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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 05-06-03Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>CONTENTS / CONTENU
MIDDAY EXPRESSNews from the Press and Communication Directorate General's midday briefingNouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Général Presse etbCommunication03/06/05[01] Commission launches extension of PEACE Programme for Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland(! embargo 14h30 !) Danuta Hübner, European Commissioner for regional policy, today signed the operational programme which extends EU support for the peace process in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland until 2006. The extension provides an additional €144 million of funding to support the PEACE Programme for 2005 and 2006, bringing the total value of the Programme to €852 million for the period 2000-2006.[02] Faces nationales des pièces en euros : la Commission actualise les orientations communesEn collaboration avec les Etats membres, la Commission européenne a émis ce jour une recommandation concernant les faces nationales des pièces libellées en euros. Les orientations doivent permettre de faire en sorte que toutes les pièces soient clairement identifiables dans la mesure où elles circulent de plus en plus sur le territoire de l'Union. Le nom de l'Etat membre émetteur devrait figurer en entier ou sous une forme abrégée sur les pièces émises par les nouveaux membres de la zone euro et les pièces émises par les membres actuels et présentant de nouvelles faces nationales. De plus, le nom de la monnaie ne devrait pas apparaître sur la face nationale de la pièce puisque cette indication figure déjà sur la face commune. Ces orientations doivent compléter les deux caractéristiques existantes, à savoir les 12 étoiles entourant le dessin et l’année d’émission.[03] Commission seeks interested parties' comments on Alrosa and De Beers commitmentsThe European Commission is asking interested parties for comments by 3rd July 2005 on commitments offered by Alrosa and De Beers in a case under EC Treaty rules outlawing cartels and abuse of monopoly power (Articles 81 and 82) involving the market for rough diamonds. The Commission had preliminary concerns that the volume of Alrosa rough diamonds purchased by De Beers might both enhance De Beers market power and eliminate Alrosa as an alternative source of supply. The commitments proposed by the parties purport to address these concerns by reducing the amount of diamonds purchased by De Beers from Alrosa.[04] AthenaWeb : la Commission inaugure un portail consacré aux informations audiovisuelles dans le domaine de la scienceLa Commission européenne, en association avec un certain nombre d'organisations professionnelles dans le secteur des sciences et des medias, lance un portail Web novateur conçu pour les communautés audiovisuelles et scientifiques en Europe, à l'appui de leur travail de promotion et de communication dans le domaine de la science. Parmi les fonctions de cette nouvelle plate-forme figurent une bibliothèque électronique des programmes scientifiques, un calendrier en ligne des manifestations majeures, un service européen d'informations scientifiques et un forum consacré aux coproductions et aux partenariats.[05] Fight against organised crime : Commission recommends common methodologiesThe European Commission has adopted a Communication on "Developing a strategic concept on tackling organised crime" mapping out an overall European strategy for the coming years. In its Communication to the Council and the European Parliament, the Commission recommends developing common methodologies among national and EU bodies contributing to the fight against organised crime, as well as an EU crime statistics system, collecting information and measuring crime and victimisation in specific groups. Constituting the core of a European Criminal Intelligence Model, this will improve knowledge of the phenomenon and enable decision-makers to define European strategies based on thorough assessments.[06] L'accès des services d'immatriculation des véhicules à un système d'information mettra un coup de frein au trafic des véhicules volés dans l'espace SchengenLe Conseil a adopté le 2 juin un règlement sur l'accès des services d'immatriculation des véhicules au système d'information Schengen (SIS). La Commission avait présenté, le 21 août 2003, une proposition à cet effet en réponse aux conclusions du Conseil. Le règlement permettra de mieux lutter contre le vol de véhicules dans la mesure où il autorise les services d'immatriculation publics à avoir accès à ces informations et à consulter le SIS avant de réimmatriculer un véhicule importé d'un autre Etat membre.