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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 07-03-30
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission provides Russia with veterinary information on Poland and
residues
[02] L'UE signe le nouveau traité des Nations unies sur les droits des
personnes handicapées
[03] New map shows solar electricity potential of European regions
[04] Recherche énergétique européenne : inauguration en Espagne de la
première centrale solaire à concentration destinée à l'exploitation
commerciale en Europe
[05] Commission clears acquisition of STV by Shell and Coller
[06] Cohesion policy 2007-2013 : Greece is the second Member State to have
its plan and priorities agreed with the Commission
[07] Taxation du tabac : la Commission lance une consultation publique
[08] Direct Taxation : Commission requests Ireland to end discriminatory
taxation of income sourced in the United Kingdom and asks the United
Kingdom for information about similar rules applied in its territory
[09] Dans son rapport annuel sur l'économie numérique, la Commission
indique que les TIC drainent 50% de la croissance de l'UE
[10] March 2007 : Business Climate Indicator for the euro area remains
stable
[11] Flash estimate - March 2007 : Euro area inflation estimated at 1.9%
[12] March 2007 : Economic sentiment strengthens further in both the EU and
the euro area
[13] Février 2007 : le chômage en baisse à 7,3% dans la zone euro ;
baisse à 7,4% dans l'UE27
[14] Günter Verheugen visits China to launch partnership agreement
[15] Benita Ferrero-Waldner se rend au Liechtenstein et en Suisse Ã
l'occasion de l'inauguration de la délégation de l'Union européenne Ã
Berne
[16] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2007-03-30
Reference: MEX/07/0330
Date: 30/03/2007
EXME07 / 30.3
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
30/03/07
[01] Commission provides Russia with veterinary information on Poland and
residues
The European Commission sent last night comprehensive replies to the
reports by the Russian authorities on their recent veterinary and phyto-
sanitary inspections in Poland. The Commission is convinced that all the
questions raised by Russia have been addressed in a way which should enable
the lifting of the Russian ban on Polish meat and plant exports, and hopes
that the ongoing consultations between the EU and Russia will result in a
swift resolution of the issue and an end to the Russian embargo. Regarding
the Russian request for information on veterinary residue monitoring in the
EU, the European Commission has now received from all 27 EU Member States
their 2007 residue monitoring plans and 2006 monitoring results in draft
form, and will forward these to the Russian authorities. Member States and
third countries exporting to the EU are required to provide these plans to
the Commission every year by 31 March, and subsequently the draft plans
will be finalised and approved by the Commission. Commissioner Kyprianou is
expected to meet with Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev in mid-
April in order to discuss how EU-Russian Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS)
relations can proceed in a way which is satisfactory for all involved.
[02] L'UE signe le nouveau traité des Nations unies sur les droits des
personnes handicapées
L'Union européenne apposera aujourd'hui sa signature au bas d'un nouveau
traité des Nations unies sur les droits des personnes handicapées, lors
de la première journée ouverte à la signature à New York. C'est la
première fois que l'UE signera une convention essentielle des Nations
unies en matière de droits de l'homme. Cette convention, qui concerne les
droits des personnes handicapées, vise à garantir que ces personnes
jouissent de droits de l'homme et de libertés fondamentales sur la base de
l'égalité avec les autres. Elle garantira une protection à 50 millions de
citoyens de l'UE et à 650 millions de personnes handicapées dans le monde.
[03] New map shows solar electricity potential of European regions
A new map published by the European Commission shows the photovoltaic solar
energy potential of different parts of Europe. Photovoltaic Solar Cells
convert sunlight directly into electricity. In addition the interactive on-
line Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS), developed by the
Commission's in-house scientific service, DG Joint Research Centre, allows
users to estimate solar energy performance at any given location in Europe.
The information in the map shows that an identical solar system will
generate twice as much energy in sunny areas of Europe, such as Malta and
Southern Spain, than in areas such as Scotland or Northern Scandinavia.
These tools are invaluable as the EU seeks to increase the share of
renewable energies in its consumption to 20% in 2020.
