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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 05-09-30
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Les nouvelles règles applicables à la distribution automobile
renforcent les possibilités de concurrence des concessionnaires dans toute
l'UE
[02] EU-Russia Summit (04/10)
[03] Commission unveils plans for European digital libraries
[04] La Commission va appliquer un prélèvement de €364 millions à dix
Etats membres qui ont dépassé leurs quotas laitiers
[05] Tens of thousands of fish to be saved annually - thanks to European
Commission breakthrough
[06] La Commission condamne vigoureusement l'escalade de violence au
Darfour
[07] September 2005 : Business Climate Indicator for the euro area
continues to improve
[08] September 2005 : economic sentiment continues to improve in both the
EU and the euro area
[09] Flash estimate - September 2005 : Euro-zone inflation estimated at
2.5%
[10] Joe Borg visits Latvia
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2005-09-30
Reference: MEX/05/0930
Date: 30/09/2005
EXME05 / 30.9
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Press and Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Presse etb
Communication
30/09/05
[01] Les nouvelles règles applicables à la distribution automobile
renforcent les possibilités de concurrence des concessionnaires dans toute
l'UE
Les "clauses de localisation" contenues dans les contrats conclus entre les
constructeurs automobiles et les concessionnaires ne seront plus, Ă partir
du 1er octobre 2005, automatiquement exemptées, en vertu du règlement n°
1400/2002 de la Commission européenne d'exemption par catégorie pour la
distribution automobile, de l'interdiction, prévue dans le traité CE
(article 81), des pratiques commerciales restrictives. Ces clauses Ă©taient
destinées à empêcher les concessionnaires d'ouvrir des points de vente
hors de zones géographiques déterminées par les constructeurs, notamment
dans d'autres Etats membres de l'UE. De nombreux constructeurs et
concessionnaires ont cependant déjà supprimé ces clauses dans leurs
contrats. Ce changement permet aux concessionnaires de se livrer une
concurrence plus ouverte, ce qui devrait faire baisser les prix et
encourager l'innovation dans la distribution. La suppression des clauses de
localisation est la dernière étape de la réforme des règles de
concurrence applicables Ă la distribution automobile mise en Ĺ“uvre par la
Commission, dont les autres éléments étaient entrés en vigueur le 1er
octobre 2002 (voir IP/02/1073). La période supplémentaire de trois ans
prévue avant la fin de l'exemption par catégorie des "clauses de
localisation" visait à donner la possibilité aux constructeurs et aux
concessionnaires de s'adapter.
[02] EU-Russia Summit (04/10)
The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, the
Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner and the Trade
Commissioner Peter Mandelson will attend the EU-Russia summit in London on
4Â October. The meeting will be hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair and
attended by President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and
other Russian Ministers. The chief focus of the Summit is implementation of
the four "common spaces" agreed at the last EU-Russia Summit in May. These
encompass a wide range of policy areas from economic issues to environment
and energy, security matters, culture and education. The leaders will look
ahead to the future of the EU-Russia relationship and the current
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. Intensive work is underway to make
maximum progress on two agreements on visa facilitation and readmission
ahead of the Summit.
[03] Commission unveils plans for European digital libraries
The European Commission today unveiled its strategy to make Europe’s
written and audiovisual heritage available on the Internet. Turning
Europe’s historic and cultural heritage into digital content will make it
usable for European citizens for their studies, work or leisure and will
give innovators, artists and entrepreneurs the raw material that they need.
The Commission proposes a concerted drive by EU Member States to digitise,
preserve, and make this heritage available to all. It presents a first set
of actions at European level and invites comments on a series of issues in
an online consultation (deadline for replies: 20 January 2006). The replies
will feed into a proposal for a Recommendation on digitisation and digital
preservation, to be presented in June 2006.
[04] La Commission va appliquer un prélèvement de €364 millions à dix
Etats membres qui ont dépassé leurs quotas laitiers
Selon un calcul provisoire de la Commission européenne fondé sur les
déclarations annuelles des Etats membres, neuf d'entre eux ont dépassé
leurs quotas de livraison de lait pendant l'année contingentaire 2004-
2005. Un autre Etat membre a lui aussi dépassé son quota en ce qui
concerne les ventes directes aux consommateurs. Ces dix Etats membres
devront en conséquence acquitter le "superprélèvement", pour un total de
€364 millions. L'année précédente, le chiffre correspondant était de
€385 millions.
