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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 07-07-19
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission clears acquisition of Unifeeder by MPE
[02] La Commission ouvre une procédure d'infraction à l'encontre de
l'Italie concernant la récupération d'aides incompatibles à l'emploi
[03] Commission opens in-depth investigation into Hungarian export-credit
guarantee scheme
[04] Commission endorses €32 million aid to Kia Motors Slovakia to expand
car manufacturing plant
[05] Commission endorses €120 million aid for German R&D project THESEUS
[06] La Commission traduit l'Espagne devant la Cour de justice pour non-
récupération d'une aide illégale
[07] Commission ends Court proceedings against Hungary after amendment of
Media Act
[08] Commission sends Reasoned Opinion to Italy over poultry labelling
rules
[09] Commission continues infringement procedure against Finland over oral
tobacco
[10] EU funded research results gives hope to HIV patients
[11] Commission launches consultation on responsible research in
Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies
[12] La pêche à l'anchois dans le Golfe de Gascogne restera fermée
[13] Joe Borg and JoĂŁo Mira Gomes attend Lisbon's major workshop on EU
maritime policy
[14] Meglena Kuneva visits the People's Republic of China
Midday Express of 2007-07-19
Reference: MEX/07/0719
Date: 19/07/2007
EXME07 / 19.7
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
19/07/07
[01] Commission clears acquisition of Unifeeder by MPE
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Unifeeder A/S (Unifeeder)
of Denmark by Montagu Private Equity LLP (MPE) of the UK. MPE is a private
equity investor in the European mid-market. Unifeeder provides commercial
feeder services, door-to-door container transport services and freight
forwarding services. The operation was examined under the simplified merger
review procedure.
[02] La Commission ouvre une procédure d'infraction à l'encontre de
l'Italie concernant la récupération d'aides incompatibles à l'emploi
La Commission européenne a invité l'Italie à lui communiquer des
informations au sujet des mesures prises pour récupérer des aides
illégales et incompatibles à l'emploi accordées à un grand nombre de
sociétés dans les années 90. Le 1er avril 2004, la Cour de justice
européenne a condamné l'Italie pour défaut d'exécution de la décision
de la Commission du 11 mai 1999 qui lui enjoignait de récupérer les aides
(voir IP/99/321). Bien que plus de trois ans se soient écoulés depuis cet
arrêt, seule une petite partie des aides a été récupérée. La demande
de renseignements de la Commission prend la forme d'une lettre de mise en
demeure, qui constitue la première étape de la procédure d’infraction
prévue en cas de non-respect d'un arrêt de la Cour (article 228 du
traité CE). L'Italie dispose à présent de deux mois pour informer la
Commission des mesures prises pour se conformer à la décision de 1999. Si
sa réponse n'est pas satisfaisante, la Commission pourra lui demander
officiellement de respecter l'arrĂŞt de la Cour de justice, faute de quoi
elle pourra la traduire une deuxième fois devant la Cour.
[03] Commission opens in-depth investigation into Hungarian export-credit
guarantee scheme
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation under EC Treaty
state aid rules into a planned scheme providing export credit guarantees to
Hungarian SMEs and their customers. The scheme would be operated by the
Hungarian public export-credit agency, Magyar Export-Import Bank Zrt.
(Eximbank). The Hungarian authorities notified the measure under the
Commission Communication on short-term export-credit insurance. However,
the Commission has doubts that the envisaged measure would meet the
criteria laid down in the Communication. Export aid is strictly forbidden
in intra-Community trade since it directly affects competition between
Member States. The opening of an in-depth investigation gives interested
parties the possibility to comment on the proposed measure. It does not
prejudge the outcome of the procedure.
[04] Commission endorses €32 million aid to Kia Motors Slovakia to expand
car manufacturing plant
The European Commission has authorised under the EC Treaty state aid rules
an ad hoc aid of €32 million that the Slovak Government plans to grant to
Kia Motors Slovakia for the expansion of its car manufacturing plant
situated in Žilina, Slovakia. The aid consists of a direct cash grant for
an eligible investment cost of €216 million. The Commission considers the
aid to be compatible with EC Treaty state aid rules, in view of the
Commission's cohesion policy and in the conformity of the project with the
conditions for regional aid to large investment projects.
