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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 03-09-11Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Message of Romano Prodi to the Swedish government on the death of Anna LindhThe President of the European Commission Romano Prodi has sent this morning the following message of condolence to the Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson : "The whole European Commission is in great sorrow after learning that Ms Anna Lindh, Minister for Foreign Affairs in your government, passed away this morning. I was filled with dismay when I heard the news of the vicious attack of which she was a victim yesterday. I am deeply saddened that she did not survive this brutal aggression. The members of the Commission join me in addressing our most sincere condolences to her family, to your government and to the whole Swedish nation. We will remember Ms Lindh as a dedicated, courageous and intelligent politician, but first and foremost a warm and generous person. I have worked closely with Anna for years and liked her enormously. She has taken an active part in the construction of our European Union and her death will be deeply regretted by the Commission and all her European colleagues."[02] Four aid workers killed in AfghanistanFour Afghan aid workers were murdered on the 8th of September by a group of suspected Taliban insurgents in Ghazni province in south eastern Afghanistan. Five Afghans working with the Danish organisation DACAAR were driving on a back road returning to the DACAAR field office in Makur village in Ab Band District of Ghazni. The aid workers were pulled from their car, tired up and riddled with bullets. Miraculously, one aid worker survived by feigning death and is now in hospital in Kabul. DACAAR, an international organisation with a large Afghan staff of 1,100, is one of the European Commission's major implementing partners in rural development projects. With support from the Commission, DACAAR has been active in improving access to safe water for millions of Afghans a decade.[03] Safe management of GMOs : the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety becomes lawToday, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety enters into force. The Protocol is designed to protect biological diversity and human health from the potential risks arising from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by providing a clear legal framework for their transboundary movement. The Advanced Informed Agreement (AIA) procedure established by the Protocol will ensure that countries can make informed decisions on whether to import GMOs intended for introduction into the environment. Shipments of GMO commodities will have to fulfil specific documentation requirements. The entry into force should be an incentive for more countries to ratify the Protocol, ensuring their participation to the First Meeting of the Parties scheduled for February 2004 in Malaysia.[04] Commission staff study points to projected trends in candidate countries' debt ratios in the light of the 2003 fiscal notificationsA new study carried out by economists in the European Commission's Directorate General of Economic and Financial Affairs develops a set of government debt projections that relies upon the deficit and debt data reported in April 2003 and the fiscal plans presented in the 2002 Pre- Accession Economic Programmes (PEPs). It, thereby, takes advantage of the further progress towards compliance with the EU methodology shown by the 2003 fiscal notifications. Due to the present absence of commonly agreed projections on age-related expenditures, however, this study can only offer some preliminary insights on the medium-termsustainability of public finance in the candidate countries (CCs), and the acceding countries in particular (ACs). To this end, after briefly recalling the current budgetary position of the CCs and discussing some methodological issues, the paper illustrates the projected evolution of CCs' debt to GDP ratio under different scenarios and concludes highlighting the preliminary nature of these remarks and suggesting areas for further work. Full document available on: http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/enlargement_papers/elp16_en.htm[05] Commission staff study points to the main results of the April 2003 fiscal notifications presented by the candidate countriesA new study carried out by economists in the European Commission's Directorate General of Economic and Financial Affairs presents the evaluations of the fiscal notifications submitted in April 2003 by the acceding and other candidate countries. The fiscal notifications consist of reporting to the Commission government deficit and debt figures calculated in accordance with the EU methodology (ESA 95 system of economic accounts). The fiscal notifications submitted annually by the acceding and other candidate countries use the same format and consist of producing the same data as the notifications provided by the Member States in the framework of the Excessive Deficit Procedure. The April 2003 notifications are the third exercise performed by the candidate countries following the April 2001 and April 2002 submissions. Full document available on : http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/enlargement_papers/elp17_en.htm[06] Erkki Liikanen to visit South Korea and ChinaEuropean Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen will travel to South Korea and China from 13 to 18 September 2003. The visit to China will be an opportunity to give political impetus to the increasingly close bilateral policy and regulatory cooperation in many areas. In South Korea, he will have wide-ranging discussions with leaders of government and industry. In particular, Mr Liikanen will meet with Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je and Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Yoon Jin-sik. In China, he will meet among others, Information Industry Minister Wang Xudong, Science and Technology Minister Xu Guanhua and Minister Ma Kai of the National Development and Reform Commission to pursue cooperation on industrial policy issues. He will also meet Minister Li Changjiang of the General Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) one year after the establishment of the successful and already mature Consultation Mechanism between the EU and China on regulation and standards for industrial products. Finally, he will also meet business and industry representatives and will open the first EU-China seminar on certification issues one month after the entry into force of the new Chinese certification system. Mr Liikanen will also give a speech at the China National School of Administration on e-Governance.[07] Autre matériel diffuséNote sur la préparation du Conseil informel EcofinDiscours de M. Lamy : "L'Agenda pour le Développement de Doha peut-il être à la hauteur de son nom ?" à la session plénière de la 5ème Conférence Ministérielle de l'OMC (10/09, Cancun) Discours de M. Lamy : "Initiative coton" à la 5ème Conférence Ministérielle de l'OMC (10/09, Cancun) Speech by Poul Nielson : "Current and future trends of the human rights and democratisation agenda an EU perspective" at the 5th International Conference of New and Restored Democracies (10/09, Ulan Baatar, Mongolia) Discours de M. Busquin : "La coopération scientifique avec la Tunisie, clef du partenariat euro-méditerranéen " à une rencontre avec un groupe de chercheurs tunisiens (Tunis, ! embargo 17h15 !) Speech by Loyola de Palacio : "EU Transport Policy : towards global growth and sustainable mobility" at the 3rd International Conference on Transport Europe-Asia (St Petersbourg) From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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