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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 98-09-18
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
18/09/98
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission denies any plans to make urban road pricing compulsory
[02] 65% de la population active de l'UE travaille dans le secteur des
services
[03] High-level discussion in Tokyo on climate change
[04] Tobacco advertising : Padraig Flynn to receive Public Health award
[01] Commission denies any plans to make urban road pricing compulsory
Following reports in the German media the European Commission today denied
it had any plans whatsoever to make urban road pricing compulsory. Neil
Kinnock, the Commissioner responsible for Transport Policy, said : "These
stories are completely without foundation. It would be entirely
inappropriate for the Commission even to suggest such an idea given that
only the German authorities have the power to decide on such an issue."
[02] 65% de la population active de l'UE travaille dans le secteur des
services
Le secteur des services occupe près de 97 millions de personnes dans
l'Union européenne (UE), ce qui représente environ 65% du total de l'UE,
souligne aujourd'hui le rapport établi par Eurostat, l'Office Statistique
des Communautés européennes à Luxembourg. Quatre Etats membres affichent
des taux supérieurs à 70% : le Luxembourg (74,1%), les Pays-Bas (73,1%), la
Suède (70,9%) et le Royaume-Uni (70,6%). La Grèce (56,8%) et le Portugal
(56,5%) enregistrent les parts les plus faibles. Les données soulignent un
changement dans la composition de la main-d'œuvre européenne ces trente
dernières années puisque l'on est passé d'une économie industrielle à une
économie de services. D'après les dernières données disponibles, la
ventilation de l'emploi en Europe est la suivante : 5,1% dans l'agriculture,
29,8% dans l'industrie et 65,1% dans les services. A l'exception du
Royaume-Uni, où les services fournis aux entreprises arrivent en tête, le
commerce de détail est, en termes d'emploi, la principale activité dans
tous les pays de l'UE. La seconde activité principale étant généralement
les services fournis aux entreprises, c'est-à-dire les professions
libérales, les activités d'architecture, la publicité, la sélection de
personnel, les activités de nettoyage et autres services divers.
[03] High-level discussion in Tokyo on climate change
On 17 and 18 September, the European Commissioner for environment Ritt
Bjerregaard together with the Austrian minister for the environment, Dr.
Martin Bartenstein (as president of the Council) represented the European
Union (EU) at the Ministerial meeting in Tokyo in preparation for COP4 in
Buenos Aires in November. UK was represented by Deputy Prime Minister John
Prescott and there were also participation from France, Italy and Germany.
At the invitation of the Japanese Government 22 countries from the
developing and the developed world as well as the European Commission
participated in the meeting. The EU demonstrated its unity and was very
active in keeping the process on climate change on the right track in order
to maintain momentum and secure a successful and realistic outcome in
Buenos Aires - including the adoption of an Action Plan with a timetable
for further work to be done. All delegations were in general careful not
to overstate differences and a clearer understanding on the various
positions on a number of points was achieved.
[04] Tobacco advertising : Padraig Flynn to receive Public Health award
The European Respiratory Society at its bi-annual Conference in Geneva will
tomorrow (19 September) present European Commissioner for Employment and
Social Affairs, Padraig Flynn, with a special award in recognition of his
efforts to promote public health. The conference which will be attended by
10,000 delegates, will hear the Society's President describe Mr Flynn's
success in securing agreement on a Europe-wide ban on tobacco advertising
and sponsorship as the most positive development in public health
protection in years. "Thousands of lives will ultimately be saved each year
by this initiative," Professor Christos Roussos, the Society's President
will say. Mr. Flynn in accepting the award, will speak of the need for
Member States to face up to their responsibilities to reduce the incidence
of smoking. "We have to confront the fact that smoking kills half a
million citizens each year in the European Union. If we fail to take
measures to reduce that figure, we are failing in our primary
responsibility to citizens: protecting their health and well-being." With
regard to further proposals to reduce smoking, the Commissioner said : "We
must not be fooled by the propaganda of the tobacco industry that measures
to reduce smoking are ineffective and unnecessarily restrictive. The fact
is that the right measures can and are working to reduce tobacco-related
deaths. If we swallow the industry's propaganda, we will miss the
opportunity to further reduce these unnecessary deaths."
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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