|
|
|
European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-11-14
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
14/11/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission welcomes social partners' contribution to the Employment
Summit
[02] L'imposition du travail continue d'augmenter
[03] Commission clears the acquisition by ENI of a controlling stake in the
Italian telecommunications operator ALBACOM
[04] Consultation paper on meat and bone meal
[05] La Commission prend des mesures pour protéger les enfants contre les
risques d'empoisonnement par ingestion d'huiles pour lampes d'ornement
[06] L'école de la deuxième chance ouvre ses portes à Marseille
[07] Tadjikistan: Commission approves humanitarian aid worth ECU 9 million
[08] EU and India settle WTO dispute
[09] Hans van den Broek: "The prospects of Cyprus' accession to the EU can
act as a catalyst for the UN efforts to find a lasting settlement"
[10] Franz Fischler: "Maintainance of direct payments to farmers will be an
irrevocable position of the EU at next WTO-round"
[01] Commission welcomes social partners' contribution to the Employment
Summit
Following yesterday's Summit of European Social Partner organisations
(trade unions and employers), European Commission President Jacques Santer
welcomed the endorsement by the social partners (ETUC, UNICE and CEEP) of
the Employment Guidelines. In this joint contribution, the social partners
call for the putting in place of a macroeconomic framework conducive to
growth and employment, and support the proposal on the Commission's
Guidelines to refocus Member States' employment policies on the four
priority areas identified in the Guidelines: entrepreneurship,
employability, adaptability and equal opportunities. The social partners
state their wish to contribute to the process of promoting employment in
Europe. The Guidelines call on the national social partners, who were
present at yesterday's meeting to take joint action on employability
(especially training for the unemployed) and adaptability (especially
partnership and work organisation). The Commission looks forward to the
concrete contribution which the social partners, at European, national and
local level, will make to the implementation of the employment strategy to
be discussed at next week's Employment Summit.
[02] L'imposition du travail continue d'augmenter
Un rapport publié aujourd'hui par Eurostat, l'Office statistique des
Communautés européennes à Luxembourg, montre que l'imposition du travail
dans l'Union européenne (UE) atteint de nouveaux sommets. Le rapport
concerne l'imposition du travail exprimée en pourcentage de la rémunération
des salariés (appelé taux d'imposition implicite). Le chiffre pour les
quinze Etats membres (UE15) était de 42,1% en 1995 alors qu'il était de 28,
7% pour les six pays fondateurs de la Communauté Economique Européenne
(CEE6) en 1970. En 1995, l'imposition du travail salarié atteignait 51,4%
du total des recettes fiscales pour l'UE15; 25 ans pus tôt, ce chiffre
était de 43,2% pour la CEE6. Exprimée en pourcentage du PIB, la part de
l'imposition du travail salarié pour l'UE15 était de 21,4% en 1995. Si l'on
compare les données des différents Etats membres, de grands écarts
apparaissent entre les taux d'imposition maxima et minima. D'après cet
indicateur, les valeurs les plus élevées en 1995 ont été enregistrées en
Suède (56,2%) et en Finlande (53,7%). Les valeurs les plus faibles ont été
observées au Royaume-Uni (27%). Ce taux était inférieur à 40% au
Luxembourg (29,6%), en Irlande (30,1%), au Portugal (36,7% en 1993) et en
Espagne (38%). Dans les autres pays, la part de l'imposition du travail se
situait entre 40% et 50%.
[03] Commission clears the acquisition by ENI of a controlling stake in the
Italian telecommunications operator ALBACOM
The European Commission has authorised under the merger regulation the
acquisition by the Italian company Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi ("ENI") of a
35% equity stake in the Italian telecommunications operator Albacom S.p.A.
("Albacom"). Other companies controlling Albacom include the British
telecommunications operator British Telecom plc ("BT") and the Italian tv
broadcaster Mediaset S.p.A. ("Mediaset"). Other shareholders in Albacom
include the Italian bank Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. The Commission has
assessed the operation in the context of liberalisation of the Italian
telecommunications sector. Italy is for the moment behind the EU
liberalisation timetable and is now starting to implement the relevant
directives and, as required by EU law, it has fixed the date of 1st January
1998 to liberalise the provision of voice telephony services. Albacom
appears to be a new entrant in this sector, aiming to acquire the profile
of a future full public telecommunication operator. In this context, the
operation appears to be pro-competitive.
[04] Consultation paper on meat and bone meal
Franz Fischler, Member of the European Commission for Agriculture and Rural
Development, today launched a consultation paper on the European Union's
future policy in relation to meat and bone meal. The paper provides an
objective description of the present situation on meat and bone meal and
some considerations about the possible consequences of adopting different
approaches. In terms of future policy adjustments it principally focuses
on two points : (1) the possible exclusion of fallen animals and all
condemned material from the feed chain. The only raw material allowed to
be used for the production of animal feed would then be material declared
fit for human consumption but which, either for commercial or technological
reasons, is not intended for human consumption; (2) on a possible ban on
the use of all animal protein in the feeding of ruminants, on the grounds
that these animals are herbivorous and therefore do not need animal protein
in their diet.