[05] Tens of thousands of fish to be saved annually - thanks to European
Commission breakthrough
A newly validated test approach for ecotoxicological effects has been
endorsed by the European Commission - an approach which may very well save
the lives of tens of thousands of fish every year. The European Union
stipulates the need to assess the risks to our environment of all new
chemical compounds. The ecotoxicological effects (ie the harmful effects on
plants and animals, populations, or communities) of such chemicals are
determined by performing tests using algae, water fleas (daphnia) and fish.
Each chemical tested is classified by the concentration which shows
toxicity in the most sensitive of all three species. Up to now, fish have
equally shared the test burden with algae and daphnia combined.
[06] La Commission condamne vigoureusement l'escalade de violence au
Darfour
Louis Michel, Commissaire européen au Développement et à l'Aide
humanitaire, s'est déclaré extrêmement préoccupé par la montée des
violences et de l'insécurité au Darfour depuis la mi-septembre.
[07] September 2005 : Business Climate Indicator for the euro area
continues to improve
The Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area continued to improve
over the period August/ September. The recent developments thus
substantiate the observation of an upswing in cyclical perceptions of
industry managers since June. The improvement over summer lifts the BCI
above its long term average of zero in September, which is the first
reading in positive territory since March of this year. The positive
development of the BCI in September was reflected in almost all underlying
components. The improvement of industry managers' opinions was more
pronounced for the production in recent months than for both the export and
total order books and the stocks of finished products. Only the production
expectations remained steady in September. In August, the improvement of
'industry managers' production expectation had been offset by the decline
of their opinions on production in recent months, while their views had
remained steady for the three remaining components.
[08] September 2005 : economic sentiment continues to improve in both the
EU and the euro area
The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) for the EU and euro area saw a
remarkable increase over summer, defying the uncertainty created by soaring
oil prices and the devastating hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico region. In
the EU, the indicator rose by a total of 1.7 points during August and
September, following an increase of 1.4 points in July. In the euro area,
the ESI improved by a compound 1.1 points in August/ September. The
indicator has now risen for four months in a row, confirming that the
weakening of the economy since autumn 2004 has come to a halt.
[09] Flash estimate - September 2005 : Euro-zone inflation estimated at
2.5%
Euro-zone annual inflation is expected to be 2.5% in September 2005
according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat. It was 2.2% in August.
Euro-zone inflation is measured by the Monetary Union Index of Consumer
Prices (MUICP). To compute the MUICP flash estimates, Eurostat uses early
price information relating to the reference month from Member States for
which data are available as well as early information about energy prices.
The flash estimation procedure for the MUICP combines historical
information with partial information on price developments in the most
recent months to give a total index for the euro-zone. No detailed
breakdown is available. Experience has shown the procedure to be reliable
(11 times exactly anticipating the inflation rate, 12 times differing by
0.1 and once differing by 0.2, in January 2005, over the last two years).
Further information can be found in Eurostat News Release 113/2001 of 5
November 2001.
[10] Joe Borg visits Latvia
The European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime affairs, Joe Borg,
will pay a two-day visit to Latvia on 2-3 October. During his visit, the
Commissioner will meet with Mr Martin Roze, Minister for Agriculture. He
will also hold a meeting with representatives of the fisheries sector. The
focus of the discussions will be on securing the long-term future of
Latvia's fishing sector and the coastal communities concerned through
ensuring the sustainability of the fisheries on which they depend. The
issues to be discussed will include the current conservation measures and
the forthcoming recovery plan for Baltic cod, which is in a poor biological
state. The Commission proposal on technical measures, specifically designed
to protect fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, will also be discussed. There has
been a constructive consultation process on these issues between the
Commission and stakeholders, including those in Latvia. The Commission
proposal for a European Fisheries Fund, due to cover the period 2007-2013,
will also be on the agenda. The discussions are likely to focus on the
proposed conditions for aid to the various branches of the industry: fleet,
aquaculture and processing of fisheries products. During his visit,
Commissioner Borg will be given an insight of the activities in these
branches and the challenges facing stakeholders. Mr Borg will explain the
measures under the Common Fisheries Policy aimed at tackling these
challenges and invite stakeholders to work towards the setting up of the
Regional Fisheries Council for the Baltic in which they will be able to
participate in the decision making process on fisheries management for
their region.
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Questions and aswers on EU regulation of blood and its derivatives
Speech by Vladimir Ĺ pidla : "The EU's response to the challenge of ageing"
at the XVIII International EURAG Congress 2005 (Ljubljana)
Speech by Siim Kallas : "EU's role in international security" at NATO
Conference (29/09, Tallinn)
Calendrier du 2 au 7 octobre 2005
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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