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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-07-20
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[I] RĂ©sultats de la Commission du 19 juillet 2004 -
[01] La Commission demande à la Cour de justice européenne de déterminer
si Mme Cresson a manqué à ses obligations de membre de la Commission
[02] GMOs : Commission authorises import of GM-maize for use in animal feed
[03] Commission decides not to oppose recorded music JV between Sony and
Bertelsmann
[04] Ukraine : Commission approves an amendment to a Euratom Loan Decision
for the safety upgrade of two nuclear units
[05] La Commission autorise partiellement des aides au secteur de la pĂŞche
français
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[06] New Directive to improve public participation in environmental impact
assessments
[07] Questions phytosanitaires et commerce mondial : l'UE adhère à de
nouvelles règles internationales
[08] Commission clears acquisition of Alcatel's Mobile Phone Division by
TCL Communication Technology
[09] Savings taxation : Commission welcomes Council agreement on 1 July
2005 application date
[10] Passenger car taxation : public consultation on proposals for
Community legislation
[11] Green light for €182.9 million for agriculture and rural development
in Slovakia
[12] Go ahead for €3.59 billion rural development plan for Poland
[13] Go ahead for €754.14 million rural development plan in Hungary
[14] Green light for €353.1 million rural development plan in the
Republic of Slovenia
[15] Green light for €561.8 million for rural development plan of
Slovakia
[16] La Commission engage des poursuites judiciaires contre l'Espagne pour
infractions au droit européen de l'environnement
[17] Luxembourg : Commission pursues legal action in six cases of breaches
of EU environmental law
[18] Greece : Commission pursues legal action in nine cases for breach of
EU environmental law
[19] Enhanced EU-Japan cooperation on aerospace
[20] Pascal Lamy in Turkey to discuss bilateral trade issues
[21] Chris Patten to visit Sarajevo and Mostar on 22nd and 23rd July
[22] Enjoy your holidays - and enjoy your rights! Ten basic principles of
consumer protection
[23] Selon la Commission, l'euro a connu un succès au cours de ses cinq
premières années d'existence, mais d'importantes difficultés l'attendent
[24] New study on fiscal policy in EMU : rules, discretion and political
incentives
[25] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2004-07-20
Reference: MEX/04/0720
Date: 20/07/2004
EXME04 / 20.7
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
20/07/04
[I] RĂ©sultats de la Commission du 19 juillet 2004 -
Outcome of Commission meeting of 19 July 2004
[01] La Commission demande à la Cour de justice européenne de déterminer
si Mme Cresson a manqué à ses obligations de membre de la Commission
La Commission européenne a décidé de saisir la Cour de justice du
dossier concernant les allégations selon lesquelles Mme Cresson aurait
manqué à ses obligations pendant son mandat de commissaire. Les
infractions à l'article 213 du traité dont il s'agirait concernent des cas
de "favoritisme" et de "négligence caractérisée". Cette décision fait
suite à une analyse très approfondie de tous les éléments dont disposait
la Commission ainsi qu'Ă une audition de Mme Cresson et de ses avocats le
30 juin 2004.
[02] GMOs : Commission authorises import of GM-maize for use in animal feed
The European Commission has authorised the placing on the market of the
genetically modified maize known as NK603 for import and processing. This
decision is valid for 10 years and results from an application submitted by
the company Monsanto. Imports of the maize, whether in bulk shipments, bags
or other containers, will have to be labelled as containing genetically
modified maize. The NK603 maize is already widely used in other parts of
the world with no reports of any adverse effects on health or the
environment. This authorisation, which is backed by science, covers the
specific use for imports of the GM maize and processing for use in animal
feed or for industrial purposes. A separate decision in terms of
authorisation of the NK603 maize for use in food will be taken in the
coming months.
[03] Commission decides not to oppose recorded music JV between Sony and
Bertelsmann
The European Commission has granted regulatory approval to the creation of
Sony BMG, a joint venture combining the recorded music businesses of Sony
and Bertelsmann after concluding that it did not have sufficiently strong
evidence to oppose the deal. The Commission will keep a close watch on the
music sector as it becomes even more concentrated and would very carefully
scrutinise any further major concentration in the industry.
