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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-05-28
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
28/05/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] EU citizenship: Commission report outlines progress and way ahead
[02] Citizens First - Making the Single Market more effective for people
[03] Actions de promotion et de publicité dans le secteur du lait et des
produits laitiers
[04] Conférence sur l'environnement et l'emploi, 26-27 mai 1997
[05] Hans van den Broek to visit Slovakia
[06] Franz Fischler: "Globalisation is a chance for Europe"
[01] EU citizenship: Commission report outlines progress and way ahead
The need for continuous action to improve citizens' awareness of their
rights and to ensure Member States fulfil their obligations in enforcing
them has been stressed by a report on European Union (EU) citizenship just
adopted by the European Commission. The report includes an appraisal of
current application in practice of EU citizenship, together with an
assessment of how best to ensure rights derived from EU citizenship become
a reality for as many EU nationals as possible. EU citizenship, which is
additional to citizenship of an individual Member State, was introduced by
the Maastricht Treaty. It specifically gives nationals of EU Member States
the right to free movement and residence, to vote and to stand for election
in European Parliament and municipal elections. It also provides for
protection by diplomatic and consular authorities of any Member State in a
third country and for access to non-judicial means of redress through the
Ombudsman and through petitions to the European Parliament. The report
notes that citizenship of the Union is a reality, and that as a result of
the EU, citizens now enjoy a range of rights affecting their daily lives.
[02] Citizens First - Making the Single Market more effective for people
Six months after the launch of "Citizens First" around 21% of the European
Union (EU) population have heard of the initiative, according to opinion
surveys conducted for the European Commission. Citizens First aims at
providing people throughout the EU with easy access to information tailored
to individual interests about their rights and opportunities within the EU
and its Single Market. More than 630,000 people have already contacted
Citizens First directly (over 230,000 by telephone and some 400,000 via
Internet). The Citizens First Internet site has now been made more user-
friendly and incorporates an on-line version of the "Signpost Service".
This service, until now available only via the telephone, offers guidance
on relevant advice available from existing national and local bodies to
people with specific inquiries or problems. The problems most often raised
with the Signpost Service so far concern social security and welfare
benefits, discrimination on grounds of nationality, right of residence,
taxation, free movement of services and recognition of qualifications.
(Citizens First Internet web-site: http://citizens.eu.int)
[03] Actions de promotion et de publicité dans le secteur du lait et des
produits laitiers
La Commission européenne a approuvé 16 programmes d'action relatives à la
promotion de la consommation de lait dans l'Union européenne et à
l'élargissement des marchés du lait et des produits laitiers au titre de la
campagne 1996/1997. Le coût total de ces mesures de promotion est de 8,75
millions d'Ecus et elles sont financées à 100% par la Commission. Les
programmes qui sont retenus sont ciblés principalement sur les jeunes
jusqu'à 25 ans et les thèmes principaux à développer sont "la nutrition" et
"la modernité".
[04] Conférence sur l'environnement et l'emploi, 26-27 mai 1997
Lors d'une conférence sur l'environnement et l'emploi organisée à Bruxelles
par la Commission européenne et le Parlement Européen, le Commissaire à
l'Environnement, Mme Ritt Bjerregaard, a souligné dans son discours
d'ouverture le fait que l'environnement crée des emplois. A la conférence,
les participants venus d'un éventail de secteurs très large, comme par
exemple l'industrie, les syndicats, les pouvoirs publics, les ONG, etc.,
ont examiné un certain nombre d'initiatives politiques qui pourraient aider
à combiner avec succès la protection de l'environnement et la création
d'emplois. La mise en oeuvre améliorée de la législation environnementale,
une variation de la taxation de la main-d'oeuvre vers une taxation sur la
pollution et des incitations pour le développement et l'utilisation des
technologies environnementales ne sont que quelques unes des options qui
pourraient payer "le dividende double". Au cours de la deuxième moitié de
l'année en cours, Mme Bjerregaard soumettra au Conseil des Ministres et au
Parlement une communication sur le sujet de l'environnement et l'emploi.
[05] Hans van den Broek to visit Slovakia
Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek is visiting Slovakia on 29
May, 1997. It is the last of the applicant countries that the Commissioner
will be visiting before the publication of the European Commission's
opinions on membership on July 16, 1997. With this visit he concludes what
has been informally dubbed "the no-surprises tour" of all the applicant
countries, which will ensure that all governments are informed of the
preparations made by the Commission in view of the publication of opinions
in July. The Commissioner will discuss Slovakia's preparations for
European Union (EU) membership and the replies the government has prepared
to the Commission's questionnaires. "Slovakia is welcome in the EU, just
like the other applicants, as soon as the country can take on membership
obligations," commented Mr van den Broek. "Since stability of democratic
institutions is one of the criteria for membership, recent developments,
including the failed referendum will be on the agenda."
[06] Franz Fischler: "Globalisation is a chance for Europe"
In his speech on "Europe's role with regard to globalisation" at the
Management Forum in St Gallen in Switzerland today, Agriculture
Commissioner Franz Fischler stressed that "the European Commission sees
globalisation as an opportunity to maintain economic growth for the third
millenium in the European Union (EU)". The EU faces the challenge of
globalisation - "internally by improving competitiveness of the European
economy and externally achieving a better multilateral cooperation
worldwide", Mr Fischler stated. With the realisation of the internal
market, several framework-programmes in research, the EU-actions against
structural unemployment, the Transeuropean Networks and mainly with the
introduction of a single currency the EU assures its competitiveness.
While expressing reasonable satisfaction with the development of the World
Trade Organisation to date, Mr Fischler added that in future more account
must be taken of environmental and development policies and objectives.
Commissioner Fischler stated that, out of its experience with integration,
the EU continues to support multilateral cooperation. The challenge of
globalisation cannot only be mastered with the euro, but "Europe has to
pull together - not only economically but also with regard to its external
relations policy".
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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