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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-07-31
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Romano Prodi congratulates George W. Bush
[02] Marché intérieur : les entreprises et les consommateurs restent
pénalisés par des obstacles à la libre circulation des services
[03] Programme Interreg : l'UE accorde une aide de 5 millions d'€ en faveur
de l'espace de coopération transnationale "Océan Indien Ile de la Réunion"
[04] July 2002 - Euro-zone inflation estimated at 1.9%
[05] Pre-accession aid for Romania : go-ahead for €158 million Sapard
programme
[06] Commission to provide a further €9.5 million in humanitarian aid for
the Palestinians
[07] Michel Barnier visited Bratislava on 30 July 2002
[08] Reports on agriculture in 12 candidate countries published
[09] Commission to attend KEDO Concrete Pouring Ceremony at Kumho, North
Korea on August 7th
[10] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 31/07/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 31/07/2002
[01] Romano Prodi congratulates George W. Bush
The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, yesterday sent the
following message to the President of the United States, George W. Bush :
"A very short note simply to congratulate you on your success in gaining
the support of the House of Representatives for Trade Promotion Authority.
From conversations with other leaders, it is clear to me how important it
is to the rest of the world, and not just to the European Union, that the
United States is free to negotiate on trade, and particularly in the Doha
Development Agenda. And if I may say the fact that you intervened yourself
with the Congress in order to fight for TPA only strengthens this feeling
that this is an important moment. Of course, we wait now for the vote in
the Senate, but I feel you are on the verge of a major success, Mr
President. My congratulations once again."
[02] Marché intérieur : les entreprises et les consommateurs restent
pénalisés par des obstacles à la libre circulation des services
Alors que le marché intérieur est censé être achevé depuis dix ans, les
entreprises et les consommateurs européens s'estiment toujours pénalisés
par l'énorme clivage qui existe entre la vision d'une économie européenne
intégrée et la réalité dans laquelle ils opèrent au quotidien. C'est là la
conclusion d'un rapport de la Commission européenne sur la situation du
marché intérieur des services. Ce rapport dresse un inventaire exhaustif
des obstacles qui, selon les entreprises et les consommateurs, entravent
toujours le bon fonctionnement du marché intérieur et handicapent
l'économie européenne. Le rapport de la Commission est présenté dans le
cadre de la stratégie pour le marché intérieur des services, adoptée par la
Commission en décembre 2000 (voir IP/01/31) en réponse à une demande
formulée par le Conseil européen de Lisbonne en mars 2000.
[03] Programme Interreg : l'UE accorde une aide de 5 millions d'€ en faveur
de l'espace de coopération transnationale "Océan Indien Ile de la Réunion"
M. Michel Barnier, Commissaire européen responsable de la politique
régionale, vient d'annoncer l'approbation par la Commission d'un programme
de coopération transnationale pour l'espace de coopération "Océan Indien
Ile de la Réunion", qui sera financé par l'initiative communautaire
Interreg III B. Ce programme concerne la région ultra-périphérique
française de la Réunion et les pays tiers avoisinants. Le principal
objectif du programme est l'augmentation du degré d'intégration régionale
de cette région, en développant son économie et en renforçant sa position
dans l'économie régionale. Le montant total du financement de l'UE
disponible pour ce programme, jusqu'en 2006, est de 5 millions d'€. Un
financement complémentaire national de 0,9 million d'€ s'ajoute au
financement européen.
[04] July 2002 - Euro-zone inflation estimated at 1.9%
Euro-zone annual inflation is expected to be 1.9% in July 2002, up from
1.8% in June 2002, according to a flash estimate issued today by Eurostat -
the Statistical Office of the European Communities in Luxembourg.
[05] Pre-accession aid for Romania : go-ahead for €158 million Sapard
programme
European Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler has signed a decision to
confer the management of Sapard aid to the Romanian authorities. This means
that Romania can now begin the implementation of its Sapard programme.
Under this scheme, Romania will now be entitled to €153.2 million for the
year 2000, €156.3 million for the year 2001 and an indicative amount of
€157.8 million annually from 2002 until 2006. Payment of the first advance
for the year 2000 can now be made (the maximum is 49% of the annual
amount). This first decision on the provisional conferral of management of
aid covers two main, and one supporting, measure of the Romanian Sapard
programme : "Improvement in processing and marketing of agricultural and
fishery products", "Development and improvement of rural infrastructure",
accompanied by "Technical assistance". Mr Fischler welcomed the decision :
"This is good news. I know that the road to the Sapard funds has been
cumbersome and I am pleased that now the money can now begin to flow. With
these funds Romania can tackle priority problems in the field of
agriculture and rural development. At the same time, this provides Romania
with invaluable experience for the future management of EU agriculture
funds." This decision will be formally adopted by the Commission in the
days to come.
