|
|
|
European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 01-08-01
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 Service Presse et Communicationb
Midday Express 01/08/2001
[01] Romano Prodi congratulates Dragisa Pesic
The President of the European Commission Romano Prodi yesterday sent the
following message to the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia Dragisa Pesic : "On behalf of the European Commission and on my
own behalf I have the pleasure to convey to you our warmest congratulations
and best wishes on the occasion of your appointment as Prime Minister of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I wish you and your government every
success in the implementation of the political and economic reform
priorities to which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has committed
itself. I hope that the new close relationship between the EU and the FRY,
symbolised by the holding this week of the inaugural meeting of the EU-FRY
Consultative Task Force, will continue and grow."
[02] La Commission autorise un réseau mondial pour l'authentification des
signatures électroniques et autres opérations commerciales par voie
électronique
La Commission européenne a autorisé des accords entre un certain nombre de
grandes banques européennes et non européennes portant sur la création d'un
réseau mondial ("Identrus") pour l'authentification des signatures
électroniques et autres aspects liés aux opérations financières et
commerciales par voie électronique. Les accords notifiés à la Commission en
avril 1999 en vue d'obtenir une attestation négative permettent aux
institutions financières participantes de fonctionner en qualité
d'autorités de certification individuellement et en concurrence entre elles,
en vue de garantir la sécurité des transactions commerciales par voie
électronique. La décision d'attestation négative illustre l'importance que
la Commission accorde au développement de marchés concurrentiels dans le
domaine du commerce électronique. L'Union européenne a déjà reconnu, dans
sa directive de 1999 relative aux signatures électroniques, que l'existence,
à l'échelon mondial, de services de certification sur des réseaux ouverts
était indispensable au succès du commerce électronique en Europe.
[03] Commission welcomes renewal of EU/Mauritania fisheries Protocol, the
most important with a third country
The European Commission and Mauritania have initialled a Protocol to the
Fisheries Agreement for a period of five years from 1 August 2001 to 31
July 2006. "I welcome this agreement. It is beneficial both to Mauritania
and to the EU. It provides some increased fishing opportunities for EU
vessels and an enhanced financial contribution for Mauritania. This will
benefit the development of the local fisheries sector. This deal is in line
with our guiding principle of achieving sustainable fisheries in third
country waters. We have agreed on new provisions which will ensure the
protection of fish resources in Mauritania, including a regular review of
the situation on the basis of the state of the fish resources", said
Commissioner Franz Fischler, responsible for Agriculture, Rural Development
and Fisheries. The EU financial contribution will be increased from euro
266.8 million to euro 430 million over the five years. Part of this
contribution will go to a number of targeted measures aimed at improving
the fisheries sector in Mauritania.
[04] Zoonoses : Commission puts forward proposals to combat food-borne
diseases like salmonella or E.coli
Diarrhoea, fever, headaches, vomiting - familiar symptoms for 166,000
people in the European Union who where infected with human salmonellosis in
1999. Salmonellosis is a serious illness and sometimes can even be fatal.
Salmonellosis is the most reported zoonotic disease in European countries.
Zoonoses are diseases or infections that can be transmitted from animals to
humans. Infection usually happens as a result of eating products of animal
origin. Salmonella can be found in a whole series of food products such as
raw eggs, poultry, pork, beef, other meat products and dairy products.
Salmonella is just one zoonotic agent: the "second most common" in humans,
campylobacter, is responsible for an additional 127.000 reported cases of
food-borne illness in the EU in 1999. The main symptom of campylobacter
infection is diarrhoea, but it can sometimes lead to a nerve disorder and
paralysis in rare cases. Most infections occur sporadically with a seasonal
peak in summer. Campylobacter infection is mainly found in chicken meat.
Listeria and E.coli are two other common infections caused by zoonotic
agents. Against this background the European Commission, on the initiative
of David Byrne, Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, has today
adopted a report and two proposals to review current legislation and to
improve the prevention and control of zoonoses. The report examines the
experience gained since the mid 1990s in combating zoonoses and concludes
that fundamental changes in the approach to monitoring and control are
necessary. To that end, the Commission proposes a new Directive obliging
Member States to put in place improved and better coordinated monitoring
systems. In addition the Commission proposes a Regulation on the control of
salmonella and other food-borne zoonotic agents. This Regulation sets out a
framework for pathogen reduction to reduce the occurrence of these
organisms by setting Community-wide targets for zoonotic agents in specific
animal populations, and possibly at other stages along the food chain. The
specific rules on the control of zoonoses will concern producers of
breeding poultry, laying hens, broilers, turkeys and breeding pigs in all
EU Member States.
