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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 06-02-02
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[I] Résultats de la Commission du 1er février 2006 -
Outcome of Commission meeting of 1st February
[01] Financial perspectives 2007-2013 : the road towards having European
programmes operational on 01/01/2007
[02] La Commission propose une amende contre la France pour ne pas avoir
adopté une législation sur les biotechnologies
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[03] Commission statement on VAT reduced rates agreement (01/02)
[04] La Commission lance un projet d'information sanitaire
[05] Child-resistant lighters : Commission calls on Member States to back
measures to reduce accidents
[06] Des règles sociales européennes dans les transports
[07] Commission clears joint venture between Cognis and Golden Hope
[08] Opening of tariff quota for bananas from ACP countries
[09] Décembre 2005 par rapport novembre 2005 : hausse des prix la
production industrielle de 0,2% dans la zone euro et dans l'UE25
[10] Andris Piebalgs participates in the 34th Sanderstolen Energy
Conference in Norway
[11] EU-China Ministerial Troika in Vienna (03/02)
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2006-02-02
Reference: MEX/06/0202
Date: 02/02/2006
EXME06 / 2.2
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
02/02/06
[I] Résultats de la Commission du 1er février 2006 -
Outcome of Commission meeting of 1st February
(voir aussi - see also ME of 1.2)
[01] Financial perspectives 2007-2013 : the road towards having European
programmes operational on 01/01/2007
Increased flexibility in future budgets in order to better react to a
rapidly changing world (almost €5 billion over the 2007-13 period) ;
establishing basic rules for the new European Globalisation Adjustment Fund
(€3,5 billion); a comprehensive review of the EU budget in 2008/9 - these
are major new elements in the Commission proposal for a renewed Inter-
Institutional Agreement (IIA). "With this proposal the way is now cleared
for a constructive negotiation between the Parliament, the Council and the
Commission", commented Commission President José Manuel Barroso. "We need
to have an agreement by April. Everyone understands very well that
otherwise the execution of many EU programmes will be problematic as from
1st of January 2007. We have to act fast while being prudent, responsible
and realistic. The credibility and effectiveness of the enlarged Union is
at stake", added Dalia Grybauskaite, Commissioner for Financial programming
and Budget.
[02] La Commission propose une amende contre la France pour ne pas avoir
adopté une législation sur les biotechnologies
La Commission européenne a décidé de traduire nouveau la France devant
la Cour de justice européenne pour ne pas s'être conformée un arrêt
rendu par la Cour en 2003 propos d'une législation sur les
biotechnologies. Malgré l'arrêt de la Cour et les avertissements
ultérieurs de la Commission, la France n'a encore adopté qu'une partie de
la législation nationale mettant en application la directive relative
l'utilisation confinée de micro-organismes génétiquement modifiés.
Cette directive a pour objet de protéger l'environnement et la santé
humaine des dangers potentiels des essais biotechnologiques en
laboratoires. La Commission demandera également la Cour d'imposer la
France une astreinte journalière de €168,800 applicable partir du jour
du second jugement de la Cour dans cette affaire.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[03] Commission statement on VAT reduced rates agreement (01/02)
Lászl Kovács, European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs, welcomed
the fact that there is now unanimous agreement on the Value Added Tax
reduced rates package, which was established at the ECOFIN meeting last
Tuesday by 22 out of 25 Member States. "I am very satisfied that the three
countries that originally expressed reservations have now rallied to this
compromise proposal. It is a sound and balanced compromise, which offers
legal stability for the Community as a whole and offers firm guaranties to
some sensitive economic sectors in our Member States. I wish to underline,
that this solution will bring concrete advantages to all Member States. The
Commission has been working very closely with the Austrian Presidency
throughout these intensive negotiations, and our efforts were mutually
reinforcing to construct an agreement to the benefit of Europe. I also
believe that the balance achieved is fully in line with the spirit of the
renewed Growth and Jobs strategy of the European Union."
[04] La Commission lance un projet d'information sanitaire
M. Markos Kyprianou, commissaire européen la santé et la
protection des consommateurs, a lancé aujourd'hui Bruxelles un projet
baptisé "Plateforme européenne d'information sanitaire", également connu
sous le nom de "La santé en Europe". Co-financé hauteur de €1,4
million par le programme de santé publique de l'UE, ce système
d'information sanitaire est géré par l'Union européenne de
radiotélévision (UER). Il s'agit d'un projet multimédia ayant pour but
de créer un réseau de radiodiffuseurs de service public et d'autres
médias travers l'Europe et de favoriser l'échange de reportages –
sous la forme de documentaires télévisés, d'émissions de radio et
d'articles publier dans la presse ou sur l'Internet – consacrés des
questions de santé.
[05] Child-resistant lighters : Commission calls on Member States to back
measures to reduce accidents
On 8-9 February 2006 the European Commission will present a proposal for a
Decision requiring producers and importers of lighters to make their
products child-resistant. The proposal will be discussed by the Committee
of Member States under the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC. An
estimated 34 to 40 people, often children, die annually in the EU due to
children playing with unsafe lighters. Many more people suffer serious and
permanent injuries. Considerable material damage caused by accidents with
lighters is also reported every year. Simple devices can be added to
lighters to make them child-resistant, at an average cost of just 4
eurocents per lighter. Safety standards were agreed on a voluntary basis
within the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) in 2002, but they
are not applied. However, producers abide to similar safety requirements in
the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A US study showed a 60% decrease
in fires started by children after a law on child resistant lighters was
passed in the United States - proving the benefits of such legislation.
