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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 99-04-20
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
20/04/99
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission approves subject to conditions the acquisition of Morton
International by Rohm and Haas
[02] Humanitarian aid : Kosovo crisis tops agenda at ECHO meeting with Red
Cross family
[03] Joint G24 / Consultative Group Meeting for Bulgaria
[04] Yves-Thibault de Silguy évoque l'idée d'un fonds conjoncturel européen
[01] Commission approves subject to conditions the acquisition of Morton
International by Rohm and Haas
The European Commission, after an examination of the proposed acquisition
by Rohm and Haas Company (USA) of control of Morton International Inc.
(USA), considered that the operation was likely to raise serious doubts
regarding its compatibility with the common market in relation to the
supply of dry film photo resists. To remove these doubts Rohm and Haas has
given undertakings to the Commission to withdraw from a joint venture, Elga
Ronal, which has an exclusive European Union-wide contract for the
distribution of the dry film photo resists manufactured by TOK Italia. The
fulfilment of this undertaking would eliminate any aggregation of market
shares arising from the proposed operation and remove the formerly
expressed serious doubts as to its compatibility with the common market.
[02] Humanitarian aid : Kosovo crisis tops agenda at ECHO meeting with Red
Cross family
The crisis in Kosovo will head the agenda at a special meeting today in
Brussels with top officials of the Red Cross family. Cornelio Sommaruga,
President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), George
Weber, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and
Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the heads of the 15 national Red Cross
societies of the European Union will meet Emma Bonino, European
Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, and officials from the European
Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) to discuss strategy for managing
humanitarian needs in the region. The Belgian Red Cross will be represented
by its President, Princess Astrid of Belgium. The Red Cross officials will
sign a Framework Partnership Agreement with ECHO, which manages funding for
humanitarian assistance on behalf of the Commission. Alberto Navarro,
Director of ECHO, will sign the accord with the 17 partner organisations.
The Framework Partnership Agreement between ECHO and its partners is a
basis for ensuring ongoing cooperation and prompt responses in emergencies.
The document being signed today has been negotiated with the Red Cross
movement in function of its specific mandate. By the end of May, ECHO will
have signed the new Framework Partnership Agreement with all its current
180 NGO partners.
[03] Joint G24 / Consultative Group Meeting for Bulgaria
A joint G24 / Consultative Group meeting for Bulgaria will be held in
Brussels on 21 April 1999. The meeting - which is co-chaired by the
European Commission and the World Bank - will be attended by
representatives of the G24 / CG countries and a number of international
institutions including the IMF, EIB, EBRD, IFC, OECD, etc. The purpose of
the meeting is to review the progress of Bulgaria's successful reform
programme as well as planned reforms for 1999-2001 and associated financing
needs. The Government attaches high priority to preparing Bulgaria for
European Union (EU) accession and putting the economy on a sustainable
growth path. Since 1997, the EU and other international partners have
provided support for Bulgaria's transformation process. Bulgaria needs
continued financial support from the international community to deepen its
reform programme. These needs have increased as a result of the impact of
the Kosovo crisis. The EU, in addition to its Phare grant assistance
programme, is envisaging providing additional and complementary macro-
financial support which the Commission anticipates to announce at the
meeting. The Bulgarian delegation will be led by Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Industry, Mr Alexander Bozhkov, and include the Minister of
Finance Mr Muravej Radev, Minister of Labour Mr Ivan Nejkov and the
Governor of the Central Bank Mr Svetoslav Gavrijski. The meeting will take
place in the Charlemagne Building, 170 Rue de la Loi, 1040 Brussels
(meeting room S4) starting at 9:00. A press briefing is scheduled at 17:00
and will take place in the meeting room.
[04] Yves-Thibault de Silguy évoque l'idée d'un fonds conjoncturel européen
S'exprimant devant la sous-commission monétaire du Parlement européen, Yves-
Thibault de Silguy, Commissaire européen aux Affaires économiques,
financières et monétaires, a notamment déclaré que : "ce fonds permettrait
de répondre à des besoins temporaires et spécifiques. Un tel fonds devrait,
dans mon esprit, respecter plusieurs principes." "Il ne saurait avoir
pour objet de faire éponger par la solidarité communautaire des
défaillances de certains Etats membres. Au contraire, il aurait pour
fonction de manifester une solidarité de l'Union face à des circonstances
totalement indépendantes de la volonté politique ou de la capacité de
réaction de tel ou tel Etat membre." "Un tel fonds n'aurait pas pour objet
d'accroître l'endettement individuel ou collectif de l'Etat membre ou de
l'Union. Il devrait s'appréhender comme une possibilité de mobiliser des
réserves que les évolutions de long terme (tel que le vieillissement de la
population) rendent en tout état de cause nécessaires et, enfin, ces
modalités d'utilisation devraient répondre à des critères d'efficacité
économique et sociale".
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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