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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-03-08
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Anna Diamantopoulou chairs the Commission's conference on
international women's day dedicated to Muslim Women
[02] Romano Prodi met with Boris Trajkovski
[03] Romano Prodi met with Siim Kallas
[04] Commission clears KPN's acquisition of sole control over E-Plus
[05] A statistical panorama on distributive trades in Europe - significant
structural differences between Member States
[06] Commission approves €27 million humanitarian aid package for refugees
in Tanzania
[07] Philippines : Commission adopts framework for cooperation (Country
Strategy Paper)
[08] Forum sur les compétences au 21ème siècle rencontre entre Viviane
Reding, Gerhard Schröder et José Maria Aznar à Berlin
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 08/03/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 08/03/2002
[01] Anna Diamantopoulou chairs the Commission's conference on
international women's day dedicated to Muslim Women
European Equal Opportunities Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou will chair
the Commission's annual conference on international women's day dedicated
to "Muslim Women in Europe: voices to be heard in the intercultural
dialogue" today at 12h30. She will stress : "Today we have chosen to focus
on Muslim women in Europe ; their contribution to our society, and the
barriers many of them face on a daily basis - from stereotyping, to
harassment, to violence and abuse. Muslim women face all too often the dual
barriers of racism, because of their faith and ethnicity, and sexism,
because of their gender. If we are to make a real difference, fear and
suspicion must give way to dialogue and trust ; discrimination and
hostility to equality and respect. Upholding and defending these democratic
principles and values, especially equality between the sexes, upon which
the European Union is based, is a shared responsibility : Muslim
communities, public authorities, the media and all of civil society have
their part to play. Let the dialogue now begin."
[02] Romano Prodi met with Boris Trajkovski
The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, yesterday met with
Boris Trajkovski, President of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
in Brussels. The discussions concentrated on the situation in the country
and the Balkan region. They also talked about the forthcoming Donors'
Meeting (12 March in Brussels), the ratification process of the Stability
and Association Agreement and the possibility to increase student exchange
between the EU and the former Yugoslav Republic Macedonia.
[03] Romano Prodi met with Siim Kallas
The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, yesterday met with
Mr Siim Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia, in Brussels. Their talks
concentrated on the enlargement negotiations.
[04] Commission clears KPN's acquisition of sole control over E-Plus
The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition by Dutch
telecommunications operator KPN of sole control over Germany's third
largest mobile phone operator E-Plus. The Commission has found that the
transaction would not raise any competition concerns in either the German
or Dutch mobile telephony markets or in any other related markets.
[05] A statistical panorama on distributive trades in Europe - significant
structural differences between Member States
According to a comprehensive study on the European distribution sector,
published today by Eurostat, with around 5 million enterprises in the EU
and more than 22 million people employed in 1999, the distributive trades
sector plays an important role in the economy. In the EU, the distributive
trades accounted for about 13% of total value added in 1997 and employed
nearly 16% of total employment. In 1999, retail trade accounted for almost
60% of all businesses in the distributive trades, half of all jobs, and
around 30% of total turnover. Wholesale trade represented 27% of all
businesses, one third of total employment but was the most important
activity with regard to turnover (around 55% of the total). The third sub-
sector, motor trade, occupied a smaller share : 13% for the number of
businesses, 15% for employment and 16% for turnover.
[06] Commission approves €27 million humanitarian aid package for refugees
in Tanzania
The European Commission, through its Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), has
adopted a Global Plan for 2002 worth €27 million in humanitarian assistance
for refugee populations in Tanzania. The funds will support a range of
activities including food aid, logistics, water/sanitation, health,
nutrition, shelter and protection. The new decision helps to ensure the
continuation of the care and maintenance operation in the refugee camps of
Western Tanzania, implemented by ECHO's UN, Red Cross and NGO partners.
Tanzania continues to host almost half a million people who have fled from
conflict in neighbouring countries. This is one of the largest refugee
caseloads in the world. The majority of the refugees come from Burundi
(more than 350,000) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (almost 120,000).
The EU is one of the largest contributors to the refugee crisis in
Tanzania. ECHO, which comes under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul
Nielson, has channelled more than €90 million in humanitarian assistance to
Tanzania since 1998.
[07] Philippines : Commission adopts framework for cooperation (Country
Strategy Paper)
On 7th March 2002, the European Commission adopted a the Country Strategy
Paper for the Philippines, which sets out a five year strategy for its
financial assistance to the Philippines. At the same time, it announced
that over the next three years, 2002-2004, an indicative sum of €51 million
has been earmarked for the Philippines to finance this strategy. The paper
has been prepared in consultation with the Government of the Philippines
and EU Member States.
[08] Forum sur les compétences au 21ème siècle rencontre entre Viviane
Reding, Gerhard Schröder et José Maria Aznar à Berlin
A l'occasion du Sommet sur les compétences au 21ème siècle, organisé hier
et aujourd'hui à Berlin par la Fondation Bertelsmann, Viviane Reding,
Commissaire européenne en charge de l'Education et de la Culture, s'est
entretenue avec le chancelier allemand et le Premier ministre espagnol de
thèmes qui seront à l'agenda du Conseil européen de Barcelone la semaine
prochaine.
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Note sur la préparation du Conseil Recherche
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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