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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-07-01
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission urges Member States to speed up opening of electricity and
gas markets
[02] Commission clears Statoil's sole control of Scandinavian petrol
station chain SDS
[03] Commission clears joint control of Finnish software vendor Solid
Information
[04] Taxation in the EU from 1995 to 2002 : EU25 overall tax burden
decreased from 41.1% of GDP in 2001 to 40.4% in 2002 ; lower tax burden on
average in the new Member States
[05] Mai 2004 : le chômage dans la zone euro stable 9,0% ; l'UE25 en
baisse 9,0%
[06] Commission welcomes Romania's decision on visa requirements for
nationals of Serbia-Montenegro
[07] "No compulsory genetic testing for newborn babies in Europe", says
Philippe Busquin
[08] Textiles and clothing : seven recommendations to improve the
competitiveness of the EU industry
[09] High level meeting between Commission and WHO - signature of strategic
partnership agreement on health in developing countries
[10] EU-ACP : EU supports Pacific Islands open Permanent Representation to
the WTO in Geneva
Midday Express of 2004-07-01
Reference: MEX/04/0701
Date: 01/07/2004
EXME04 / 1.7
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Press and Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Général Presse etb
Communication
01/07/04
[01] Commission urges Member States to speed up opening of electricity and
gas markets
European legislation adopted last year sets 1 July 2004 as the date for
full opening of the gas and electricity markets for all business consumers.
From today millions of businesses throughout the enlarged EU should be able
to benefit from competition for their energy supply. However the large
majority of Member States are late in implementing this legislation and
work still needs to be done to create a level playing field across the 25
Member States. "Member States agreed in 2003 on the legal framework for
competitive and fair electricity and gas markets, including effective
regulation, unbundling of networks and far reaching consumer protection. It
is now up to them to live up to their responsibilities and fulfil the firm
engagement they took to open the markets by this month", Vice-President of
the European Commission Loyola de Palacio stated.
[02] Commission clears Statoil's sole control of Scandinavian petrol
station chain SDS
The European Commission has authorised the acquisition by the Norwegian oil
and gas producer Statoil of sole control over Statoil Detaljhandel
Skandinavia AS, which operates a chain of retail stations selling fuel and
other consumer products in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
[03] Commission clears joint control of Finnish software vendor Solid
Information
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the joint acquisition of the Finnish privately-owned company Solid
Information Technologies Oy by investment funds Apax Europe IV, ultimately
controlled by The Hirzell Trust, and the Finnish private equity investor
CapMan Funds, controlled by CapMan Plc. (The operation, notified on 2 June
2004, was examined under the simplified merger review procedure).
[04] Taxation in the EU from 1995 to 2002 : EU25 overall tax burden
decreased from 41.1% of GDP in 2001 to 40.4% in 2002 ; lower tax burden on
average in the new Member States
According to Eurostat, in 2002, the overall tax burden (i.e. the total
amount of taxes and social security contributions) in the EU25 stood at
40.4% of GDP. The tax-to-GDP ratio increased from 40.5% in 1995 to 41.8% in
1999, then declined steadily from 1999 to 2002. From 2000 these reductions
in the majority of Member States have been partly due to reforms in tax
systems, particularly through cuts in personal income tax rates and in
social contributions. In 2002, as compared with 2001, the EU25 tax-to-GDP
ratio decreased by 0.7 percentage points. In all ten new Member States
(NMS), the tax-to-GDP ratio was lower in 2002 than the EU15 average (40.5%),
ranging from 28.8% in Lithuania to 39.8% in Slovenia.
[05] Mai 2004 : le chômage dans la zone euro stable 9,0% ; l'UE25 en
baisse 9,0%
Le taux de chômage de la zone euro, corrigé des variations saisonnières,
s'est élevé 9,0% en mai 2004, inchangé par rapport au mois d'avril,
selon les données publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat. Il était de 8,9% en
mai 2003. Le taux de chômage de l'UE25 a atteint 9,0% en mai 2004, en
baisse par rapport avril, oú il était de 9,1%. Il était également de
9,1% en mai 2003. En mai 2004, les taux les plus bas ont été enregistrés
Chypre, au Luxembourg et en Autriche (4,2% chacun), en Irlande (4,5%), au
Royaume-Uni (4,7% en mars) et aux Pays-Bas (4,9% en avril). Les taux de
chômage étaient les plus élevés en Pologne (18,9%), en Slovaquie (16,
4%), en Lituanie (11,5%) et en Espagne (11,1%).
