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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 97-11-18
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
18/11/97
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Jacques Santer: "Un immense travail a été fait sur l'ESB"
[02] La Commission condamne l'acte de terrorisme en Egypte
[03] La volonté de la Commission d'assurer une gestion financière saine et
efficace est renforcée par le rapport de la Cour des comptes de 1996
[04] Commission clears Nomura's acquisition of the Blueslate business
[05] Commission to launch ECU 15 million research programme to make de-
mining safer and faster
[06] "Employment through innovation": Third European Conference of Crafts
and Small Businesses (Milan, 20-21 November 1997)
[07] Commission takes US to WTO over export subsidies
[08] Edith Cresson: "Towards a knowledge-based Europe"
[09] Documentation and follow-up of the Animal Meal Conference
[01] Jacques Santer: "Un immense travail a été fait sur l'ESB"
En réponse au rapport de la commission de suivi ESB du Parlement européen,
Jacques Santer, le Président de la Commission européenne, a déclaré
aujourd'hui à Strasbourg que l'intense coopération qui a eu lieu entre la
commission de suivi et les services de la Commission a eu un résultat
extrêmement fructueux. "Nous avons agi sans tarder en vue de rectifier les
faiblesses constatées", a dit Jacques Santer. "La Commission a décidé dès
février 97 une restructuration sans précédent de ses services chargés de la
protection de la santé et de la sûreté alimentaire qui ont été placées au
coeur du programme de travail de la Commission pour 1998". La Commission a
également décidé de se rallier au soutien concret que le Parlement a décidé
d'apporter aux familles des victimes de la nouvelle variante de la maladie
de Creutzfeld-Jakob. Des mesures législatives de lutte contre l'ESB et la
nouvelle variante de la maladie de Creutzfeld-Jakob ont été adoptées, les
contrôles ont été renforcés, des programmes de recherche ont été lancés.
Mais "le véritable travail commence à présent", a dit le Président. Il
s'agira d'améliorer encore la gestion administrative de la Commission et,
dans le cadre de l'Agenda 2000, de réformer la politique agricole commune
dans le sens d'une agriculture plus respectueuse de la santé humaine et de
l'environnement.
[02] La Commission condamne l'acte de terrorisme en Egypte
A l'annonce de l'acte terroriste qui a frappé la ville de Louxor, le
Président de la Commission européenne, Jacques Santer, a adressé hier le
télégramme suivant au Président de la République Arabe d'Egypte, M. Mohamed
Hosni Mubarak: "J'apprends avec une vive émotion la nouvelle de l'attentat
meurtrier qui a été perpétré à Louxor et je vous adresse, en mon nom
personnel et celui de la Commission européenne, mes plus sincères
condoléances. Je vous prie d'être auprès des personnes touchées par cet
acte odieux l'interprète de notre profonde sympathie."
[03] La volonté de la Commission d'assurer une gestion financière saine et
efficace est renforcée par le rapport de la Cour des comptes de 1996
La Commission européenne s'est félicitée du soutien sans réserve que le
rapport annuel de la Cour des comptes pour 1996 a apporté à sa volonté de
rigueur budgétaire et de gestion financière saine et efficace: "Plusieurs
observations de la Cour sont utiles à la Commission pour la réforme des
politiques de l'Union européenne (UE) qui est proposée dans le cadre
d'Agenda 2000, particulièrement en ce qui concerne les actions relatives à
l'agriculture, aux politiques structurelles et aux programmes Phare et
Tacis," a déclaré le Commissaire Erkki Liikanen, en ajoutant: "Le rapport
conforte l'idée de la Commission selon laquelle trop de petits programmes
et projets bénéficient de l'aide de l'UE. Nous devons nous concentrer
davantage sur les initiatives de masse critique au niveau européen." La
Commission a déjà donné suite sans tarder à de nombreuses observations de
la Cour en adoptant un ensemble de mesures dans le cadre de l'initiative
SEM 2000 pour une gestion saine et efficace. Le rapport de la Cour
constate que la Commission a déjà réagi à bon nombre de ses constatations,
en reconnaissant à titre général la nécessité d'une action dans certains
secteurs et en proposant déjà dans de nombreux cas des mesures spécifiques
pour répondre aux préoccupations exprimées par la Cour.
