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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 01-11-30
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
Midday Express 30/11/2001
[01] Recasting of the Financial Regulation on good track
European Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer welcomed the European
Parliament's adoption of a formal opinion on the recasting of the Financial
Regulation with an overwhelming majority of 462 votes in favour. "The
recasting of the financial regulation is without any doubt one of the most
important pieces of legislation in the reform process of the financial
management. I am pleased to see our efforts endorsed by the European
Parliament. Now comes the Council's turn. I feel encouraged by the clear
intentions expressed by the forthcoming Spanish presidency. Our goal, to
have a modern management tool for the European Budget adopted in 2002 and
enter into force in 2003, is now, more than ever, achievable." The draft
Regulation is designed primarily to simplify and reorganise the Financial
Regulation by setting out in a single legal instrument all the principles
and basic rules concerning the establishment, the implementation and the
control of the EU budget. It aims at translating budget commitments faster
into concrete projects and creates 'sunset clauses'. It transposes the
Directives on public procurement into the Financial Regulation. It
reinforces the financial responsibility of financial actors.
[02] Lutte contre le dopage : l'UE prend les devants
A la veille du la réunion du Conseil de Fondation de l'Agence mondiale anti-
dopage (AMA), qui se tiendra à Lausanne lundi prochain, la Commission
européenne a sélectionné 16 nouveaux projets pilotes pour une valeur de 2,5
millions d'euros, en faveur de la promotion de la lutte contre le dopage.
Ces 16 projets s'ajoutent aux trois projets annoncés en août dernier,
financés par la Commission et pris en charge par l'AMA. Outre ces 16
projets sélectionnés, la Commission a reçu les conclusions de trois études
relatives aux questions du dopage.
[03] Pre-accession farm aid for Lithuania : go-ahead payments for euro 30.3
million Sapard programme
The European Commission has today decided to confer the management of
Sapard aid to the Lithuanian authorities, enabling Lithuania to commence
the implementation of its Sapard programme. Under this scheme, Lithuania
will now be entitled to euro 30.3 million annually. Payment of the first
advance can now be made (maximum 49% of the annual amount). Lithuania is
the fourth candidate country to move into the operational stage of the
innovative Sapard initiative. This first decision on the provisional
conferral of management of aid covers the four main measures of the
Lithuanian Sapard programme : investments in agricultural holdings ;
improving the processing and marketing of agricultural and fisheries
products ; development and diversification of economic activities providing
for multiple activities and alternative income ; improvement of rural
infrastructure and Vocational Training.
[04] World AIDS Day : "Following important progress in Doha, further action
on access to medicines is needed", says Pascal Lamy
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy marked World AIDS Day (1 December)
by pledging that the Commission would continue to do all in its power to
make sure that safe, affordable drugs are available to all who need them in
the struggle to combat HIV/AIDS and other killer diseases, especially in
the world's poorer countries.
[05] Commission clears change from joint to sole control of ECT, subject to
conditions
The European Commission has approved, subject to conditions, an operation
by which Hutchison Whampoa Limited Group (Hong-Kong) will acquire sole
control of the Rotterdam container terminal operator Europe Combined
Terminals BV (ECT). As initially notified, the operation would have led to
the creation of a dominant position on the market for the provision in
Northern Europe of stevedoring services for transhipment traffic carried by
deep-sea container vessels. However, the parties have offered undertakings
which will enable significant competition to emerge on the relevant market.
[06] Philippe Busquin participe au débat sur la génétique humaine au
Parlement européen
Lors du débat du 29 novembre au Parlement européen sur le rapport de sa
commission temporaire sur la génétique humaine présenté par le rapporteur
Francesco Fiori, le Commissaire européen à la Recherche Philippe Busquin a
clarifié la position de la Commission sur les grandes questions liées à la
génétique humaine : la recherche sur les cellules souches et le clonage, la
brevetabilité des inventions biotechnologiques, les tests génétiques, la
production de médicaments basés sur la génétique et l'utilisation des
données personnelles liées à l'analyse des génomes. En matière de
brevetabilité des inventions biotechnologiques, M. Busquin a fortement
insisté sur l'importance de la transposition de la directive 98/44 par tous
les Etats Membres et de son application effective. Pour préparer les
rapports annuels au Parlement et au Conseil sur la directive, la Commission
envisage la mise en place d'un groupe d'experts scientifiques et juridiques
qui pourront en clarifier certains aspects. M. Busquin a fait état de sa
déception quant au manque de progrès dans l'adoption d'un brevet
communautaire. Concernant le financement de la recherche sur les cellules
souches embryonnaires, M. Busquin a rappelé que sa position est de ne pas
accorder un financement communautaire de telles recherches si elles
conduisent à la production d'embryons humains aux seules fins de la
recherche ou de la production de cellules souches.
[07] David Byrne se félicite de l'adoption, par le Conseil, de limites
concernant la présence de dioxines dans l'alimentation humaine
David Byrne, Commissaire européen chargé de la Santé et de la Protection
des consommateurs, s'est félicité hier de l'adoption par le Conseil d'un
règlement fixant des limites juridiquement contraignantes concernant la
présence de dioxines et d'autres contaminants dans l'alimentation humaine.
