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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 03-02-27
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Latest Commission report on car prices in the European Union
[02] La Commission adopte un nouveau règlement exemptant certaines
catégories d'accords dans le secteur de l'assurance
[03] Blood safety Directive entered into force
[04] Commission supports visionary research
[05] The North and South Poles, indicators of global climate change:
Commission presents the latest polar research
[06] Commission presents the state of play of ITER project
[07] Foreign Sales Corporations : Commission submits to Member States draft
list of products that could be subject to countermeasures
[08] Lac Victoria : la Commission alloue 30 millions d'€ pour soutenir la
gestion durable des pêches
[09] Sri Lanka : Commission funding plans 2003-2005
[10] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 27/02/2003
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 27/02/2003
[01] Latest Commission report on car prices in the European Union
The latest report on car prices released by the European Commission shows
that price differentials for new cars are still substantial, although some
convergence is taking place, particularly within the euro zone. The
situation as of 1 November 2002 shows that many European consumers can
still make significant savings by buying their cars in other Member States
and that competition and cross-border trade have not yet brought about
significant price convergence. Car prices before taxes are the lowest in
Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands. Prices in Germany, the biggest market,
and Austria, remain among the highest within the euro zone. The UK remains
the most expensive market in the European Union.
[02] La Commission adopte un nouveau règlement exemptant certaines
catégories d'accords dans le secteur de l'assurance
La Commission européenne a adopté un règlement d'application des règles de
concurrence qui autorise, à certaines conditions, des catégories
spécifiques d'accords de coopération entre les entreprises d'assurance. Les
accords couverts incluent l'établissement de conditions-types d'assurance
non contraignantes, l'échange d'informations statistiques aux fins du
calcul des risques et la création de pools d'assurance. Le nouveau
règlement d'exemption a été avalisé au terme d'une consultation approfondie
des Etats membres et des parties intéressées. Il améliore un règlement
actuellement en vigueur, qui expirera à la fin du mois de mars.
[03] Blood safety Directive entered into force
The Directive which sets EU-wide quality and safety standards for the
collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution of human blood
and blood components entered into force with its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Union on 8 February. The measures put in
place comprehensive and legally binding standards for blood and blood
products from donor to patient and for related medical applications (see
IP/02/1919). They aim to prevent blood contamination scandals similar to
those that have occurred in some EU countries in the past. This is the
first time that the new EU competence in public health policy making,
introduced in the Amsterdam Treaty, has been used to bring forward
legislation. Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne said :
"This directive is an excellent example of how the EU can play a positive
role in protecting and improving public health for European citizens." The
deadline for the transposition of the directive into national law by EU
Member States is 8 February 2005.
[04] Commission supports visionary research
Today the European Commission published the first call for proposals for
research on "new and emerging science and technology" (NEST), under the 6th
EU Research Framework Programme (2003-2006). The €215 million NEST action
opens the possibility for the Commission to finance research at the
frontiers of knowledge in areas suggested by researchers themselves, with
an emphasis on multi-disciplinary research. The present call for proposals
concerns Adventure projects, which aim at developing promising new avenues
for science, and Insight projects, addressing scientific discoveries that
might entail risks or problems for society.
[05] The North and South Poles, indicators of global climate change:
Commission presents the latest polar research
On 28 February, the European Commission will present the latest climate
change research on board the "Polarstern" research vessel in Bremerhaven
(Germany). The "European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica" (EPICA), the
"Arctic Ice Cover Simulation Experiment" (AICSEX) and "Pole - Ocean Pole"
(POP) project analyse polar ice, ocean sediments and the Arctic ice cover
to study climate change. "Ice cores" deep underground or underwater store
key substances, which can help explain how and why climate has changed in
the last decades, and contribute to making more accurate predictions of
future changes. The oldest ice ever found was recently extracted from over
3,000 metres underground in Antarctica. It can provide key information
about past and future climate conditions.
[06] Commission presents the state of play of ITER project
On 26 February in Brussels European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin
presented the status of the international negotiations relating to the ITER
(International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) research project on
nuclear fusion energy. A significant step has been achieved with the entry
into negotiations of the People's Republic of China and the comeback of the
United States of America. Participants to the negotiations will have to
identify the ITER site from among the four current candidate sites. Further
details on the most important questions relating to the ITER Negotiations
will be published in a Communication that the Commission will present to
the Council at its meeting on 12 May 2003.
[07] Foreign Sales Corporations : Commission submits to Member States draft
list of products that could be subject to countermeasures
On 26 February, the European Commission has communicated to EU Member
States a revised draft list of products that could be subject to
countermeasures in the FSC case. The list has been prepared on the basis of
comments received from economic operators following the public consultation
launched in September and it covers products in the amount of US$ 4 billion,
as awarded by the WTO last August. Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said :
"The EU's objective remains to ensure the repeal of this WTO-incompatible
legislation. We are encouraged by President Bush's proposal for such a
repeal in his budget for fiscal year 2004. In the meantime the EU is
following the necessary procedural steps to launch countermeasures if the
compliance process does not deliver swift results."
[08] Lac Victoria : la Commission alloue 30 millions d'€ pour soutenir la
gestion durable des pêches
La Commission européenne a approuvé un programme, doté de 29,9 millions d'€,
conçu pour aider le Kenya, la Tanzanie et l'Ouganda à mettre en oeuvre des
mesures de gestion des pêches sur le Lac Victoria. Appelé à être exécuté
sur une période de cinq ans (2003-2007), ce programme est l'expression
concrète du soutien accordé à un plan de gestion des pêches (PGP) qui vise
à maintenir et à préserver les ressources halieutiques du Lac. Le programme
est conçu plus particulièrement pour aider les trois pays en cause à
surveiller les captures et à appliquer des mesures destinées à contrer la
pêche illégale. Commentant cette décision, M. Poul Nielson, commissaire
chargé du développement et de l'aide humanitaire a indiqué : "Je salue tout
particulièrement ce programme, qui montre comment conjuguer développement,
environnement et politique commerciale, à un niveau régional, au service
d'une croissance économique durable. Cette croissance économique est
indispensable pour contribuer à réduire la pauvreté en Afrique. Le
programme en question constituera un apport important dans l'effort visant
à éviter la surexploitation, à protéger l'environnement et à améliorer la
qualité et les normes sanitaires du poisson".
[09] Sri Lanka : Commission funding plans 2003-2005
The European Commission adopted its Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for 2003-
2006 and its National Indicative Programme (NIP) for 2003-2005. Over the
next three years an indicative sum of €16.8 million has been earmarked for
Sri Lanka to finance the EU cooperation strategy. The NIP outlines
activities to be supported, on the basis of priorities set out in the
Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2003-2006, namely Rural Development, support
for post-conflict activities and trade development, promotion of business
and institutional links and assistance to the redevelopment of the Sri
Lankan domestic airline system.
[10] Autre matériel diffusé
Discours de M. Prodi à l'occasion du lancement de la campagne d'adhésion en
Hongrie (Budapest)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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