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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-07-19
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] State of the art monitoring technologies : reducing irregularities in
EU agricultural funding
[02] Commission goes to the European Court of Justice to enforce EU anti-
discrimination law
[03] Douane : procédure d'infraction contre l'Italie concernant la
redevance environnementale sicilienne
[04] Assistance mutuelle dans le domaine des impôts directs et indirects :
procédures d'infraction contre la Grèce, la France et l'Italie
[05] Commission decides to take Germany to Court for excluding houses
outside Germany from housing grant
[06] Public procurement : Commission acts to enforce EU law in Italy, the
Netherlands, Spain, Finland and Denmark
[07] TVA : procédures d'infraction à l'encontre de l'Espagne, du
Luxembourg, de l'Autriche, du Portugal et de la Finlande
[08] Copyright : Commission launches consultations on fine-tuning of
legislation
[09] Croatia : €76 million for 2004 CARDS programme
[10] Employment and poverty reduction in developing countries : Commission
and ILO join forces to deliver on development cooperation goals
[11] Immigration, integration and employment - first annual report
[12] Mai 2004 par rapport à avril 2004 : la production industrielle en
hausse de 0,7% dans la zone euro ; hausse de 0,6% dans l’UE25
[13] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2004-07-19
Reference: MEX/04/0719
Date: 19/07/2004
EXME04 / 19.7
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
19/07/04
[01] State of the art monitoring technologies : reducing irregularities in
EU agricultural funding
Using innovative Geographic information system (GIS) technology and land
parcel identification systems (LPIS), the European Commission is playing a
key role in preventing agricultural subsidy irregularities. Through better
monitoring of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms, the Commission is
ensuring that subsidies are distributed more efficiently, fairly and
reliably. The Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting in Brussels today
will underline that implementing fair CAP reforms is essential. GIS
technology is a computerized form of mapping technology, linked to
databases containing information associated with the mapped features, in
this case fields and field boundaries. LPIS digital data is a key reference
to ensure that aid for any piece of land is claimed once only, and only by
one farmer, helping identify anomalies. Farmers can now directly observe
their land, more precisely determine their boundaries, and file more
accurate subsidy applications. The Commission and EU Member States will
also be better able to spot irregularities.
[02] Commission goes to the European Court of Justice to enforce EU anti-
discrimination law
The European Commission has announced that it is taking legal action
against six Member States that have failed to transpose two anti-
discrimination Directives. The Directives, which prohibit discrimination on
racial or ethnic origin, age, disability, religion and sexual orientation,
were due to be incorporated into national law last year. The Commission
will refer Austria, Germany, Finland, Greece, and Luxembourg to the
European Court of Justice.
[03] Douane : procédure d'infraction contre l'Italie concernant la
redevance environnementale sicilienne
La Commission européenne a demandé formellement à l'Italie de mettre fin
à l'imposition d'une redevance environnementale qui, en substance, frappe
le gaz nature, en provenance d'Algérie, qui arrive en Italie ou dans
d'autres Etats membres via l'Italie, et qui est transporté dans un gazoduc
appartenant à une société privée. La Commission estime que cette
redevance est contraire au tarif douanier commun de l'UE, dans la mesure
où elle va à l'encontre de l'égalité entre les charges douanières
frappant les produits importés des pays tiers aux frontières de l'UE,
ainsi qu'aux principes fondamentaux qui régissent la politique commerciale
commune et aux obligation internationales de l'UE, découlant de l'accord
de coopération avec l'Algérie. La demande formelle est sous forme d'avis
motivés, la seconde phase de la procédure d'infraction prévue par
l'article 226 du Traité. Si l'Italie ne se conforme pas à la demande de la
Commission dans les deux mois, celle-ci pourra saisir la Cour de justice.
[04] Assistance mutuelle dans le domaine des impôts directs et indirects :
procédures d'infraction contre la Grèce, la France et l'Italie
La Commission européenne a demandé officiellement à la République
hellénique, à la République française et à la République italienne de
lui communiquer les mesures prises par ces trois pays pour mettre en Å“uvre
la directive européenne sur l'assistance mutuelle des autorités
compétentes des Etats membres dans le domaine des impôts directs et
indirects (Directive 2003/93/CE du Conseil du 7 octobre 2003 modifiant la
directive 77/799/CEE). Ces demandes sont présentées sous forme d'avis
motivés, deuxième étape de la procédure d'infraction prévue Ã
l'article 226 du Traité. La Commission peut saisir la Cour de justice si
ces Etats membres ne lui communiquent pas les mesures demandées.
[05] Commission decides to take Germany to Court for excluding houses
outside Germany from housing grant
The European Commission has decided to refer Germany to the European Court
of Justice because of its discriminatory rules on housing grants. The
Commission considers that the German rule whereby houses outside Germany
are excluded from the scope of the grant for the construction or
acquisition of personal accommodation, available to persons subject to
unlimited German tax liability, is contrary to the EC Treaty provisions on
the free movement of persons. Germany replied to a formal request from the
Commission to change the legislation (see IP/04/20) by defending the rules
and declaring that it was not willing to change its legislation.
