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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 03-09-18
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] La Commission prend position à propos du projet de Constitution pour
l'Europe
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[02] EU budget : all Member States benefit the poorer more than the others
[03] Paiements électroniques : la conférence et l'étude de la Commission
mettent l'accent sur les problèmes de sécurité et évaluent leur perception
par le public
[04] Commission clears joint venture between Toshiba and Mitsubishi
[05] EU and China are set to collaborate on GALILEO the European global
system of satellite navigation
[06] Commission research helps identify causes of loss of wildlife in the
Baltic Sea in summer 2002
[07] Premières estimations pour juillet, données révisées pour juin :
excédent de 12,2 milliards d'€ du commerce extérieur pour la zone euro en
juillet 2003 ; excédent de 5,6 milliards d'€ pour l'UE15
[08] Monthly note on the euro-denominated Bond Markets - August 2003
[09] Commission launches new web portal to help EU citizens find jobs
[10] EU calls for more and better coordinated brain research at European
level
[11] Vice-President Neil Kinnock to visit to Lithuania on 19 September
[12] Chris Patten visits Iraq
[13] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 18/09/2003
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 18/09/2003[I] Résultats de la Commission
du 17 septembre 2003 - Outcome of Commission meeting of 17 September
(voir aussi see also ME of 17/09)
[01] La Commission prend position à propos du projet de Constitution pour
l'Europe
La Commission européenne s'est prononcée à propos du projet de Constitution
pour l'Europe. Selon l'exécutif communautaire, la Conférence
intergouvernementale qui débutera le 4 octobre ne doit pas revenir sur le
compromis auquel est parvenue la Convention, mais améliorer et clarifier
quelques points et terminer le travail. Elle devrait éviter de définir
d'une façon rigide les dispositions de la Constitution relatives aux
politiques de l'Union. Par ailleurs, pour être efficace et crédible, la
Commission devrait compter un membre à part entière pour chaque pays, et la
Commission élargie devra rationaliser son organisation interne.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[02] EU budget : all Member States benefit the poorer more than the others
In 2002 total expenditures from the EU budget was €85 billion, 73 billion
of which went to final beneficiaries in the Member States. This is analysed
in the report on 'Allocation of 2002 EU Operating Expenditure by Member
State'. "The EU budget is a good investment and provides important funding
to all Member States. It benefits especially the economically weaker ones,
without posing an undue burden on net contributors", declared Budget
Commissioner Michaele Schreyer when presenting the report. In 2002 Spain,
France, Germany and Italy were the four biggest recipients from the EU
budget in absolute terms. In relative terms the major financial transfers
went to Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain, the four recipients of
cohesion funds. On the financing side of the budget Germany, France, Italy
and the UK contributed the biggest absolute amounts, whereas in relation to
the national income the ranking of the net contributors is that the
Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg and Germany are the strongest net-
contributors. Generally Member States make contributions to the EU budget
that reflect their ability to contribute and their economic wealth, while
expenditure aim at increasing the efficiency of the single market and
foster economic and social cohesion
[03] Paiements électroniques : la conférence et l'étude de la Commission
mettent l'accent sur les problèmes de sécurité et évaluent leur perception
par le public
Dans la majorité des Etats membres, le public fait montre d'un degré
"raisonnable" de confiance envers les transactions électroniques de
paiement. Tel est l'enseignement qui ressort d'une étude de la Commission
européenne dont les résultats ont été présentés lors d'une conférence
organisée à Bruxelles par la Commission le 16 septembre. Cette conférence a
constaté l'importance économique croissante de ces transactions et passé en
revue les diverses solutions technologiques permettant aux opérateurs de
paiement et aux utilisateurs de garder une longueur d'avance sur les
criminels et les fraudeurs. Ce sont les consommateurs finlandais qui
affichent le plus haut niveau de confiance, suivis des néerlandais et des
suédois. Les plus méfiants à l'égard des moyens de paiement électroniques
sont les Grecs et les Portugais. L'étude conclut également que les
entreprises usant du commerce électronique doivent améliorer l'information
fournie aux consommateurs sur les questions de sécurité, même s'il est
relativement rare que les consommateurs aient à souffrir financièrement en
cas de fraude, celle-ci s'opérant essentiellement aux dépens des
entreprises parties aux transactions.
[04] Commission clears joint venture between Toshiba and Mitsubishi
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the creation of a joint venture between Japanese companies Toshiba
Corporation and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. The venture, called Toshiba
Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corp, will integrate the parents'
operations in electric and automation systems for industrial manufacturing
plants. (The operation, notified on 18 August 2003, was examined under the
simplified merger review procedure).
[05] EU and China are set to collaborate on GALILEO the European global
system of satellite navigation
An agreement has been reached between the European Union and China on its
participation in the Galileo programme. This agreement was initialled in
Beijing on 18 September 2003 by Mr F. Lamoureux, Director-General of Energy
and Transport at the European Commission, and Mr Shi Dinghuan, Secretary
General of China's Ministry of Science and Technology. "China will help
Galileo to become the major world infrastructure for the growing market for
location services", said Loyola de Palacio, Vice-President of the European
Commission, responsible for the Galileo programme. Her counterpart in the
negotiations, China's Science and Technology Minister Xu Guanhua
highlighted that "China supports Galileo and plans to participate actively
in its construction and application for mutual benefits".
