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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-07-29
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Les prix des voitures sont moins élevés dans les nouveaux Etats
membres et convergent dans la zone euro
[02] Commission approves Siemens, 3i and AGUTH acquisition of joint control
of communications software company XtraMind
[03] Aid to the Palestinians in 2004
[04] Commission supports Afghan elections with an additional €9 million
[05] Eurobarometer : large support for the adoption of the European
Constitution
[06] Commission presents new agricultural market forecasts
[07] Investissements directs étrangers ; les flux d'IDE de l'UE25 vers les
pays tiers ont augmenté de 80% en 2003 par rapport à 2002 ; les flux
entrants en provenance des pays tiers ont diminué de 15%
[08] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2004-07-29
Reference: MEX/04/0729
Date: 29/07/2004
EXME04 / 29.7
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
29/07/04
[01] Les prix des voitures sont moins élevés dans les nouveaux Etats
membres et convergent dans la zone euro
Le dernier rapport sur les prix des voitures, qui se fonde sur des chiffres
du 1er mai 2004, confirme la tendance à la convergence des prix des
véhicules neufs sur les marchés de la zone euro. A l'intérieur de cette
zone, c'est généralement en Finlande que les prix hors taxes sont les
plus bas et en Allemagne qu'ils sont les plus élevés. Pour la première
fois, le rapport couvre aussi les nouveaux Etats membres. Les voitures sont,
en moyenne, moins chères dans ces pays, la Pologne étant le marché
où les prix sont les moins élevés.
[02] Commission approves Siemens, 3i and AGUTH acquisition of joint control
of communications software company XtraMind
The European Commission has cleared, under the Merger Regulation n°
4064/89, the proposed acquisition by German companies Siemens
Aktiengesellschaft (through its subsidiary Siemens Venture Capital GmbH)
and AGUTH Holding GmbH and a UK private equity investment company 3i Group
Investments LP of joint control of the undertaking XtraMind Technologies
GmbH. The acquired undertaking is a German company developing and providing
self-learning software for the analysis of textual content used for call-
centres solutions. (The operation, which was notified on 28 June, was
examined under a simplified procedure for unproblematic mergers)
[03] Aid to the Palestinians in 2004
This year, assistance to the Palestinians from the European Community
Budget is set to amount to around €250 million. This includes a package
for the West Bank and Gaza just approved by the European Commission for
€124.25 million. Today's announcement will be followed by the immediate
release of a first contribution of €26 million to the new Public
Financial Management Reform Trust Fund established by the World Bank. The
West Bank and Gaza Strip continue to suffer from a severe economic
recession. Income levels have dropped severely and the level of suffering
is unprecedented. In response to this, the 2004 programme pursues two
objectives : addressing urgent needs and contributing to the creation of a
viable and democratic Palestinian state.
[04] Commission supports Afghan elections with an additional €9 million
The European Commission has approved a further €9 million package to
support the elections in Afghanistan. The funding will support the
Elections Project managed by the United Nations (UN), to which the European
Union (EU) is the biggest single donor. Taken with previous contributions
donated towards the preparation of these elections (voters' registration)
today's announcement brings the Commission contribution to €24 million,
and when Member States' donations are added, the total EU funding for the
entire elections process reaches almost €80million. Following the
successful adoption of the new Constitution on 4Â January 2004, the holding
of Presidential elections - now scheduled for October 2004 - is the next
important milestone for Afghanistan on its road to a democratic future as
set out in the Bonn Agreement.
[05] Eurobarometer : large support for the adoption of the European
Constitution
The European Commission has published its latest Eurobarometer Flash report
on the future European Constitution. This survey was carried out on the
days following the political agreement reached at the European Council
which was held in Brussels on 17 and 18 June 2004. More than 80% of
citizens have declared themselves more or less in agreement with the
adoption of a European Constitution. The survey also shows that they feel
better informed than last January. The survey report is available at the
following address :
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/index_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/index_en.htm
[06] Commission presents new agricultural market forecasts
Today the European Commission published a report on "Prospects for
agricultural markets in the European Union 2004-2011". The publication
covers the EU-25. According to the report, the medium-term perspectives for
the EU cereals, meat and dairy markets appear relatively favourable. The
medium-term outlook of the EU cereals market continues to be favourable
with the exception of barley. Domestic cereals use is expanding only
moderately due to a less expansive livestock sector and gains in feeding
efficiency in many new Member States. The conditions for exports remain
positive and public stocks, mainly those of barley, should only gradually
expand. The meat markets have returned to a more normal situation after the
extreme market conditions due to the second BSE scare, the FMD outbreak in
2001 and avian influenza in 2003. The current situation in the beef market -
where consumption is higher than domestic production - is expected to
persist over the 2004-2011 period. Pig and poultry production and
consumption are expected to keep growing over the medium term, with
increased trade flows between the new and old Member States. The EU dairy
sector is also foreseen to display a gradual improvement after the recent
imbalance, with increasing cheese production and consumption and, at the
same time, lower availability of butter and skimmed milk powder. The full
report, a presentation, and data sets are available on the Internet at :
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/caprep/prospects2004a/index_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/caprep/prospects2004a/index_en.htm
[07] Investissements directs étrangers ; les flux d'IDE de l'UE25 vers les
pays tiers ont augmenté de 80% en 2003 par rapport à 2002 ; les flux
entrants en provenance des pays tiers ont diminué de 15%
En 2003, les flux d'IDE (investissements directs étrangers) de l'UE25 vers
les pays tiers (flux sortants) ont augmenté de 80%, pour atteindre 118
milliards d'€, contre 65 milliards en 2002, tandis que les flux d'IDE
vers l'UE25 en provenance du reste du monde (flux entrants) ont diminué de
15%, passant de 91 milliards d'€ en 2002 à 77 milliards en 2003. Ces
chiffres, publiés aujourd'hui par Eurostat, l'Office statistique des
Communautés européennes, proviennent des premiers résultats sur les IDE
en 2003 et des données révisées de 2002.
[08] Autre matériel diffusé
Background note on the car price report.
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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