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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 08-06-10Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>CONTENTS / CONTENU
MIDDAY EXPRESSNews from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefingNouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb10/06/08[01] MEDIA MUNDUS: Commission considers global film cooperation programmeThe Commission is currently exploring the benefits of adding to the EU's MEDIA programme – created in 1991 to promote the development and the distribution of European films across borders – a new MEDIA MUNDUS programme to strengthen cultural and commercial relations between Europe's film industry and film-makers of third countries. This could help audiovisual professionals from Europe and equivalent film makers outside the EU to reciprocally improve their competitiveness by better exploiting the potential for joint projects such as the development, distribution and promotion of audiovisual works. Such a MEDIA MUNDUS programme would follow the model of the student exchange programme ERASMUS MUNDUS that had been added in 2001 to the already existing ERASMUS programme in order to make an exchange between European universities and universities in third countries possible. A public-online consultation on the main features and priorities of a possible MEDIA MUNDUS programme is open until 15 June 2008 and a public hearing will be held in Brussels on 25 June.[02] EU to double its R&D investment in roboticsAt the occasion of AUTOMATICA 2008, one of the leading international trade fairs in robotics and automation held this year in Munich/Germany, the European Commission has announced a policy to boost European robotics. The European Union will double its investments between 2007 and 2010 with almost € 400 million to support European robotics research. This ambitious programme aims to forge stronger links between academia and industry, and plans to fund a widespread experimentation by academic researchers and industry. The European Commission also calls on the industry to intensify its efforts in producing critical components in Europe, such as gears, in order to face competition from Asia and avoid strategic dependencies on other regions of the world.[03] La Commission propose des règles plus claires et plus proportionnelles aux risques pour les sous-produits animauxLa Commission européenne a adopté aujourd’hui une proposition qui facilitera une gestion efficace des sous-produits animaux tout en préservant le niveau élevé de protection actuellement en place contre les risques pour la santé publique, la santé animale et l'environnement. Dans l’Union européenne, des milliers d’abattoirs, d'exploitations agricoles et de laiteries produisent chaque année plus de 15 millions de tonnes de sous-produits animaux. La proposition de règlement révisé introduit des règles plus claires et définit un cadre général pour une réglementation plus proportionnelle aux risques concernant ces produits. Les agriculteurs et un large éventail de secteurs produisant et utilisant des sous-produits animaux bénéficieront d'un cadre juridique plus cohérent pour la collecte, l'utilisation et l'élimination des sous- produits animaux. Les nouvelles règles clarifieront également dans quelles circonstances et selon quelles modalités la législation environnementale s’applique, et faciliteront l’utilisation des matières d’origine animale pour des applications techniques.[04] Commission strongly welcomes today's political agreement on Working Time and Working conditions for Temporary Agency WorkersThe Commission strongly welcomes the agreement that Member States reached in the early hours of this morning (10 June) on the longstanding issues of the Working Time Directive and the Temporary Agency Work Directive at the Employment and Social Affairs Council in Luxembourg.[05] Urban Audit: Commissioner Hübner welcomes work on data vital for designing policy to meet city-specific challengesDanuta Hübner, Commissioner for Regional Policy, today welcomed ongoing work on an Urban Audit that is being carried out under Eurostat coordination. Speaking at a conference in Brussels entitled: 'The state of European Cities: the Urban Audit', she said cities were the keys to delivering jobs and growth, and that the audit was 'an essential tool for everyone involved in raising the competitiveness and attractiveness of our cities... a tool to monitor the progress we are making in achieving territorial cohesion'. The current audit involves 358 cities, and more than 330 indicators. The results will be published in the autumn. More on conference:<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/urbanaudit2008/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/urbanaudit2008/index_en.htm Speech: SPEECH/08/316 [06] Control of Structural Actions: Commissioner Hübner calls on representatives from national authorities to meet the challengeDanuta Hübner, Commissioner for Regional Policy, called on participants at a seminar entitled: 'Control of Structural Actions' to meet the challenge of delivering results in strengthening control arrangements for the 2007- 2013 programming cycle. 'In the end, success will depend on you [it] is down to the good work of managing authorities and certifying authorities, the pillars of the system' she said in an opening speech. The seminar, with over 500 participants, was called to highlight the crucial role of the managing and certifying authorities in guaranteeing correct use of EU funds, to present new guidance on best practice, and to establish a common understanding of key elements of the internal control systems. The intention is to strengthen the partnership for training, guidance and awareness-raising actions to ensure that all involved in programme implementation have the knowledge and information to perform their roles properly. More on conference:<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/manauth/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/manauth/index_en.htm Speech: SPEECH/08/318 [07] Being open about technology standards – Neelie Kroes outlines the meritsCompetition Commissioner Neelie Kroes staked out a new frontline in the debate about technology standards at a speech today in Brussels. Speaking at an industry forum Kroes praised open standards, saying that standards are more important than ever and the foundation of interoperability. "Interoperability encourages competition on the merits between technologies from different companies, and helps prevent lock-in... Choosing open standards is a very smart business decision...". Kroes said that consumers do not have an interest in the inclusion of proprietary technology in standards "when there are no clear and demonstrable benefits over non- proprietary alternatives". She said that the emergence of de facto standards in the marketplace through consumer choice often requires no regulatory intervention, except in cases where this power is exploited to lock in customers and exclude competition. Recognising the commercial pressures on standards bodies, Kroes offered her support to any standards body that wanted to improve their rules "to avoid being manipulated by narrow commercial interests". She underlined that standards bodies are normally entitled to seek ex ante disclosure of patents and of maximum royalty rates for proprietary technologies. Kroes warned against the long- term costs of technology lock-in and said the Commission had to be astute in its position as a purchaser. "Where open alternatives are available, no citizen or company should be forced or encouraged to use a particular company's technology to access government information." See SPEECH/08/317Rediffusion [08] Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Ålö's proposed takeover of MXThe European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation under the EU Merger Regulation into the planned acquisition of the French company Mailleux ("MX") by Ålö of Sweden. Both companies produce equipment for agricultural tractors. The Commission’s initial market investigation found that the proposed acquisition raises serious doubts as to its compatibility with the Single Market as regards front loaders for tractors, where the parties' activities overlap significantly. Front loaders are devices which can be attached to the front end of tractors to handle/lift various kinds of materials. The decision to open an in-depth inquiry does not prejudge the final result of the investigation. The Commission now has 90 working days, until 15th October 2008, to take a final decision on whether the concentration would significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic Area (EEA) or a substantial part of it.[09] Autre matériel diffusé• Memo on Global Partners: EU-US Trade and Investment• Memo on Questions and answers on animal by-products • Speech by Commissioner Mandelson 'The EU and the US in a globalised economy: politics and priorities', New York • Speech by Commissioner Hübner 'Knowing and designing our cities to cope with today's and tomorrow's challenges', Brussels • Speech by Commissioner Kroes 'Being open about standards', Brussels • Speech by Commissioner Hübner 'Control of structural actions – meeting the challenge', Brussels • Speech by President Barroso 'The Euro-Mediterranean University: a place of dialogue and understanding', Portoroz • Discours du Commissaire Špidla sur La Révision de la Directive des Comités d'Entreprise Européens, Bruxelles • Speech by Commissioner Borg 'The impact of the Integrated Maritime
Policy on the Mediterranean', Portorož/Piran
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/ Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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