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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 99-07-26
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 26/07/1999b
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission statement on pending court case regarding Formula One
[02] Commission clears the merger between Wal-Mart and ASDA
[03] Commission authorises Tyco to acquire Raychem
[04] Services financiers : proposition modifiée de Directive relative à la
commercialisation à distance
[05] Contrôle de l'application du droit communautaire : rapport 1998
[06] Kaleidoscope programme 1999 : support for cultural cooperation
projects in the EU
[07] Yves-Thibault de Silguy : "EMU has changed the dynamics of the EU"
[01] Commission statement on pending court case regarding Formula One
The European Commission regrets that statements were made which have been
understood as prejudging issues relating to the Fédération Internationale
de l'Automobile (FIA), and confirms that no final decision of any kind has
been adopted in this case, which is still being considered. Any future
statement will make it clear that no decision has been taken, as long as
this remains the case. The Commission also regrets that copies of a letter
from its Directorate-General for Competition (DG IV) to the FIA of 19
December 1997 were distributed to some journalists, and will see to it that
this does not happen in the future.
[02] Commission clears the merger between Wal-Mart and ASDA
The European Commission has approved the merger between the US based
general retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and the UK food retailer ASDA Group
plc. Since both companies have no overlapping activities, the concentration
on the retail side does not result in any increment of market shares. On
the procurement side, there will not be any harmful impact either, given
that there are very few overlaps and suppliers tend to be multinational
companies of significant bargaining power. Consequently, the operation does
not raise competition concerns.
[03] Commission authorises Tyco to acquire Raychem
The European Commission has cleared the acquisition by Tyco International
Ltd. (Bermuda) of Raychem Corporation (US) by way of a purchase of shares.
The Commission's investigation focused on touch screens, for which the
companies' combined market share is less than 30% and only increases
slightly through the merger. Given the presence of other players such as
MicroTouch (US), the market leader, Gunze (Japan) and Dynapro (Canada), the
Commission concludes that this operation will not create or strengthen a
dominant position.
[04] Services financiers : proposition modifiée de Directive relative à la
commercialisation à distance
La Commission européenne a présenté une proposition modifiée de Directive
établissant un cadre réglementaire clair pour la commercialisation à
distance de services financiers au sein du marché unique. La Commission a
suivi dans une large mesure les modifications suggérées par le Parlement
européen, en particulier en maintenant une approche d'"harmonisation
maximale", en remplaçant le délai de réflexion avant la conclusion du
contrat par l'obligation faite aux fournisseurs de fournir des informations
complètes et en introduisant un droit général de rétractation. La Directive
proposée vise à assurer aux consommateurs un niveau élevé de protection en
matière de services financiers de détail (services bancaires, d'assurances
et d'investissements) commercialisés par courrier, par téléphone, par
télécopie ou par voie électronique telle que l'Internet. Elle doit inciter
les consommateurs à faire confiance à ces services et offrir aux
fournisseurs de services financiers un cadre juridique clairement défini
s'appliquant à la libre commercialisation à distance dans l'ensemble du
marché unique .
[05] Contrôle de l'application du droit communautaire : rapport 1998
La Commission européenne continue à placer le contrôle de l'application du
droit communautaire au centre de son action. Alors que le nombre de
plaintes dénonçant des violations du droit communautaire continue à
augmenter (+18%), la Commission détecte elle-même de plus en plus
d'infractions (+52%). Les réformes des méthodes de travail en matière de
procédures d'infraction commencent à porter leurs fruits puisque le rapport
montre que la Commission est parvenue à améliorer sensiblement son
efficacité dans la gestion des dossiers d'infraction. La transposition des
Directives s'améliore lentement mais sûrement puisque le taux moyen de
transposition est passé, pour l'ensemble des secteurs, à 95,7% au 31
décembre 1998, contre 94% en 1997. C'est ce qui ressort du XVIème rapport
annuel sur le contrôle de l'application du droit communautaire pour l'année
1998 que la Commission vient de transmettre au Parlement européen et aux
Etats membres.
[06] Kaleidoscope programme 1999 : support for cultural cooperation
projects in the EU
Following the proposal of a group of independent experts, the European
Commission has designated 119 cultural projects which it proposes will
receive European Union (EU) financial support under the Kaleidoscope
programme for 1999. The overall EU contribution allocated to the programme
is approximately 10 million euro. The Kaleidoscope programme is intended to
encourage, by means of cooperation, artistic and cultural creation in
Europe. It aims to support projects with a European dimension - i.e.
projects involving partnership between organisations from at least three
Member States - as a means of promoting the knowledge and transmission of
culture and of the cultural experience of the European people. It also aims
to improve the skills of artists and others involved in the cultural sector
and to improve access to culture for all citizens.
[07] Yves-Thibault de Silguy : "EMU has changed the dynamics of the EU"
(! embargo 6.30 pm !) Speaking to the Corporation of London, Yves-Thibault
de Silguy, European Commissioner for economic, monetary and financial
affairs said : "With EMU, relations between participating countries have
gained new momentum. In the absence of the UK, the traditional Franco-
German axis is regaining ground, and not just on economic and monetary
affairs. This may be good news for those who want more integration within
the euro zone. But it is an important counter argument for those who oppose
EMU membership in order to preserve UK influence." "But I fear that in 50
years time, the UK's decision not to join the euro from the start may be
the European tragedy of the present generation of British leaders. All the
main political parties in the UK agree that the euro is likely to be a
lasting success for the EU." "There is no doubt that the launch of the euro
was a success. And this success creates opportunities for European
financial markets to gain the full benefits." "EMU is promoting integration
and boosting liquidity in European markets. We have an opportunity to
capitalise on these developments to reduce the remaining structural and
regulatory barriers in Europe. In particular, more needs to be done to
establish benchmark issues in euro-denominated bond markets. I would like
to make two personal suggestions : firstly, once we have clear estimate of
the likely needs, a significant euro-denominated EU bond issue could be
considered to meet the costs of economic reconstruction in the Balkans.
Secondly greater coordination of national government debt issues. For
example, Member States could create a single body responsible for issuing a
large part of euro zone government bonds."
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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