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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-12-13
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] The EU to lift textiles quotas from 1 January 2005
[02] Prêts hypothécaires : la Commission publie un rapport d'experts sur
les perspectives de développement d'un marché transfrontalier du crédit
au logement
[03] Democratic Republic of Congo : Commission earmarks €38 million in
humanitarian aid
[04] Commission approves acquisition of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding by
United Parcel Service
[05] Commission clears acquisition of HDW by ThyssenKrupp
[06] Four years of energy dialogue with Russia have yielded positive
results
[07] Better use of funding for basic research into life sciences
[08] European business 2004 : an overview of industrial and service
activities in the EU25
[09] Diffusion des statistiques : accès gratuit à toutes les données et
publications d'Eurostat - plus de 300 millions de données disponibles
[10] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2004-12-13
Reference: MEX/04/1213
Date: 13/12/2004
EXME04 / 13.12
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
13/12/04
[01] The EU to lift textiles quotas from 1 January 2005
Today the Council of ministers adopted a European Commission proposal for a
Regulation that will eliminate from 1st January 2005 all quantitative
restrictions on the import of textile and clothing products from WTO
countries. This Regulation implements one of the key commitments taken at
the end of the last WTO Trade Round ("Uruguay Round") in 1994. "This
definitively seals the disappearance of textiles quotas that have been in
place for four decades and there is no going back", declared Trade
Commissioner Peter Mandelson. "The challenge now for the textiles industry
world-wide is to compete in the new environment. But policy makers also
need to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible and managed in
a way that does not wipe out the textiles industries of weak and vulnerable
developing countries. They too should be able to benefit from
liberalisation in due course", he added.
[02] Prêts hypothécaires : la Commission publie un rapport d'experts sur
les perspectives de développement d'un marché transfrontalier du crédit
au logement
Le rapport du groupe de discussion sur le crédit hypothécaire, constitué
par la Commission européenne en mars 2003 (voir IP/03/442), est publié
aujourd'hui. Il propose un certain nombre de mesures, législatives ou non,
destinées à donner un coup de fouet à l'intégration du marché du crédit
au logement dans l'UE, de sorte que les consommateurs bénéficient d'un
choix élargi et réalisent des économies et que les prêteurs aient plus
d'opportunités. Les mesures préconisées par le groupe de discussion, qui
comprend des représentants des consommateurs et du secteur, couvrent de
nombreux domaines comme la protection des consommateurs, l'évaluation de
la qualité de crédit du client, les spécialistes du crédit
hypothécaire, les systèmes d'enregistrement, la détermination de la loi
applicable aux contrats transfrontaliers et le financement des emprunts
hypothécaires par les marchés de capitaux. La Commission compte
présenter une communication vers la mi-2005 pour exposer ses vues sur la
façon dont les 48 recommandations du groupe pourraient être intégrées
aux politiques de l'UE.
[03] Democratic Republic of Congo : Commission earmarks €38 million in
humanitarian aid
The European Commission has earmarked €38 million to assist vulnerable
populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) affected by the
recent conflict and by the unrest which persists in the East of the
country. This aid will help facilitate equitable access to basic health
facilities for nearly 8,5 million Congolese and will provide basic needs
for some 3 million displaced people.
[04] Commission approves acquisition of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding by
United Parcel Service
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the
proposed acquisition of the US-based freight forwarding company Menlo
Worldwide Forwarding Inc. (MWF) by the US-based worldwide package delivery
company United Parcel Service Inc (UPS). MWF is active only in the freight
forwarding sector and although UPS is, to a limited extent, also active in
this market, the Commission has concluded that the transaction would not
significantly impede effective competition within the EU's Single Market.
[05] Commission clears acquisition of HDW by ThyssenKrupp
The European Commission has authorised under the EU Merger Regulation a
transaction by which the German undertaking ThyssenKrupp Werften GmbH (TKW)
acquires control of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW). The transaction
will combine the shipbuilding activities of the parties which cover civil
and naval vessels, including conventionally powered submarines. The
Commission has concluded that the transaction would not significantly
impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it and
has therefore approved the concentration.
[06] Four years of energy dialogue with Russia have yielded positive
results
Since its launch in 2000, the energy dialogue between the European Union
and the Russian Federation has yielded positive results. It has provided a
framework for the resolution of a number of potential energy problems
between the two sides and has made a significant contribution to
strengthening the security of energy supply to the EU. These are the
findings of a report by the European Commission into the functioning of
this dialogue up to now.
[07] Better use of funding for basic research into life sciences
Plans were announced today to create an annual funders' forum to promote
better coordination of funding for research in the field of life sciences.
Areas covered by such research include biotechnology, genomics,
pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food processing. The announcement came
during a conference which brought together for the first time all the major
European players in basic research into the life sciences.
[08] European business 2004 : an overview of industrial and service
activities in the EU25
European business, facts and figures, published today by Eurostat, aims to
provide a standard set of information on the non-financial business economy
within the EU. A snapshot of turnover, value added, employment and external
trade data for all industrial and non-financial service activities at a
detailed level within the EU between 1998 and 2002 is presented. Value
added in the EU25 non-financial business economy amounted to €4,600
billion in 2001. The ten new Member States accounted for 5% of the EU25
total. Their economic structures presented some differences compared to
those of the EU15 Member States. In particular, a higher proportion of
valued added in their non-financial business economy was generated by
industry (45% compared to 38%), and a lower proportion by real estate,
renting and business activities (10% compared to 20%).
[09] Diffusion des statistiques : accès gratuit à toutes les données et
publications d'Eurostat - plus de 300 millions de données disponibles
Depuis le 1er octobre 2004, toutes les données et publications d'Eurostat
sont disponibles gratuitement sur Internet (<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat">http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat).
Cet important changement permet à Eurostat de jouer pleinement son rôle
d'institution de service public en donnant un accès gratuit aux
informations économiques et sociales sur la zone euro, l'UE et les 25
Etats membres. Plus de 300 millions de données sont aujourd'hui
disponibles en ligne. Elles couvrent de nombreux domaines différents,
allant des prix à la consommation aux données détaillées du commerce
extérieur par produit, en passant par des indicateurs de pauvreté ou sur
l'environnement. Initié par la Commission en juillet 2003, ce projet a
été l'un des plus importants mis en œuvre par Eurostat. Impliquant
quelque 200 personnes, il a nécessité une très large coopération entre
l'ensemble des services.
[10] Autre matériel diffusé
Région des Grands Lacs – Situation humanitaire
Speech by Günter Verheugen : "The role of the Aviation Safety Agency from
an industry point of view" at EASA inauguration (Cologne)
Discours de M. Jacques Barrot à l'inauguration de l'Agence européenne de
la sécurité aérienne (AESA) (Cologne, ! embargo 15h45 !)
Speech by Olli Rehn : "EU and Turkey: ahead of a historical decision" at
TÖBB-IKV Turkey Platform (10/12)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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