[04] Ukraine : Commission approves an amendment to a Euratom Loan Decision
for the safety upgrade of two nuclear units
On behalf of Euratom, the European Commission has approved an amendment to
the decision taken in 2000 to grant a loan to the Ukrainian National
Nuclear Power Company Energoatom for unit 2 at Khmelnitsky and unit 4 at
Rovno nuclear power plants in Ukraine, the so-called K2R4 project. The loan
will now exclusively target enhanced plant safety by financing the safety
upgrade investments to be made after start-up of the plants that are now
both close to completion. The amount of the Euratom loan has been reduced
to the € equivalent of USD 83 million. The European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has recently approved a loan of USD
42 million for the same project.
[05] La Commission autorise partiellement des aides au secteur de la pĂŞche
français
La Commission européenne a autorisé certaines aides accordées par la
France sous forme d'allègement de charges financières et sociales suite Ă
une pollution pétrolière provoquée par le naufrage de l' "Erika" en
décembre 1999 et à une tempête violente peu de temps après. La
Commission a estimé que ces mesures étaient justifiées lorsqu'elles
concernaient les aquaculteurs de la côte Atlantique particulièrement
affectés par ces événements. En revanche, pour les autres aquaculteurs,
ainsi que pour les pêcheurs, ces aides ont été jugées incompatibles
avec le marché commun et devront être récupérées. La Commission a
autorisé également certaines aides en faveur du secteur de la pêche en
Corse entre 1986 et 1999. Toutefois, celles relatives Ă la construction de
navires ou à leur modernisation avec augmentation de puissance, octroyées
entre le 1 janvier 1997 et le 28 octobre 1998, ont été jugées
incompatibles avec le marché commun. Elles devront aussi être
récupérées. Les aides à l'achat de navires d'occasion ont, quant à elles,
été autorisées.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[06] New Directive to improve public participation in environmental impact
assessments
European citizens will from now on be able to have more influence on
decisions which will affect their environment. From tomorrow, 21 July 2004,
the environmental effects of a wide range of public plans and programmes
must be assessed under better and more open planning procedures. These
measures are set out in a new European law, the Directive on Strategic
Environmental Assessment (SEA), which must be implemented by all Member
States tomorrow. Local waste management plans or road building plans for
regions are examples that come under the SEA directive. It will also apply
to land use, agriculture, water management, tourism, industry and energy.
When drawing up relevant plans or programmes public authorities will have
to make an environmental report to identify, describe and assess their
likely effects on the environment. Amongst the effects to be covered are
those on biodiversity, fauna and flora, soil and water, climatic factors,
landscape and on human health. The SEA Directive enables everybody to
express their opinion on the environmental report and on the draft plan or
programme. Both the environmental report and the outcome of the public
consultation must be taken into account when the plans are decided upon.
[07] Questions phytosanitaires et commerce mondial : l'UE adhère à de
nouvelles règles internationales
Le Conseil Agriculture a approuvé une version révisée de la convention
internationale de protection des végétaux (CIPV) afin de renforcer son
rĂ´le dans l'adoption de normes internationales. Le Conseil a Ă©galement
décidé que l'Union, en tant que telle, serait partie à la CIPV, à côté
des 25 Etats membres. Ces deux décisions reconnaissent l'importance
croissante de la CIPV dans le système du commerce mondial. L'organisation
mondiale du commerce (OMC) accorde Ă ses membres le droit d'imposer des
restrictions aux importations si la protection de leur agriculture contre
les maladies ou les parasites des plantes l'exige. Ce droit est énoncé
dans l'accord de l'OMC sur les mesures sanitaires et phytosanitaires
(accord SPS), qui invite également la CIPV à définir des normes
internationales qui permettent de garantir que les membres de l'OMC
s'entendent sur une approche harmonisée, sans utiliser indûment ces
mesures comme des entraves aux échanges. La convention ainsi révisée
officialise le secrétariat de la CIPV et instaure un organe directeur, la
"commission des mesures phytosanitaires", chargé de définir, pour les
mesures phytosanitaires, des normes internationales qui seront reconnues
dans le cadre de l'accord SPS. Le processus de définition des normes,
prévu par la CIPV, met l'accent sur la participation, sur la consultation
et sur la compétence technique. Les nouvelles règles prévoient
explicitement la participation d'entités telles que l'Union européenne.
[08] Commission clears acquisition of Alcatel's Mobile Phone Division by
TCL Communication Technology
The European Commission has cleared, under the Merger Regulation, the
acquisition of Alcatel's mobile phone business, which involves the design
and distribution of mobile handsets, by Hong-Kong based mobile handset
manufacturer TCL.
