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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 98-02-20
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Spokesman's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi du Porte-Paroleb
20/02/98
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission to start formal consultations with Ukraine over Daewoo and
second hand car discrimination
[02] Commission urges Japan to treat European air carriers fairly by
allocating airport slots according to international rules
[03] EU consults with Brazil in WTO on import payments restrictions
[04] Padraig Flynn strongly endorses codes of conduct to improve working
conditions in developing countries
[05] Sir Leon Brittan : "Europe ready to share its expertise with Asia on
the financial crisis"
[01] Commission to start formal consultations with Ukraine over Daewoo and
second hand car discrimination
The European Commission will start formal consultations with Ukraine on
discriminatory practices related to the car market in order to trigger the
dispute settlement procedure of the Interim Trade Agreement with Ukraine in
case talks fail. In September 1997, the Ukrainian government adopted a law
granting discriminatory fiscal advantages to the Ukrainian car manufacturer
AvtoZAZ, following a major investment by Daewoo. This law will make it
virtually impossible for anyone else to sell cars in Ukraine. The
Commission considers that this law violates the most-favoured nation rules
of the World Trade Organisation and several clauses in the Interim Trade
Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine. It also runs counter to
Ukraine's stated integration objective in the world economy. Ukraine has
one of the lowest rates of foreign investment of the countries in
transition. The Commission has raised this issue with Ukraine on eight
occasions, starting in July 1997. No action has been taken by Ukraine to
remedy the situation.
[02] Commission urges Japan to treat European air carriers fairly by
allocating airport slots according to international rules
The European Commission has written to the Japanese Ministry of Transport
urging Japan to apply non-discriminatory and transparent rules when
allocating landing and take-off slots at its airports. The Commission's
call comes after the conclusion of aviation talks between Japan and the
United States which, the Commission fears, may lead to a further
aggravation of the existing imbalance of slots in favour of the US air
carriers at the congested Tokyo Narita airport. At present US airlines
have five times more slots than European Union (EU) airlines at Narita
airport. Under the "use-it-ot-loose-it" rules set by the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), which are non-binding but widely applied, any
allocated slots that over a period of time are not used should be
reallocated according to transparent criteria designed in part to favour
new market entrants. Japan has said it intends to apply the IATA rules but
as part of a recent US-Japan Open Skies agreement the US and Japan seem to
have agreed instead that slots currently under-utilised by the US airline
Federal Express will be redistributed, through private deals, to US
airlines only.
[03] EU consults with Brazil in WTO on import payments restrictions
The European Commission yesterday held consultations in Geneva with Brazil
concerning Brazilian measures that restrict payment terms for imports and
which appear to infringe World Trade Organisation's (WTO) rules. The
measures require an advance non-interest bearing deposit, equal to the
purchasing amount, on payment of all imports. This has significantly
increased the cost for importers and placed imports at a disadvantage by
comparison to domestic products. Several other trading partners are also
concerned by the measures. The US, Japan, Australia, Switzerland and Korea
joined in yesterday's consultations. The European Union (EU) is now
awaiting Brazil's replies to the questions submitted during the
consultations and will decide on further steps in the light thereof.
[04] Padraig Flynn strongly endorses codes of conduct to improve working
conditions in developing countries
Speaking today in Brussels to a EU-US Symposium on Codes of Conduct and
International Labour Standards, Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner,
Padraig Flynn said : "Many large companies now realise that their customers
and workers see them as responsible not only for what happens in their own
plants but for what happens in their suppliers' premises too. Their
response has been the development of voluntary codes of conduct at company
level." He explained that "People - consumers by another name - value
these codes. Cynics might argue that businesses only want to use the codes
to improve their image and increase sales. I do not hold this view. I
believe that the vast majority of companies are sincere about codes of
conduct and labour standards. They take a serious risk with the
credibility and their reputation when they subscribe to a code of conduct
which applies to suppliers in distant countries. People should be aware
how difficult it is to guarantee respect for basic labour standards across
hundreds of suppliers." Mr Flynn concluded his remarks by stating that
"the European Commission attaches great importance to the promotion of core
labour standards worldwide. I firmly believe that public support for
increased trade liberalisation will be threatened if we fail to address the
public's concerns on this important issue. This is why we will support the
ILO proposal for a Declaration on workers' fundamental rights and for
mechanisms to guarantee those rights. And why, under our Generalised
System of Preferences, we propose special benefits to countries that look
after their workers' fundamental rights."
[05] Sir Leon Brittan : "Europe ready to share its expertise with Asia on
the financial crisis"
Speaking in Hong Kong at the Trade Development Council today, Sir Leon
Brittan, Vice-President of the European Commission, said that "we are ready
and willing to share our expertise with our Asian friends, helping them to
learn from the crisis and embark on serious financial reform. This should
become a top priority at the Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM) in London in April,
and during the follow-up to that Summit. It should also be pursued through
specific programmes for individual countries or territories." Sir Leon
added that "integrating Europe's banking, insurance and securities into the
world's largest and most liberal market has generated the kind of expertise
on market opening and prudential supervision that I believe Asia needs
right now."
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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