[04] Commission clears Nomura's acquisition of the Blueslate business
The European Commission has decided to approve an operation by which Nomura
International plc acquires control of four companies (William Hill
Organisation Limited; Laystall Limited; Camec Limited; and William Hill
Trustee limited) which are currently wholly-owned operating subsidiaries of
Blueslate plc, and which together comprise Blueslate's betting (or
"bookmaking") business, operating mainly in the United Kingdom. The
Commission found there was no competitive overlap between the business of
Blueslate and the business of Nomura International or the UK sectors in
which it has invested. In the absence of competitive overlaps the precise
product and geographic market definitions were left open.
[05] Commission to launch ECU 15 million research programme to make de-
mining safer and faster
The European Commission will shortly launch an ECU 15 million research
programme aimed at using new technologies to seek, identify and deactivate
land-mines. De-mining is a painstaking and hazardous activity, and
detection costs, a heavy burden in de-mining operations (almost 150 times
higher than that of producing anti-personnel mines). An estimated 125
million uncleared anti-personnel (APM) and anti-tank (ATM) mines are laid
in former theatres of war around the world, killing more than 26,000 people
each year, most of them children. There is a urgent need for safer and
more cost-effective methods to detect them.
[06] "Employment through innovation": Third European Conference of Crafts
and Small Businesses (Milan, 20-21 November 1997)
The European Commission is organising, together with the Italian Ministry
of Industry and the Region Lombardia, the Third European Conference of
Crafts and Small Businesses, which will take place on the 20 and 21
November 1997 in Milan. The theme of the Third Conference is "Employment
through Innovation". The aim of the Conference is to ensure that greater
account is taken of the sector's specific features and potential, to
improve the flow of information to representative bodies and businesses
themselves, and to highlight the vital role crafts and small enterprises
play in terms of growth and job creation in Europe. The Conference has four
main objectives: to create an environment conducive to the development of
crafts and small businesses; to create an administrative and legal
framework which meets the needs of the sector; to step up the commitment of
the European Union and its Member States to assist small and craft
businesses; to step up the dialogue with European-level social and
professional organisations, national organisations and businesses. The
conclusions from Milan will be presented by the Commission to the
Employment Summit, in order to be taken into account when it will draw up
its own conclusions.
[07] Commission takes US to WTO over export subsidies
Sir Leon Brittan, Vice-President of the European Commission, today
announced action to tackle a US subsidy scheme which disadvantages EU
firms. The Commission is requesting formal consultations under the World
Trade Organisation in order to put an end to the US policy of subsidising
exports via so-called "Foreign Sales Corporations" (FSCs). The US
government grants tax exemptions for exports carried out by FSCs.
[08] Edith Cresson: "Towards a knowledge-based Europe"
Invited the 17th of November by the London School of Economics and
Political Science, Edith Cresson, European Commissioner, gave a survey of
European Union's action and prospects regarding research, innovation,
education and training. Pointing out that we were facing globalization and
at the same time entering a knowledge-based society, she said: 'To a degree
never seen before and in a way which calls for new forms of public action,
knowledge is right at the heart of society. To make it possible for its
production and use to have maximum impact on European society and on the
lives of every European citizen, it is largely at the European level that
we must tackle questions of research, education and formation.' Mrs
Cresson underlined that 'Sharing experiences and mutual learning have
demonstrated their usefulness. The cultural diversity of Europe makes a
wide range of approaches, traditions and procedures available to searchers,
teachers and trainers which have been developed independently and which can
be complementary, and feed off and enrich each other.'
[09] Documentation and follow-up of the Animal Meal Conference
The final report of the International Scientific Conference of the European
Commission and the European Parliament on Meat and Bone Meal which took
place on 1 and 2 July 1997 is now available in English, French and German.
It summarises the information given at the Conference to the 350
participants to assess the importance of animal meal in animal nutrition
and the implications its ban would entail. Existing and potential dangers
as well as the opinions of consumers and livestock breeders are presented
and discussed in depth. The verbatim, a documentation of the full speeches
of all intervenants, forms the essential part of the documentation. The
138 proposals and recommendations of the speakers and participants of the
conference are included. The Commission is now examining them in order to
decide on what should eventually be changed in Community legislation
dealing with the production of meat and bone meal. The documentation is
available on Internet from 19 November 1997 starting at the following
address: http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg24/sub2.html.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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