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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 07-01-15
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] EU citizens ask for more EU action in field of family law which is at
heart of their concerns and in the centre of EU Justice debate
[02] Comment le marché unique est-il perçu? Que peut-on faire pour qu'il
fonctionne mieux?
[03] Telecommunications : Polish regulator must carry out a new market
analysis of retail access markets, says Commission
[04] Commission clears joint venture between An Post and Fortis
[05] "Mazovia must grab the opportunity offered by Cohesion Policy 2007-
2013", Danuta Hübner tells Mazowieckie Region Parliament
[06] Benita Ferrero-Waldner to visit China (16-18/01)
[07] A new currency for Slovenia and a new future in the euro area
[08] November 2006 compared to October 2006 : industrial production up by
0.2% in euro area ; up by 0.3% in EU25
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2007-01-15
Reference: MEX/07/0115
Date: 15/01/2007
EXME07 / 15.1
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
15/01/07
[01] EU citizens ask for more EU action in field of family law which is at
heart of their concerns and in the centre of EU Justice debate
The European Union allows people an unprecedented level of free mobility.
As it has become free to travel, work, and study within the Union, very
often marriages and families are being formed between individuals from
different Member States, or couples settle down in another Member State. EU
citizens, as showed by a recent Eurobarometer survey, are asking enhanced
EU wide attention to ensure clarity and legal certainty about the nature of
family law regulations such as divorce settlements, child custody dealings
and inheritance.
[02] Comment le marché unique est-il perçu? Que peut-on faire pour qu'il
fonctionne mieux?
Les citoyens de l'UE ont-ils le sentiment d'être bien informés sur le
marché unique? Quels sont les effets du marché unique sur les activités
des entreprises de l'UE? Quelles sont les mesures concrètes qui devraient
être prises pour améliorer son fonctionnement? Les résultats d'enquêtes
Eurobaromètre récentes et d'une consultation publique sur la future
politique du marché unique (voir IP/06/1636) apportent une série de
réponses et des éléments importants pour le réexamen en cours du
marché unique par la Commission européenne.
[03] Telecommunications : Polish regulator must carry out a new market
analysis of retail access markets, says Commission
The European Commission issued a decision requiring the Polish telecom
regulator, Urząd Regulacji Elektronicznej (UKE), to withdraw its draft
measures for regulating retail access services. Two months ago, the
Commission expressed serious doubts that UKE's plans for regulating these
markets were compatible with Community law and requested UKE to back its
market definition with convincing evidence. UKE has failed to justify why
it intends to regulate broadband access services in addition to regulating
retail narrowband access, says the Commission.
[04] Commission clears joint venture between An Post and Fortis
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to a joint venture between An Post of Ireland and Fortis Bank
SA/NV, a subsidiary of Fortis SA/NV of Belgium and Fortis NV of the
Netherlands, the two parent companies of the Fortis group. An Post is the
universal postal service operator in Ireland. Fortis is an international
provider of banking and insurance services to private, business and
institutional customers. The operation was examined under the simplified
merger review procedure.
[05] "Mazovia must grab the opportunity offered by Cohesion Policy 2007-
2013", Danuta Hübner tells Mazowieckie Region Parliament
"Mazovia must make the best use of the €1.83 billion the European
Regional Development Fund will invest in the Polish region", stated
European Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner today in Warsaw. The
Commissioner's speech to the Parliament (Sejmik) of the Mazowieckie Region
focused on the new Cohesion Policy 2007-13 and on the development strategy
selected by the Mazowieckie region for the forthcoming programming period.
During her visit to the region Commissioner Hübner also met with Marshal
of Mazowieckie region, Adam Struzik, and President of the Council, Robert
Soszynski.
[06] Benita Ferrero-Waldner to visit China (16-18/01)
The European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood
Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner will visit Beijing on 16-18 January, to
launch negotiations for a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA)
between the EU and China, delivering on the commitment made by European and
Chinese leaders at the EU-China Summit in Helsinki in September 2006. To
mark this important step in EU-China relations, she will meet leading
members of the Chinese administration, including the second highest ranking
Chinese Leader, Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister
Li Zhaoxing, and Trade minister Bo Xilai. The new PCA will encompass the
full scope of bilateral relations with China, including enhanced
cooperation in political matters, and will update the existing 1985 Trade
and Economic Cooperation Agreement. During her trip the Commissioner will
also take the opportunity to underscore the importance of cooperation on
energy security and the environment.
[07] A new currency for Slovenia and a new future in the euro area
"As the first of the 2004 accession States to adopt the euro, (Slovenia)
forges a path for others to follow. We look forward to witnessing the
process of this month repeated year after year, as the borders of the euro
area gradually converge with those of the Union", said Joaquín Almunia,
European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, attending a conference
in Ljubljana to mark Slovenia's adoption of the euro. Today, the euro
becomes sole legal tender in Slovenia relegating the tolar to history as
the dual circulation period ends. Commissioner Almunia noted that although
some appeared to have used the opportunity to increase prices when
converting them in euros, one "should not let certain cases of abuse cloud
the wider picture". Outlining the benefits of the euro for Slovenia, he put
at the very top the low inflation and low interest rates that it had
brought to euro area countries. The euro will also help anchor macro-
economic stability in Slovenia, eliminate exchange rate swings and costs,
increase trade and boost investor confidence. "Before the introduction of
the euro, transaction costs in the EU were estimated at 20 to 25 billion
euro, the majority of this figure incurred by companies. Now that Slovenian
businesses are no longer burdened by these charges, they will have more
money available for productive investments in growth and jobs". Slovenia
has achieved impressive budgetary consolidation in recent years, and public
finances are currently in very healthy shape. The current deficit for 2006
is estimated at 1.6% of GDP while at 28% of GDP, public debt is well below
the reference value stipulated as a maximum in the Stability and Growth
Pact.
[08] November 2006 compared to October 2006 : industrial production up by
0.2% in euro area ; up by 0.3% in EU25
Seasonally adjusted industrial production increased by 0.2% in the euro
area (EA12) in November 2006 compared to October 2006. Production fell by
0.1% in October and by 1.0% in September. In the EU25 output rose by 0.3%
in November, after remaining unchanged in October and decreasing by 0.5% in
September. In November 2006 compared to November 2005, industrial
production grew by 2.5% in the euro area and by 2.8% in the EU25. These
estimates are released by Eurostat.
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Eurobarometer surveys on citizens' and businesses' views on the Single
Market
Speech by Danuta Hübner : "Mazowsze w Europejskiej Polityce Spójno[ci w
latach 2007-2013" (Warsaw)
Speech by Mariann Fischer Boel : "Part of the solution: biofuels in the EU"
at Conference at Carnegie Bank (Copenhagen)
Speech by Janez Potočnik : "FP7 - tomorrow's answers start today" at FP7
launch – Internationales Kongresszentrum Bundeshaus Bonn
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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