[09] Savings taxation : Commission welcomes Council agreement on 1 July
2005 application date
The European Commission has welcomed the adoption by the EU's Council of
Ministers of a decision establishing the application date of 1 July 2005
for the Council Directive to allow effective taxation of interest income
from cross-border investment of savings that is paid to individuals within
the EU. The Council adopted this Directive as part of a package of three
measures to combat harmful tax competition in June 2003 (see IP/03/787),
but postponed until the end of June 2004 its decision on whether the
conditions had been met for the provisions of the Directive to be applied
in the EU. Now that agreement has been reached on all matters of substance
with Member States' dependent and associated territories and with
Switzerland (see IP/04/803), Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino
on the application of measures equivalent to or the same as those in the
savings directive, the necessary conditions exist to enable the Savings Tax
Directive's provisions to be applied in the EU.
[10] Passenger car taxation : public consultation on proposals for
Community legislation
The European Commission has launched an online consultation for views from
the public and business on reforming EU passenger car taxation systems so
as to remove tax obstacles which distort the functioning of the Internal
Market. The consultation, which runs until 10 September 2004, is based on a
questionnaire which seeks information on the tax problems encountered when
passenger cars are moved from one Member State to another and views on four
possible options for resolving those problems. The consultation follows the
Commission's Communication on passenger car taxation of September 2002 (see
IP/02/1274) in which the Commission recommended in particular the gradual
phasing out of registration taxes and the introduction of a new tax
structure linked to CO² emissions. The opinions expressed during the
present public consultation will be taken into account in a proposal on
this subject that the Commission is due to present at the end of this year.
More information, including the questionnaire and a document describing the
issues in more detail, is available on the Europa website at :
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/taxation/consultations/car_taxation_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/taxation/consultations/car_taxation_en.htmÂ
[11] Green light for €182.9 million for agriculture and rural development
in Slovakia
The European Commission approved Slovakia's Operational Programme for
Agriculture and Rural Development for the period 2004 2006. The outcome of
negotiations between Slovakia and the Commission on financial aid from the
Structural Funds, it will cover Slovakia's Objective 1 regions and is aimed
at modernising farming and encouraging rural development. Of the total
assistance of €182.9 million the European Agricultural Guidance and
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section will contribute €181.1 million
and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) €1.8 million.
[12] Go ahead for €3.59 billion rural development plan for Poland
The European Union's Committee for Agriculture Structures (STAR) gave a
favourable opinion to the Polish Horizontal Rural Development Plan (HRDP).
Worth in total €3.592 billion, the EU contribution will amount to
€2.866 billion during the three-year period 2004-2006. It will be
complemented with Polish public funding of €726 million. With this rural
development plan, the EU will help Poland to improve the profitability of
farms in less favoured areas, to set up specific agri-environment schemes,
to step up afforestation activities, to convert small farms into viable
farming units, to meet EU standards for farming, and will offer them
technical assistance for the implementation of the plan. The Commission
will formally approve the plan in the coming weeks. This money comes on top
of the €1.8 billion "Operational Programme for Restructuring and
Modernisation of the Food Sector and Rural Development" the Commission
approved on 8 July (see IP/04/871).
[13] Go ahead for €754.14 million rural development plan in Hungary
The EU's Committee for Agricultural Structures (STAR) gave a favourable
opinion on the Hungarian Rural Development Plan (RDP). The programme is
worth €754.14 million for the period 2004-2006, of which the EU
contribution amounts to €602.30 million, with the balance financed from
Hungarian national funds. The plan, which covers the whole territory of
Hungary, includes a broad range of rural development measures. It seeks to
improve income and safeguard employment in the rural areas, and to support
environment friendly agricultural development, more rational land-use, and
landscape management. The plan will help to maintain farming activities and
to improve farm incomes in less-favoured areas. It should also help
increase the forest cover and enhance the environmental features of new
forests. The plan encourages semi subsistence farms to become economically
viable and supports the setting up of producer groups. The Commission will
formally adopt the plan in the coming weeks.
[14] Green light for €353.1 million rural development plan in the
Republic of Slovenia
The Committee on Agricultural Structures and Rural Development (STAR
Committee) has given its favourable opinion to the Slovene Rural
Development Plan (RDP) worth €353.1 million. The EU contribution to the
plan will amount for €281.6 million over the three-year period 2004-2006.
The rest will be financed from Slovene national funds. The plan includes a
range of rural development measures that are tailor-made for the needs of
Slovene rural areas. It aims to mitigate the differences in farm
profitability in less-favoured areas that result from natural conditions,
to improve the unfavourable age structure of farmers, and to provide to a
sufficient extent for the farming of agricultural land in conformity with
the principles of Good Farming Practice.
