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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 99-08-05
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 05/08/1999b
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] "Le riz jaune" pour prévenir d'une carence en vitamine A
[02] Hutchison and Rotterdam Municipal Port Management abandon their joint
acquisition of ECT
[03] La Commission approuve les aspects de la version révisée du TACA qui
concernent le transport terrestre, mais elle continue son enquête en ce qui
concerne les dispositions relatives au transport maritime
[04] Business and Consumer surveys for July 1999: clear improvement in
economic sentiment
[01] "Le riz jaune" pour prévenir d'une carence en vitamine A
Un projet financé par l'Union européenne - le Carotène plus - a permis
d'incorporer avec succès la production de la ß-carotène dans le riz. Cette
avancée scientifique majeure, qui a incidemment coloré les grains de riz en
jaune, permettra la prévention de carence importante en vitamine A dans les
pays qui comptent le riz comme aliment de base.
[02] Hutchison and Rotterdam Municipal Port Management abandon their joint
acquisition of ECT
On 10 March 1999, Hutchison Port Holdings Ltd. (Hutchison) and Rotterdam
Municipal Port Management (RMPM) notified to the European Commission their
intention to acquire joint control of European Combined Terminals BV (ECT).
The in-depth investigation had shown that the merger would have created a
dominant position for ECT/Hutchison on the market for stevedoring services
to deep-sea container ships in Northern Europe. On 30 July 1999, Hutchison
and RMPM decided to abandon the proposed concentration, so the Commission
has no grounds to continue its present procedure under the Merger
Regulation and no final decision on the planned operation will be adopted.
[03] La Commission approuve les aspects de la version révisée du TACA qui
concernent le transport terrestre, mais elle continue son enquête en ce qui
concerne les dispositions relatives au transport maritime
La Commission européenne a approuvé la règle interdisant l'application de
prix inférieurs aux coûts ("not-below-cost" rule) de la version révisée du
Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement (TACA) par laquelle les parties peuvent
convenir de ne pas facturer un prix inférieur aux coûts quand elles offrent
des services de transport terrestre dans le cadre d'une opération de
transport multimodal. En ce qui concerne les aspects maritimes de l'accord,
la Commission considère que les discussions constructives "Post-TACA" qui
ont eu lieu entre les armateurs et la Commission serviront de base pour une
solution qui sera profitable aux échanges et mettra fin à la longue dispute
entre les armateurs, d'une part, et leurs clients et la Commission, d'autre
part. Cependant, la Commission a décidé de continuer son instruction des
dispositions de la version révisée du TACA relatives aux échanges
d'information et dans quelle mesure ces dispositions pourraient fausser la
concurrence entre les parties pour leurs offres de contrats de services
individuels aux chargeurs.
[04] Business and Consumer surveys for July 1999: clear improvement in
economic sentiment
(! embargo 12 am !) The latest results from the business and consumer
surveys conducted by the European Commission's Directorate General for
economic and financial affairs are published today. The consumer confidence
indicator rose in the euro-zone in July while remained constant in the
European Union (EU). This can to a large extent be attributed to the
important improvement observed on the consumer confidence in most countries
and to the fact that consumer are more optimistic about the general
economic situation in the future. Confidence in the industrial sector rose
consistently in both the euro-zone and the EU, following the positive trend
initiated in March. France, Italy and particularly Germany contributed to
this improved situation. Capacity utilization in industry maintains a
similar level to the two previous quarters, furthermore, managers expect
the capacity constraints to decrease appreciably and the outlook for new
orders and exports is optimistic. The construction confidence indicator was
stable for the EU and slightly increased for the euro-zone. Although there
have been increases in Germany, Portugal and Spain, these have been
partially offset less optimistic data from other countries, especially from
Italy, Greece and Denmark. Consequently, the economic confidence indicator
for July shows a significant increase for the euro-zone and an slight
improvement for the EU despite less favorable results from the United
Kingdom.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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