[05] Commission endorses €120 million aid for German R&D project THESEUS
The European Commission has authorised, under EC Treaty State aid rules aid
worth €120 million that Germany intends to grant to start THESEUS, a
research project for developing and testing new search technologies for the
next generation Internet. THESEUS would involve both large companies and
SMEs. The Commission found the aid to be in line with the criteria laid
down in its Framework for Research and Development and Innovation (R&D&I,
see IP/06/1600 and MEMO/06/441).
[06] La Commission traduit l'Espagne devant la Cour de justice pour non-
récupération d'une aide illégale
La Commission européenne a décidé, en application des règles du
traité CE en matière d'aides d'Etat, de saisir la Cour de justice
européenne à l'encontre de l'Espagne pour non-respect d'une décision de
la Commission du 27 novembre 2002 dĂ©clarant l'aide d'État accordĂ©e Ă
Refractarios Especiales SA incompatible avec le marché unique (voir
IP/02/1745). La décision de 2002 ordonnait à l'Espagne de récupérer
cette aide auprès du bénéficiaire. Près de cinq ans après son adoption,
les autorités espagnoles n'ont récupéré qu'une partie de l'aide.
La Commission estime qu'elles n'ont pas encore pris toutes les mesures
nécessaires pour exécuter la décision de récupération.
[07] Commission ends Court proceedings against Hungary after amendment of
Media Act
The European Commission has withdrawn its pending case at the Court of
Justice against Hungary after the latter abolished a provision of its Media
Act that prevented cable operators from providing cable TV services to more
than one third of the Hungarian population. The provision had limited
competition on the markets for cable TV and broadband internet services in
Hungary: such a lack of competition typically leads to higher prices, less
innovation and slower take-up of these services. The Commission had
formally requested the abolition of the restriction in April 2006 by means
of a reasoned opinion under Article 226 of the EC Treaty (see IP/06/1811).
The relevant provision of the Hungarian Media Act prevented the
consolidation of the cable networks, in breach of the Commission Directive
on electronic communications, but this has now been abolished.
[08] Commission sends Reasoned Opinion to Italy over poultry labelling
rules
The European Commission has decided to send a Reasoned Opinion to Italy
over its legislation setting out a specific compulsory labelling system for
poultry meat and poultry meat products. Under an Order adopted in August
2005, Italian producers and the first recipients of poultry meat are
obliged to indicate the Member State of origin of the meat, as well as the
date of import for poultry meat and products coming from other Member
States and third countries. This measure contravenes EU rules on food
labelling and the marketing of poultry, and could cause market
discrimination and hamper the Internal Market and other trade. The Italian
authorities claim that these labelling measures were taken so that, in the
event of an avian flu outbreak, poultry meat could be rapidly traced and
withdrawn from the market. However, the Commission finds no justification
for the Italian rules. Strict EU veterinary legislation ensures that any
poultry meat placed on the EU market is safe, while there are also
harmonised rules on food labelling which ensure that consumers are properly
informed and not misled. Under Regulation 1906/90 on the marketing of
poultry products, Member States can only require the labelling of origin
when the absence of such information could mislead or confuse the consumer
– which is not the case at issue. The Italian authorities have 2 months
to reply to the Reasoned Opinion. If they fail to take the appropriate
measures to rectify the situation, the Commission will refer this matter to
the Court of Justice.
[09] Commission continues infringement procedure against Finland over oral
tobacco
The European Commission has decided to continue the infringement procedure
against Finland due to its non-compliance with the Court judgment which
confirmed Finland's failure to comply with a Directive prohibiting oral
tobacco from being placed on the market. The Commission is sending a
Reasoned Opinion to Finland for non-compliance with Article 8 of Directive
2001/37/EC on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products.
In addition, the Commission believes that new legislation adopted by
Finland's Ă…land Islands also fails to implement the above Directive, as it
only prohibits "snus" from entering the market, rather than oral tobacco in
general, as foreseen in the EU Directive. Furthermore, in relation to the
selling of oral tobacco on vessels, the law limits its application to
vessels operating within Finnish territorial waters. This would allow the
sale of oral tobacco on vessels registered in the Ă…land Islands, once
these vessels exit Finnish territorial waters. The Finnish authorities have
two months to reply to the Reasoned Opinion. If they fail to take the
appropriate measures to rectify the situation, the Commission can refer
Finland to the Court of Justice.
