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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 05-07-29
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Sécheresse au Portugal : adoption de nouvelles mesures en faveur de
l'agriculture
[02] Post-Tsunami reconstruction : Commission finances first long-term
activities in Aceh, Indonesia
[03] Deuxième campagne estivale sur le thème de la sécurité routière
[04] Commission approves acquisition of Nokia's Professional Mobile Radio
business by European Aeronautic Defence and Space company
[05] Changement climatique : une consultation publique fait apparaître un
large soutien à des mesures visant à réduire les effets des transports
aériens sur le climat
[06] Estimation rapide - juillet 2005 : l'inflation de la zone euro
estimée à 2,2%
[07] July 2005 : improvement of economic sentiment in both the EU and the
euro area
[08] July 2005 : Business Climate Indicator for the euro area improves
further
[09] Aviation relations with the Western Balkan countries
[10] Joe Borg welcomes a new fisheries partnership agreement with Morocco
[11] Commission presents new agricultural market and income forecasts
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2005-07-29
Reference: MEX/05/0729
Date: 29/07/2005
EXME05 / 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
29/07/05
[01] Sécheresse au Portugal : adoption de nouvelles mesures en faveur de
l'agriculture
Soucieuse d'améliorer la situation des agriculteurs portugais touchés par
la sécheresse qui a frappé certaines régions de leur pays, la Commission
européenne a arrêté aujourd'hui une décision autorisant le Portugal Ã
verser par anticipation un certain nombre de primes ainsi que le paiement
unique par exploitation pour l'année 2005. Ces mesures s'ajoutent à celles
déjà adoptées.
[02] Post-Tsunami reconstruction : Commission finances first long-term
activities in Aceh, Indonesia
The European Commission has now approved a further contribution of €30
million of its €207 million package to support long-term reconstruction
in Indonesia's Aceh province, after the Tsunami. For the first time,
Commission funds are contributing to aid coordinated through the Multi-
Donor Tsunami Reconstruction Trust Fund, managed by the World Bank. The
Commission is the largest contributor to the Trust Fund and one of its co-
chairs. The €207 million package pledged by the Commission for Indonesia
includes €7 million under the Rapid Reaction Mechanism, already released,
to kick-start long-term reconstruction work, and a total of €200 million
to be provided through the Trust Fund. This support comes in addition to
the Commission's €123 million humanitarian aid assistance to all tsunami-
affected countries which started flowing only days after the disaster
struck.
[03] Deuxième campagne estivale sur le thème de la sécurité routière
Pour la deuxième année consécutive, la Commission européenne organise
une deuxième grande campagne estivale destinée à promouvoir la charte
européenne pour la sécurité routière. Du 29 juillet au 15 septembre
2005, en Europe, les usagers de la route seront invités à devenir les
ambassadeurs de la charte européenne pour la sécurité routière en
participant à un grand concours européen. "Bien que le durcissement des
contrôles ait considérablement amélioré la sécurité routière dans un
grand nombre de pays, des mesures supplémentaires sont nécessaires pour
parvenir au but que nous nous sommes fixés, à savoir réduire de moitié
le nombre de morts sur les routes d'ici 2010", a déclaré M. Jacques
Barrot, vice-président de la Commission responsable des transports. "Cette
campagne insiste sur le fait que la sécurité routière est l'affaire de
tous les conducteurs", a-t-il ajouté.
[04] Commission approves acquisition of Nokia's Professional Mobile Radio
business by European Aeronautic Defence and Space company
The European Commission has, under the EU Merger Regulation, approved the
proposed acquisition by European Aeronautic Defence and Space company
(EADS) of Nokia's Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) business. PMR networks
are closed, secured wireless radio communication systems used primarily by
police and security forces as well as other public services. There are also
commercial PMR users such as taxi and truck fleet operators, airports and
sporting venues. After examining the operation, the Commission concluded
that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition
in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it.
[05] Changement climatique : une consultation publique fait apparaître un
large soutien à des mesures visant à réduire les effets des transports
aériens sur le climat
Une consultation publique réalisée sur l'internet par la Commission
européenne a fait apparaître que le secteur des transports aériens, les
ONG et les personnes privées soutiennent largement le principe qu'il faut
réduire l'importance croissante des transports aériens parmi les facteurs
qui contribuent au changement climatique. Les résultats de cette
consultation, qui s'est étendue sur deux mois, sont publiés aujourd'hui.
La Commission publie également une nouvelle étude qui montre qu'il serait
possible d'inclure les compagnies aériennes dans le système d'échange de
quotas d'émission de gaz à effet de serre mis en œuvre dans l'Union
européenne. C'est une des options que la Commission pourrait retenir dans
la stratégie qu'elle met au point pour réduire le poids de l'aviation
dans les facteurs qui contribuent au changement climatique. Cette
stratégie devrait être dévoilée après les vacances d'été.
