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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-07-18

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] La Commission propose de dynamiser la coopération énergétique avec les pays en développement
  • [02] Sustainable fisheries policy : €32 million for the reduction of the fishing fleet
  • [03] VAT / road infrastructure : infringement proceedings against the United Kingdom for failure to implement a Court of Justice ruling
  • [04] Libre circulation des services : la Commission demande à la Belgique de modifier les conditions de remboursement des analyses médicales
  • [II] Other news - Autres nouvelles

  • [05] Food : Commission proposes EU-wide safety assessment and authorisation of smoke flavourings
  • [06] La Commission adopte de nouvelles règles d'étiquetage pour la caféine et la quinine
  • [07] BSE : export rules under the Date-Based Export Scheme changed
  • [08] Coques des navires : interdiction des composés antisalissures à partir de 2003
  • [09] La Commission lance un débat sur un code de bonnes pratiques concernant les engagements de cession dans les affaires de concentration
  • [10] June 2002 - Euro-denominated bond markets
  • [11] Commission allocates €1.75 million in humanitarian aid for Eritrea
  • [12] "Paying farmers for what society wants" - Franz Fischler presents CAP review in the UK
  • [13] "Danish farmers to benefit from competitive farm sector", says Franz Fischler presenting CAP mid-term review in Denmark
  • [14] Autre matériel diffusé Midday Express 18/07/2002 TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 18/07/2002[I] Résultats de la Commission du 17 juillet 2002 - Outcome of Commission meeting of 17 July 2002 (voir aussi see also ME of 17/07)

  • [01] La Commission propose de dynamiser la coopération énergétique avec les pays en développement

    A quelques semaines de l'ouverture du Sommet de Johannesburg sur le développement durable, la Commission européenne a proposé des recommandations concrètes pour dynamiser la coopération énergétique avec les pays en développement. L'initiative de l'UE pour l'énergie, qui sera présentée à Johannesburg, est au coeur de ces propositions. "Il est primordial que l'énergie occupe sa place dans la coopération au développement, reflétant son rôle central dans les trois dimensions du développement durable : la dimension économique de sécurité d'approvisionnement, la dimension sociale de lutte contre la pauvreté et la dimension environnementale", a déclaré Loyola de Palacio, vice-présidente en charge de l'Energie et des Transports. "La consommation énergétique de l'Afrique est surtout fondée sur le bois, ramassé à la main et transporté sur d'importantes distances, entraînant davantage de déforestation, de désertification et de pauvreté. Si des alternatives efficaces ne sont pas développées, l'énergie sera un frein majeur à la croissance économique et au développement durable en Afrique", a ajouté Poul Nielson, Commissaire au Développement.

    [02] Sustainable fisheries policy : €32 million for the reduction of the fishing fleet

    The European Commission has approved an amending letter n°1 to its preliminary draft budget 2003 covering an amount of €32 million for an EU measure for scrapping fishing vessels. It is an important part of the major review of the Common Fisheries Policy proposed by the Commission on the 28th of May 2002 and now under consideration in the Council. This amending letter confirms the intention of the Commission to provide for the financial needs deemed necessary for implementing this ambitious reform aimed at a fishing fleet whose capacity is in line with available resources and safeguarding the future of the sector. Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer said : "The overall objective of the fishery reform is to develop sustainable fishing activities, by adjusting fishing capacities to sustainable stocks. To this end a supplementary contribution of €32 million in the year 2003 will help to launch this fundamental change of policy which also aims at protecting natural resources for future generations."

    [03] VAT / road infrastructure : infringement proceedings against the United Kingdom for failure to implement a Court of Justice ruling

    The European Commission has decided to send the United Kingdom a formal request to take measures to comply with the Court of Justice ruling issued on 12 September 2000 on VAT on road tolls. The formal request is in the form of a reasoned opinion, the second stage in the procedure laid down in Article 228 of the EC Treaty, applicable where a Member State fails to notify the measures taken to comply with a Court of Justice ruling. If there is no satisfactory response to the reasoned opinion within two months, the Commission may refer the case to the European Court of Justice and ask it to impose daily penalties on the Member State.

