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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 01-11-19
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
Midday Express 19/11/2001
[01] Internal Market Scoreboard reveals some progress on implementation but
many infringements
For the first time the average percentage of Internal Market Directives not
yet implemented in national law (i.e. the implementation deficit) has
shrunk to 2.0% in the EU, according to the latest Internal Market
Scoreboard. Five Member States (Finland, Denmark, Sweden the Netherlands
and Spain) already meet the European Council's target of an implementation
deficit of less than 1.5%. Finland has the best performance of all Member
States, whereas France and Greece are together in last position. This
positive trend is marred by a large number of Internal Market infringement
proceedings, about 1500. France, Italy and Germany are together responsible
for nearly 40% of all these infringement cases, while Ireland, Belgium and
Greece account for a disproportionate number of infringements in relation
to their size. The Scoreboard also features the results of a Europe-wide
survey of 4000 companies about the quality of the regulatory environment.
The survey shows that most companies find national and Community rules
overly complicated and burdensome. It is estimated that at least euro 50
billion could be saved with better quality regulation. As for
implementation of the Internal Market Strategy, 37% of target actions due
by the end of 2001 to improve the functioning of the Internal Market are
not expected to be achieved on time, according to the Scoreboard.
[02] Livre Blanc Transports : la Commission organise une grande journée-
débat le 27 novembre 2001
Le Livre Blanc sur "la politique européenne des transports à l'horizon
2010", adopté par la Commission européenne le 12 septembre dernier, a
ouvert un vaste débat dans toute l'UE sur l'avenir des transports en Europe,
en faisant un bilan de la situation actuelle et en proposant les stratégies
pour maintenir un système de transports compétitif et durable. Dans le
cadre de ce débat, la Direction Générale de l'Energie et des Transports
organise à Bruxelles le 27 novembre 2001 une rencontre de haut niveau avec
les acteurs clés du monde du transport. Cette journée est placée sous les
auspices de Loyola de Palacio, vice-présidente de la Commission, en charge
des Transports et de l'Energie, et de Isabelle Durant, Vice-première
Ministre belge et présidente en exercice du Conseil Transports.
[03] Commission allocates euro 500,000 for assistance to the victims of the
conflict in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
The European Commission has allocated euro 500,000 to help provide basic
winter assistance to internally displaced people (IDPs) and returnee
families in FYROM. The project implemented by the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) will ensure the provision of firewood to
the most vulnerable IDPs and families through the winter. The distribution
of firewood to the beneficiaries will start in the next few weeks. The
return of many people to their homes in the previous conflict areas is an
encouraging trend. Many IDPs in FYROM and refugees in Kosovo are, however,
unlikely to return before spring. The aid is channelled via the
Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) which comes under the responsibility of
Commissioner Poul Nielson. This decision complements ECHO's assistance to
the victims of the conflict, mainly made up of food assistance, emergency
rehabilitation of schools and health facilities and distribution of non
food items. In addition to humanitarian assistance, the Commission is
implementing a housing reconstruction programme. Since the beginning of
2001, euro 4.9 million has been made available to implement a wide range of
humanitarian actions targeting refugees, displaced people and the
vulnerable host population in FYROM. In addition, euro 1.5 million of
emergency assistance was allocated in support of the Macedonian refugees in
Kosovo.
[04] Statement by Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development and
Humanitarian Aid (17/11)
"I warmly welcome the decision by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to
appoint the head of the UN Development Programme, Mark Malloch-Brown, to
lead the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. This decision by the UN
bodes well for smooth and constructive coordination amongst the different
donors. The European Commission looks forward to working quickly and
closely with the United Nations, World Bank and donor organisations on this
huge challenge. Just as the the immediate humanitarian emergency is best
organised by mobilising a broad based effort of the international community,
so the Commission also supports a strong co-ordinating role for the UN in
the reconstruction and development task in Afghanistan."
[05] Pascal Lamy visits India and Bangladesh (20-24 November)
European Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy, will start an official four-day
visit to India and Bangladesh on the 20th November. In Bangladesh, in
addition to contacts with the government, he will attend the seminar on the
Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative in favour of Least Developed Countries
(LDC) to underline how Bangladesh stands to benefit. Mr Lamy will then fly
to India for his second visit as Trade Commissioner. He will take part in
the second EU-India Summit (November 23) and the EU-India Business Summit
(November 22), he will meet Indian Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran, top Indian businessmen and
leaders of civil society. Mr Lamy will stress the importance the EU
attaches to its partnership with India. The EU is India's principle trading
partner and biggest investor. Recently back from the launch of the WTO
'Doha Development Agenda' (DDA) in Qatar, Mr Lamy said : "The timing of
this visit cannot be better. India and the EU were key players in Qatar.
Doha delivered concrete and tangible benefits to India in areas such as
trade and development, TRIPS and public health. We look forward to working
hand-in-hand to improve our trading relationship, bilaterally and in the
WTO."
[06] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Frits Bolkestein : ""The EU's economic test: meeting the
challenges of the Lisbon strategy" at the 17th Annual State of the
International Economy Conference, organised by the Institute of Economic
Affairs (London, ! embargo 3 pm !)
Speech by Margot Wallström at the GMO Stakeholder Conference
Discours de M. Fischler : "Neues Vertrauen in die grüne Forschung ?" au
Internationaler Kongress - Universität für Bodenkultur (18/11, Vienne)
Note sur la préparation du Conseil Agriculture
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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