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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 98-04-28
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
28/04/98
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Transit douanier : la Commission s'adresse aux opérateurs pour une
mise au point de la réforme en cours
[02] Ritt Bjerregaard signs the Kyoto Protocol in New York on behalf of the
EU
[03] La Commission réunit plus de 300 spécialistes à Bruxelles sur le thème
"Femmes et Sciences"
[04] Follow-up of the 1996 Stockholm Agenda for Action against sexual
exploitation of children - actions taken by the European Union
[05] Padraig Flynn : "The old debate of regulation versus deregulation is
outdated and sterile"
[01] Transit douanier : la Commission s'adresse aux opérateurs pour une
mise au point de la réforme en cours
Les services de la Commission européenne viennent d'adresser aux
organisations représentatives des utilisateurs des régimes douaniers de
transit un document d'information qui dresse un état des lieux de la
réforme de ces régimes telle que prévue par le "Plan d'action pour le
transit en Europe - une nouvelle politique douanière". Celui-ci prévoit
notamment : une modification du cadre législatif (la proposition sur le
code de douane est actuellement à l'examen du Conseil et du Parlement),
l'informatisation des procédures (le réseau informatique des services
centraux doit être disponible avant la fin du premier trimestre 1999) et
des mesures opérationnelles nécessitant l'engagement des opérateurs
économiques et des administrations douanières (en vue, par exemple,
d'établir un partenariat dans la lutte contre la fraude). Cet état des
lieux est accompagné de nouvelles suggestions visant à mieux concilier
l'aspiration des opérateurs à une liberté maximale des transports de
marchandises avec l'exigence de maintenir la surveillance douanière dès que
des intérêts financiers publics sont en jeu. Sur cette base, la Commission
poursuivra le dialogue avec tous les partenaires de manière à assurer
l'équilibre global de la réforme et sa finalisation dans les meilleurs
délais.
[02] Ritt Bjerregaard signs the Kyoto Protocol in New York on behalf of the
EU
On 29 April, in New York, European Commissioner for Environment, Ritt
Bjerregaard will sign the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change on behalf of the
European Union (EU). The ceremony will take place at 9.30 (local time).
The signature highlights the ambition of the EU to maintain the lead in the
fight against climate change. The Protocol as agreed in Kyoto last
December with legally binding reduction targets was at the time viewed by
the Commission as an important step - but certainly not as the last one.
The formal signature of the Protocol underlines the continuing commitment
of the EU and its Member States to achieving its objective. But it is only
the next step in a lengthy procedure leading up to the Buenos Aires meeting,
which is to be held in November. It continues to be necessary to make
further progress and maintain the momentum of Kyoto. Far greater global
limitation and common reduction efforts will be necessary and the
industrialised countries must make demonstrable progress in achieving their
commitments under the Protocol.
[03] La Commission réunit plus de 300 spécialistes à Bruxelles sur le thème
"Femmes et Sciences"
A la veille du troisième millénaire, et en marge du lancement du 5ème
programme-cadre de recherche et de développement, force est de constater la
très faible participation des femmes dans les carrières scientifiques.
Pour ne citer qu'un exemple : sur 100 étudiants ingénieurs dans l'Union
européenne actuellement, six seulement sont des femmes. C'est pour
remédier à cette situation, et pour promouvoir l'égalité des chances en ce
domaine, qu'Edith Cresson, membre de la Commission européenne responsable
pour la recherche, a pris l'initiative d'organiser, les 28 et 29 avril à
Bruxelles, en coopération avec le Parlement européen, une vaste conférence
sur le thème "Femmes et Sciences".
[04] Follow-up of the 1996 Stockholm Agenda for Action against sexual
exploitation of children - actions taken by the European Union
European Commissioner Anita Gradin, responsible for Justice and Home
Affairs, today participates in a Council of Europe conference in Strasbourg
on commercial sexual exploitation of children. The conference is a follow-
up to the World Congress that was held in Stockholm 1996 on the same
subject. The Agenda for Action, which was adopted by the Congress, is now
being implemented and Mrs Gradin will report on the contributions made by
the European Union (EU). "The EU has to a large extent been on the
forefront of the actions against sexual exploitation of children", Anita
Gradin says. She particularly points to the strengthened police co-
operation, actions against sex tourism and the abuse of the Internet, and
the agreement among Member States to make sexual exploitation of children a
criminal offence. But there is no room for complacency. "For the future
we need to strengthen our co-operation further, in the judicial field and
concerning missing children. The involvement of non-governmental
organisations should be encouraged further. We must also make sure that
the issue of child exploitation is high on the agenda for enlargement",
Commissioner Gradin says.
[05] Padraig Flynn : "The old debate of regulation versus deregulation is
outdated and sterile"
(! embargo 3 pm !) Speaking today at a Conference in Glasgow on the
European Commission's "Green Paper on Partnership for a New Organisation of
Work," Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn said that
the Green Paper has stimulated over 150 detailed and well-prepared
responses on the future shape of working life. He said : "Perhaps the most
important contribution of the Green Paper has been to take us beyond the
baggage of the past." Mr Flynn totally rejected allegations that the Green
Paper sets out to prescribe a single model of work organisation by way of a
Directive. The Commissioner explained why, in this domain, we have to
develop a partnership model "because the labour market is fundamentally
different from the markets for goods and services. Labour is not a
commodity, but individuals in constant development. In the information age,
this human development is more important for our future competitiveness
than ever, and it demands partnership, more than ever." On the subject of
flexibility, Mr Flynn said, "modernisation demands flexibility. In the new
approach to the organisation of work, we must reconcile the flexibility,
which firms need, with the security which workers require." Finally, the
Commissioner clarified the role of legislation in the context of the new
economic and technological conditions and the demands they make on
employment systems. He said : "Legislation will continue to have an
important place in the modernisation armoury. It is an essential tool in
building a platform of basic standards to which all workplaces, workforces
and Member States should adhere. It is important in areas as diverse as
health and safety, working time and information and consultation."
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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