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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 05-03-23
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Les assureurs aviation s'engagent à entreprendre des réformes pour
promouvoir la concurrence et la transparence
[02] Commission clears acquisition of part of Pagnan by Cargill
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Berkenhoff Holding by 3i and GB-Funds
[04] Commission approves acquisition of Hungarian Exchanges and Central
Clearinghouse and Depository
[05] January 2005 compared to December 2004 : industrial new orders down by
5.8% in euro-zone ; EU25 down by 6.2%
[06] Janvier 2005 : déficit de 2,2 milliards d'€ du commerce extérieur
pour la zone euro ; déficit de 14,0 milliards d'€ pour l'UE25
[07] Commission signs scholarship agreement with India
[08] Peter Mandelson to Morocco and Tunisia (24-25/03)
[09] Danuta HĂĽbner pays a two-day visit to the Czech Republic and Austria
[10] Put forward your views on urban life
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2005-03-23
Reference: MEX/05/0323
Date: 23/03/2005
EXME05 / 23.3
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
23/03/05
[01] Les assureurs aviation s'engagent à entreprendre des réformes pour
promouvoir la concurrence et la transparence
A la suite d'une enquête de la Commission européenne, les grands
assureurs aviation européens se sont engagés à réformer leurs pratiques,
pour ce qui concerne le fonctionnement de l'assurance aviation, afin de
promouvoir la concurrence et la transparence. Ces réformes prévoient
notamment une plus grande transparence des principaux comités d'assureurs
aviation, sis à Londres, y compris du comité chargé d'établir les
clauses standard des polices d'assurance aviation. Elles prévoient en
outre qu'en cas de crise imprévue due à une guerre ou à un attentat
terroriste, les assureurs limitent toute action coordonnée à ce qui est
nécessaire pour garantir le maintien de capacités telles qu'elles
permettraient aux clients de continuer d'acheter des assurances et pour
limiter les effets sur la concurrence au strict minimum.
[02] Commission clears acquisition of part of Pagnan by Cargill
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regualtion the
proposed acquisition of the importing and trading business of Pagnan S.p.A.
by Cargill Incorporated. After examining the operation, the Commission
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.
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Berkenhoff Holding by 3i and GB-Funds
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of Berkenhoff Management
Holding GmbH (Berkenhoff Holding) of Germany by 3i Group plc (3i) of the UK
and Granville Private Equity Managers (Deutschland) Fund Limited
Partnership and GBCP (D) II LP, collectively known as GB-Funds, of Germany.
3i is a venture capital group listed on the London Stock Exchange funding
predominantly small and medium-sized companies. GB-Funds are private equity
funds, active mainly in management buy-outs, management buy-ins, expansion
capital and equity release. Currently GB-Funds are the only share holders
in Berkenhoff Holding, a holding company whose sole purpose is to hold all
shares in Berkenhoff GmbH. Berkenhoff GmbH is active exclusively in the
development, production and distribution of fine wire solutions on non-
ferrous alloys. The operation was examined under the simplified merger
review procedure.
[04] Commission approves acquisition of Hungarian Exchanges and Central
Clearinghouse and Depository
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the
proposed acquisition of the Hungarian Budapest Stock Exchange ("BSE"),
Budapest Commodity Exchange ("BCE") and the Central Clearinghouse and
Depositary ("KELER") by a joint venture comprising the Austrian
undertakings Wiener Börse AG, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank
Aktiengesellschaft, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Ă–sterreich AG, Erste Bank der
oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG and the Hungarian subsidiary of the German
HVB Group, HVB Bank Hungary. The Commission concluded that due to the small
size of the targets and the limited impact of the transaction, the
operation would not significantly impede effective competition in the EEA
or any substantial part of it.