    [04] Libre circulation des services : la Commission demande à la Belgique de modifier les conditions de remboursement des analyses médicales

    La Commission européenne a décidé de demander formellement à la Belgique de modifier certaines dispositions de l'arrêté royal n° 143 du 30 décembre 1982, qui ont pour effet que les opérateurs non-belges souhaitant gérer des laboratoires d'analyses de biologie clinique en Belgique et s'y établir sont désavantagés par rapport à certains professionnels belges. En particulier, le fait que seuls les laboratoires répondant aux conditions restrictives préconisées par ledit arrêté royal puissent effectuer des prestations remboursables par le système d'assurance maladie décourage les assurés sociaux de s'adresser aux laboratoires ne répondant pas à ces conditions, et restreint de ce fait l'effectivité de la liberté d'établissement, en contravention à l'article 43 du Traité CE. La demande de la Commission sera adressée sous forme d'avis motivé, la deuxième étape de la procédure d'infraction prévue à l'article 226 du Traité CE. En l'absence d'une réponse satisfaisante dans les deux mois suivant la réception de l'avis motivé, la Commission pourrait décider de traduire la Belgique devant la Cour de Justice européenne.

    [II] Other news - Autres nouvelles

    [05] Food : Commission proposes EU-wide safety assessment and authorisation of smoke flavourings

    The European Commission has acted to safeguard public health by proposing new procedures for the safety assessment and authorisation of 'smoke' flavourings. A smoky flavour is attributed to a lot of products, from smoked ham to smoked salmon. Smoke flavourings are often used instead of fresh smoke to impart a smoky flavour to foods such as meat, fish or snacks. The chemical composition of smoke is complex and smoked foods in general give rise to health concerns. Smoke flavourings are produced by condensing fresh smoke in water. The condensed smoke is then fractionated and purified during the production of smoke flavourings. Because of this purification process, the use of smoke flavourings is generally considered to be of less health concern than the traditional smoking process.

    [06] La Commission adopte de nouvelles règles d'étiquetage pour la caféine et la quinine

    La Commission européenne a adopté aujourd'hui de nouvelles règles d'étiquetage en faveur des consommateurs qui évitent les boissons et les aliments contenant de la caféine ou de la quinine, ou présentant une teneur élevée en caféine. Alors que la consommation de faibles quantités de caféine ou de quinine ne présente généralement aucun risque pour la santé de la plupart des consommateurs, ces substances peuvent entraîner chez certaines personnes des effets néfastes, même si elles ont été absorbées en quantités infimes. Grâce à la nouvelle réglementation, les consommateurs seront avertis de la présence de ces substances et, dans le cas de la caféine, du dépassement d'un certain seuil.

    [07] BSE : export rules under the Date-Based Export Scheme changed

    The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health voted in favour of a European Commission proposal changing the rules for the dispatch from the United Kingdom of bovine products under the Date-Based Export Scheme (DBES). Under the existing rules slaughterhouses and processing plants operating under the scheme cannot be used for the slaughter or processing of non-DBES eligible animals and only deboned meat can be exported. The proposal removes the requirement for dedication of slaughterhouses and processing plants. Companies participating in the export scheme will also be authorised to slaughter and process DBES ineligible bovine animals provided that adequate separation arrangements are in place. The proposal also foresees authorising the export of bovine embryos and removes the requirement for DBES beef from animals between 6 and 9 months to be deboned. The new rules will enter into force after formal adoption by the Commission.

    [08] Coques des navires : interdiction des composés antisalissures à partir de 2003

    A compter du 1er janvier 2003, il sera interdit d'appliquer certaines peintures contenant des composés à base d'étain sur les coques des navires de fort tonnage. L'emploi de ces produits sur les navires de moins de 25 mètres est déjà interdit depuis l'an 2000. Cette mesure de précaution s'appuie sur des informations largement acceptées mettant en lumière des risques pour l'environnement aquatique et suscitant des préoccupations en ce qui concerne la chaîne alimentaire ; elle complète des propositions récentes de la Commission européenne visant à interdire aux navires battant pavillon d'un Etat membre qui sont traités avec ces composés d'entrer dans les ports de l'UE ou d'en sortir (cf. IP/02/1045).

