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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 07-07-20
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission welcomes capacity reductions at Szczecin and Gdynia
shipyards in Poland, but requires more information on Gdansk shipyard
[02] Commission clears acquisition of Talkline by Debitel
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Bausch by Warburg
[04] Commission clears acquisition of ANP by Halder and NPM
[05] Commission proposal to suspend Red 2G food colour backed by Member
States
[06] Cohesion policy 2007-2013 : Commission approves national strategy and
priorities for Sweden
[07] EU helps Greece to tackle forest fires
[08] Droit des sociétés : la Commission consulte les entreprises à propos
d'un éventuel Statut de société privée européenne
[09] Corporate governance : Commission reports on application of EU
recommendations on directors' pay and independence
[10] Employment rate in the EU27 rose to 64.4% in 2006 ; rate for women
rose to 57.2%
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2007-07-20
Reference: MEX/07/0720
Date: 20/07/2007
EXME07 / 20.7
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
20/07/07
[01] Commission welcomes capacity reductions at Szczecin and Gdynia
shipyards in Poland, but requires more information on Gdansk shipyard
The European Commission has welcomed the proposal by Poland to reduce
capacity in the Polish shipyards in Szczecin and Gdynia, as a necessary
step forward in the restructuring process financed by state aid. This
positive signal will provide clarity for potential investors in the on-
going privatisation process and so enable them to come forward with
restructuring plans to restore the long-term viability of the yards and
secure jobs for the yard workers. As for Gdansk shipyard, Poland has so far
not proposed adequate capacity reductions. The Commission has therefore
sent Poland an information injunction warning that unless Poland manages to
provide information on adequate capacity reductions at the Gdansk yard
within one month, the Commission will consider a negative decision on the
state subsidies already received by the yard, which could require the aid
to be reimbursed. The Commission's action is within the framework of the
investigation opened in June 2005 into state aid worth at least €1.3
billion to Polish shipyards (see IP/05/644), which aims to ensure that the
aid is used to restore the long-term viability of the yards without undue
distortion of competition.
[02] Commission clears acquisition of Talkline by Debitel
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Talkline Management und
Finance Holding GmbH (Talkline) of Germany by Debitel AG of Germany.
Debitel is active in mobile and fixed-line telephony services and internet
services. Talkline provides mobile telecommunication services. The
operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Bausch by Warburg
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Bausch & Lomb Inc.
(Bausch) of the US by Warburg Pincus LLC (Warburg) of the US. Warburg is a
private equity investor. Bausch manufactures, markets and sells healthcare
products for eyes. The operation was examined under the simplified merger
review procedure.
[04] Commission clears acquisition of ANP by Halder and NPM
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of ANP Holding B.V.
(Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau - ANP) of the Netherlands by Halder-GIMV
Investering 2004 B.V. (Halder) of the Netherlands, controlled by GIMV N.V.,
and NPM Capital N.V. (NPM Capital) also of the Netherlands, controlled by
SHV Holdings N.V. Halder and NPM Capital are private equity investment
companies. ANP is a Dutch news agency. The operation was examined under the
simplified merger review procedure.
[05] Commission proposal to suspend Red 2G food colour backed by Member
States
A European Commission proposal to suspend the use of the food colouring Red
2G with immediate effect has received a favourable opinion from the
Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. In line with the
proposed measures, food containing Red 2G will not be allowed to be used,
placed on the market or imported into the EU, due to concerns over its
effect on human health. Red 2G has been permitted for use in the EU to
colour breakfast sausages and burgers, up to a maximum level of 20mg/kg.
However, as part of the EU's ongoing review of all authorised food
additives, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) re-evaluated Red 2G
and found it to pose some health risks. In its Opinion of 5 July 2007, EFSA
stated that there was a strong possibility that Red 2G could provoke cancer,
as it tends to break down into a carcinogenic substance called aniline. In
light of these findings, the Commission decided to take immediate measures
to block any food containing this food colouring from the EU market.
Foodstuffs which have been placed on the market before the Regulation
enters into force will still be allowed to be sold up to their expiry date.
The Commission will adopt the Regulation banning this food colouring in the
coming days, and it will enter into effect immediately following its
publication in the Official Journal. For more information, see:
<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/chemicalsafety/additives/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/chemicalsafety/additives/index_en.htm.
[06] Cohesion policy 2007-2013 : Commission approves national strategy and
priorities for Sweden
European Regional policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner and Employment and
social affairs Commissioner VladimÃr `pidla have reached agreement with
Sweden on its national plan and priorities for Cohesion policy 2007-2013.
In their National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), the Swedish
authorities describe how they plan to invest EU funding of €1.9 billion
over seven years in line with the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs.
[07] EU helps Greece to tackle forest fires
On 18 July 2007 Greece requested European civil protection assistance to
help combat the forest fires raging throughout the country. The request
triggered a rapid response from the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC)
of the European Commission. The MIC immediately alerted the civil
protection authorities of the 30Â countries participating in the Community
Civil Protection Mechanism. France responded by making 2 Canadair aircraft
available.
[08] Droit des sociétés : la Commission consulte les entreprises à propos
d'un éventuel Statut de société privée européenne
La Commission européenne a lancé une consultation publique sur les
obstacles que rencontrent les entreprises – en particulier les petites et
moyennes entreprises (PME) – lorsqu'elles exercent des activités
transnationales dans l'UE, et sur le contenu d'un éventuel Statut de
société privée européenne. Il sera tenu compte des réponses lors d'une
prochaine analyse d'impact et dans une éventuelle proposition
législative. Les réponses peuvent être transmises jusqu'au 31 octobre
2007.
[09] Corporate governance : Commission reports on application of EU
recommendations on directors' pay and independence
The European Commission has published two reports on Member States'
application of EU recommendations on company directors' pay and
independence. Both reports conclude that the application of corporate
governance standards has improved, but some weaknesses remain. The report
on directors' remuneration shows that transparency standards are widely
followed, but in some Member States it is still not recommended that
shareholders vote on this issue. The report on the role of independent non-
executive directors finds that there is a real progress in improving
governance standards in this field, but some of the recommended standards
have not been followed in all Member States. For example, in some Member
States a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company can still become
its chairman without any cooling off period. This undermines the
independence of non-executive supervision. Also, some Member States do not
recommend a sufficient number of independent board members in remuneration
and audit committees.
[10] Employment rate in the EU27 rose to 64.4% in 2006 ; rate for women
rose to 57.2%
In 2006, 214.0 million people aged 15 years or more had a job or a business
activity in the EU27. The total employment rate for people aged 15-64 was
64.4% in 2006, compared with 62.2% in 2000 and 63.4% in 2005. The
employment rate for women was 57.2% in 2006, compared with 53.7% in 2000
and 56.0% in 2005, and the rate for older people, i.e. those aged 55-64,
was 43.5%, up from 36.9% in 2000 and 42.2% in 2005. This information comes
from a report published by Eurostat, based on the results of the 2006
Labour Force Survey.
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Calendrier du 23 au 29 juillet 2007
Top News from the European Commission (23 July – 23 September 2007)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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