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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-04-29

Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>


CONTENTS / CONTENU

  • [01] L'UE atteint l'objectif de stabilisation des émissions de gaz à effet de serre en 2000
  • [02] Commission clears RWE stake in Italian power generation company Elettra
  • [03] Commission clears acquisition of Gardena by Industri Kapital 2000
  • [04] Fourth quarter of 2001 - EU15 current account surplus €6.8 billion ; €1.4 billion surplus on trade in services
  • [05] TVA : procédure d'infraction contre l'Italie pour retards de remboursement
  • [06] Humanitarian aid : Commission adopts decisions granting almost €12 million
  • [07] EU and Angola agree on 3-month extension to fisheries agreement
  • [08] Frits Bolkestein underlines advantages of EU-wide consolidated tax base for companies
  • [09] Autre matériel diffusé Midday Express 29/04/2002 TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 29/04/2002

  • [01] L'UE atteint l'objectif de stabilisation des émissions de gaz à effet de serre en 2000

    L'Agence européenne de l'environnement a publié aujourd'hui les chiffres relatifs aux émissions de gaz à effet de serre de l'Union européenne pour l'année 2002. Ces chiffres indiquent que l'UE a rempli l'engagement auquel elle avait souscrit dans le cadre de la convention-cadre des Nations Unies sur les changements climatiques, de stabiliser pour l'an 2000 ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre. En 2000, les émissions dans l'UE ont été inférieures de 3,5 % au niveau de l'année de référence 1990. Mme Margot Wallström, commissaire chargée de l'environnement, s'est félicitée du rapport : "C'est une excellente nouvelle. Le rapport montre également que l'UE a progressé vers l'objectif d'une diminution de 8% que nous nous sommes fixé à Kyoto. Il est cependant préoccupant de constater, a-t-elle toutefois ajouté, que les émissions ont légèrement augmenté entre 1999 et 2000 - il nous faudra à nouveau inverser cette tendance. De nombreux Etats membres doivent encore fournir de gros efforts pour réduire leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre."

    [02] Commission clears RWE stake in Italian power generation company Elettra

    The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation to the acquisition by RWE Power AG of Germany of a 25-percent stake in Italian electricity generation company Elettra GLL S.p.A. from Italian company Lucchini S.p.A. As a result Elettra will be jointly controlled by RWE Power and Lucchini. (The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure)

    [03] Commission clears acquisition of Gardena by Industri Kapital 2000

    The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation to the acquisition of German garden equipment and systems maker Gardena Holding AG by the Industri Kapital 2000 Ltd, a venture capital firm incorporated in the Channel Islands. (The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure)

    [04] Fourth quarter of 2001 - EU15 current account surplus €6.8 billion ; €1.4 billion surplus on trade in services

    (! embargo 12 am !) According to the latest revisions issued today by Eurostat, the EU15 external current account recorded a surplus of €6.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001, as compared with a deficit of €20.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2000 and a surplus of €1.6 billion in the third quarter of 2001. In the fourth quarter of 2001 the EU15 external balance of trade in services recorded a surplus of €1.4 billion as compared with a deficit of €1.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2000 and a surplus of €2.9 billion in the third quarter of 2001. In 2001 as a whole, the EU15 current account registered a deficit of €15.6 billion, compared with a deficit of €65.4 billion in 2000. The balance of trade in services experienced a surplus of €7.3 billion in 2001, compared to a surplus of €5.6 billion in 2000.

    [05] TVA : procédure d'infraction contre l'Italie pour retards de remboursement

    La Commission européenne a décidé d'adresser à la République italienne une demande formelle de changer sa pratique administrative en ce qui concerne le remboursement de la TVA aux assujettis non établis en Italie. Ces remboursements sont actuellement effectués avec des retards considérables. La Commission estime que cette pratique n'est pas compatible avec la huitième directive relative au système commun de la TVA. La demande est sous forme d'un avis motivé, la deuxième étape de la procédure d'infraction prévue par l'article 226 du traité CE. En l'absence d'une réaction satisfaisante à l'avis motivé endéans les deux mois, la Commission pourrait saisir la Cour de justice.

    [06] Humanitarian aid : Commission adopts decisions granting almost €12 million

    The European Commission has taken five humanitarian aid decisions concerning Laos, Burkina Faso, ECHO Flight operations, Somali refugees and Burmese refugees. The assistance is channelled through its Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), which comes under the authority of Commissioner Poul Nielson.

    [07] EU and Angola agree on 3-month extension to fisheries agreement

    The EU and Angola have agreed to extend the current protocol to their fisheries agreement by three months. This protocol, due to end on 2 May 2002, will now run till 2 August 2002. The two parties have agreed to meet for a second round of negotiations on 3-5 June 2002 in Luanda. This agreement, which was concluded in 1987, concerns mainly fishing possibilities for shrimps but also allows for some tuna, demersal (species living near the sea bed) and pelagic (mid-water) fishing. Vessels operating under this agreement come from Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Ireland. The current annual financial compensation amounts to €13,975,000. Some 29% of this amount (€4,025,000) was earmarked for scientific and technical programmes and training in Angola's fishing sector.

    [08] Frits Bolkestein underlines advantages of EU-wide consolidated tax base for companies

    "Without determined action on the tax front, the EU will fail to achieve its self-imposed objective of becoming, in this decade, 'the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world'", said European Taxation Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, opening the European Company Tax Conference hosted by the Commission in Brussels on 29 and 30 April. He underlined that only the concept of a common consolidated tax base, as suggested in the Commission's October 2001 Company Tax Communication, "ultimately provides an answer to the challenges of company tax systems in the EU today. The Commission therefore believes that companies with cross-border and international activities within the EU should in future be allowed to compute the income of the entire group according to one set of rules and establish consolidated accounts for fiscal purposes, thus eliminating the potential fiscal effects of purely internal transactions within the group". The advantages of a consolidated corporate tax base for EU-wide company activities, the Commissioner explained, include significantly reduced compliance costs, elimination of most transfer pricing problems, the possibility for companies to consolidate profits and losses on an EU-wide basis, elimination of many double-taxation problems and the removal of many other forms of discrimination.

    [09] Autre matériel diffusé

    Speech by Romano Prodi : "The EU, the UK and the World" at the Saïd Business School (Oxford, ! embargo 4 pm

    From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
    © ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996


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