[06] Commission to provide a further €9.5 million in humanitarian aid for
the Palestinians
The European Commission has adopted a decision worth €9.5 million to help
meet the urgent needs of the most vulnerable sections of the Palestinian
population. The funding, which brings the amount of humanitarian aid in
2002 to €18 million, is being channelled through the Humanitarian Aid
Office (ECHO). Commenting on the decision, Poul Nielson, the European
Commissioner responsible for Development and Humanitarian Aid, spoke of the
"growing humanitarian tragedy facing the Palestinian people as the crisis
in the Middle East drags on. Border closures and the resulting job losses
have led to enormous hardship with many more people becoming dependent on
international assistance. The indicators for health and nutrition, in
particular, are highly alarming with big increases in the numbers of
malnourished children and in the incidence of preventable diseases." The
health sector features prominently in the new decision with funding for a
range of actions including nutritional support for under-fives,
psychosocial treatment for children and adolescents, training for medical
staff and health education. Support is also being provided to improve water
supply, sanitation and electricity systems and for shelter rehabilitation.
Beneficiaries will include vulnerable populations in Gaza and the West Bank
as well as Palestinian refugees living in camps in Lebanon, Jordan and
Syria. The projects will be implemented by ECHO partners (UN agencies, NGOs
and Red Cross organisations) operating in the area.
[07] Michel Barnier visited Bratislava on 30 July 2002
Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Regional Policy and Institutional
reform, visited Bratislava on 30 July. During his visit, he met Prime
Minister Dzurinda, Foreign Minister Kukan, Deputy Prime Minister Csaky,
Minister for Construction and Regional Development Harna and Minister for
Environment Miklos. Mr Barnier also had the opportunity to discuss with the
three representatives of Slovakia to the Convention for the future of
Europe : Foreign State secretary and Slovakia's main EU negotiator Figel,
and the members of the Slovak Parliament Mrs Belohorska and Mr Hamzik. The
main objective of the visit was to discuss with the Slovak authorities the
preparations for the future implementation of structural funds as well as
the state-of-play in the implementation of ISPA. As regards these issues,
Slovakia preliminary closed the chapter 21 "Regional Policy and
Coordination of Structural Instruments" at the Accession Conference meeting
on 29 July in Brussels.
[08] Reports on agriculture in 12 candidate countries published
The European Commission has published a series of country reports on
agriculture in 12 Candidate Countries. These reports, which have been
prepared within the Directorate-General for Agriculture, provide key
statistical and economic information on the agricultural situation in each
Candidate Country and are primarily based on statistical information
available from Eurostat. Each report presents a general overview of the
country and its economic development and then an analysis of farming
structure, and the value of agricultural production, price relations and
farm income. There are also descriptions of agricultural production (crops,
livestock), the food industry and the characteristics of general and
agricultural trade in these countries. The chapter on agricultural policy
and budget deals with issues such as domestic support measures and market
access. The reports can be found at : http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/external/enlarge/publi/index_en.htm
[09] Commission to attend KEDO Concrete Pouring Ceremony at Kumho, North
Korea on August 7th
On August 7th, EU representatives, together with representatives of the US,
Japan and South Korea, will attend a concrete pouring ceremony to
inaugurate the construction of the Kumho reactor in the Democratic Peoples
Republic of Korea (DPRK). Mr Jean-Pierre Leng, KEDO Board Member for the
European Commission, will represent the European Union. KEDO (Korean Energy
Development Organisation) is a vital contribution to the fight against
nuclear proliferation, and the EU continues to play an active role through
financial support and technical assistance in the implementation of
projects from European firms. The EU provided €95 million to the KEDO
project between 1997 and 2001, mainly to buy fuel oil, and will provide a
further €20 million per year until the end of 2005. The EU also assists the
DPRK with food and humanitarian aid worth €244 million (from 1995-2001),
and technical assistance.
[10] Autre matériel diffusé
Rapport sur la stratégie pour le marché intérieur des services - questions
fréquemment posées
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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