[06] Public procurement : Commission acts to enforce EU law in Italy, the
Netherlands, Spain, Finland and Denmark
The European Commission has decided to bring Italy before the European
Court of Justice over certain provisions of its national legislation
governing public work contracts. The Netherlands will be brought before the
Court over contracts for the renovation of the city centre of Hoogezand-
Sappemeer. The Commission has also formally asked Italy to rectify breaches
of European law in the award of contracts for waste management in Sicily
and has asked Spain, the Netherlands and Finland to introduce effective
procedures to allow tenderers to challenge the decisions of awarding
authorities before it is too late to change such decisions, in line with
the Public Procurement Remedies Directive. Denmark has been requested to
rectify ministerial guidelines which wrongly interpret Directive 92/50/EEC
on the procurement of services as not requiring competition where contracts
for accounting and auditing services in connection with trials for
financial crimes are concerned. The Commission's requests take the form of
reasoned opinions, the second stage of the infringement procedure under
Article 226 of the EC Treaty. In the absence of a satisfactory response to
a reasoned opinion, the Commission may refer the Member State concerned to
the European Court of Justice.
[07] TVA : procédures d'infraction à l'encontre de l'Espagne, du
Luxembourg, de l'Autriche, du Portugal et de la Finlande
La Commission européenne a décidé de saisir la Cour de justice
européenne à l'encontre de l'Espagne en ce qui concerne le régime que cet
Etat applique à la sortie des biens d'un entrepôt fiscal. La Commission a
aussi envoyé des demandes formelles d'appliquer correctement la
législation concernant la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée (TVA) au Luxembourg,
à l'Autriche, à la Finlande et au Portugal. Le Luxembourg ne respecte pas
le délai de six mois, imposé par la huitième directive TVA, pour
rembourser les assujettis non établis, tandis que l'Autriche applique un
régime d'imposition simplifié, non conforme à la sixième directive TVA,
aux assujettis effectuant des transports de personnes et établis dans
d'autres Etats membres ou dans certains pays tiers. La Finlande et le
Portugal maintiennent des formalités pour les assujettis étrangers
exerçant sur le territoire national après l'entrée en vigueur de la
directive 2000/65/CE qui avait pour but d'éliminer tous ces obstacles. De
surcroît le Portugal applique à tort un taux réduit de TVA sur les
péages perçus pour traverser le Tage. Ces demandes formelles sont sous
forme d'avis motivés, la seconde phase de la procédure d'infraction
prévue par l'article 226 du Traité), En l'absence d'une mise en
conformité des législations de ces Etats membres endéans un délai de
deux mois à compter de la réception de l'avis motivé, la Commission
pourra décider de porter ces affaires devant la Cour de justice.
[08] Copyright : Commission launches consultations on fine-tuning of
legislation
The European Commission has launched consultations on simplifying and fine-
tuning existing EU legislation on copyright and related rights. The
consultations, open until 31st October 2004, are based on a Commission
working paper which suggests that current EU copyright legislation is
generally effective and consistent, but would benefit from some
improvements. The Commission would take into account the results of the
consultations before proposing legislative amendments within the next year
or so. The review of the existing Directives is in line with the
Commission's Better Regulation Action Plan (see IP/03/214). For the full
text of the working document, see:
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/copyright/review/consultation_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/copyright/review/consultation_en.htm
[09] Croatia : €76 million for 2004 CARDS programme
The European Commission has adopted its annual programme for Croatia. In
2004, within the Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and
Stabilisation (CARDS) Programme, a total of €76 million will be spent
assisting Croatia in its reform and modernisation efforts. The priorities
of the programme are : to further strengthen Croatia's democracy and
reinforce the rule of law ; to contribute to the country's economic and
social development ; to modernise the state administration and other public
institutions as well as to support the sustainable management of its
natural resources. The European Council of 17-18Â June, granted Croatia the
status of Candidate country and it will begin to benefit from pre-accession
instruments in 2005.
[10] Employment and poverty reduction in developing countries : Commission
and ILO join forces to deliver on development cooperation goals
The European Commission and the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
have today agreed on a strategic partnership to reinforce their joint
efforts to reduce poverty and improve labour conditions in developing
countries. The partnership will also foster closer collaboration towards
the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Decent Work
for All Agenda and other internationally agreed development targets. The
aim is to make the greatest possible contribution to strengthening the
social dimension of development cooperation. The Commission has been
working closely together with the ILO since 1958.
[11] Immigration, integration and employment - first annual report
The European Commission has issued its first annual report on migration and
integration, which confirms the need for coherent admission policies for
economic migrants across the EU, in order to be able to respond better to
labour gaps. The Commission also confirms its intention to launch a Green
Paper on economic immigration and to work towards the definition of common
basic principles for the integration of immigrants to be applied across the
EU. The report, requested by the European Council in 2003 and presented
jointly by Commissioners Antonio Vitorino and Stavros Dimas, gives an
overview of migration trends in the European Union, analyses changes in
immigration and describes actions taken regarding the admission and
integration of immigrants at national and European level. It follows on
from last year's Commission Communication on immigration, integration and
employment.
[12] Mai 2004 par rapport à avril 2004 : la production industrielle en
hausse de 0,7% dans la zone euro ; hausse de 0,6% dans l’UE25
La production industrielle de la zone euro, ajustée des variations
saisonnières, a augmenté de 0,7% en mai 2004 par rapport à avril 2004,
selon les estimations publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat. La production
avait augmenté de 0,3% en avril et de 0,2% en mars. La production de
l'UE25 a enregistré une hausse de 0,6% en mai 2004, après une
augmentation de 0,5% en avril et de 0,2% en mars. Par rapport à mai 2003,
la production industrielle a progressé en mai 2004 de 3,9% dans la zone
euro et de 4,1% dans l'UE25.
[13] Autre matériel diffusé
Background note on procedures to enforce EU anti-discrimination law
Discours de M. Busquin : "La recherche européenne pour l'agriculture" au
Conseil Agriculture
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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