[06] Estimation rapide - juillet 2005 : l'inflation de la zone euro
estimée à 2,2%
Selon une estimation rapide publiée par Eurostat, le taux d'inflation
annuel de la zone euro s'établirait à 2,2% en juillet 2005. En juin, le
taux était de 2,1%. L'inflation de la zone euro est mesurée par l'Indice
des Prix à la Consommation de l'Union Monétaire (IPCUM). Pour élaborer
les estimations rapides de l'IPCUM, Eurostat utilise les informations
préliminaires sur les prix du mois de référence, diffusées par les
Etats membres pour lesquels les données sont disponibles, ainsi que des
informations préliminaires sur les prix de l'énergie. La procédure
d'estimation rapide de l'IPCUM combine des informations historiques avec
des informations partielles sur les variations récentes de prix de
manière à obtenir un indice total pour la zone euro. Il n'existe pas de
ventilation détaillée. L'expérience a montré que la procédure
d'estimation était fiable (anticipation exacte du taux d'inflation dans 12
cas, différence de 0,1 dans 11 cas et différence de 0,2 dans un cas, en
janvier 2005, au cours des deux dernières années). Des informations
complémentaires sont disponibles dans le communiqué d'Eurostat 113/2001
du 5Â novembre 2001.
[07] July 2005 : improvement of economic sentiment in both the EU and the
euro area
The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) for the EU rose by 1.4 points in
July, ending its decline that started in October of last year. In the euro
area, the ESI improved by 1 point, confirming its recovery of last month.
The evolution of the euro exchange rate, the recent stabilisation of oil
prices and an incipient upturn in the global growth cycle are likely to be
the main factors behind this recovery.
[08] July 2005 : Business Climate Indicator for the euro area improves
further
In July, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area improved by
a marked 0.20 points. The BCI rose for the second month in a row, thus
supporting last month's signal of a turnaround in cyclical perceptions of
industry managers. The positive development of the BCI in July was
reflected in almost all underlying components. The improvement of industry
managers' opinions was particularly marked for the production in recent
months. Confidence among managers increased significantly also due to
improved total order books and export order books. The assessment of stocks
of finished products brightened as well, albeit more moderately so, while
production expectation remained unchanged.
[09] Aviation relations with the Western Balkan countries
Today, the European Commission has approved four so called "horizontal"
aviation agreements with Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Horizontal
aviation agreements bring bilateral air services agreements between EU
Member States and third countries in line with EU law. They do not replace
bilateral agreements but remove their discriminatory clauses. Indeed, their
main objective is to end discriminatory provisions that do not allow EU
airlines to fly to third countries from an EU Member State other than their
country of origin. National designation clauses of air operators which
exist in bilateral agreements between EU Member States and third countries
have become illegal since the European Court of Justice decision of 5
November 2002. Today's decision is an important step towards the further
strengthening of aviation relations with the Western Balkans. The
Commission is currently negotiating an agreement on a European Common
Aviation Area (ECAA) with the Western Balkan countries, the aim of which is
to integrate these countries into Europe's single aviation market through
the application of the same EU norms and standards throughout the area. The
agreements adopted today by the Commission will now be transmitted to the
Council for approval. For Croatia, the Commission had already approved a
draft horizontal agreement which the Council is currently discussing.
[10] Joe Borg welcomes a new fisheries partnership agreement with Morocco
Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs,
welcomed the initialling on 28 July of a fisheries partnership agreement
between the European Union and Morocco. This agreement, which will be in
place for a period of 4 years, marks the renewal of the fisheries relations
between the two Parties after the previous agreement came to an end in
November 1999. This new agreement is more modest than its predecessor and
reflects the changes that have taken place in the interim period. It will
provide fishing possibilities for 119Â EU vessels and an annual quota of 60,
000 tonnes of small pelagic species. The financial compensation from the EU
to Morocco will amount to €144 million for the whole period. A
substantial part of this amount will be earmarked for measures specifically
designed to help Morocco's small-scale fleet and to support the development
of sustainable fishing activities in Morocco's waters. This approach is
very much in line with the EU fisheries partnership agreements, as agreed
under the 2002 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and which focus on
close cooperation with the partner countries to achieve sustainable
fisheries in their waters. This agreement should become applicable from 1
March 2006, once it has passed through the Council and the European
Parliament.
[11] Commission presents new agricultural market and income forecasts
Today the European Commission published a report on "Prospects for
agricultural markets and income 2005-2012". Medium-term perspectives for
the EU cereals, meat and dairy markets appear relatively favourable. The
build-up of high levels of stock in 2004 is expected to continue to leave
the cereal markets in a fragile situation over the next two years. In the
medium-term, there should be a gradual fall in stock levels supported by
further, though moderate, gains on the feed market and by more favourable
conditions on world markets. EU meat markets have returned to a more normal
situation after the extreme market conditions of the past few years. The
current situation in the beef market - where consumption is higher than
domestic production - is expected to persist over the 2005-2012 period. Pig
and poultry production and consumption are expected to keep growing over
the medium term. The EU dairy sector is foreseen to display a decline in
the production of butter and SMP over the medium term as more milk is used
for the production of cheese and other high value-added dairy products.
These medium-term projections should lead to a 11.7% growth in EU-25
agricultural income between 2004 and 2012 in real terms and per labour unit
(4% in the old Member States and a steady 50.4% rise for the new Member
States, ie +137% against 2003 before enlargement). The report is available
on Internet at :
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/caprep/prospects2005/index_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/caprep/prospects2005/index_en.htm
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Commission activities in the fight against terrorism
EU/Morocco fisheries partnership agreement : past and future
Speaking points of Joe Borg at press conference following signature of
exchange of letters on EU/Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement (28/07)
Speech by Franco Frattini : "The implementation of The Hague Programme -
the relevance for the security in Central Europe" at Salzburg Forum (28/07,
Graz)
<!-- PRV_REF ID="SPEECH|05/464|0|DE" -->Speech by Günter Verheugen :
"KMU - Motor für Wachstum und Beschäftigung" (28/7, Paderbon)<!--
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