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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-05-03
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Iraq reconstruction : Commission releases €160 million
[02] Commission to recover €119.46 million of CAP expenditure from the
Member States
[03] Mario Monti reçoit Nicolas Sarkozy, ministre français de l'Economie,
des Finances et de l'Industrie
[04] Commission opens proceedings into collective licensing of music
copyrights for online use
[05] La Commission autorise le nouveau système de distribution et de
service après-vente de Porsche
[06] Commission clears Ford acquisition of Polar Motor
[07] TEN-Rail Priority Project - Brenner Base Tunnel : Loyola de Palacio
welcomes the agreement between Austria and Italy
[08] Santé en ligne : améliorer la santé et les soins de santé grâce aux
technologies d'information et de communication
[09] Safety first : new guidelines to help keep dangerous products off the
EU's internal market
[10] EU rules on animal by-products set to apply for imports
[11] Franz Fischler : "Continued deadlock in negotiations on blue whiting
fishery is unacceptable and unjustified"
[12] EU-Chile : initial of a protocol adapting the EU-Chile Association
Agreement to the enlargement
[13] Pascal Lamy meets Japanese Trade Minister Nakagawa
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 03/05/2004
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 03/05/2004
[01] Iraq reconstruction : Commission releases €160 million
The European Commission is releasing €160 million to the International
Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq. The money will be used to restore
and strengthen the delivery of key public services, to improve livelihoods
and to reduce poverty and to strengthen governance, human rights and civil
society. This allocation is part of the €200 million pledged by the
Commission at the Madrid International Donors conference for Iraq 2003-
2004.
[02] Commission to recover €119.46 million of CAP expenditure from the
Member States
A total of € 119.46 million of EU farm money misspent by Member States is
to be claimed back, following a decision adopted by the European
Commission. The money is to be recovered because of inadequate control
procedures or non-compliance with EU rules on agricultural expenditure.
While Member States are responsible for paying out and checking virtually
all expenditure under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Commission
is required to ensure that Member States have made correct use of the
funds.
[03] Mario Monti reçoit Nicolas Sarkozy, ministre français de l'Economie,
des Finances et de l'Industrie
Nicolas Sarkozy, ministre d'Etat français, ministre de l'Economie, des
Finances et de l'Industrie, a été reçu à Bruxelles par Mario Monti,
Commissaire européen à la Concurrence. Il s'agissait du premier entretien
avec M. Monti depuis que M. Sarkozy a été nommé dans ses nouvelles
fonctions. Ce premier contact a été l'occasion d'évoquer de manière
approfondie le dossier Alstom. Cette réunion a permis de faire un point
complet de la situation et le Ministre d'Etat et le Commissaire sont
convenus d'avancer ensemble rapidement sur ce dossier important sur le plan
industriel et social, en vue de trouver une solution qui soit conforme au
droit communautaire.
[04] Commission opens proceedings into collective licensing of music
copyrights for online use
The European Commission has warned sixteen organisations that collect
royalties on behalf of music authors that their so-called Santiago
agreement is potentially in breach of European Union competition rules.
This is because the cross-licensing arrangements that the collecting
societies have between themselves lead to an effective lock up of national
territories, transposing into the Internet the national monopolies the
societies have traditionally held in the offline world. The Commission
believes that there should be competition between collecting societies to
the benefit of companies that offer music on the Internet and to consumers
that listen to it. This position reflects only a preliminary position of
the Commission at this stage and the collecting societies have the right to
defend their views in writing and at an oral hearing.
[05] La Commission autorise le nouveau système de distribution et de
service après-vente de Porsche
Porsche a modifié ses accords et ouvert son réseau officiel de service
après-vente aux réparateurs indépendants qui remplissent les critères
qualitatifs requis. Ces réparateurs peuvent maintenant demander à faire
partie du réseau officiel de centres de service Porsche. Du fait de ces
modifications, Porsche ne lie plus la fourniture de services après-vente à
une obligation de vente de voitures neuves. Le commissaire chargé de la
concurrence, M. Mario Monti, s'est félicité de ces changements et du fait
que Porsche a l'intention de modifier ses accords de distribution de
véhicules neufs de manière à les adapter aux exigences de la nouvelle
exemption par catégorie applicable au secteur automobile.
[06] Commission clears Ford acquisition of Polar Motor
The European Commission has approved the acquisition of the UK car retailer
Polar Motor Group Ltd by US carmaker Ford Motor Company. The analysis of
the transaction has confirmed that the transaction does not lead to any
significant changes in the competitive structure of the distribution of
passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the UK.
[07] TEN-Rail Priority Project - Brenner Base Tunnel : Loyola de Palacio
welcomes the agreement between Austria and Italy
A bilateral treaty was signed on Friday 30 April between Italy and Austria
that clears the way to enter the final phase of the rail Brenner Base
Tunnel project. "This is an important date in the development of one of the
key priority projects of the Trans-European Transport Network to cross the
Alps", said Commission Vice-President Loyola de Palacio.
