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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 98-02-19
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
19/02/98
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Le PIB de l'UE a augmenté de 0,7% durant le troisième trimestre de
1997
[02] EU/US symposium on codes of conduct and international labour standards
[03] Monika Wulf-Mathies congratulates the new President of the Committee
of the Regions
[01] Le PIB de l'UE a augmenté de 0,7% durant le troisième trimestre de
1997
Le PIB de l'Union européenne (UE), en termes réels, a progressé de 0,7%
durant le troisième trimestre 1997 par rapport au deuxième trimestre, selon
le estimations révisées publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat, l'Office
statistique des Communautés européennes à Luxembourg. Ce taux est
inférieur à la croissance de 1,4% enregistrée durant le deuxième trimestre,
mais supérieure à celle du premier trimestre, se limitant à 0,3%. Selon
Eurostat, le ralentissement est imputable à la stagnation de la
consommation privée comme de la formation brute de capital fixe, dont la
croissance n'a atteint respectivement que 0,1% durant le troisième
trimestre. Par contre, l'excédent commercial de l'UE a augmenté légèrement
à 2,8% du PIB, contre 2,5% durant le deuxième trimestre. Au troisième
trimestre, le PIB a augmenté de 0,8% aux Etats-Unis, taux identique à celui
du deuxième trimestre. Le PIB au Japon a également connu une hausse de 0,
8%, après une baisse de 2,8% au trimestre précédent. Du fait de
l'évolution plus favorable au Japon, la hausse a atteint 0,7% pour le G7,
taux identique à celui de l'UE, par rapport à 0,3% durant le deuxième
trimestre. Par rapport au troisième 1996, le PIB de l'UE a augmenté de 2,
8%. Durant les trois premiers trimestres de 1997, il a progressé de 2,4%
par rapport à la même période de 1996, contre 3,8% aux Etats-Unis et 1,2%
au Japon.
[02] EU/US symposium on codes of conduct and international labour standards
Representatives of United States and European businesses, trade unions and
non-governmental organisations will meet in Brussels on 20 February to
discuss recently adopted sectoral codes of conduct and their role in
promoting core labour standards. This EU/US symposium on "Codes of conduct
and International labour standards" has been jointly organised by the US
Department of Labor and the European Commission. The one-day symposium,
which is part of the wider transatlantic dialogue between the European
Union (EU) and the United States (US), will be opened by Padraig Flynn,
Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner, Alexis Herman, US Secretary of
Labor, and Andrew Smith, Minister of Employment, United Kingdom. The
morning session will be devoted to the presentation of US and EU codes of
conduct and in particular, the US Apparel Industry Partnership and the
European codes of conduct agreed by the social partners in the footwear,
textile and commerce sectors. In the afternoon, panelists will discuss
issues relating to the follow-up and monitoring of these codes of conduct.
[03] Monika Wulf-Mathies congratulates the new President of the Committee
of the Regions
Monika Wulf-Mathies, European Commissioner responsible for Regional Policy,
today congratulated the new President of the Committee of the Regions,
Manfred Dammeyer, and the new Vice-President, Josef Chabert, on their
election. During the first meeting of the new term of the Committee of the
Regions, she assured them of the full and dedicated cooperation of the
European Commission. "The Committee of the Regions is an important ally
for keeping Europe in touch with its citizens", Mrs. Wulf-Mathies stressed.
She furthermore underlined the need for the competence of the Committee of
the Regions and the influence of its members on a national level to master
the challenges of the crucial year of 1998, as this year will see the
decision on the euro, the start of enlargement negotiations, and the
negotiation on the financial framework and the Reform of the European
Union´s Structural Policy and Common Agricultural Policy. With the
finalization of the internal structure of the Committee of the Regions in
the new term, the Committee of the Regions will be able to play an even
bigger role as a go-between for Brussels and the cities and regions.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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