[04] Recherche énergétique européenne : inauguration en Espagne de la
première centrale solaire à concentration destinée à l'exploitation
commerciale en Europe
La ville de Séville, dans le sud de l’Espagne, accueillera la
première centrale solaire à concentration destinée à l'exploitation
commerciale en Europe. La centrale, inaugurée aujourd'hui, a bénéficié
d’un cofinancement de l'Union européenne. D'une capacité de 11 MW, elle
doit produire 23 GWh d'électricité par an – de quoi répondre aux
besoins d'une population de 10.000 habitants. Cette production
d'électricité solaire évitera le rejet dans l'atmosphère de près de 16
000 tonnes de CO² par an.
[05] Commission clears acquisition of STV by Shell and Coller
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of Shell Technology Ventures
Fund 1 B.V, currently wholly owned by Shell Technology Ventures (STV) of
the Netherlands by Coller Capital (Coller) of Luxemburg and STV, controlled
by Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) of the Netherlands. STV is an oil and
technology venture. Shell is a global group of oil, gas and petrochemical
companies. Coller is a private equity investments company. The operation
was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
[06] Cohesion policy 2007-2013 : Greece is the second Member State to have
its plan and priorities agreed with the Commission
European Regional policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner, visiting Greece, and
VladimÃr `pidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and equal
Opportunities, congratulated the Greek authorities for being the second
Member State to agree officially with the European Commission the national
plan and priorities for Cohesion policy 2007-2013. Greece sent its National
Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) to the European Commission on 26
January 2007. The document lays out how EU cohesion policy will be used to
deliver growth and jobs in the new programming period 2007-2013.
[07] Taxation du tabac : la Commission lance une consultation publique
La Commission européenne lance actuellement une consultation en ligne qui
devrait lui permettre de connaître l'opinion des intéressés quant Ã
l'actuelle législation communautaire en matière de taxation du tabac et
aux modifications envisageables à cet égard. Les règles de l'Union
européenne régissant le tabac doivent garantir le bon fonctionnement du
marché intérieur sans méconnaître l'objectif visé par l'UE, qui est de
dissuader les gens de fumer. Il convient de moderniser les règles
existantes et de les rendre plus transparentes et plus simples. La
consultation est dans l'intérêt de toutes les parties prenantes, c'est-à -
dire les entreprises spécialisées dans la fabrication et la distribution
de produits du tabac, les organisations de santé publique, les
administrations, les organisations non gouvernementales, les associations
de consommateurs, etc. La Commission prendra en compte leurs avis et leurs
points de vues dans la proposition qu'elle doit présenter à la fin de
l'année. Les intéressés sont invités à faire parvenir leurs
observations d'ici au 1er juin 2007.
[08] Direct Taxation : Commission requests Ireland to end discriminatory
taxation of income sourced in the United Kingdom and asks the United
Kingdom for information about similar rules applied in its territory
By a reasoned opinion under Article 226 of the EC Treaty, the European
Commission has formally requested Ireland to amend its legislation
concerning remittance base taxation. Ireland normally does not tax income
received by non-domiciled persons from money invested abroad if the
interest is left on the foreign bank account. The Irish legislation
excludes from this rule income sourced in the UK and thus treats such
income less favourably than income arising elsewhere in the EU. The
Commission considers that this is contrary to the EC Treaty and to the EEA
Agreement, as it restricts the free movement of capital. If Ireland does
not reply satisfactorily to the reasoned opinion within two months the
Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. At the
same time the European Commission has decided to send a request for
information in the form of a letter of formal notice to the United Kingdom
about similar remittance base taxation rules, which in turn appear to
discriminate against income sourced in Ireland.
[09] Dans son rapport annuel sur l'économie numérique, la Commission
indique que les TIC drainent 50% de la croissance de l'UE
Les investissements publics et privés dans les technologies de
l'information et de la communication (TIC) portent leurs fruits, comme
l'indique la Commission européenne dans son rapport annuel d'avancement de
l'initiative i2010, le volet numérique de la stratégie pour la croissance
et l'emploi. La technologie alimente l'innovation et la productivité, et
alors que l'Europe progresse vers une économie fondée sur la connaissance,
on observe des signes annonciateurs d'un changement fondamental sur les
marchés et dans le comportement des utilisateurs.
