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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 05-01-17
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Airbus A 380 rollout: Commission calls “Super-Airbus” a
“European success story”
[02] Eurobarometer poll: Why are EU citizens less keen to start up their
own business than in the US?
[03] EU Research in Information Society Technologies vital for
competitiveness but needs more investment and less bureaucracy, says
Assessment Panel
[04] Réseau transeuropéen : la Commission européenne alloue 620 millions
d’euros des grands projets d’infrastructure de transport
[05] The European Commission supports the UN Disaster Reduction Conference
in Kobe
[06] Nature protection: Commission designates 5,000 sites in the Boreal
region for the Natura 2000 network
[07] The Commission presents new report on the prospects of agricultural
markets and the impact of enlargement.
[08] Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs meets Bulgarian Minister of Finance Milen
Velchev
[09] Commissioner Borg’s visit to Spain: another step to greater dialogue
with stakeholders
[10] Commission clears acquisition of RBI Hawker by RBI US and HP
[11] Commission clears acquisition of Eve by ACP and Apax
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2005-01-17
Reference: MEX/05/0117
Date: 17/01/2005
EXME05 / 17.1
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
17/01/05
[01] Airbus A 380 rollout: Commission calls “Super-Airbus” a
“European success story”
European Commissioners Günter Verheugen, Jacques Barrot and Peter
Mandelson have hailed tomorrow’s unveiling of the new Airbus A380 in
Toulouse as a “European success story”. The development of the A380,
the world’s largest passenger jet, shows what Europe can achieve by
working together and by investing in skills, research and technology. In a
series of initiatives over the last 15 years, the Commission has worked
consistently to develop an EU wide regulatory and research framework.
Industrial cooperation in the EU is crucial for the success of new
aerospace products in an intensively competitive global market.
[02] Eurobarometer poll: Why are EU citizens less keen to start up their
own business than in the US?
Although 45% of Europeans would like to be their own boss, Americans, at
61%, are more keen to try entrepreneurship. Why are Europeans less keen to
“have a go”? What are the obstacles in Europe - real or imagined - that
help explain why 59% of Europeans have never even considered setting up a
business, let alone achieved such a dream? The results of a Eurobarometer
survey illustrate why Europeans consider setting up an enterprise and why
not. A regular income is the main motivation for those Europeans who would
rather retain their employee status, 30% of respondents citing this reason
in our survey as opposed to only 16% of Americans. Job stability is also
considered important by 24% in the EU25 compared with only 10% in the USA.
Fear of failure also preoccupies Europeans. Half of the Europeans asked
agreed that they would not set up a business if it is likely to fail,
compared with only one-third of Americans. However the figures vary widely
between Member States
[03] EU Research in Information Society Technologies vital for
competitiveness but needs more investment and less bureaucracy, says
Assessment Panel
Europe’s research and development in Information Society Technologies
(IST) makes a vital contribution to efforts to become the world’s most
competitive knowledge economy. But Europe must step up this investment if
it is to achieve “critical mass” in these technologies. So says a
report, released by the European Commission today. The report also
highlights the need to reduce bureaucracy, which threatens to stifle
research. The report was written by a high-level panel of independent
experts chaired by Professor J.M. Gago, former Portuguese Science Minister
and one of the authors of the Lisbon strategy
[04] Réseau transeuropéen : la Commission européenne alloue 620 millions
d’euros des grands projets d’infrastructure de transport
La Commission européenne vient d’allouer 620 millions d’euros pour
l’étude et la construction de projets du réseau transeuropéen de
transport (RTE-T). Plus de 65% est alloué aux projets ferroviaires et 20%
aux systèmes de transport intelligents (ITS) et innovants, tels que les
systèmes d’interopérabilité dans le domaine ferroviaire ou la
navigation aérienne. Parmi les projets et les études qui bénéficient
d’un soutien significatif, on trouve GALILEO, la ligne nouvelle
ferroviaire Perpignan-Figueras ou encore les futures traversées
ferroviaires alpines Lyon-Turin et Brenner. “La construction du réseau
transeuropéen de transport est un élément majeur de la compétitivité
économique et d’un développement équilibré et durable de l’Union
européenne” a déclaré M. Jacques Barrot, vice-président de la
Commission chargé des transports.
[05] The European Commission supports the UN Disaster Reduction Conference
in Kobe
The European Commission is providing €360,000 (around US $480,000) to
support a key United Nations conference on disaster reduction in Kobe,
Japan on 18-22 January 2005. The event, coming less than a month after the
tsunami tragedy in the Indian Ocean, is expected to attract several
thousand participants including government and community representatives
and scientific experts in disaster reduction from around the world. It is
being organised by the UN’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(ISDR)..
[06] Nature protection: Commission designates 5,000 sites in the Boreal
region for the Natura 2000 network
The Commission has made further progress in the establishment of Natura
2000, the EU’s network of sites protecting threatened and vulnerable
species and habitats. It has adopted the list of sites for the Boreal
region (woodlands), which covers the main parts of Finland and Sweden. The
list includes over 5,000 sites providing protection for species such as the
Lynx, the Flying squirrel and Fairy Slipper, and for habitats such as
Western Taiga, raised bogs and aapa mires, as well as freshwater and land
upheaval coast habitats. The Boreal region is one of six bio-geographic
regions in EU-15 and the fifth for which the Commission has adopted a list.
Species and sites under Natura 2000 benefits from increased protection
through a number of measures and safeguards which must be respected.
[07] The Commission presents new report on the prospects of agricultural
markets and the impact of enlargement.
