in the market for the
supply of programmes for pay-television transmission in the European Union.
The Commission's services now consider that these agreements, as modified,
fulfil the conditions laid down in the Treaty.
[02] EU and South Africa make progress in the negotiations for a bilateral
agreement
On 13 and 14 March 1997, representatives of the Republic of South Africa
and the European Commission met again in Brussels for ongoing technical
discussions on the proposed long term framework for cooperation between
South Africa and the European Union (EU). Having finalized at the previous
session the technical work on the Lomé Protocol, which will give South
Africa qualified membership of the ACP-EU Convention, technical discussions
took place this time on the proposed EU/South Africa bilateral agreement.
Two groups of issues were discussed: overall objectives and general
provisions and trade-related aspects of the future bilateral agreement. In
both areas, in-depth exchanges took place, which resulted in the
identification of substantial common ground, as well as areas on which
further research and discussion will be required.
[03] European Commission launches ambitious trade promotion in Japan
The European Commission is launching a major new campaign to promote
European exports to Japan. The "Gateway to Japan" initiative will target
ten sectors - including medical equipment, waste management, food drink,
information technology, outdoor leisure equipment and construction material
- where competitive European firms face serious obstacles in the Japanese
market. The campaign is expected to help 1000 European companies market
their products and services in Japan over the next four years through trade
missions, trade fairs and other events. It will involve an unpredecented
degree of cooperation between the EU and national trade promotion
initiatives. Today's launch follows a three-year pilot phase in which the
EU helped 515 companies - including British healthcare, Dutch medical
equipment, French packaging and German waste management - to develop
successful marketing strategies in Japan.
[04] João de Deus Pinheiro: Les accords de coopération devront inclure une
clause anti-corruption
(!!! embargo 16h !!! ) João de Deus Pinheiro, Commissaire européen au
Développement, annoncera aujourd'hui que la Commission européenne proposera
bientôt que les futurs accords de coopération avec des pays tiers
comprennent une clause de bonne gestion des affaires publiques (good
governance), visant à accroître l'efficacité de l'aide communautaire et à
lutter contre la corruption. Dans un discours qu'il prononcera devant
l'Assemblée paritaire UE-ACP, le Commissaire explique cette initiative dans
le contexte de la révision récente de la Convention de Lomé qui a consacré,
comme "élément essentiel" de la coopération, le respect des droits de
l'homme, des principes démocratiques et de l'état de droit. La Commission
souhaite également intensifier les mesures positives de prévention de la
corruption en appuyant notamment l'émergence de systèmes judiciaires
indépendants et la mise en place de mécanismes de contrôle dans les pays
bénéficiaires. (!!! embargo 16h !!! )
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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