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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-02-23
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Eurobarometer 60 and Candidate Countries Eurobarometer 2003.4: EU seen
as force for good in times of pessimism
[02] Combatting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis: Commissioner Busquin in
Dakar for clinical trials partnership launch
[03] Byrne calls for worldwide animal welfare standards Commission granted
official observer status at OIE
[04] Gouvernement d'entreprise: la Commission engage des consultations sur
la rémunération des dirigeants
[05] Commission releases €28 million of risk capital facility for
Mediterranean countries
[06] Commission and EEA make public extensive information about industrial
pollution in your neighbourhood
[07] The European Commission and UNESCO sign agreement to facilitate closer
co-operation in developing countries
[08] Commission clears joint acquisition of UK property developer Canary
Wharf
[09] Commission clears Vestar acquisition of French funeral services firm
[10] Commission clears acquisition of parts of ABB's oil and gas industry
services businesses
[11] New dissemination time for news release
[12] Rédiffusion de notes
[13] Le commissaire européen chargé de l'agriculture déclare: «L'Europe
persévérera dans ses réformes agricoles»
[14] Environmental liability: Commission welcomes agreement on new
Directive
[15] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 23/02/2004
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 23/02/2004
[01] Eurobarometer 60 and Candidate Countries Eurobarometer 2003.4: EU seen
as force for good in times of pessimism
The latest Eurobarometer opinion polls in the current 15 member states and
in the 10 future member states, the full results of which are published
today, reveal that while most EU citizens are satisfied with their lives,
concern is growing about the economic and employment outlook. However,
despite a general decline in optimism, a large majority of people believe
the EU plays a positive role in areas of major concern to citizens, such as
the fight against terrorism. Asking the question for the first time, the
survey found that more than a third of people in the EU-15 feel their
national media do not give enough prominence to EU issues. And the citizens
in the acceding countries do not feel well informed about enlargement
either. With less than four months to go before the European Parliamentary
elections, the surveys include a section on the Parliament. In the current
member states, less than a third of respondents say they will definitely
turn out to vote. In the future member states, citizens who will have the
opportunity to vote for the first time, are also less interested in the
elections than might be expected.
[02] Combatting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis: Commissioner Busquin in
Dakar for clinical trials partnership launch
European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin will visit Senegal from 22
to 24 February to launch the operational phase of the €600 million
"European and-Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership" programme.
The visit also aims at encouraging West African countries to mobilise
around this important initiative. The European Union is funding clinical
trials, and fostering clinical research in Developing Countries, with €200
million. The programme focuses on the three major poverty-related killer
diseases of sub-Saharan Africa: AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. A further
€200 million will come from EU Member States, and another €200 million will
be funded by other international donors and industry. On top of this, the
EU is also devoting €200 million to basic (pre-clinical) research in this
field. The Dakar EDCTP launch event will be attended by high-ranking
African officials including Health Ministers and EDCTP High Representative
Dr Pascoal Mocumbi, former Prime Minister of Mozambique.
[03] Byrne calls for worldwide animal welfare standards Commission granted
official observer status at OIE
(Embargo: 16h00) The European Commission obtained today official observer
status within the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) at the first
ever global conference on animal welfare bringing together the 166 member
countries of the OIE and various OIE-affiliated international
organisations. While the EU has always been involved in the work of the OIE,
the observer status will now enable the Commission to advance the EU´s view
on all international animal health and welfare issues. At the opening of
the conference Commissioner David Byrne promised to continue to actively
support the OIE in its activities and welcomed the initiative to organise
for the first time a global conference on animal welfare. "Getting animal
welfare recognised at an international level is important for European
citizens. The EU supports every step to achieve higher animal welfare
standards not just within the EU but worldwide."
[04] Gouvernement d'entreprise: la Commission engage des consultations sur
la rémunération des dirigeants
La Commission européenne a lancé une consultation sur la rémunération des
dirigeants. Les réponses seront prises en compte dans la prochaine
recommandation aux États membres que la Commission entend publier sur ce
thème en septembre 2004. La consultation porte notamment sur les
obligations d'information concernant la politique de rémunération et le
montant des rémunérations individuelles et sur l'approbation par les
actionnaires des formules d'options sur actions réservées aux dirigeants.
Les réponses devront être parvenues le 12 avril 2004 au plus tard.
[05] Commission releases €28 million of risk capital facility for
Mediterranean countries
The European Commission has released under the MEDA programme €28 million
of risk capital for the following Mediterranean neighbours: Algeria, Egypt,
Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza Strip. The
facility will focus on up-grading the financial sector of these countries
and territories, on raising the competitiveness of their enterprise sector
and will put emphasis on privatisation. Support will also be available to
financial intermediaries active in the region. The Risk Capital Facility is
administered by FEMIP, a European Investment Bank (EIB) facility created in
2002.
[06] Commission and EEA make public extensive information about industrial
pollution in your neighbourhood
Today the European Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA)
launched the European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER), the first Europe-
wide register of industrial emissions into air and water. For the first
time, detailed information on pollution from around 10,000 large industrial
facilities in the EU and Norway is publicly accessible on the internet
(www.eper.cec.eu.int). EPER enables European citizens to exercise their
'right to know', allowing them, for example, to see how much pollution
large industries in their neighbourhoods generate and to compare this with
the situation in other parts of Europe. Companies can measure themselves
against their competitors, and for their part, scientists, insurance
companies, local authorities and policy makers now have a solid database to
help them choose the most effective solutions for reducing industrial
pollution.
