|
|
|
European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 00-02-29
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 29/02/2000b
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] La Commission autorise la création d'une entreprise commune entre
Granaria, Ültje et Felix Snack dans le domaine des graines salées pour
l'apéritif
[02] Commission clears acquisition of Saab Automobile AB by General Motors
Corporation
[03] La Commission autorise la création de l'entreprise commune Nuevas
Ediciones de Bolsillo par les groupes Bertelsmann et Planeta
[04] Commission approves participation of Telekom Austria in Libro
[05] Fonds de cohésion - bilan de la période 1993-1999
[06] Euro-zone annual inflation up to 2.0% in January 2000 ; EU15 up to
1.8%
[07] Commission signs joint assessment of medium-term economic policy
priorities for the Slovak Republic
[08] Statement by Poul Nielson on the situation in Southern Sudan
[09] Poul Nielson to visit flood torn Mozambique
[10] Frits Bolkestein outlines intentions on supplementary pensions
[01] La Commission autorise la création d'une entreprise commune entre
Granaria, Ültje et Felix Snack dans le domaine des graines salées pour
l'apéritif
La Commission européenne a autorisé la création d'une entreprise commune
par laquelle Granaria (Pays-Bas), Ültje (Allemagne) et Felix Snack
(Allemagne) réuniront leurs activités dans le domaine des graines salées
pour l'apéritif. La Commission considère que l'entreprise commune n'aura
pas pour effet de créer ou de renforcer une position dominante.
[02] Commission clears acquisition of Saab Automobile AB by General Motors
Corporation
The US company General Motors Corporation (GM), the leading global
manufacturer of motor vehicles, has acquired all the shares of the Swedish
passenger car manufacturer Saab Automobile AB (Saab), a company which until
now GM has jointly owned and controlled with Investor AB, a Swedish
investment company. Since the concentration involves a change from joint
control of Saab by GM and Investor AB to sole control of Saab by GM, there
is no new combination or additional overlap in the relevant markets, that
is, the manufacture and distribution of passenger cars. Moreover, GM/Saab
will continue to face significant competition in the European Economic Area
in all passenger car segments from companies such as Volkswagen, Ford,
Peugeot, Fiat, Renault, Daimler/Chrysler and BMW. In view of the above the
Commission has decided not to oppose the operation.
[03] La Commission autorise la création de l'entreprise commune Nuevas
Ediciones de Bolsillo par les groupes Bertelsmann et Planeta
La Commission européenne donne le feu vert à la création en Espagne de
l'entreprise commune Nuevas Ediciones de Bolsillo (NEB) par les groupes
Bertelsmann et Planeta. L'objet de l'entreprise commune est de regrouper
l'ensemble des activités d'édition de livres de poche en Espagne des deux
sociétés mères. L'opération ne concerne que le marché espagnol et
n'entraînera aucune création ou renforcement d'une position dominante ;
elle ne soulève donc pas de problème de concurrence.
[04] Commission approves participation of Telekom Austria in Libro
The European Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control of
Libro AG by Telekom Austria AG and a consortium lead by Unternehmens Invest
AG (UIAG) and with the participation of Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG).
The decision also includes the establishment of Libro's E-Commerce
subsidiary "Lion.cc" and the acquisition of joint control of this firm by
Libro and Telekom Austria. The approval was given with the condition that
Libro withdraws its application for a licence for fixed network telephony.
Thereby the concerns which were also expressed by some competitors with
regard to the future development of this market have been removed.
[05] Fonds de cohésion - bilan de la période 1993-1999
Le Fonds de Cohésion a été créé par l'Union européenne en 1993 afin de
pouvoir aider les Etats membres les plus pauvres à rétablir un budget
équilibré nécessaire pour le lancement de l'euro. Depuis sa mise en place,
quatre pays de la cohésion (Espagne, Grèce, Portugal et Irlande) ont
bénéficié d'une aide totale de 16.7 milliards d'euros pour la période 1993-
1999. Ce concours a permis le financement de projets d'infrastructures dans
le domaine des transports contribuant à la mise en œuvre des réseaux
transeuropéens, ainsi que des projets dans le domaine de l'environnement
permettant à ces pays d'avancer vers les objectifs prévus par la politique
environnementale de l'UE. Conformément aux objectifs fixés en 1995, la
Commission est parvenue pour la période 1993-1999 à un équilibre entre les
concours octroyés aux projets dans le domaine de l'environnement (50,3%) et
les projets d'infrastructures de transport (49,7%).