[06] Commission welcomes Romania's decision on visa requirements for
nationals of Serbia-Montenegro
European Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino stated :
"By requiring visas for Serbia-Montenegro nationals, Romania honours its
commitments. It is clear that Romania will have to align its legislation
with EU legislation ahead of accession. That obviously includes the Visa
Regulation (539/2001) and its list of countries for which a visa
requirement is imposed, which includes Serbia and Montenegro. Romania has
indeed not only to adopt the necessary legal provisions but also to put in
place the necessary administrative structures in advance of accession in
order to ensure effective implementation upon accession. With the decision
to impose such a visa requirement from 1 July 2004, Romania is honouring
one of its commitments undertaken in the context of the justice and home
affairs negotiations, which has to be seen as a relevant step towards
alignment with the acquis in this field."
[07] "No compulsory genetic testing for newborn babies in Europe", says
Philippe Busquin
On 30 June, European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin rejected
stories in several media claiming he had called for genetic testing of all
newborn babies in Europe. He said : "I have never advocated any such point
of view. It is not the role nor the intention of the Commission to ask EU
Member States to impose universal genetic screening of babies. Genetic
testing is a matter of free choice and of ethical rules being decided by EU
Member States. The Commission does not regulate ethics. I certainly welcome
the contribution of the expert group on genetic testing which presented its
report to the Commission on May 6-7, 2004. But its recommendations are
simple suggestions – and they don't call for universal genetic testing of
babies! Genetic testing can certainly help in the early detection of
illnesses, but can never be made compulsory. European citizens rightly
expect that the results of genetic tests are reliable and that their
genetic information is used properly and following strict quality and
ethical standards. The Commission is in particularly studying the issue of
quality and reliability of this new technology, that must be used in a
responsible and voluntary way and in a climate of confidence with the
public at large."
[08] Textiles and clothing : seven recommendations to improve the
competitiveness of the EU industry
The high level group on textiles meeting on 30 June has adopted seven
recommendations to improve the competitiveness of the EU textiles and
clothing industry and ensure that it keeps its status of world leader.
Participants gathering in Brussels included European Commissioners for
Trade Pascal Lamy and for Enterprise and Information Society Erkki Liikanen,
representatives from EU Member States (France, Italy, Germany and Portugal),
Members of the European Parliament as well as representatives from industry,
retailers, distributors, European textiles associations, trade unions and
local textile and clothing associations. The Commission will prepare a
report to the Council by September, with proposals for implementing the
recommendations adopted by the High Level Group.
[09] High level meeting between Commission and WHO - signature of strategic
partnership agreement on health in developing countries
On Friday 2 July, a high level meeting between the European Commission and
the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Lee Jong-
Wook will take place in Brussels. Dr Lee will meet with Commissioners
David Byrne, Poul Nielson, Margot Wallström, Pascal Lamy and Pavel
Teličcka. The high level meeting takes place in the framework of the
enhanced cooperation between WHO and the EU which was put in place in 2001.
The areas of cooperation include : health information ; health monitoring
and disease surveillance ; communicable disease surveillance ; environment
; health related research and technological development ; mobilising and
coordinating resources ; seconding staff. At 12h30 a Strategic Partnership
agreement to reinforce joint efforts to reduce poverty and improve health
conditions in developing countries will be signed. Commissioners Nielson
and Byrne are co-signatories. Journalists are invited to attend and will
have an opportunity to question participants at 12h30 in room 5A BREY.
[10] EU-ACP : EU supports Pacific Islands open Permanent Representation to
the WTO in Geneva
This week the Pacific Islands Forum countries opened their permanent
representation to the WTO in Geneva. The Pacific Office has been supported
by a €280,000 grant from the European Development Fund. European Trade
Commissioner Pascal Lamy said : "The WTO negotiations have to be accessible
to all, including the smaller members who have special needs and
constraints. The establishment of the Pacific Office will help the Pacific
region to be better represented in WTO. It will also facilitate the active
participation of the small islands and economies in our joint efforts to
move the Doha Agenda forward." The Pacific Office will be the regional
representation of 14 Pacific ACP countries in Geneva (Cook Islands, Fed.
States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau,
Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu). It will
strengthen the capacity of the currently three Pacific WTO members - Fiji,
Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands - and three observers - Samoa, Tonga
and Vanuatu - to participate in WTO. None of these countries is currently
permanently represented in Geneva. Moreover the office will serve as an
information channel for the other countries in the Pacific region not
currently members or observers.
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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