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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 00-03-28
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 Service Presse et Communicationb
28/03/2000
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission clears the acquisition by BT of Esat
[02] Commission authorises joint venture "WirelessCar"
[03] La Commission et l'Estonie signent une évaluation conjointe des
priorités de politique économique à moyen terme de ce pays
[04] Franz Fischler : "Increase communication efforts on enlargement"
[01] Commission clears the acquisition by BT of Esat
The European Commission has approved, subject to certain conditions, the
acquisition by BT of the Irish telecoms operator Esat. The Commission found
that the proposed transaction raised serious doubts as to its compatibility
with the common market in respect of the distribution of global
telecommunications services in Ireland. In order to meet the competition
concerns identified by the Commission, BT offered a number of undertakings
aimed at loosening or breaking some distribution agreements with global
service providers in Ireland.
[02] Commission authorises joint venture "WirelessCar"
The European Commission has approved a joint venture between Volvo,
Ericsson and Telia. "WirelessCar" is entering into a new market as a start
up company and will have no turnover at the outset of its activities. The
operation does not give rise to competition problems. The joint venture
will offer mobile e-services, including airtime, to vehicle manufacturers
and fleet operators, such as car rental companies, to assist them in
providing "wireless services" to their customers vehicles. Volvo, Telia and
Ericsson will own the company in equal parts and they are not present in
the emerging market of the joint venture.
[03] La Commission et l'Estonie signent une évaluation conjointe des
priorités de politique économique à moyen terme de ce pays
M. Siim Kallas, ministre des finances de l'Estonie, et M. Pedro Solbes,
membre de la Commission européenne chargé des affaires économiques et
monétaires, ont signé aujourd'hui une "évaluation conjointe des priorités
de politique économique à moyen terme de la République d'Estonie" pour la
période allant jusqu'à 2003, dans le cadre du processus de "Partenariat
pour l'adhésion".
[04] Franz Fischler : "Increase communication efforts on enlargement"
Addressing the "Friends of Europe" yesterday in Brussels, Franz Fischler,
European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries,
underlined the importance of sound preparation for enlargement. "It is not
only the candidate countries which have to get ready, it is also the EU. It
is obvious that the widening of the Union will affect the European
institutions, its policies and the identity of the EU. The overriding
objective of the Intergovernmental Conference is to make institutions work
more efficiently and democratically. Furthermore, questions like the
composition of the Commission and the weighting of the voting need to be
resolved. It is no secret that enlargement concerns all citizens. Hence,
this process must be clear, transparent and understandable for everybody.
We must pursue our communication efforts with balanced information.
Otherwise our project cannot succeed. With the "Dialogue for Europe" the
Commission seeks to improve the public debate in Europe", he said.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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