[06] Euro-zone annual inflation up to 2.0% in January 2000 ; EU15 up to
1.8%
(! embargo 12 am !) Euro-zone annual inflation rose from 1.7% in December
1999 to 2.0% in January 2000, Eurostat - the Statistical Office of the
European Communities in Luxembourg - reports today. EU15 annual inflation
rose from 1.7% in December to 1.8% in January. Compared to January 1999,
the biggest relative falls were in Greece (3.5% to 1.6%) and the United
Kingdom (1.6% to 0.8%); biggest relative rises were in Luxembourg (-1.4% to
3.5%) and Sweden (0.0% to 1.0%). Core inflation, i.e. all items excluding
energy, was stable at 1.0% for the euro-zone in January 2000 compared to
1.0% in December 1999 and at 0.8% for EU 15 in January compared to 0.9% in
December. Lowest 12-month averages up to January were in Austria and Sweden
(both 0.6%) and France (0.7%). Highest were in Ireland (2.7%), Spain (2.4%),
Denmark and Greece (both 2.2%). January 2000 is the first month for which
the HICP calculation is based on the extended product, geographic and
population coverage (Eurostat Memo No 2/2000 of 18 February 2000).
Virtually 100% of household final monetary consumption spending is now
covered by the HICP.
[07] Commission signs joint assessment of medium-term economic policy
priorities for the Slovak Republic
(! embargo 3.45 pm !) Mr Ivan Mikloš, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy of
the Slovak Republic, and Mr Pedro Solbes, European Commissioner for
Economic and Monetary Affairs, signed today a "Joint Assessment of medium-
term economic policy priorities of the Slovak Republic" as part of the
Accession Partnership process. This document presents an agreed set of
medium-term economic policies necessary to advance Slovakia's economic
transformation and to prepare it for accession to the European Union. It
also presents a macroeconomic scenario for the period up to 2004. Progress
in the implementation of these policies will be assessed regularly within
the framework of the EU Europe Agreement with Slovakia. The Joint
Assessment will become the basis for an ongoing evaluation of Slovakia's
economic progress and its medium-term economic policy priorities, as a
precursor to the country's future participation in the process of economic
policy coordination after its accession to the EU.
[08] Statement by Poul Nielson on the situation in Southern Sudan
The European Commission condemns the explicit threat made by the Sudan
People's Liberation Army (SPLA) to the safety of humanitarian agencies who
do not sign the Memorandum of Understanding between NGOs and the Sudan
Relief and Rehablitation Agency (SRRA) before March 1st. Such a threat is
completely unacceptable and the Commission calls for this ultimatum to be
lifted. The Commission considers the ability of humanitarian agencies to
deliver humanitarian assistance in a neutral, independent and secure
framework as being of utmost importance. It considers the decision whether
to sign or not to sign the Memorandum of Understanding as one to be taken
by each NGO independently and, consequently, does not deem it appropriate
to sanction NGOs that sign under duress. However, the forced evacuation of
non-signatory NGOs under threat to their lives from SPLA areas is
considered as a serious breach of international humanitarian law which
jeopardises the delivery of assistance in line with internationally
recognised principles. The responsibility for this situation must rest with
the SPLA. Consequently, the Commission currently sees no basis for the
continuation of funding for humanitarian assistance in areas where the
conditions for delivery of aid according to humanitarian principles do not
exist. The Commission is acutely aware of the existing humanitarian needs
of the people of Southern Sudan and hopes that the SPLA is aware of the
possible consequences of an expulsion of NGOs. The Commission is ready to
support any initiative that will break the impasse and lead to the
resumption of negotiations but reiterates the point that this can only
happen without the threat of an ultimatum.
[09] Poul Nielson to visit flood torn Mozambique
European Commissioner for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, Mr
Poul Nielson, will be visiting Mozambique from 2-4 March to assess first-
hand the destruction caused by the flooding. The trip will help enable the
Commissioner to evaluate the needs of the affected populations. Mr Nielson
will visit the worst hit regions and meet aid agencies involved in the
relief effort in conjunction with the Portuguese Secretary of State for
Development Cooperation, Mr Luis Amado. It is recalled that the Commission
Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has already made euro one million available for
victims of the recent flooding. ECHO is urgently examining further requests
for aid, which if approved, will be funded from the date of the request.
[10] Frits Bolkestein outlines intentions on supplementary pensions
(! embargo 2 pm London, 3 pm Brussels !) European Commissioner for Internal
Market Frits Bolkestein said today that a modern EU framework for
supplementary pension funds was an immediate priority for the Commission.
This framework would have four main objectives : protecting the rights of
members and beneficiaries, helping supplementary pension institutions to
perform as well as possible, permit cross-border affiliation and liberalise
the provision of asset management and custodian services for the EU's euro
2000 billion pension fund assets. In a speech to the Royal Institute of
International Affairs in London, Mr Bolkestein confirmed his intention to
present this summer a proposal for a Directive on occupational pension fund
supervision. This would establish adequate prudential standards, liberalise
investment and management rules and put in place a framework for
cooperation between national supervisory bodies. He noted that in countries
where fund managers were free to decide on asset allocation, pension funds
performed twice as well as those with restrictive rules, without
undermining security. "Between 1984 and 1998 Irish pension funds had on
average a real return of 12.5%. Danish pension funds, with notably stricter
limits on equities, reached only 6.15%", he said.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
|
