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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 06-07-12
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[I] Résultats de la Commission de ce jour - Outcome
of today's Commission meeting
[01] Commission imposes penalty payment of €280.5 million on Microsoft
for continued non-compliance with March 2004 Decision
[02] L'euro : une monnaie à la recherche d'un marché plus actif, d'une
réforme économique plus ambitieuse et d'une présence plus forte sur la
scène internationale
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[03] Commission welcomes the appointment of José Ramos-Horta as the new
Prime Minister of Timor-Leste
[04] Commission approves proposed acquisition of joint control of Pražská
plynárenská by E.ON
[05] Quarterly euro-area GDP growth projections in the range of 0.4% to
0.8% for the second quarter of 2006, 0.3% to 0.7% for the third quarter and
0.5% to 1.0% for the fourth quarter
[06] Second estimate for the first quarter of 2006 : Euro area GDP up by
0.6% and EU25 up by 0.7% ; +2.0% and +2.2% respectively compared to the
first quarter of 2005
[07] Markos Kyprianou visits Bulgaria and Romania
[08] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2006-07-12
Reference: MEX/06/0712
Date: 12/07/2006
EXME06 / 12.7
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
12/07/06
[I] Résultats de la Commission de ce jour - Outcome
of today's Commission meeting
[01] Commission imposes penalty payment of €280.5 million on Microsoft
for continued non-compliance with March 2004 Decision
The European Commission has imposed a penalty payment of €280.5 million
on Microsoft for its continued non-compliance with some of its obligations
under the Commission's March 2004 Decision (see IP/04/382). That Decision
found that Microsoft had abused its dominant position under Article 82 EC,
and required Microsoft to disclose complete and accurate interface
documentation which would allow non-Microsoft work group servers to achieve
full interoperability with Windows PCs and servers. Today's Decision,
adopted under Article 24(2) of Regulation 1/2003, finds that Microsoft has
not fulfilled this obligation. Should Microsoft continue to fail to comply,
the Decision also increases the amount of the daily penalty payment to
which Microsoft could be subject to €3 million per day.
[02] L'euro : une monnaie à la recherche d'un marché plus actif, d'une
réforme économique plus ambitieuse et d'une présence plus forte sur la
scène internationale
Certains Etats membres de la zone euro s'adaptent trop lentement aux chocs
économiques, ce qui risque de pérenniser le fossé entre les pays Ã
croissance rapide et les pays à croissance lente, si la réforme
structurelle ne trouve pas un rythme plus rapide. Ceci est une des
conclusions du premier compte-rendu annuel au sujet de la zone euro. Le
compte-rendu souligne également le fait que, malgré le poids de
l'argument des années 1980 "marché unique, monnaie unique", le marché
unique de l'Union européenne est encore loin d'être achevé. La lutte
contre ces faiblesses permettra aux membres de la zone euro de tirer
pleinement parti du marché unique ainsi que d'augmenter leur potentiel de
croissance et la création d'emplois. Enfin, bien que la zone euro
représente le cinquième des échanges internationaux et 25% des réserves
mondiales, il lui manque une présence cohérente sur la scène
internationale. En donnant d'elle une image plus forte, elle pourrait
afficher ses ambitions économiques et favoriser la stabilité dans
l'économie mondiale et sur les marchés financiers.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[03] Commission welcomes the appointment of José Ramos-Horta as the new
Prime Minister of Timor-Leste
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Commissioner Louis
Michel warmly welcomed the inauguration on 10 July of Mr José Ramos-Horta
as the new Prime Minister of Timor-Leste. This appointment provides hope
for a solution to the recent crisis in Timor-Leste.
[04] Commission approves proposed acquisition of joint control of Pražská
plynárenská by E.ON
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the
proposed acquisition of joint control of Pražská plynárenská a.s., the
Czech gas distribution and supply company, by E.ON Czech Holding AG
belonging to the German group E.ON AG. Following the transaction, Pražská
plynárenská will be jointly controlled by E.ON and the City of Prague.
The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly
impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any
substantial part of it.
[05] Quarterly euro-area GDP growth projections in the range of 0.4% to
0.8% for the second quarter of 2006, 0.3% to 0.7% for the third quarter and
0.5% to 1.0% for the fourth quarter
The dynamic factor model for quarterly GDP growth in the euro area,
developed by the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and
Financial Affairs, projects GDP growth in the range of 0.4% to 0.8% for the
second quarter of 2006 and of 0.3% to 0.7% for the third quarter. Both
projections are slightly lower than in the previous release (1 June). The
projected range for GDP growth in the fourth quarter remains broadly stable
at 0.5% to 1.0%.
[06] Second estimate for the first quarter of 2006 : Euro area GDP up by
0.6% and EU25 up by 0.7% ; +2.0% and +2.2% respectively compared to the
first quarter of 2005
Euro area GDP grew by 0.6% and EU25 GDP by 0.7% in the first quarter of
2006 according to revised estimates from Eurostat. In the fourth quarter of
2005, growth rates were +0.3% in the euro area and +0.4% in the EU25. In
comparison with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP grew in the
first quarter of 2006 by 2.0% in the euro area and by 2.2% in the EU25,
after +1.7% and +1.9% respectively in the previous quarter. In the first
quarter of 2006 and among the Member States for which data are available,
Greece and Latvia (+2.8% each) recorded the highest growth rate, followed
by the Czech Republic and Estonia (+2.0% each). A decrease was recorded
only in Malta (-3.5%).
[07] Markos Kyprianou visits Bulgaria and Romania
European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou,
will start tomorrow a two-day visit to Bulgaria and Romania to urge both
countries to step up their efforts to finalise preparations for accession.
On Thursday, the Commissioner will be in Sofia, to meet Bulgarian President,
Mr Georgi Parvanov, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, as well as European
Affairs Minister Ms Meglena Kouneva, Agriculture Minister Mr Nihat Kabil
and Health Minister Mr Radoslav Gaydarski. In Romania, on Friday, Mr
Kyprianou will meet with President Traian Basescu, Prime Minister Calin
Popescu, as well as the Ministers for European Integration, Agriculture and
Health – Mrs Anca Boagiu, Mr Gheorghe Flutur and Mr Eugen Nicolaescu. Mr
Kyprianou will discuss with Ministers a number of commitments made by the
two countries in the run up to their planned accession to the EU next year,
in particular in the field of food safety and veterinary issues as well as
health.
[08] Autre matériel diffusé
Competition : Commission Decision of 12 July 2006 to impose penalty
payments on Microsoft – frequently asked questions
Introductory remarks by Neelie Kroes at press conference on imposing
penalty payments on Microsoft
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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