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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 99-07-23
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-Parole 23/07/1999b
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] La Commission approuve l'acquisition de Gucci (Italie) par PPR
(France)
[02] La Commission autorise les accords conclus entre la SNCF et Cégétel
[03] Action plan for closer dialogue with the fishing industry and other
groups affected by the common fisheries policy
[04] La production industrielle de la zone euro en légère baisse de - 0,1%
[05] Lancement du programme de l'UE pour la reconstruction du Kosovo
[06] Tacis funding for scientific projects in Russia and Ukraine
[07] Phare Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) programme funding
[08] Funds granted for the telecommunications network for Caucasian
railways
[01] La Commission approuve l'acquisition de Gucci (Italie) par PPR
(France)
La Commission européenne a donné le feu vert à l'acquisition par Pinault-
Printemps-Redoute S.A. (PPR) du contrôle exclusif de Gucci. C'est la
première opération de concentration dans le secteur des produits de luxe à
être examinée au regard des règles communautaires. L'opération ne soulève
aucun problème sous l'angle de la concurrence car, à l'exception des sacs à
main de luxe en Italie et au Royaume-Uni, les parts des entreprises sur le
marché des articles de luxe et de leur distribution sont inférieures à 25
%.
[02] La Commission autorise les accords conclus entre la SNCF et Cégétel
La Commission européenne a décidé d'autoriser les accords de coopération
conclus entre Cégétel, un nouvel opérateur de télécommunications en France,
et la Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) en vue de fonder
une filiale commune, Télécom Développement (TD). TD mettra en place et
exploitera un réseau national de télécommunications longue distance sur la
base du réseau national de chemins de fer français. L'opération notifiée
est liée à la création de Cégétel, que la Commission a autorisée cette
année.
[03] Action plan for closer dialogue with the fishing industry and other
groups affected by the common fisheries policy
The European Commission has adopted an action plan aimed at creating the
conditions needed for effective consultation and communication between all
involved directly and indirectly in the common fisheries policy. The
Commission believes that improving the dialogue with the fishing and
aquaculture industry is essential in order to tighten the links with a
sector directly affected by any new measure of the European Union (EU).
This dialogue must not, however, be confined to the industrial sector
directly concerned. It must embrace the other groups in society that are
affected by the development, management and future of fishing, particularly
associations involved in the environment, consumer protection or
cooperation with non-EU countries. The action plan adopted by the
Commission is in three parts : renewal of the Advisory Committee on
Fisheries, reinforcement of trade organisations and better communication
with the groups concerned. The first part is the subject of a Commission
decision ; to implement the other two, the Commission is proposing a
Regulation, to be adopted by the Council of Ministers after consultation of
the European Parliament.
[04] La production industrielle de la zone euro en légère baisse de - 0,1%
(! embargo 12h !) La tendance de la production industrielle de la zone euro
a diminué de -0,1% pour la période de mars à mai 1999 par rapport aux trois
mois précédents, selon les estimations publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat,
l'Office statistique des Communautés européennes à Luxembourg. Il s'agit de
la plus petite baisse depuis cinq mois. La production au sein de l'Union
européenne (UE15) est restée inchangée avec 0,0%. Le volume de la
production industrielle, corrigé des jours ouvrables, a baissé en mai de
respectivement -0,8% pour la zone euro et de -0,4% pour l'UE15 par rapport
au mois de mai 1998. La croissance au mois d'avril a été révisée à -0,6%
pour la zone euro et à -0,7%, chiffre non révisé pour l'UE15. Etant donné
que cette série fluctue beaucoup, il est conseillé d'interpréter avec
prudence cette évolution.
[05] Lancement du programme de l'UE pour la reconstruction du Kosovo
L'Union européenne va dégager, en 1999, un financement de l'ordre de 150
millions d'euros sous forme de dons pour le lancement du programme pour la
reconstruction du Kosovo. L'année prochaine, ce programme sera renforcé à
hauteur de quelque 500 millions d'euros. Ce dernier sera mis en oeuvre par
l'Agence européenne de reconstruction.
