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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 03-04-24
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Romano Prodi welcomes agreement on new cabinet of Palestinian
Authority
[02] Nouvelles exigences en matière d'hygiène des aliments pour animaux :
le chaînon qui manquait pour garantir la sécurité des denrées alimentaires
[03] February first estimates, January revised figures : Euro-zone external
trade surplus €5.2 billion in February 2003 ; €2.9 billion deficit for EU15
[04] Commission and Danish competition authorities jointly open up Danish
gas market
[05] Update on avian influenza in the Netherlands and Belgium
[06] Newcastle disease in the USA : existing export restrictions extended
to more States
[07] Commission imposes a 33% tax on imports of DRAMS produced by Korean
Hynix Semiconductor
[08] Pan-European interchange of data between administrations : six
accession countries join the programme
[09] Un rapport confirme l'efficacité de la notion de "notification
préalable" par les Etats de leurs projets de réglementations, pour le
développement du marché intérieur et des entreprises
[10] Margot Wallström at the G8 Environment Ministers meeting in Paris
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 24/04/2003
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 24/04/2003
[01] Romano Prodi welcomes agreement on new cabinet of Palestinian
Authority
On 23 April, the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, gave
the following reaction to the announcement of a breakthrough in talks on a
new cabinet of the Palestinian Authority (PA) : "I very much welcome the
news concerning the agreement on the composition of the new PA cabinet. We
now look forward to its early presentation to the Palestinian Legislative
Council in the hope that it can gain parliamentary confirmation and take up
its duties as soon as possible. This marks a major step forward for the PA
as it pursues the reforms necessary to build an administration that will
provide the foundations of a viable Palestinian State. The Commission now
expects the Road Map to peace, as agreed last December by the Quartet of
the EU, the US, the UN and Russia, to be presented to partners in Israel
and the PA so that they start implementing it without delay. The people of
Israel and the Palestinian Territories have already waited too long for
peace : there is no more time to lose."
[02] Nouvelles exigences en matière d'hygiène des aliments pour animaux :
le chaînon qui manquait pour garantir la sécurité des denrées alimentaires
La Commission européenne a adopté une proposition de nouveau règlement
établissant des exigences en matière d'hygiène des aliments pour animaux.
Certains aspects touchant aux aliments pour animaux, comme les additifs
utilisés dans ces aliments, les contrôles dont ils font l'objet et leur
étiquetage, sont déjà régis par des règles communautaires. En revanche, les
règles proposées aujourd'hui, qui concernent la production, le transport,
l'entreposage et la manipulation des aliments pour animaux, faisaient
défaut. La Commission a également étudié l'opportunité et la possibilité de
dresser une liste exhaustive (dite "liste positive") des matières premières
d'aliments pour animaux autorisées dans l'Union. La proposition de
règlement va à présent être soumise au Parlement européen et au Conseil aux
fins d'adoption par la procédure de codécision. Le rapport concernant la
liste positive sera présenté au Parlement européen et au Conseil.
[03] February first estimates, January revised figures : Euro-zone external
trade surplus €5.2 billion in February 2003 ; €2.9 billion deficit for EU15
According to Eurostat, the first estimate for euro-zone trade with the rest
of the world in February 2003 was a €5.2 billion surplus, against a surplus
of 7.0 billion in February 2002. The revised January 2003 balance was -0.9
billion, compared with a surplus of 1.0 billion in January 2002. In
February 2003, exports and imports, seasonally adjusted, increased by 0.7%
and 0.3% respectively compared to January 2003.
[04] Commission and Danish competition authorities jointly open up Danish
gas market
The European Commission's competition department and the Danish Competition
authority have settled an antitrust investigation involving the incumbent
Danish gas supplier DONG and the country's main gas producers Shell, A.P
Møller and ChevronTexaco after the latter committed themselves to market
their production individually. DONG also agreed to release the producers,
grouped in a cooperation called DUC, from the obligation to offer all their
gas first to DONG. The successful outcome follows the settlement reached in
2002 with the Norwegian gas producers and is another step towards the
creation of a European single market for gas, which will lead to improved
services and lower prices for businesses and consumers alike. The
investigation also provides a good example of how the Commission and the
national competition authorities can work together to foster a more
competitive business environment.
