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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 08-11-04Midday 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 Communicationb04/11/08[01] State aid: Commission consults on revised rules for state funding of public service broadcastingThe European Commission has published, for public consultation, a draft Communication laying down the rules that it intends to apply to state funding of public service broadcasting. Member States and stakeholders now have the opportunity to submit their views on the proposed text. Comments should be submitted by 15 January 2009. Key issues for discussion include more flexibility for public broadcasters to meet the challenges of the new media environment, the principles underpinning the definition of the public service remit by the Member States as well as supervision of public service activities at national level. On the basis of the comments received, the Commission could adopt a modernised Broadcasting Communication in the first half of 2009. A first consultation on the general principles of the review took place between January and March 2008 (see <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/24&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">IP/08/24).[02] Pêche: le rapport d'infractions confirme la nécessité d'une réforme des contrôlesLa Commission européenne a publié aujourd'hui son septième rapport annuel sur les infractions graves aux règles de la politique commune de la pêche (PCP). Ce rapport, qui s'appuie sur ceux établis par les États membres, a pour objet les infractions détectées au cours de l'année 2006. 10 362 infractions ont été dénombrées cette année-là , le montant moyen de l'amende infligée par les États membres s'élevant à 1 548 €. Les infractions les plus fréquentes concernent d’une part le non-respect des normes de commercialisation en vigueur pour le stockage, la transformation, la mise en vente ou le transport de produits de la pêche et, d’autre part, la pêche non autorisée. Tant le taux de détection que le niveau des sanctions appliquées par les États membres continuent de préoccuper la Commission. En outre, les informations fournies par les États membres sont une fois de plus insuffisantes pour lui permettre de tirer les conclusions utiles quant à la manière dont la politique commune de la pêche est appliquée. Pour l'heure, la Commission prépare une révision intégrale du règlement existant sur le régime de contrôle applicable à la PCP et elle s'apprête notamment à introduire des sanctions administratives harmonisées, dans lesquelles elle voit un moyen de corriger le caractère arbitraire du système actuel.[03] European Commission proposes new strategy to address EU critical needs for raw materials - EMBARGO 12h30Raw materials are an essential part of both high tech products and every- day consumer products. European industry needs fair access to raw materials both from within and outside the EU. For certain high tech metals, the EU has a high import dependency and access to these raw materials is getting increasingly difficult. Many resource-rich countries are applying protectionist measures that stop or slow down the export of raw materials to Europe in order to help their downstream industries. Many European producers suffer from such practices. On top of this, some emerging countries are becoming very active in resource-rich countries, particularly in Africa, with the aim of securing a privileged access to raw materials. If Europe does not act now, European industry is put at a competitive disadvantage. In response to this challenge, the European Commission launched today a new integrated strategy which sets out targeted measures to secure and improve the access to raw materials for EU industry.[04] Household saving rate at 13.9% in the euro area and 10.2% in the EU27Eurostat and the European Central Bank (ECB) release a detailed set of quarterly European sector accounts1. This Eurostat News Release focuses on three key indicators: the household saving rate, and the investment rate and profit share of non-financial businesses. Developments in the euro area are detailed in an annex.[05] Industrial producer prices down by 0.2% in both euro area and EU27In September 2008 compared with August 2008, the industrial producer price index fell by 0.2% in both the euro area2 (EA15) and the EU27. In August, prices decreased by 0.5% and 0.8% respectively. In September 2008 compared with September 2007, industrial producer prices increased by 7.9% in the euro area and by 10.1% in the EU27. These figures come from Eurostat.[06] Environment: Terrorist attack simulations test the response capabilities of eight EU countriesA major simulation exercise is kicking off today in France. VAR 2008, a four-day drill, is a series of simulated terrorist attacks designed to test countries' response capacities to possible terrorist situations. The exercise, which is being organised under the framework of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism will run from 4 to 7 November and will be concluded by a lessons learnt workshop. VAR 2008 is organised by France as one of the important events of the French Presidency. The exercise will involve civil protection teams from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden. It will give participants the opportunity to train ahead of potential response operations in Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) situations, and