[10] EU funded research results gives hope to HIV patients
A study conducted by the Royal Free Centre for HIV Medicine and the Royal
Free and University College London Medical Schools, and funded by the
European Commission, shows that long term treatment of HIV-infected
patients with the combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) effectively
restores their immune function levels to levels similar to those found in
healthy individuals. These findings are derived from an analysis of a long-
standing European collaborative study, EuroSIDA, a research project that
has been funded by the European Commission since 1994.
[11] Commission launches consultation on responsible research in
Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies
The European Commission has today announced a public consultation on
responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research. The consultation
will provide input for a Recommendation to the Member States on a possible
Code of Conduct for this emerging area of science, which the Commission
will put forward later this year. Contributions are expected from a broad
cross-section of European society, including the scientific community,
industry, civil society, policy-makers, media and the general public.
[12] La pêche à l'anchois dans le Golfe de Gascogne restera fermée
Après un examen approfondi des derniers avis scientifique et des
éléments reçus des Etats membres, la pêche à l'anchois dans le Golfe de
Gascogne, actuellement fermée jusqu'à la fin de l'année, ne sera pas
réouverte. L'avis, rendu récemment par le Comité scientifique, technique
et Ă©conomique de la PĂŞche de la Commission (CSTEP) indiquait "qu'aucune
mesure de gestion autre qu'une la fermeture complète de la pêcherie en
2007 ne devrait être considérée". Le CSTEP a basé ses recommandations
sur des données recueillies lors des campagnes de recherche menées au
printemps sur l'état du stock concerné. Il a estimé à 30.000 tonnes la
quantité de poissons adultes dans le stock, ce qui est plus élevé que
les 18.640 tonnes du printemps dernier, mais bien en dessous du niveau
auquel la pĂŞche commerciale pourrait reprendre sans danger pour le stock
concerné. Etant donné l'état d'épuisement de ce stock et le fait que
l'anchois a une durée de vie courte, il est essentiel que chaque anchois
adulte ait la possibilité de contribuer à la reconstitution du stock. Des
aides publiques sont disponibles pour aider Ă amortir l'impact pour les
pêcheurs affectés par cette fermeture.
[13] Joe Borg and JoĂŁo Mira Gomes attend Lisbon's major workshop on EU
maritime policy
Today European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Policy Joe Borg and
Portuguese State Secretary for Defence and Maritime Affairs JoĂŁo Mira
Gomes will address the opening of a workshop in Lisbon on the Governance of
an Integrated, Holistic Maritime Policy for Europe. The two-day workshop is
being hosted by the Portuguese government, which currently holds the EU
Presidency. It will bring together leading policy makers, scientists and
stakeholders from across Europe to discuss the governance issues involved
in developing a more coherent approach to policy making in the maritime
sector.
[14] Meglena Kuneva visits the People's Republic of China
On July 22-26 European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva
will be visiting the People's Republic of China. She will meet Mr Li
Changjiang, Minister of AQSIQ, the General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and Mr Zhou Bohua, Minister for
SAIC, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. She will also
meet representatives of Chinese industry and consumer associations, and
visit toy factories and a testing laboratory. Her aim is to ensure that the
best use is made of the EU-China cooperation framework and explore further
actions to improve the safety track record of Chinese manufactured non-food
consumer goods. Commissioner Kuneva will urge Chinese authorities to use
the information relayed to them by the Commission to take corrective action
at the source, addressing the responsible manufacturer directly, and to
report quarterly the results of the enforcement actions carried out to the
Commission. She will underline the mutual benefits of shared high safety
standards and offer to work in partnership with the Chinese to achieve a
high level of product safety. "The EU puts health and safety at the heart
of policy-making", says Ms Kuneva. "We want to build confidence with the
Chinese". For further information please visit:
<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_safe/prod_safe/gpsd/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_safe/prod_safe/gpsd/index_en.htm
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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