[08] Santé en ligne : améliorer la santé et les soins de santé grâce aux
technologies d'information et de communication
La Commission européenne a adopté un plan d'action qui montre comment
utiliser les technologies d'information et de communication pour fournir
des soins de santé de meilleure qualité dans l'ensemble de l'Europe. Ce
plan d'action "santé en ligne" englobe tous les aspects, de la prescription
électronique et du dossier médical informatisé à l'utilisation de nouveaux
systèmes et services qui réduiront les temps d'attente et les erreurs. Ses
propositions contribueront à améliorer les soins, à un coût constant ou
inférieur. Le plan d'action fixe comme objectif la création d'un "espace
européen de la santé en ligne" et répertorie des mesures pratiques pour y
parvenir en travaillant sur l'application de l'électronique aux dossiers
médicaux, à l'identification du patient et aux cartes de santé, et en
accélérant le déploiement de l'internet à haut débit pour les systèmes de
santé, afin d'exploiter tout le potentiel des applications de la santé en
ligne. Pour donner le dynamisme voulu à cette initiative, les Etats membres
devraient élaborer des stratégies de santé en ligne nationales et
régionales ; il faut aussi mettre au point des outils pour mesurer l'impact
des technologies de la santé en ligne sur la qualité et l'efficacité des
services, ainsi que sur la productivité globale. A la fin de la décennie,
la santé en ligne sera entrée dans les habitudes des professionnels de la
santé, des patients et des citoyens. Le plan d'action est le troisième
volet des activités récentes de la Commission dans le domaine de la santé
(voir IP/04/508). Les deux autres ont trait à la mobilité des patients et à
l'évaluation comparative des réformes nationales des soins de santé, des
soins de longue durée et de la protection sociale.
[09] Safety first : new guidelines to help keep dangerous products off the
EU's internal market
The European Commission has adopted guidelines for improving the
functioning of the EU's Rapid Information System on dangerous consumer
products (RAPEX). The Commission now typically receives between four and
six safety alerts each week via this system from national consumer
protection authorities around the EU. The dangers presented often include
risks of choking and suffocation, electric shocks and fires. The type of
products most often notified in these alerts are toys, followed by
electrical appliances. The RAPEX system was recently strengthened by the
coming into force on 15 January of the new revised General Product Safety
Directive which introduced new obligations for businesses to alert the
authorities to dangerous products (see IP/04/53). Since February, the
Commission is also publishing weekly summaries of alerts received (see
IP/04/183). The RAPEX guidelines clarify Member State authorities'
obligations to notify dangerous products to the Commission and to take
action when they receive a dangerous product alert via RAPEX. They also
provide practical guidance on how to make a notification and set deadlines
for the various stages in the notification and follow up procedures. For
more information about RAPEX, including the full text of the guidelines and
details of recent alerts see: http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/cons_safe/prod_safe/gpsd/rapex_en.htm#overviews
[10] EU rules on animal by-products set to apply for imports
The European Commission has adopted a series of transitional and permanent
implementing measures to prepare for the application of the import
provisions of the Animal By-Products Regulation on 1 May this year. The key
objective of the Regulation was to revamp the veterinary legislation on
animal by-products (i.e. parts of a slaughtered animal that are not
consumed by humans), basically only allowing certain products to enter the
feed chain. Third countries export considerable quantities of animal by-
products to the EU, either in the form of feed for farmed animals or pets
(e.g. fishmeal, canned petfood) or as raw materials (e.g. tallow, bones,
hides and skins) intended for the manufacture of such feed or for
technical/industrial uses (production of cosmetics, medicinal products,
medical devices, leather, glue, paint, plastic materials, etc). Only
material derived from animals declared fit for human consumption can be
imported or used for the production of animal feed. Slightly less stringent
conditions apply for other uses, such as biogas and oleo-chemical products.
[11] Franz Fischler : "Continued deadlock in negotiations on blue whiting
fishery is unacceptable and unjustified"
The continued deadlock among coastal states engaged in the north-east
Atlantic blue whiting fishery has been severely criticised by Franz
Fischler, European Commissioner responsible for Agriculture, Rural
Development and Fisheries. "For the past seven years, the Commission has
been encouraging the other Parties to agree on a realistic and fair sharing
out of the fishing possibilities for blue whiting as this is a precondition
for effective management of this international stock. To achieve this and
to protect the stock of blue whiting which was causing concern to
scientists, the European Union unilaterally limited its catches for several
years. Far from adopting the EU's responsible approach, the other Parties
have exponentially increased their catches so as to claim a much higher
share than they are rightly entitled to. The EU is running out of patience.
In this context and in view of the current high level of the blue whiting
stock, the EU has increased its autonomous total allowable catch by 350,000
tonnes bringing it more into line with its catch levels during the 1990s. I
urge our partners to recognise that the continued deadlock is unacceptable
and unjustified and invite them to come to the negotiating table in a
realistic and constructive spirit so that we can reach an agreement that is
fair to all parties and ensure the long-term future of this fishery. The
time to do this is now, while the stock is in a healthy state."
[12] EU-Chile : initial of a protocol adapting the EU-Chile Association
Agreement to the enlargement
On 30 April 2004, the European Commission and the Chilean mission to the
European Communities have initialled a protocol adapting the EU-Chile
Association Agreement to the enlargement of the European Union. The
European Council approved a mandate on 22 December 2003 for the Commission
to negotiate this protocol with Chile. These negotiations have been
successfully concluded, and provided the EU-Chile Association Agreement
with the technical adaptations needed to take into account the accession of
the ten new Member States. The agreement on this protocol shows the
maturity of the EU-Chile relationship and the strong resolve of both
parties to overcome obstacles and keep building a forward-looking
partnership.
[13] Pascal Lamy meets Japanese Trade Minister Nakagawa
European Trade Commissioner met on 2 May with Japanese Minister for Trade
and Industry Mr Nakagawa. Discussions centred around the on-going WTO
negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) as well as on
bilateral issues. In particular, they discussed WTO agricultural issues,
market access in non-agricultural products, development issues ans so-
called Singapore issues. Both Ministers stressed the need to make
substantial progress in the coming weeks so that Cancun-type modalities can
be agreed by end June-July.
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Discours du Président Prodi : "La force et le droit" au Gorizia--Piazzale
della Transalpina (30/04, Trieste)
Speech by President Prodi : "A historic day for Nova Gorica and Gorizia"
(30/04, Nova Gorica)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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