    [09] La Commission lance un débat sur un code de bonnes pratiques concernant les engagements de cession dans les affaires de concentration

    La Commission européenne a publié à des fins de consultation un projet de modèles types pour les engagements de cession proposés par les parties à une concentration dans les cas qui soulèvent des problèmes de concurrence. Ces modèles types - engagements de cession et mandats des personnes chargées de veiller à leur exécution -, doivent constituer un code de bonnes pratiques destiné à faciliter les relations des parties à la concentration et de leurs représentants avec la Commission.

    [10] June 2002 - Euro-denominated bond markets

    The discovery of accounting fraud at WorldCom shook investors' confidence in the health of the US business sector and in the prospects for a dynamic US recovery in the coming months. The resulting flight out of equities into the comparable safety of government bonds shifted the euro yield curve significantly downward over the whole maturity spectrum, with a slight steepening of the yield curve toward the end of the month. Total bond issuance decreased from about €138 billion in May to €113 billion in June. Although this pattern is not unusual, mainly reflecting the end of government bond front-loading in the first two quarters, issuance was sharply lower than in June 2001. The composition of issuance in terms of issuer categories does not seem to reflect the full extent of investors' risk aversion, which has been indicated by the evolution in credit risk derivatives (strong increase in activity and short-term credit risk premiums). Full document available on : http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/bondmarkets_en.htm

    [11] Commission allocates €1.75 million in humanitarian aid for Eritrea

    The European Commission has announced a further allocation of €1.75 million for humanitarian operations in Eritrea. The funds are being channelled through the Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) which comes under the authority of Commissioner Poul Nielson.

    [12] "Paying farmers for what society wants" - Franz Fischler presents CAP review in the UK

    Presenting yesterday the European Commission's CAP mid-term review proposals, Franz Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, said that 80% of the citizens in the United Kingdom want the EU farm policy to ensure safe food and a healthy environment. But only less than one third of those surveyed in the UK think that the existing CAP achieves these goals. Mr Fischler rejected criticism that the capping of EU aids at a level of €300,000 would place larger farms at a competitive disadvantage. "We want to set a limit to public support going to a single farm. Under the current system single landowners or farms can receive millions of euros of public support every year. This clearly is a matter of social acceptability. Capping farm aids is also justifiable on the ground that large farms would be able to benefit from economies of scale and of course from our new quality programmes. Similar limits by the way exist also in other countries, even in the United States, hardly a country known for its zeal to disadvantage the biggest of the big farmers", he said.

    [13] "Danish farmers to benefit from competitive farm sector", says Franz Fischler presenting CAP mid-term review in Denmark

    Presenting the European Commission's CAP mid-term review proposals in Denmark today, Franz Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, said that changing the Common Agricultural policy was in the interest of Danish farmers. "With a surplus of €5 billion the Danish agricultural trade balance is clearly positive. This clearly shows how important it is to have a competitive farm sector in the future. To achieve this, the CAP has to be changed, so that Danish farmers are freed from tedious paperwork and are allowed to return to being businessmen, producing for their customers, exporting their quality produce rather than at artificial prices for an artificial market or intervention stocks. Above all, we can no longer afford to ignore the growing loss of public confidence in the present version of the CAP in the wake of a seemingly never-ending series of food scandals and crises such as BSE and foot and mouth. Civil society is right to support a common agricultural policy that provides incentives for producing what people want and not what attracts the highest subsidies", Mr Fischler said.

    [14] Autre matériel diffusé

    Déclaration de M. Lamy à la session d'ouverture du Sommet ACP (Fidji)

    Discours de M. Lamy : "Le partenariat et la solidarité entre les ACP et l'UE dans le contexte de la mondialisation" à la session plénière du Sommet ACP (Fidji)


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


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