Toute denrée alimentaire dépassant ces limites strictes est exclue de la
chaîne alimentaire. Les mesures portant sur l'alimentation humaine
constituent un élément clé de la stratégie d'ensemble présentée par la
Commission afin d'améliorer la sécurité des denrées alimentaires et des
aliments pour animaux, en réponse aux problèmes de contamination par la
dioxine rencontrés par le passé. M. Byrne a remercié la présidence belge,
dont les efforts ont permis d'aboutir à un accord rapide sur la proposition
présentée par la Commission en juillet dernier. Une proposition équivalente
fixant des teneurs maximales dans les aliments pour animaux a été adoptée
mardi par le Conseil (IP/01/1670).
[08] Nouveau programme Euromed Jeunesse pour renforcer le dialogue entre
les cultures
La Commission européenne a adopté le programme Euromed Jeunesse II d'une
durée de trois ans (2002-2004) avec un budget en augmentation de 40% par
rapport à Euromed Jeunesse I (1999-2001). Ce programme d'échanges de jeunes
et d'actions de volontariat et de formation s'adresse aux jeunes des Etats
membres de l'UE et de pays du bassin méditerranéen (Algérie, Chypre, Egypte,
Israël, Jordanie, Liban, Malte, Maroc, Palestine, Syrie, Tunisie et
Turquie).
[09] Commission publishes first survey on eGovernment services in Europe
The European Commission today released a study on online public services.
For the first time, the availability of basic public services on the
Internet has been measured in all Member States. According to the survey,
Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the United Kingdom and Portugal
are demonstrating particularly good results. The results of the survey vary
depending on the type of service offered. A representative sample of 7,400
websites of national, regional and local authorities was surveyed to find
out where the EU - and individual Member States - stand in the development
of electronic public services. The report was released during the
conference "eGovernment from policy to practice" organised by the
Commission and the Belgian Presidency (see IP/01/1456).
[10] Ministerial declaration : eGovernment - a priority for Europe
Ministers and State Secretaries from 28 countries spanning the EU, EFTA and
countries in accession negotiations with the EU today declared that higher
priority should be given to eGovernment issues in promoting the development
of a European Information Society focused on growth, employment and quality
of life. The declaration was unanimously agreed at a ministerial meeting
which took place in the framework of the eGovernment conference, on
November 29.This was chaired by Minister Rik Daems of the Belgian
Presidency, in the presence of Erkki Liikanen, European Commissioner for
Enterprise and the Information Society. The declaration recognises service-
oriented, reliable and innovative government at all levels as being
essential to the development of a dynamic, productive and democratic
European society. Implementing eGovernment - one of the key themes of the
eEurope Action Plan 2002 is therefore crucial. The Ministers reiterated
their commitment to pursuing a long-term vision with clear and measurable
objectives.
[11] EU launches "eGovernment Awards"
The European Commission's new "eEurope Awards for Innovation in
eGovernment" aims to highlight and promote the efforts made by European
national, regional and local administrations in using Information Society
Technologies to improve the quality and accessibility of their public
services. Its launch follows the success of the "eGovernment label". This
was recently awarded to 60 online services submitted by administrations for
inclusion within "eGovernment: From Policy to Practice", a conference and
exhibition organised jointly on November 29-30 by the Commission and the EU
Belgian Presidency. Almost 300 submissions were received from
administrations around Europe. As its name suggests, the new Award is a
concrete expression of the eEurope Action Plan 2002. "The Award will be a
significant driving force for identifying and promoting excellence and
creativity in the public sector and for supporting the mutual recognition
and adoption of best practices", said Erkki Liikanen, Commissioner for the
Information Society, as he announced the Award at the eGovernment
conference in Brussels today.
[12] Pascal Lamy in China on 3-4 December to usher in a new era in EU-China
trade relations following China's accession to WTO
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will visit Shanghai and Beijing on
3 and 4 December at the invitation of his counterpart, Chinese Trade
Minister Shi Guangsheng. They will meet in order to further develop the
close co-operation in global trade matters established with China during
the WTO accession negotiations, following the decision of the Doha
Development Agenda (DDA). They will also focus on the economic and
legislative reforms carried out by China in the context of its WTO
accession. On the eve of his departure for China, Mr Lamy said : "In the
past two years I have established an excellent working relationship with my
friend Shi Guangsheng and we look forward to building on this as we welcome
China into the WTO. The EU will continue to work hand-in-hand with China in
the critical phase of implementing its WTO commitments. We will discuss how
best we can support China in this process. I look forward to returning to
Beijing and to my first visit to Shanghai, to see first-hand the dynamism
and enormous potential of the Chinese economy."
[13] Autre matériel diffusé
Note sur les Fonds structurels et la rencontre entre MM. Barnier et
Tremonti
Speech by Franz Fischler : "Die Slowakei und die EU von der Nachbarschaft
zur Partnerschaft" ath the '2001 Europa Einheit in Vielfalt' Conference
(29/11, Bratislava)
Speech by David Byrne : "Animal welfare : Higher standards show their
merits" au EuroGroup for Animal Welfare
EU Response to the 11 September Latest update on European Commission action
Calendrier du 3 au 9 décembre 2001
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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