[06] Des règles sociales européennes dans les transports
Le Parlement européen a adopté ce matin l'accord sur le projet de
législation européenne qui améliore le temps de conduite et de repos des
chauffeurs routiers et renforce les contrôles sur les camions. Ainsi, les
chauffeurs vont pouvoir bénéficier d'un repos d'au moins deux jours
pleins toutes les deux semaines et d'un repos journalier plus long. Ces
nouvelles règles clarifient les règles existantes et rapprochent les
pratiques des différents Etats européens. Elles contribuent également
la sécurité routière. "L'ouverture des marchés doit être accompagnée
des règles applicables tous pour assurer des conditions de travail
équitables. Ces règles sociales européennes créent de nouveaux droits
pour les travailleurs et protègent contre le dumping social", s'est
réjoui Jacques Barrot, Vice-Président de la Commission en charge des
transports.
[07] Commission clears joint venture between Cognis and Golden Hope
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of the Cognis Group's global
oleochemicals and plastics additives businesses by Cognis B.V. of the
Netherlands and Golden Hope Plantations Berhad (Golden Hope) of Malaysia.
The Cognis Group is a manufacturer of speciality chemicals. Golden Hope's
activities include the cultivation, processing and sale of palm oil, palm
kernels, fruits from the palm oil tree and rubber. The joint venture will
be active in the manufacture, marketing and sale of fatty acids, glycerine,
fatty alcohols and methyl ester in Malaysia.
[08] Opening of tariff quota for bananas from ACP countries
The Management Committee for Bananas gave a favourable opinion on a
European Commission proposal to open a duty-free tariff quota of 615,000
tonnes for ACP countries for the period March-December 2006. The proposal
will now be put for formal approval to the Commission. Under the new rules,
from March to December 2006, 468,150 tonnes will be made available on a
"first come, first served" basis in five tranches of 93,630 tonnes each.
The tranches will be made available every two months. The remaining 146,850
tonnes of the tariff quota will be reserved for operators who actually
imported bananas from ACP countries in 2005. The licences for these
operators will be proportional to the quantities they imported from ACP
countries in 2005. On 29 November 2005, the EU adopted a new "tariff-only"
import regime for bananas from countries enjoying Most Favoured Nation
status, applying from 1 January 2006 (see IP/05/1493). The regime also
includes a duty-free annual import quota of 775,000 tonnes for bananas
originating in ACP countries. To avoid disruption of trade with ACP
countries before the adoption of the tariff quota for these countries, the
Commission adopted in December interim measures for January and February
2006. An overall amount of 160,000 tonnes has already been made available
for this period. The tariff quota proposed today (615,000 tonnes) covers
the rest of 2006.
[09] Décembre 2005 par rapport novembre 2005 : hausse des prix la
production industrielle de 0,2% dans la zone euro et dans l'UE25
L'indice des prix la production industrielle dans la zone euro a
augmenté de 0,2% en décembre 2005 par rapport au mois précédent. Dans
l'UE25, les prix ont également augmenté de 0,2% en décembre 2005. En
novembre, les prix avaient connu une baisse de 0,2% dans la zone euro et
une hausse de 0,7% dans l'UE25. En décembre 2005, par rapport décembre
2004, les prix la production industrielle ont progressé de 4,6% dans la
zone euro et de 6,2% dans l'UE25. Ces données sont publiées par Eurostat.
Par rapport 2004, l'indice moyen des prix la production industrielle a
augmenté en 2005 de 4,1% dans la zone euro et de 5,2% dans l'UE25.
[10] Andris Piebalgs participates in the 34th Sanderstolen Energy
Conference in Norway
The European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs gave a presentation this
morning on "Natural Gas - Crucial for Europe's Energy Security" at a
conference organised by the Energy Policy Foundation of Norway.
Sanderstolen meetings are annual gatherings of major international energy
sector stakeholders and aims at discussing current challenges in the energy
sector. In his presentation, the Commissioner presented the role of natural
gas for Europe's energy mix, he assessed developments in the gas market
which are shifting from a regional to a global scale due in particular to a
rapidly increasing share of liquified natural gas. During the afternoon the
Commisioner will hold bilateral meetings on energy security issues with Odd
Roger Enoksen, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, and with Malcolm
Wicks, UK Minister for Energy. No speech available.
[11] EU-China Ministerial Troika in Vienna (03/02)
European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy,
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, will participate in the EU-China Ministerial Troika
on 3 February in Vienna, together with Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula
Plassnik and EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Javier
Solana. The meeting with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Li Zhaoxing,
is expected to cover EU-China bilateral relations, including preparations
for a new Partnership and Cooperation agreement and trade issues. Human
rights, and international and regional affairs, will also be discussed.
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Opening remarks by Janez Potočnik at International Symposium on Climate
Change at Belgian Royal Academy of Sciences
Discours de M. Jacques Barrot : "Transport routier : aspects sociaux" en
session plénière du Parlement européen
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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