[15] Green light for €561.8 million for rural development plan of
Slovakia
The European Union's Committee for Agriculture Structures (STAR) has given
its favourable opinion to the Rural Development Plan (RDP) of the Slovak
Republic 2004-2006. Worth €561.8 million overall, the EU contribution
will amount to €397.1 million during the three-year period 2004-2006, and
the rest will be complemented with Slovak public and private financing.
Slovakia has a good tradition of farming and the country has huge forestry
potential. With this rural development plan, the EU will support Slovakia
to improve the profitability of farms, to maintain farming in less
favourite areas, to set up specific agri-environment schemes, to step up
afforestation activities and improve forest management, to help farmers
meet environmental standards. The plan encourages also semi subsistence
farms to become more economically viable and supports the setting up
producer groups. The Commission will formally approve the plan in the
coming weeks. This comes on top of 182.9 million "Operational Programme for
Agriculture and Rural Development" which the Commission has approved
(IP/04/961).
[16] La Commission engage des poursuites judiciaires contre l'Espagne pour
infractions au droit européen de l'environnement
La Commission européenne a décidé d'entamer des procédures d'infraction
Ă l'encontre de l'Espagne concernant sept cas de manquement au droit de
l'environnement de l'UE. Les problèmes concernent principalement
l'élimination de déchets, les eaux urbaines résiduaires et des projets
de construction qui peuvent affecter des sites naturels et l'environnement
en général. La Commission demande à l'Espagne de se conformer à un arrêt
de la Cour de justice européenne qui l'a condamnée pour ce qui concerne
un certain nombre de décharges incontrôlées. Ces sites constituent une
menace pour la santé humaine et pour l’environnement. Dans les autres
cas, la Commission a envoyé à l'Espagne des avertissements écrits. Par
cette action, la Commission veut s'assurer que les autorités espagnoles
appliquent correctement le droit communautaire en matière d'environnement
pour protéger la grande biodiversité de ce pays et garantir à ses
citoyens un environnement de qualité.
[17] Luxembourg : Commission pursues legal action in six cases of breaches
of EU environmental law
The European Commission has decided to pursue infringement proceedings
against Luxembourg in six cases concerning EU environment law. In this way,
the Commission aims to improve Luxembourg's compliance with legislation
that provides citizens with a high quality of life and has positive effects
on the state of the environment in the EU. In five cases the Commission has
sent final written warnings, which represent the last step before a Court
referral. These cases relate to gaps in legislation covering industrial
accidents, inadequate treatment of urban wastewater and the non-
transposition of laws on emissions trading and integrated water management.
In addition, Luxembourg has received a first written warning about missing
plans to improve air quality.
[18] Greece : Commission pursues legal action in nine cases for breach of
EU environmental law
The European Commission has decided to pursue infringement proceedings
against Greece in nine cases involving EU environmental law. In one case,
the Commission will request that Greece complies with a ruling by the
European Court of Justice. The Court had condemned Greece for not having
eliminated correctly electrical equipment containing polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are industrial chemicals that were once widely used
as flame retardants, but cause cancer. In three other cases, the Commission
will refer Greece to the Court after Greece ignored its earlier warnings.
These three cases involve unsafe handling of sludge from a waste water
plant in the area of Athens, an illegal landfill on Crete and lack of
protection of a rare viper species on Milos. In another five cases the
Commission will send Greece written warnings. Through its action, the
Commission seeks to ensure that Greece is correctly applying EU environment
law. Failure to do so means that citizens do not receive the level of
environmental protection that they are entitled to.
[19] Enhanced EU-Japan cooperation on aerospace
On 20 July 2004, in the margins of Farnborough Airshow, the EU (the
European Commission and the governments of the EU Member States most
concerned) and Japan (METI) brought together EU and Japanese aerospace
industries to build a closer relationship and industrial cooperation. In
this regard, Trade Commissioner Pascale Lamy stated : "Today, civil
aerospace is a global industry. Worldwide subcontracting has become an
industrial reality. We see our role in facilitating such business practices
wherever possible. The EU-Japan meeting on industrial cooperation is part
of this effort. Today the potential for industrial cooperation between both
regions does not yet match the tremendous capabilities of Japanese and
European aerospace companies. We need to change this over time by promoting
a more favourable environment for international trade and international
industrial cooperation in the aerospace sector."