[10] March 2007 : Business Climate Indicator for the euro area remains
stable
After an increase in February, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the
euro area remained stable in March. Despite a small deceleration in
industrial production growth in January 2007, the high level of the BCI
points to strong industrial production growth in the first quarter of 2007.
The stabilisation of the BCI is the net effect of a worsening in managers'
assessment of their stocks of finished products and of the production trend
observed in recent months and improvements in managers' views on total
order books and in their production expectations for the months ahead.
Meanwhile, managers' assessment of export order books remained stable.
[11] Flash estimate - March 2007 : Euro area inflation estimated at 1.9%
Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.9% in March 2007 according
to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat. It was 1.8% in February. Euro area
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 area. No detailed breakdown is available.
Experience has shown the procedure to be reliable (16 times exactly
anticipating the inflation rate and 8 times differing by 0.1 over the last
two years). Further information can be found in Eurostat News Release
113/2001 of 5 November 2001.
[12] March 2007 : Economic sentiment strengthens further in both the EU and
the euro area
The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) continued to increase in both the EU
and the euro area in March. The indicator increased by 1.8 points in the EU
and by 1.5 points in the euro area, to 113.8 and 111.2 respectively.
[13] Février 2007 : le chômage en baisse à 7,3% dans la zone euro ;
baisse à 7,4% dans l'UE27
Dans la zone euro (ZE13), le taux de chômage corrigé des variations
saisonnières, s'est élevé à 7,3% en février 2007, contre 7,4% en
janvier. Il était de 8,2% en février 2006. Dans l'UE27, le taux de
chômage s'est élevé à 7,4% en février 2007, contre 7,5% en janvier.
Il était de 8,2% en février 2006. En février 2007, les taux les plus bas
ont été enregistrés au Danemark (3,4%) et aux Pays-Bas (3,5%). Les taux
de chômage les plus élevés ont été observés en Pologne (11,8%) et en
Slovaquie (11,0%). Ces chiffres sont publiés par Eurostat.
[14] Günter Verheugen visits China to launch partnership agreement
European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, responsible for
enterprise and industry policy, will be visiting Beijing from 01-04 of
April to deepen the EU-China economic relations. The visit of Mr. Verheugen
follows the publication of the Commission communication on the EU-China
relations at the end of last year. In January 2007 both sides agreed to
launch negotiations on the establishment of a new Partnership and
Cooperation Agreement.
[15] Benita Ferrero-Waldner se rend au Liechtenstein et en Suisse Ã
l'occasion de l'inauguration de la délégation de l'Union européenne Ã
Berne
Les 2 et 3 avril 2007, Mme Benita Ferrero-Waldner, membre de la Commission
européenne chargé des relations extérieures et de la politique de
voisinage, effectuera sa première visite officielle en Suisse et au
Liechtenstein. Au cours des discussions, les relations bilatérales,
l'élargissement de l'Union européenne et des questions de politique
internationale seront abordées. L'inauguration de la délégation de la
Commission à Berne, le 3 avril, revêtira une importance particulière. La
délégation contribuera, dans une large mesure, à approfondir des
relations déjà caractérisées par leur qualité et leur diversité.
[16] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Neelie Kroes : "More competition and greater energy security in
the Single European Market for electricity and gas" at High-Level Workshop
on Energy Organised By German Presidency (Berlin)
Speech by President José Manuel Barroso : "We are all new Europeans now"
at Seimas (29/03, Vilnius)
Speech by Danuta Hübner : "Growth and competitiveness in Europe: a case
for a strong cohesion policy" at Conference organised by ELIAMEP, Hellenic
Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (29/03, Athens)
Speech by Andris Piebalgs : "The internal energy market must benefit each
and every EU citizen" at high-level workshop on Completion of the Single
European Market for Electricity and Gas (29/3, Berlin)
Calendrier du 2 au 15 avril 2007
Top News from the European Commission du 2 April - 29 avril 2007
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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