[06] Commission research helps identify causes of loss of wildlife in the
Baltic Sea in summer 2002
The dramatic loss of marine wildlife recorded last year in the Western
Baltic Sea between Denmark, Germany and Sweden is largely the result of
extreme weather conditions and an increase in man-made nutrients, according
to the findings of a report recently released by the Helsinki Commission
(HELCOM), to which the European Commission provided significant input. Last
autumn, the two organisations joined forces to investigate exceptional
oxygen depletion in the Western Baltic that had led to hundreds of dead
fish being washed ashore along the east coast of Jutland, Denmark. The
report reveals that the oxygen deficiency was caused in part by heavy rain
and snow, leading to the run off of higher levels of nutrients from
agriculture, urban wastewater and air pollution into the sea. In addition,
low wind levels and high air pressure minimised exchanges between different
water levels in the Baltic. The report recommends stricter controls on
nutrients reaching this inland sea to prevent future oxygen depletion.
[07] Premières estimations pour juillet, données révisées pour juin :
excédent de 12,2 milliards d'€ du commerce extérieur pour la zone euro en
juillet 2003 ; excédent de 5,6 milliards d'€ pour l'UE15
D'après les premières estimations d'Eurostat, pour le mois de juillet 2003,
la zone euro a enregistré un excédent du commerce extérieur de 12,2
milliards d'€ avec le reste du monde, comparé à +13,3 milliards en juillet
2002. Le solde enregistré au mois de juin 2003 était de +6,7 milliards,
comparé à +10,3 milliards en juin 2002. En juillet 2003, les exportations,
corrigées des variations saisonnières, ont augmenté de 0,5% par rapport à
juin 2003, alors que les importations ont baissé de 1,5%.
[08] Monthly note on the euro-denominated Bond Markets - August 2003
Developments in the euro-denominated bond market were relatively calm in
August. The shape and position of the euro yield curve was almost unchanged
at the beginning and the end of the month, with the 2-year to10-year spread
broadly stable at about 160 basis points over the whole period. This
stability was in contrast to the more volatile US market (due mainly to
hedging activities of holders of mortgage-backed securities) and a weak
Japanese market (due to a sell-off related to better-than-expected economic
data). Due to the holiday season, total issuance of euro-denominated bonds
was markedly lower in August (€69 billion), compared to July (€170
billion). Full document and statistical annex available on :
http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/bondmarkets_en.htm
[09] Commission launches new web portal to help EU citizens find jobs
Tomorrow the European Commission will be launching the new web portal to
aid citizens to get information about living studying and working in
another Member State. The launch will be at 10.00 in the Borschette
building. The launch will be followed by a question and answer session for
the press, and an opportunity to explore the new portal for yourselves.
This launch is being held during a conference organised by the Commission
and the European Investment Bank on the importance on human capital - for
example investing in skills - to the European economy.
[10] EU calls for more and better coordinated brain research at European
level
Some 250 leading brain specialists are gathering in Brussels today to
discuss the creation of a European Brain Research Area. European Research
Commissioner Philippe Busquin opened the conference on "Brain Research in
Europe: Structuring European Neuroscience", which was organised together
with Members of the European Parliament Giuseppe Nistico and John Bowis.
Representatives from the scientific community, including academia and
industry, public administrations, research funding bodies, patients'
organisations, European institutions and the media are exchanging views on
priorities and modalities for a stronger and more coherent effort for brain
research in Europe. The European Commission announced that it is
negotiating new projects for brain research to be launched in 2004 for a
total of approximately €45 million. Brain research and neurosciences are
explicit research topics in the EU's 6th Framework Programme, the EU's
financial instrument for creating a European research area. A press
conference will be held today at 13h00 at the Centre A. Borschette, romm
0/B with Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin.
[11] Vice-President Neil Kinnock to visit to Lithuania on 19 September
Neil Kinnock, European Commission Vice-President responsible for personnel
and administrative reform, will travel to Vilnius on 19 September for the
latest in a series of visits to the accession states in the run-up to
enlargement. He will be meeting with President Rolandas Paksas, Prime
Minister Algirdas Brazauskas and a number of senior government ministers.
The meetings will cover, among other things, administrative reform and
personnel issues, including the recruitment of officials from the acceding
states.
[12] Chris Patten visits Iraq
The European Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten visited
Baghdad on 17 September for talks with senior figures involved in the
reconstruction of Iraq. The purpose of his trip was to assess conditions in
the country and priorities for assistance, in the run-up to the Madrid
Conference of 23-24 October. The European Council at Thessaloniki requested
the European Commission to make proposals for the EU's contribution to the
reconstruction of Iraq. Commissioner Patten will be presenting his
proposals in early October.
[13] Autre matériel diffusé
Discours de M. Prodi : "Un progetto per l'Europa" au Séminaire du Groupe
PSE (17/09, Bologne)
Speech by António Vitorino : "Migration as a resource to be managed for the
mutual benefit of sending and receiving countries" at the Metropolis
International Conference (Vienna)
Speech by Viviane Reding : "We need to implement wholeheartedly the Bologna
process" at the Conference on Higher Education (Berlin, ! embargo 2 pm !)
Speech by Anna Diamantopoulou : "Future Perspectives for the European
Social Model" at PES seminar on the European Social Model (Bologna)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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