[07] The European Commission and UNESCO sign agreement to facilitate closer
co-operation in developing countries
European Commissioner for Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid,
Poul Nielson and Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Marcio Barbosa today signed
an agreement designed to pave the way for a closer partnership between the
two institutions in the field of education, science and culture. The
agreement signed today will facilitate the implementation of programmes
being financed by the European Commission, where UNESCO is the main
implementing partner. The cooperation between the two organisations has
constantly increased in recent years. In 2002 EC allocated € 4.66 million
to development activities implemented by UNESCO. The majority of the co-
financed actions concern education support to the developing countries. The
EC last year signed similar agreements with the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO),
World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
[08] Commission clears joint acquisition of UK property developer Canary
Wharf
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of joint control of Canary Wharf Group plc. by Morgan
Stanley Real Estate Funds IV, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Special Situations
Fund II and Princes Gate Investors, all belonging to the US financial
services firm Morgan Stanley Group, and certain Glick family trusts (US).
Canary Wharf is an integrated property development and investment company
providing office space and retail facilities mainly in the London area.
(The operation, notified on 23 January 2004, was examined under the
simplified merger review procedure)
[09] Commission clears Vestar acquisition of French funeral services firm
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of sole control of the French undertaking "Omnium de
Gestion et de Financement" (OGF), active in the French funeral services
sector, by US private equity firm "Vestar Capital Partners". (The operation,
notified on 22 January 2004, was examined under the simplified merger
review procedure)
[10] Commission clears acquisition of parts of ABB's oil and gas industry
services businesses
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of joint control of parts of a business division of ABB
Group Ltd (Switzerland) by equity funds Candover Partners Limited (UK),
JPMP Capital Corp. (US) and 3i Group PLC (UK). The activities to be
acquired relate to products and services for the oil, gas and petroleum
industry. These activities include the design and production of offshore
and onshore production facilities and their maintenance (The operation,
notified on 20 January, was examined under the simplified merger review
procedure)
[11] New dissemination time for news release
As from 1 March 2004, all Eurostat News Releases and Economic indicators
from the Directorate General of Economic and Financial affairs will be
issued at 11.00 CET, instead of 12.00 CET.
[12] Rédiffusion de notes
[13] Le commissaire européen chargé de l'agriculture déclare: «L'Europe
persévérera dans ses réformes agricoles»
S'exprimant aujourd'hui devant la presse à Washington, M. Franz Fischler,
membre de la Commission chargé de l'agriculture, du développement rural et
de la pêche, a parlé de l'interruption des négociations avec l'OMC, des
réformes agricoles à entreprendre dans les pays riches et des
biotechnologies. Il a annoncé qu'il présenterait des propositions concrètes
concernant la réforme du système communautaire de soutien du secteur du
sucre. «La politique agricole de l'Union européenne a changé de visage,
notamment grâce à la réforme mise en oeuvre en juin 2003. La part des
dépenses liées à la politique agricole commune dans les dépenses publiques
totales de l'UE, qui s'élève actuellement à 1 %, n'a cessé de s'amenuiser
ces dernières années. Nous entendons poursuivre nos réformes. Avant l'été
prochain, je présenterai des propositions visant à centrer sur le marché le
régime communautaire applicable au sucre et à le rendre plus respectueux
des échanges commerciaux. L'Union européenne devrait prendre une
orientation semblable au mois de mars en ce qui concerne le soutien
communautaire aux secteurs du coton, du tabac et de l'huile d'olive. En
outre, le document-cadre sur l'OMC et l'agriculture adopté conjointement
par l'Union européenne et les États-Unis l'été dernier me donne de bonnes
raisons de penser que les États-Unis suivront l'exemple européen et
réformeront leur loi sur l'agriculture de manière qu'elle perturbe moins
les échanges et qu'elle soit plus centrée sur le marché», a déclaré M.
Franz Fischler.
[14] Environmental liability: Commission welcomes agreement on new
Directive
The European Commission has welcomed the agreement on the groundbreaking
Environmental Liability Directive that has been reached in conciliation by
the European Parliament and the Council. It will enable the proposed
Directive now to be swiftly adopted. Agreement on an EU measure on
Environmental Liability has been sought since the late 1980's. The new
Directive is the first EU law specifically based on the "polluter pays
principle". It will ensure that future environmental damage in the EU is
prevented or remedied and that those who cause it are held responsible.
Environmental damage includes damage to animals, plants, natural habitats
and water resources as well as contamination of land which causes
significant harm to human health.
[15] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Mr. Byrne at "Breaking the Barriers" Parntership to fight
HIV/AIDS in Europe and Central Asia "Health Hope and Progress" Embargo
16h00: Speech by Mr. Byrne at the OIE Global Conference on Animal Welfare
"Animal Welfare pushed up the International Agenda" Préparation du Conseil
Agriculture/Pêche de février 2004 Rediff : Discours de M. Fischler
Agriculture and the WTO : Lessons from Europe
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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