[05] Update on avian influenza in the Netherlands and Belgium
The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health met on 23 April
to discuss again the avian influenza situation in the Netherlands and
Belgium. In general the existing restrictive measures adopted to prevent
the spreading of the disease and to eradicate it have been extended until
12 May. The Committee also had an exchange of information with regard to
the public health aspects of the current epidemic.
[06] Newcastle disease in the USA : existing export restrictions extended
to more States
An outbreak of Newcastle disease, a contagious disease in poultry that
causes major losses in the sector if spread but has no impact on human
health, has been confirmed on 11 April 2003 in the State of Texas, close to
the border with the State of New Mexico. Emergency measures have been taken
by the veterinary authorities in several Counties of those two States. As a
result of this new situation, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and
Animal Health agreed on a European Commission proposal to extend the
existing restrictions, applying to the States of California, Nevada and
Arizona since 28 January 2003 (see Midday Express of 29.01.2003) to the
Counties of El Paso and Hudspeth in Texas and the Counties of Dona Ana,
Luna and Otero in New Mexico. Imports of live poultry including hatching
eggs, fresh poultry meat and poultry products from these areas are not
authorised. The Decision will apply until 1 August 2003 and will be
reviewed in the light of the evolution of the disease situation in the USA.
[07] Commission imposes a 33% tax on imports of DRAMS produced by Korean
Hynix Semiconductor
Today the European Commission has imposed a provisional countervailing duty
of 33% on imports of DRAMS (dynamic random access memories) produced by the
Korean producer Hynix Semiconductor. This decision follows an investigation
where Hynix has been found to benefit from subsidies in the form of
financing provided by government owned or controlled Korean banks to the
detriment of the European chip industry, which suffered severe losses. The
subsidies for the other Korean chip producer, Samsung Electronics, have
been found to be within the limits allowed by the law ("de minimis") and
therefore they are not subject to the provisional countervailing duty. The
duty is provisional and will apply for four months, period during which the
EU will have to take a definitive decision.
[08] Pan-European interchange of data between administrations : six
accession countries join the programme
Slovenia, Poland, Czech Republic, Malta, Estonia, and Cyprus have signed
Memoranda of understanding (MoU) with the European Commission, formalising
their participation in the IDA Programme. The MoUs allow the six EU
Accession Countries to join the pan-European electronic infrastructure that
the EU institutions and Member States use to exchange data for the purposes
of applying EU law, enforcing single market rules, and supplying e-
government services across borders to citizens and businesses.
[09] Un rapport confirme l'efficacité de la notion de "notification
préalable" par les Etats de leurs projets de réglementations, pour le
développement du marché intérieur et des entreprises
Un rapport de la Commission européenne dresse un bilan positif de la
procédure obligatoire de notification préalable, par les Etats membres, des
projets de réglementations nationales dans le domaine des produits et des
services en ligne. Ce système, qui repose actuellement sur la Directive
98/34/CE, est appliqué depuis près de vingt ans aux réglementations
nationales sur les produits. Il a été récemment étendu aux services de la
société de l'information par la Directive 98/48/CE et ce système confirme
aujourd'hui son efficacité au bénéfice du Marché intérieur et des
entreprises présentes sur la scène européenne. Le rapport de la Commission
met en lumière le rôle fondamental qu'a joué la procédure de notification
entre 1999 et 2001 afin d'éviter la création d'entraves à la libre
circulation des produits et des services.
[10] Margot Wallström at the G8 Environment Ministers meeting in Paris
The European Commissioner for the Environment, Margot Wallström, will
participate in the meeting of G8 Environment Ministers this weekend (25-27
April) in Paris. At the meeting, ministers will discuss Africa, notably
support for the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and follow-
up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) ; sustainable
production and consumption ; and finally governance in the environment
field.
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Franz Fischler at the roundtable on research results relating to
the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops
Propos liminaires de M. Busquin à la conférence de presse à l'occasion du
séminaire interinstitutionnel sur la Bioéthique
Discours d'ouverture de M. Busquin : "La recherche sur les cellules souches
embryonnaires dans le 6ème Programme-Cadre" au Séminaire interinstitutionnel
sur la Bioéthique
Discours de M. Busquin à la table ronde sur les résultats de la recherche
applicables à la coexistence des cultures génétiquement modifiées et non
modifiées
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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