[07] Commission approves joint venture between Barclays and FSBThe European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation a proposed joint venture between Barclays Bank of the UK and FöreningsSparbanken (FSB) of Sweden for credit card issuing services. The Commission concluded that the transaction will not significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it.[08] Avril 2005 par rapport à avril 2004 : baisse du volume des ventes du commerce de détail de 0,9% dans la zone euro ; baisse de 0,3% dans l'UE25En avril 2005, par rapport à avril 2004, le volume des ventes du commerce de détail a baissé de 0,9% dans la zone euro et de 0,3% dans l'UE25, selon les premières estimations publiées par Eurostat. Par rapport à mars 2005, l'indice des ventes a reculé de 1,2% dans la zone euro et de 0,7% dans l’UE25. En avril 2005, par rapport à avril 2004, le secteur de l'"alimentation, boissons, tabac" a diminué de 1,4% dans la zone euro et de 0,4% dans l'UE25. Le secteur non alimentaire a baissé de 0,1% dans la zone euro et est resté stable dans l'UE25.[09] GDP per capita in 2004 : GDP per capita varied by one to five across the EU25 Member StatesNowcasts of purchasing power parities (PPP) for 2004 are now available. Based on these nowcasts, GDP per capita in Luxembourg was more than twice the EU25 average in 2004, while Ireland was nearly 40% above average, and Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Belgium around 20% above average. Sweden and Finland were about 15% above average, and France and Germany around 10% above average. Italy was about 5% above the EU25 average. Spain was just below the EU25 average, and Greece, Cyprus and Slovenia were about 20% below average. Portugal, Malta and the Czech Republic were around 30% below average, and Hungary 40% below. Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland were around half the average, while Latvia was about 55% below the EU25 average. These figures for GDP per capita, expressed in terms of purchasing power standards (PPS), are published by Eurostat.[10] Commission promotes safety in new Member States' construction industryThe European Commission is launching a publicity campaign in the 10 new EU Member States highlighting the need for safety in the construction industry. The campaign will be accompanied by inspections of construction sites across these countries, pinpointing possible dangers and showing how to prevent them.[11] EU and Ukraine seal Galileo and aviation agreementNegotiations on Ukraine's participation in Europe's satellite radionavigation programme finally reached approval. The agreement was initialled today in Kiev by François Lamoureux, Director-General for Energy and Transport at the European Commission, and by Oleh Shamshul, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. A first agreement between the EU and Ukraine in the field of civil aviation was also initialled today. The agreement will give any European airline access to the Ukrainian market from any Member State of the EU and is a first step towards the creation of a Common Aviation Area with Ukraine.[12] Commission allocates €12 million to victims of the Darfur conflict who have fled to ChadThe European Commission has released €12 million in humanitarian aid for the victims of the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, to alleviate the consequences of the population movements affecting Chad. This aid is to cover the immediate needs of the refugees, the host population and returnees. It will be channelled through the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), under the responsibility of Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid.[13] EU Election Observation Mission for the Presidential Election in Guinea BissauThe European Commission has deployed an EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the presidential election in Guinea Bissau scheduled to take place on 19 June. The EU EOM is led by Johan Van Hecke, Member of the European Parliament, who is arriving today in Bissau. The EOM is a further contribution by the European Commission to supporting peace and democratisation in Guinea Bissau.[14] Autre matériel diffuséPreparation of the Competitiveness Council of Ministers (06/06) and Space Council (07/06) (Luxembourg)Danuta Hübner visits Ireland Discours de M. Frattini : "20 ans de la signature de l'accord de Schengen" (02/06, Schengen) Speech by Louis Michel : "Africa is taking giant steps towards regional integration" at Summit of Heads of State and Government of COMESA (02/06, Kigali, Rwanda) Speech by Jan Figel' : "Globalisation and Education" at University of Krems Speech by Danuta Hübner at launch of the extension to the Peace Programme (Belfast, ! embargo 14h30 !) Calendrier du 6 au 12 juin 2005
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/ Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |