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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-11-05
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Open sky agreements : Commission welcomes European Court of Justice
ruling
[02] La Commission va recouvrer 86,36 millions d'€ auprès des Etats membres
dans le cadre des dépenses de la PAC
[03] September 2002 : euro-zone unemployment stable at 8.3% ; EU15 steady
at 7.6%
[04] Financial services : Commission welcomes Council's political agreement
on prospectuses proposal
[05] La Commission salue le fait que la Cour des comptes reconnaisse ses
efforts de modernisation
[06] EU research shows how science can help disabled people
[07] Commission provides humanitarian aid worth €3.7 million
[08] Commission and US government to discuss top trade, regulatory and
business issues at Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue Conference in Chicago
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 05/11/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 05/11/2002
[01] Open sky agreements : Commission welcomes European Court of Justice
ruling
The European Commission welcomed today the ruling of the European Court of
Justice in the so-called "open skies" cases, which address the legality of
bilateral agreements concluded between eight EC Member States and the
United States. "Today's judgement is a major step towards developing a new
coherent and dynamic European policy for international aviation. In most
sectors of the economy, Europe speaks with one voice in international
negotiations and takes a leading role in shaping events. Until now,
aviation has been excluded from this approach as Member States have pursued
their own individual agendas. From now on, it is clear from the Court's
ruling that we will all have to work together in Europe to identify and
pursue our objectives jointly. The Commission stands ready to play its
part", said Loyola de Palacio, vice-president in charge of Transport and
Energy.
[02] La Commission va recouvrer 86,36 millions d'€ auprès des Etats membres
dans le cadre des dépenses de la PAC
En vertu d'une décision de la Commission européenne, un montant total de 86,
36 millions d'€ correspondant à des dépenses irrégulières au titre de la
PAC sera récupéré. Le recouvrement de cette somme est motivé par des
procédures de contrôle insuffisantes ou par le non-respect des règles
communautaires relatives aux dépenses agricoles. Si les Etats membres sont
chargés du versement et de la vérification de la quasi-totalité des
dépenses effectuées au titre de la politique agricole commune (PAC), la
Commission est tenue de s'assurer que les Etats membres ont utilisé les
ressources correctement. La procédure d'audit est un instrument vital pour
le contrôle des dépenses de la PAC, qui permet de recouvrer les montants
versés en l'absence de garanties suffisantes quant à la légitimité des
paiements ou quant à la fiabilité du système de contrôle et de vérification
de l'Etat membre concerné.
[03] September 2002 : euro-zone unemployment stable at 8.3% ; EU15 steady
at 7.6%
Euro-zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 8.3% in September 2002,
unchanged compared to August, Eurostat reports today. It was 8.0% in
September 2001. The EU15 unemployment rate was 7.6% in September, unchanged
compared to August. It was 7.3% in September 2001. In September 2002,
lowest rates were registered in Luxembourg (2.5%), the Netherlands (2.9% in
August), Austria (4.2%), Denmark (4.3% in August), Ireland (4.5%) and
Portugal (4.7%). Spain's 11.2% remained the EU's highest rate.
[04] Financial services : Commission welcomes Council's political agreement
on prospectuses proposal
The European Commission has welcomed the political agreement reached today
by the EU's Council on the amended proposal for a Directive on
prospectuses. This proposal would make it easier and cheaper for companies
to raise capital throughout the EU, while reinforcing protection for
investors by guaranteeing that all prospectuses, wherever in the EU they
are issued, provide them with the clear and comprehensive information they
need to make investment decisions. A prospectus is a disclosure document,
containing key financial and non-financial information, that a company
makes available to potential investors when it is issuing securities
(stocks, shares, bonds etc.) to raise capital and/or when it wants its
securities admitted to trading on exchanges. The Directive would introduce
a new "single passport for issuers". This means that once approved by the
authority in one Member State, a prospectus would then have to be accepted
everywhere else in the EU. In order to ensure investor protection, that
approval would only be granted if prospectuses meet common EU standards for
what information must be disclosed and how.