to test European countries' cooperation capabilities. The Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), which is the central operating hub of the Mechanism and links the civil protection authorities of 30 participating European countries, has facilitated the coordination of the international teams as it does in real emergencies. The European Commission finances 75% of the eligible costs of the exercise. Since its launch in 2001, the Mechanism has monitored close to 100 disasters and has been active in over 60. Boosting Community cooperation when national emergencies arise, some of its most important interventions include Greece's wildfires last year and more recently, this year's cyclone in Myanmar as well as China's devastating earthquake. For more information: European civil protection – <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/environment/civil/index.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/environment/civil/index.htm[07] Telemedicine: Commission adopts plans to help doctors and patients access healthcare from a distanceToday, the European Commission adopted a Communication to support and improve access to telemedicine for EU citizens and healthcare professionals across Europe. This initiative aims to increase and broaden telemedicine services, including diagnosis, treatment and monitoring at a distance across Europe. Such services will allow, for example, a patient suffering from a rare retinal disease to be diagnosed in his hometown by a specialist working at a European Centre of Excellence for eye diseases located thousands of kilometres away. Patients with chronic heart failure will be able to have their disease more closely monitored and to enjoy better quality of life while staying at home. The European Commission proposes actions to address the related challenges in the years to come, such as to increase confidence and acceptance of telemedicine services among users. In particular, by encouraging provision and dissemination of scientific evidence of its effectiveness and cost effectiveness, to bring legal clarity on existing EU legislation regarding telemedicine services and encourage Member States to improve provision of telemedicine services, and to solve technical problems such as the lack of adequate community-wide broadband infrastructure and interoperability of telemedicine devices. This Communication defines the necessary steps to be taken by Member States, the European Commission and stakeholders including healthcare providers and the industry. The Communication on Telemedicine adopted today is available on:<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/health/policy/telemedicine/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/health/policy/telemedicine/index_en.htm For more information: <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=4465">http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=4465 <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm Rediffusion [08] Lutte contre la contrebande en MéditerranéeRenforcer la lutte commune contre les contrebandiers en Méditerranée est l’objectif d’une conférence internationale à Tanger, Maroc. L’évènement du 2 au 5 novembre focalise sur « l’Assistance mutuelle administrative en matière douanière dans le cadre du partenariat euro- méditerranéen » et est organisé par la Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects de la République Française, l’Administration des Douanes et Impôts Indirects du Royaume du Maroc et l’Office européen de lutte anti-fraude (OLAF).[09] Open debate on opportunities and risks of nuclear energy at the European Nuclear Energy Forum third meeting in BratislavaThe Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and his Czech counterpart Mirek Topolánek have today opened the third plenary session of the European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) which will run until tomorrow in the Slovak capital Bratislava. 200 high-ranking participants from all relevant stakeholders are discussing risks, opportunities and transparency issues of nuclear energy. In his welcome message to the Forum, Commissioner Piebalgs highlighted the importance of investing in low carbon electricity generation. He also stressed that "it is time to respond to the demand from European citizens to develop a common legislative framework for nuclear safety" confirming that the Commission will present in a few weeks a revised proposal for a Directive on nuclear safety.[10] Autre matériel diffusé• Memo on Preparation of Eurogroup and Economic and Finance Ministers Council, Brussels, 3 and 4 November 2008• Memo on State aid: Commission consults on revised rules for state funding of public service broadcasting - frequently asked questions (see also IP/08/1626) • Speech by Commissioner Piebalgs 'Address to the European Nuclear Energy Forum', Bratislava • Speech by Commissioner Fischer Boel 'Perspectives for the CAP in the Health Check and after 2013', Brussels • Speech by Commissioner Borg 'The Integrated Maritime Policy: Full Steam Ahead', Malta • Discours du Vice-président Barrot sur l'Intégration, Vichy A disposition au secrétariat de Jonathan Todd (BERL 03/315): Notification préalable d'une opération de concentration : Iberdrola Renovables / Gamesa Energia Thyssenkrupp / Thyssenkrupp Röhm Kunststoffe
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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