[05] La Commission prend des mesures pour protéger les enfants contre les
risques d'empoisonnement par ingestion d'huiles pour lampes d'ornement
La Commission européenne a adopté une directive qui oblige les Etats
membres d'interdire la vente des huiles lampantes parfumées et colorées
dans des récipients d'une contenance inférieure à 15 litres. Cette
initiative fait partie d'une stratégie conçue avec les Etats membres et les
organisations de défense des consommateurs pour empêcher que des enfants ne
s'empoisonnent accidentellement en absorbant ce genre d'huile utilisée dans
des lampes de table ornementales. L'absorption de ces huiles par des
enfants a déjà causé quelques accidents tragiques. Dans les mois passés,
la Commission a déjà attiré l'attention des Etats membres et des
organisations de protection des consommateurs sur ce danger en leur
demandant de prendre les mesures appropriées pour protéger les enfants.
[06] L'école de la deuxième chance ouvre ses portes à Marseille
Le samedi 15 novembre 1997, Jacques Santer, Président de la Commission
européenne, et Edith Cresson, Commissaire en charge de la recherche, de
l'éducation de la formation et de la jeunesse, inaugureront l'école de la
deuxième chance de Marseille avec le sénateur-maire de la ville, Jean-
Claude Gaudin, et en présence de nombreuses personnalités. Cette école est
le premier projet pilote de cette nature. Elle accueillera dans un premier
temps 60 élèves, que M. Santer et Mme Cresson rencontreront à l'occasion de
cette inauguration, pour atteindre progressivement une capacité de 500
élèves. D'ici mars 1998, neuf autres écoles de la deuxième chance
ouvriront leurs portes dans huit Etats membres de l'Union. Le site de
Bilbao (Espagne) sera inauguré le 27 novembre 1997. L'ouverture officielle
des autres sites aura lieu d'ici le mois de mars 1998 à Hämeenlinna
(Finlande), Catania (Italie), Seixal (Portugal), Nikea-Peristeri (Athènes-
Grèce), Ribe (Danemark), Halle et Cologne (Allemagne), Heerlen (Pays-Bas).
[07] Tadjikistan: Commission approves humanitarian aid worth ECU 9 million
The European Commission and Member States have approved humanitarian aid
worth ECU 9 million for Tadjikistan. The aid, managed by the European
Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), will enable specialist organisations
to implement a coordinated programme of medical and food aid and assistance
for refugees and displaced persons that will run until June 1998. After a
bitter civil war, there is now precarious peace in Tadjikistan, one of the
poorest countries in the former Soviet Union. While it is no longer
experiencing an acute emergency, the country is still in a critical state
and in need of humanitarian aid before it can progress to steady
development. Last winter, for instance, it experienced an epidemic of
typhoid, the virulence of which surprised medical aid workers.
[08] EU and India settle WTO dispute
The European Union (EU) and India have settled their dispute on Indian
restrictions on imports of agricultural, textile and industrial products.
India has agreed to phase out import restrictions over a six year period.
The agreement ensures early liberalisation of products of export interest
to the EU, a substantial number of which will be liberalised within the
first three years. The settlement is a result of negotiations between the
parties after the EU requested consultations under the World Trade
Organisation dispute mechanism in July 1997. The EU is India's main
trading partner. The EU absorbs more than a quarter of India's exports and
supplies approximately the same proportion of its imports. Total EU-India
trade in 1996 was estimated at 18,483 MECU. This represents a 85.3% growth
since 1991. India's exports to the EU increased considerably from 1995 to
1996 (10.2%), whereas the increase in EU exports to India was more modest
(4.8%).
[09] Hans van den Broek: "The prospects of Cyprus' accession to the EU can
act as a catalyst for the UN efforts to find a lasting settlement"
European Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek delivered a
message of conciliation to a group of Cyprus businesspeople today. In a
speech at a conference in Brussels for business representatives from Greece,
Turkey and Cyprus, he said: "We in the European Union have learned that the
most bitter fratricidal conflicts which have rumbled on for decades and
even centuries can be overcome. The originality of the method devised by
the Union is that reconciliation has been brought about through a process
which started with economic cooperation and which aims at political unity.
No two situations are identical; we must be aware of both similarities and
differences when making comparisons. But I believe that the European
experience during these past decades contains a message of hope which is
well encapsulated in the theme of today's meeting, "in economic cooperation
lies mutual benefit". I know from previous meetings among business people
from Greece, Turkey and Cyprus that you fully recognise the importance of
this message. The contacts made among business people at the recent
meetings in Istanbul and Athens have created a momentum and optimism for
the future".
[10] Franz Fischler: "Maintainance of direct payments to farmers will be an
irrevocable position of the EU at next WTO-round"
In a statement on "Agriculture and Society" given at the agricultural
conference of the European Socialist Party in Brussels today, Agriculture
and Rural Development Commissioner Franz Fischler said that due to the
reduction in price support for cereals, milk and beef as foreseen in the
reform of the CAP (common agricultural policy), there must be fair
compensation in the form of direct payments for the competitive
disadvantages European Union (EU)-farmers have to put up with as compared
to their counterparts in the US for example. Given that society demands of
the farmers in Europe not only a role of producing food, but maintaining
the countryside, protecting the landscapes and the environment, "adhering
to these direct payments has to be the EU's irrevocable position at the
next WTO-round", Mr Fischler stressed. Apart from the fact that larger
farms have the advantage of economies of scale, the negative image for the
CAP created by individual farmers receiving very large payments
necessitates the introduction of limits on these payments. These limits
should however take account of certain factors such as employment, he
added.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
|
