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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 09-01-23
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Digital tachograph for road transport: new measures to prevent fraud
and equip light vehicles
[02] Commission puts Europe's supercomputers on the path to sustainable
energy sources
[03] L'Union européenne soutient activement les investissements de ses
voisins dans des projets d'infrastructure
[04] EU and Central America pursue negotiations for an Association
Agreement; €15 million EC assistance package for regional integration
announced
[05] Consumers: European Commission gathers experts to tackle the health
risks from personal music players
[06] Commissioner Hübner in Vorarlberg (Austria): Leverage effect of
Cohesion Policy produces six times more investment for R&D
[07] EU reintroduces export refunds for dairy products
[08] Nabucco moves forward with the IGC
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2009-01-23
Reference: MEX/09/0123
Date: 23/01/2009
EXME09 / 23.01
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
23/01/09
[01] Digital tachograph for road transport: new measures to prevent fraud
and equip light vehicles
Today, the European Commission adopted a package of measures aimed at
detecting and preventing abuses of the tachograph system, used to record
the driving time and rest periods of professional drivers. Furthermore, the
new legislation permits the use of dedicated, type-approved adaptors for
light vehicles that are required to comply with the Drivers' Hours and
Tachograph rules.
[02] Commission puts Europe's supercomputers on the path to sustainable
energy sources
Cooperation between researchers into a potentially massive new source of
sustainable energy and European supercomputers promises to speed up work
that could supply the energy needs of the planet. Today the European
Commission announced it will give scientists all over Europe working on
nuclear fusion, which taps energy from reactions like those that heat the
sun, dedicated access to the network of the most powerful national
supercomputers in Europe (DEISA). This will allow them to carry out complex
parts of their work, such as simulations of a fusion reactor's operation.
<a href="http://www.deisa.eu/">DEISA, Europe's distributed high-performance
computing service, uses Europe's GÉANT (<a href="http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/133&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">MEMO/08/133),
the world's largest computer network to share the huge amounts of data and
processing power of Europe's supercomputers, and is receiving €26 million
from the EU from 2004-2011. The scientists are part of an ongoing global
research project, ITER (latin word for 'the path'), that aims to
demonstrate the potential of fusion power as a clean, safe and lasting
power source. Possible sources of fusion fuel are widely available, and one
gram of fuel could provide as much energy as 11 tons of coal. The
Commission is promoting the researchers' access to European supercomputing
facilities to contribute to the work of ITER the world-wide fusion energy
experiment that is being built in France.
[03] L'Union européenne soutient activement les investissements de ses
voisins dans des projets d'infrastructure
En un an d'existence à peine, la Facilité d'investissement pour le
voisinage (FIV) a déjà produit des résultats impressionnants sur le
terrain et contribué à la mobilisation de fonds importants en faveur de
projets d'infrastructure dans les pays voisins de l'UE. En 2008, les 71
millions € alloués par la FIV ont permis de soutenir des projets
représentant 2,7 milliards € environ, dont 1,6 milliard couvert par des
prêts consentis par les institutions financières publiques européennes,
parmi lesquelles la Banque européenne d'investissement (BEI), la Banque
européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement (BERD), la Banque
de développement du Conseil de l'Europe (CEB), l'Agence Française de
Développement (AFD) et la Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).
[04] EU and Central America pursue negotiations for an Association
Agreement; €15 million EC assistance package for regional integration
announced
The European Commission and Central America will meet in Brussels from 26
to 30 January 2009 for the sixth round of negotiations leading to an
Association Agreement between the two regions. In addition, the Commission
is announcing a €15 million aid package to support the strengthening of
regional institutions in Central America and the participation of civil
society in the process. Both parties intend to conclude this year a
comprehensive agreement, which will, among other things, create a free
trade area between the EU and Central America. The third EU-Central America
Private Sector Forum, co-organised by EUROCHAMBERS, FECAEXCA/CECA and
CENCIT , will take place on the morning of 27 January 2009 and will allow
for an exchange between private sector representatives from the two
regions.
[05] Consumers: European Commission gathers experts to tackle the health
risks from personal music players
Meglena Kuneva, European Commissioner for Consumers, will give a keynote
speech at a conference in Brussels on 27 January, which will look at
measures that can be taken to tackle the health risks that personal music
players can pose to listeners. Last October, an opinion from the EU
Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks
(SCENIHR) found that 5-10% of personal music player listeners risk
permanent hearing loss if they listen to a personal music player at high
volume settings for more than one hour per day over a period of at least 5
years. The conference will bring together EU Member State experts,
scientists, industry, consumer organisations, standard makers, MEPs and
other stakeholders, to discuss precautions that users can take, technical
solutions that industry could apply to minimise hearing damage, and whether
there is a need for further regulation or revision of existing safety
standards to better protect consumers.
[06] Commissioner Hübner in Vorarlberg (Austria): Leverage effect of
Cohesion Policy produces six times more investment for R&D
Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner will address the Landtag
(Regional Parliament) of Vorarlberg in Austria on Monday 26 January and
visit cutting-edge research projects in the region, set up with the support
the European Union's Cohesion Policy.
[07] EU reintroduces export refunds for dairy products
At today's Management Committee, it was decided to reintroduce export
refunds for certain dairy products for the first time since June 2007. The
decision was taken in response to the serious situation on the EU dairy
market, caused by a recent sharp fall in producer prices. Export refunds
can be paid to allow EU exporters to continue to be present on the world
market. The EU will, of course, fully respect the limits on subsidised
exports set by the World Trade Organisation. The Commission will continue
to observe market developments and will adjust the refunds accordingly. The
measure will only apply for as long as market conditions so dictate. For
skimmed milk powder (SMP), bids were accepted for a total of 5,612 tonnes
at a maximum refund of 200 euros per tonne (out of total bids for 15,172
tonnes). For butter (82 percent fat), bids were accepted for 2,299 tonnes
at a maximum refund of 500 euros per tonne (out of total bids for 9,566
tonnes). For butteroil, bids were accepted for 80 tonnes at a maximum
refund of 580 euros per tonne (out of total bids for 980 tonnes). At the
same time, lower rates were fixed for the standing refunds (the refund
rates at which exports can be carried between regular tenders). The rates
were 170 euros per tonne for SMP, 450 euros per tonne for butter, 260 euros
per tonne for whole milk powder, and 220 euros per tonne for cheeses.
[08] Nabucco moves forward with the IGC
Today in Brussels, the countries in which Nabucco will be built, Austria,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, convened an Intergovernmental
Conference (IGC) at the European Commission's invitation to conclude the
intergovernmental agreements necessary for the construction of Nabucco.
"This is an excellent signal after the pain of our most recent crisis; I
look forward to a speedy conclusion of the agreements necessary for the
construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline", said Commissioner Piebalgs. The
Intergovernmental Conference will establish the planning, tax, and
regulatory issues that will ensure that the Nabucco project is bankable and
legally sound. The agreements will give long-term financial assurance on
income and tax to all investors in the pipeline. The European Investment
Bank also lent its full support and assistance to the IGC. This is a long
process and further discussions will continue. The timing for those is not
yet known.
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
• Memo on Antitrust: Commission confirms inspection of Slovak Telekom
a.s.
• Calendrier hebdomadaire du 26 janvier au 1er février
• Top News from the European Commission
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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