[06] Tacis funding for scientific projects in Russia and Ukraine
The European Commission has decided to grant 17 million euro to the
International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC) in Moscow. The ISTC,
which is supported by the European Union (EU), the United States (US),
Japan and Russia, aims to redirect the talents of the New Independent
States' (NIS) and Mongolia's weapons scientists for peaceful purposes. The
funding will be used to further promote the integration of the NIS
scientists into the international community. This will be done through the
organisation of scientific seminars and symposia in selected institutes in
the NIS with the participation of western scientists and experts. Another
example of how the money will be allocated is through travel grants for NIS
scientists to put them in contact with colleagues in the western countries
for developing joint project proposals. The selection of ISTC projects,
which are regarded as eligible for funding by the EU at the ISTC Governing
Board meetings, is undertaken by the Commission in close cooperation with
the EU Member states. As part of Tacis 1999 the Commission has also decided
to approve funding worth 3 million euro for the Science and Technology
Centre, Ukraine (STCU). The STCU is an intergovernmental organisation
founded in 1994 by Canada, US, Sweden and Ukraine and the EU completed its
procedures for accession in November 1998. The STCU aims to promote the
further integration of Ukranian, Uzbek and Georgian scientists into the
international scientific community. It is intended to use this budget to
finance, through the Centre, project activities, inter alia, in the field
of environmental protection, energy production, nuclear safety, public
health, material research and information technologies.
[07] Phare Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) programme funding
The European Commission has decided to grant financial aid worth 25 million
euro to set up the 1999 Cross Border Cooperation programme (Phare CBC
programme) between Greece and Bulgaria. The money will be invested in major
infrastructure projects of importance to both countries and will focus
specifically on the transport, telecommunications and environment sectors.
The aim of these projects will be to contribute to the accession
preparations for Bulgaria and will include, the electrification of the
Dupnitza Kulata Railway line, the installation of Optic Cable Haskovo and a
12 million euro project to close the uranium mines in Eleshnitsa and
Dospat. As part of the Phare CBC programme the Commission has also adopted
the decision to grant financial aid worth a total of 14 million euro for
cross-border cooperation between Italy, Greece and Albania. The Phare CBC
programme with Italy, worth 7 million euro, will concentrate on the
districts of Albania which share a common maritime border with Italy. A
major part of the funding will, therefore, support the further development
of the North South Corridor, the development of the Durres Ferry Terminal
and the Durres industrial Park among other projects. Similarly the Phare
contribution to the programme of cross-border cooperation between Albania
and Greece will be 7 million euro and will be devoted to improving the
infrastructure in two main areas : the roads infrastructure in the
Greece/Albania border region and the rehabilitation of the water supply
system in Gjirokaster.
[08] Funds granted for the telecommunications network for Caucasian
railways
The European Commission has decided to grant financial aid worth 15 million
euro to fund the installation of a telecommunications network for the
Caucasian railways. The Presidents of Georgia, the Azerbaijan Republic and
the Republic of Armenia requested European Union (EU) funding of an optical
cable for communication between 133 stations and signalling of railway
tracks within the framework of the Tacis programme "TRACECA". The project
is a west-east link between the Georgian seaport of Poti (Black Sea) and
the Azeri seaport of Baku (Caspian Sea), branching off to the south in
Tbilisi (Georgia) towards Yerevan (Republic of Armenia). At first the cable
will be used exclusively for railway operations. Later, as the line becomes
fully operational, up to 80% of its capacity could be used for general
telecommunications purposes (civil telephone lines, television distribution,
electronic data interchange etc.), thereby gradually breaking the present
monopolies in the Caucasus' telecommunications sector. At present the
Ministries of Post and Communications hold a monopoly on both regional and
international telecommunications in the Transcaucaus. The Railways, as
future owners of the optical cable, have agreed to collaborate with the
Ministries of Post and Communications, and guarantee they will allow public
and private telecom operators to lease the spare capacity of the
transmission network. The project will be a concrete implementation of
bilateral agreements between Georgia and the Azerbaijan Republic and
between Georgia and the Republic of Armenia, in the broader context of a
Multilateral Agreement on International Transport between the TRACECA
countries, and would thus foster regional cooperation.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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