[05] La Commission salue le fait que la Cour des comptes reconnaisse ses
efforts de modernisation
La Cour des comptes a fourni une déclaration d'assurance positive sur des
aspects importants des finances de l'UE pour l'exercice 2001. Elle conclut
une nouvelle fois que les comptes de l'UE reflètent fidèlement les recettes
et les dépenses. Tout en relevant des retards inévitables, elle accueille
favorablement les efforts de réforme en cours, en particulier les premiers
rapports d'activité annuels des directeurs généraux. Mme Michaele Schreyer,
membre de la Commission européenne chargé du budget, a commenté ainsi le
rapport de la Cour pour 2001 : "La Cour des comptes joue un rôle important
en nous aidant à répondre aux fortes attentes des contribuables européens
vis-à-vis de notre façon de gérer leur argent. Nous sommes déterminés à
satisfaire à ces hautes exigences dans le cadre de notre propre gestion,
mais aussi avec les Etats membres, qui assurent la cogestion de plus de 80%
du budget de l'UE. Les conclusions du rapport contribuent à soutenir le
mouvement de modernisation de la gestion financière, à la fois à la
Commission et dans les Etats membres. La Cour reconnaît les efforts fournis
par la Commission pour mieux définir l'obligation de rendre compte et la
responsabilité de la gestion des fonds communautaires, grâce notamment au
nouveau règlement financier, à la déconcentration vers les délégations
extérieures, à la décentralisation des contrôles auprès des services et au
plan d'action résultant des premiers rapports d'activité annuels des
directeurs généraux. Nous devons encore progresser dans les années à venir
dans le domaine de la modernisation de la comptabilité et de l'amélioration
des systèmes d'audit et de contrôle, tout en nous assurant que nos réformes
sont bien ancrées dans toute la Commission."
[06] EU research shows how science can help disabled people
As part of the 'European Science and Technology Week' (4-10/11/02) €2,7
million campaign, European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin today
opened the SMART (Society Moves with Advanced Research Technology)
exhibition in Brussels. The travelling SMART exhibition is housed in two
especially designed mobile trailers and everything inside it is developed
for, or in collaboration with, disabled people. The trailers demonstrate
how technologies can help the handicapped. These technologies range from
displays on body parts to hearing and visual aids and tools to help
immobilised people interact with others. A simulator provides a
demonstration of what it is like to be handicapped.
[07] Commission provides humanitarian aid worth €3.7 million
The European Commission has recently taken humanitarian aid decisions for
North Korea, the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal and the Burmese refugees in
Thailand. The assistance is channelled through its Humanitarian Aid Office
(ECHO), which comes under the authority of Commissioner Poul Nielson.
[08] Commission and US government to discuss top trade, regulatory and
business issues at Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue Conference in Chicago
European Commissioners for Enterprise, Erkki Liikanen, and Trade, Pascal
Lamy, will participate in the annual CEO Conference of the Trans-Atlantic
Business Dialogue (TABD) in Chicago which runs between the 6th and 8th
November. A TABD CEO conference is held each year to bring together
business leaders and senior level government representatives from both the
EU and the US to make recommendations and measure progress on existing
trade impediments. Recommendations are expected to be developed in the
areas of capital markets, dispute management, the networked economy, the
World Trade Organization, and regulatory policy. The TABD integrates the
views of small and medium-sized enterprises in its recommendations. The
recommendations produced by the CEO participants will be presented to the
US Administration and the Commission.
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Romano Prodi : "Economic growth vs social policies : a false
dilemma" at the German Trade Union Federation
Discours de M. Fischler devant la commission Agriculture du PE
Speech by Erkki Liikanen : "The race to productivity and knowledge : where
does Europe stand ?" at the IST 2002 Conference (04/10, Copenhagen)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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