[05] PCB waste : Commission takes further legal action against Germany and
Austria
The European Commission has decided to refer Germany to the Court of
Justice for failing to submit plans, guidelines and summaries concerning
PCB containing equipment, as required under the Polychlorinated Biphenyls
(PCB/PCT) Directive. The Commission also decided to send Austria a formal
request to do the same. The formal request takes the form of a so-called
"reasoned opinion", the second stage of formal infringement procedure under
Article 226 of the EC Treaty. In the absence of a satisfactory response to
the "reasoned opinion" within two months of receipt, the Commission may
decide to refer the Member States concerned to the Court of Justice.
[06] Shellfish waters : Commission requests Ireland to response with
specific programmes for safeguarding against pollution
The European Commission has decided to send a formal request to Ireland to
require and prepare anti-pollution programmes for waters designated for
shellfish in accordance the Shellfish Water Directive. The formal request
takes the form of a so-called "reasoned opinion", the second stage of the
infringement procedure under Article 226 of the EC Treaty. In the absence
of a satisfactory response within two months of receipt, the Commission may
decide to refer Ireland to the Court of Justice.
[07] Evaluation des incidences sur l'environnement : la Commission engage
des poursuites à l'encontre de l'Espagne, de l'Italie, du Royaume-Uni et
des Pays-Bas
La Commission européenne a décidé d'entamer des procédures d'infraction à
l'encontre de plusieurs Etats membres pour non-respect de la directive
communautaire concernant l'évaluation des incidences sur l'environnement.
L'Espagne est citée devant la Cour de Justice parce qu'elle n'a pas réalisé
d'évaluation des incidences sur l'environnement appropriée en ce qui
concerne la voie rapide Oviedo-Llanera. Elle va également recevoir des
demandes officielles relatives à ses manquements à l'obligation de réaliser
des évaluations appropriées pour un dépôt de déchets dangereux à l'aéroport
de Bilbao, pour un élevage de porcs à Vera dans la province d'Almeria et
pour une installation de mise en décharge à San Sebastian de la Gomera, aux
îles Canaries. Le Royaume-Uni va recevoir une demande officielle relative à
l'exécution d'une évaluation des incidences pour un grand complexe de
loisirs sur le site de Crystal Palace, à Londres, ainsi qu'à l'introduction
dans sa législation de dispositions concernant l'évaluation de certains
projets agricoles. L'Italie sera invitée, par demande officielle, à
procéder à l'évaluation des incidences d'un projet de construction de route
à Teramo (Abruzzes) ou à déterminer si une telle évaluation est nécessaire.
Enfin, les Pays-Bas recevront des demandes officielles relatives à des
lacunes dans leur législation nationale sur l'évaluation des incidences sur
l'environnement et à l'examen du bien-fondé d'une évaluation des incidences
sur l'environnement pour un projet de construction de digue à Sliedrecht.
Ces demandes officielles prendront la forme d'un "avis motivé", qui
constitue la deuxième étape de la procédure d'infraction prévue à l'article
226 du traité CE. Si les Etats membres concernés ne répondent pas de
manière appropriée dans un délai de deux mois à compter de la réception de
l'avis motivé, la Commission peut décider de les poursuivre devant la Cour
de Justice.
[08] Commission decides to refer the Netherlands to Court for failure to
apply Waste Shipment Regulation correctly
The European Commission has decided to refer the Netherlands to the Court
of Justice because of its incorrect application of the Waste Shipment
Regulation. In particular The Netherlands prohibits the export of wastes
for recovery (waste destined for facilities outside the Netherlands which
do not offer a higher level of treatment than that available in the
Netherlands), in violation of the Waste Shipments Regulation. The Waste
Shipment Regulation (259/93/EEC) requires that strict EU environmental
criteria be applied for the supervision and control of waste shipments into,
out of and within the EU. The aim is to ensure a high level of
environmental and human health protection, while at the same time
safeguarding rights under the internal market. The Waste Shipments
Regulation distinguishes between waste intended for disposal and waste
intended for recovery.
[09] EU support for flood damage reconstruction in Poland
Serious flooding has occurred in Poland over recent days, causing
considerable loss of life and damage to infrastructure and housing. The
Commission has expressed its sympathy for the plight of all who are
suffering from the consequences of this flooding. Yesterday, European
Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen stated that he proposes that the
additional sum of euro 15 million from the EU PHARE pre-accession funds be
used towards a flood damage reconstruction programme for Poland.
[10] Consultation en ligne préalable à la révision de la législation sur
les détergents de l'UE
La direction générale Entreprises de la Commission européenne lance une
consultation Internet destinée à recevoir les commentaires des parties
intéressées sur un document de travail portant révision de la législation
sur les détergents de l'Union européenne. Toutes les parties intéressées, y
compris le grand public, sont invitées à se prononcer, pour le 15 septembre
2001 au plus tard, sur le projet de texte et sur l'évaluation préliminaire
de l'impact sur les entreprises.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
|