Today the European Commission published a report on "Prospects for
agricultural markets in the European Union 2004-2011". According to the
report, the medium-term perspectives for the EU cereals, meat and dairy
markets appear moderately positive thanks to the CAP reform, favourable
world market conditions and an assumed return to a stronger US$. Barley
continues to lose competitiveness in particular as compared to soft wheat
and maize. Domestic cereals use stagnates over the medium term due to a
less expansive livestock sector and gains in feeding efficiency in many new
Member States. Stock levels are projected to increase but remain on a
moderate level over the medium term. The European meat sector came back to
a more normal situation after the extreme market conditions due to the
second BSE scare, the FMD outbreak in 2001 and the avian flu 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 report contains an analysis of the impact of
enlargement. Agricultural trade within the EU-25 is going to further expand,
in particular when some regional constraints as regards transport costs are
overcome. The market situation appears overall positive and agricultural
income is projected to increase further. As compared to 2003, the last year
before membership, agricultural income per fulltime employed in the new
Member States is supposed to double by 2011. Without membership
agricultural income would decrease from 2006 onwards. The full report, a
presentation, and data sets are available on the Internet at:
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/caprep/prospects2004b/index_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/caprep/prospects2004b/index_en.htm
[08] Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs meets Bulgarian Minister of Finance Milen
Velchev
Today Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs on Taxation and Customs Union met for the
first time the Bulgarian Minister of Finance Milen Velchev. Bulgaria’s
preparation for EU membership was the main issue of their discussions. “I
would like to express my congratulations for the successful conclusion of
the accession negotiations, but at the same time, I would underline that
efforts have to be continued at both the area of taxation and customs“-
Kovacs said. From his part Minister Velchev replied: “I am very pleased
that the signature of the Accession Treaty can be foreseen for April-May
2005. However, we are fully aware about the work that remains to be done at
home.” During the meeting, the Bulgarian Finance Minister explained the
main priorities of his government’s tax policy for 2005, aiming at the
promotion of investment and growth in the country. This will be achieved by
improving the tax-collection system, general reduction of the tax burden
within the restrictions of the balanced budget, development of a tax
legislation compliant with the acquis, sector neutrality and equal
treatment of the taxable persons. With respect to the commitments
undertaken by Bulgaria in the framework of the accession negotiations under
chapter “Customs Union”, Minister Velchev assured Commissioner Kovacs
that Bulgaria will successfully implement the Transit Management System and
the Tariff Management System in due time. “These two systems are not only
part of our commitments, but an important tool for the successful work of
our Customs”- Bulgarian Minister of Finances added
[09] Commissioner Borg’s visit to Spain: another step to greater dialogue
with stakeholders
On his return from a four-day visit to Spain, Commissioner Joe Borg,
responsible for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, reaffirmed his belief in
the need to safeguard the future of fisheries through dialogue with
stakeholders. His meetings with representatives of the national and
regional authorities and those of the fisheries and aquaculture sector as
well as shellfish gatherers in Madrid, Andalusia and Galicia had allowed
him to hear at first hand the concerns and suggestions for the future of
Spanish fisheries, Dr Borg said. In response to questions on the proposed
European Fisheries Fund for the 2007-2013 period, he said that aid would be
available for vessel modernisation to upgrade safety, hygiene and living
conditions on board but ruled out a return to helping the building of new
vessels which had contributed to fleet overcapacity and overfishing. On
joint ventures, Dr Borg said that while they can have a role to play, their
creation should not depend on public aid. He reaffirmed the Commission’s
commitment to renewing existing fisheries agreements and to seeking to
conclude new ones with countries which saw mutual benefit in doing so. With
regard to Morocco, Dr Borg said that the Commission would shortly have
contacts with Morocco to assess the possibility of talks with this
important partner with a view to concluding an agreement in fisheries. It
had to be kept in mind that it was, of course, for Morocco to decide
whether it was willing to explore such a possibility. Dr Borg urged
fishermen to contribute to the debate on fine-tuning the proposed measures
for the Mediterranean and said that Commission officials would shortly be
meeting the fishermen concerned to discuss measures to rebuild Norway
lobster off the Iberian Peninsula.
[10] Commission clears acquisition of RBI Hawker by RBI US and HP
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of RBI Hawker Limited by
Aeronautical Rotor Blades Inc. (RBI US) and Hawker Pacific Pty Limited,
Hong Kong (HP). RBI US, belonging to the Textron Group, is involved in the
provision of helicopter rotor blade repair and overhaul in the US. HP is a
Hong Kong registered company controlled by Saab AB which specialises,
through its Australian subsidiary Hawker Pacific Pty Limited, in the sale
and maintenance of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, primarily in
Australia, New Zealand and Philippines. . The proposed concentration
consists in the formation of a new company, RBI Hawker Ltd, which will be
jointly controlled by RBI and HP. The joint venture is intended to
establish and operate a helicopter rotor blade repair facility in the
Middle East, based in Dubai, UAE. The operation was examined under the
simplified merger review procedure..
[11] Commission clears acquisition of Eve by ACP and Apax
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of Eve Belgium by Allianz
Capital Partners Gmbh (ACP) of Germany and Apax UK. Apax, ACP and Eve have
entered into a shareholders’ agreement by which Apax shall acquire a 49%
stake in the issued share capital of Eve, which is currently solely
controlled by ACP. ACP, part of the Allianz Group, is active in private
equity in Germany and Apax in investment funds. Eve manufactures industrial
gearboxes. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review
procedure.
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
New progress on establishing the Natura 2000 network
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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