[05] January 2005 compared to December 2004 : industrial new orders down by
5.8% in euro-zone ; EU25 down by 6.2%
The euro-zone industrial new orders index decreased by 5.8% in January 2005
compared to December 2004, Eurostat estimates. The index rose by 8.2% in
December and by 1.7% in November. EU25 new orders fell by 6.2% in January
2005, after rises of 10.6% in December and 0.3% in November. In January
2005 compared to January 2004, industrial new orders increased by 8.5% in
the euro-zone and by 7.4% in the EU25.
[06] Janvier 2005 : déficit de 2,2 milliards d'€ du commerce extérieur
pour la zone euro ; déficit de 14,0 milliards d'€ pour l'UE25
D'après les premières estimations d'Eurostat publiées aujourd'hui, pour
le mois de janvier 2005, la zone euro a enregistré un déficit du commerce
extérieur de 2,2 milliards d'€ avec le reste du monde, contre +1,7
milliard en janvier 2004. Le solde enregistré au mois de décembre 2004
était de +5,1 milliards, contre +6,4 milliards en décembre 2003. En
janvier 2005, les exportations, corrigées des variations saisonnières,
ont augmenté de 0,2% par rapport à décembre 2004, et les importations
de 1,8%.
[07] Commission signs scholarship agreement with India
On March 22nd the European Commission and the Indian Government signed an
agreement which will see the EC provide €33,000,000 to finance
approximately 1,000 scholarships for Indian graduate students to study at
Europe's finest universities. This agreement is part of the EC's flagship
Erasmus Mundus programme which supports top-quality European Masters
Degrees and provides scholarships for the best graduate students from third
countries to study on them. Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Jan
Figel' commented : "Alongside the individual benefits for Indian graduates,
this programme will both showcase European higher education and create
lasting bonds between Europeans and the Indian decision-makers of tomorrow
– a key to securing a thriving partnership in the future." Graduate
students make applications for a scholarship directly to the European
Erasmus Mundus Degree which interests them. Extensive information on the
programme, including eligible Masters Degrees, is available at <a
href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/mundus/projects/index_en.html">http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/mundus/projects/index_en.html
[08] Peter Mandelson to Morocco and Tunisia (24-25/03)
European Commissioner for Trade Peter Mandelson travels to Tunisia today
for a two day visit to Tunisia and Morocco. The visit will emphasise the
preferential trading partnership between the EU and the Mahgreb countries.
The visit comes at an important time for the EU-Mahgreb relationship, with
both sides seeking to deepen cooperation across the Euro-Mediterranean
area. The EU is the largest trading partner for both Tunisia and Morocco.
Commissioner Mandelson will be listening to their views on a range of trade
issues.
[09] Danuta HĂĽbner pays a two-day visit to the Czech Republic and Austria
The European Commissioner responsible for Regional policy, Danuta HĂĽbner,
is visiting the Czech Republic and Austria on 23 and 24 March 2005. In the
Czech Republic, Ms HĂĽbner will meet representatives of the national and
regional level involved in Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds programming
and implementation. In Austria, she will meet representatives from the
Upper Austria Government (Oberösterreich). Ms Hübner will also meet
Parliamentarians from both countries.
[10] Put forward your views on urban life
The European Commission is looking for volunteers to participate in a
project to integrate their views of daily life into the professional
assessment of town planners. One citizen per EU country will be selected to
participate in a series of three workshops and a final Conference to be
held in Vienna, Rome and Brussels. This is the first European wide
"citizens conference" to tackle research for the city of tomorrow. The
process will take place between September and November 2005, for a total of
about 10 days of commitment. Participation will be rewarded financially,
and the eligibility criteria includes to be a national of an EU Member
State, knowledge of English, to have no professional involvement into the
area of urban development and an easy access to Internet tools. Citizens
with these characteristics are invited to submit an application via the
following web site: www.raise-eu.org. The deadline for submission is 30
March 2005. Candidates will be required to fill in a questionnaire, whose
information will be used to select the 25 people panel with different
characteristics and urban life habits.
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Charlie McCreevy : "The future of bank policy in the Union" at
the informal first meeting of the European Banking Committee (22/03)
Calendrier du 28 mars au 2 avril 2005
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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