[20] Pascal Lamy in Turkey to discuss bilateral trade issues
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will travel to both Istanbul and
Ankara on 21-22 July to discuss bilateral trade issues with the government,
business and civil society. This visit will be coupled with the Fourth Euro-
Med trade ministerial conference, which Commissioner Lamy will co-chair in
Istanbul on 21 July. On the eve of his departure Pascal Lamy said : "Our
Customs Union with Turkey, which will celebrate at the end of next year its
tenth birthday, provides for a deep trade relationship which is constantly
evolving. This is an excellent opportunity to meet up with the Turkish
government, as well as other key interested parties such as business
associations, trade unions and NGOs, to discuss the best ways in which we
can deepen and widen our important trade relationship."
[21] Chris Patten to visit Sarajevo and Mostar on 22nd and 23rd July
Chris Patten, European Commissioner for External Relations, will be
visiting Sarajevo on 22nd July, before travelling to Mostar on 23rd July
for the opening of the "Old Bridge". During the visit he will meet the High
Representative, Lord Ashdown, Prime Minister Adnan Terzić, Foreign
Minister Mladen Ivanić, Minister of Security Bariša olak and the Director
for European Integration Osman Topčagić. This will be an opportunity to
discuss progress by the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in
implementing reforms necessary for the European Commission to recommend
opening of the negotiations for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
Commissioner Patten will attend the first meeting of the Police
Restructuring Commission and visit the new State Information Protection
Agency, reflecting the Commission's provision of over €10 million for
Police reform in BiH.
[22] Enjoy your holidays - and enjoy your rights! Ten basic principles of
consumer protection
July and August will see millions of people crossing internal borders in
the European Union as they head off on their holidays. For most
holidaymakers EU consumer protection law is probably one of the last things
on their mind. But what happens if the package tour operator they are
travelling with goes bankrupt ? Or if they are pressured into signing an
unfair contract while on holiday in another EU country ? To help consumers
"know their rights" in situations such as these Commissioners David Byrne
and Pavel TeliÄŤka have today published an information note entitled
"Consumer Protection in the European Union: 10 Basic Principles". This
outlines the key ways in which EU law protects consumers’ rights –
whether they are holidaying on the Baltic coast or the Mediterranean
Riviera. It also tells citizens how they can get further advice and
information about their consumer rights. "Our message to citizens is enjoy
your holidays – and enjoy your rights. This demonstrates the real value
that Europe brings to its citizens", said Commissioner TeliÄŤka. The full
text of the note is available at: <a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/index_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/index_en.htm
[23] Selon la Commission, l'euro a connu un succès au cours de ses cinq
premières années d'existence, mais d'importantes difficultés l'attendent
La Commission européenne a publié aujourd'hui un rapport sur les cinq
premières années d'existence de l'Union économique et monétaire (UEM)
qui met en relief la contribution positive que la monnaie unique a
apportée à la stabilité macroéconomique ainsi que le rôle moteur
qu'elle a joué dans l'accélération de l'intégration économique en
Europe. Toutefois, le rapport attire Ă©galement l'attention sur certains
défis majeurs qui se profilent à l'horizon pour la zone euro. Joaquin
Almunia, membre de la Commission chargé des affaires économiques et
monétaires, a déclaré : "Les cinq années d'existence de l'Union
économique et monétaire représentent une performance politique et
institutionnelle remarquable pour l'UE. Il convient désormais de
s'attaquer aux causes restantes de l'apathie de la croissance dans
l'Union."
[24] New study on fiscal policy in EMU : rules, discretion and political
incentives
A new study carried out by economists in the European Commission's
Directorate General of Economic and Financial Affairs states that the
fiscal philosophy of EMU's budgetary rules is to bring deficits close to
balance and then let automatic stabilisers play freely. Given the large tax
and benefit systems in Europe, relying mainly on automatic stabilisation
would allow a relatively high degree of cyclical smoothing while avoiding
the typical pitfalls of fiscal activism. While this is, in most
circumstances, good economic policy, it is evidently not regarded as good
politics. The current difficulties of EMU's fiscal policy framework have
little to do with its alleged fault lines and much to do with the
resurgence of electoral budget cycles amid a weak system of incentives to
abide by the agreed rules. Full document available on :
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/economic_papers/economicpapers206_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/economic_papers/economicpapers206_en.htm
[25] Autre matériel diffusé
Questions et réponses sur la position de la Commission dans l'affaire
Cresson
Dossier sur les faits concernant Mme Cresson
Outcome of Agriculture/Fisheries Council of July 2004
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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