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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 00-04-17
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
17/04/2000
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Dialogue with Business: Feedback Mechanism to improve business
environment
[02] Ethiopia drought : Commission approves two million Euro for emergency
food aid
[03] Commissioner Nielson delivers address to World Bank Development
Committee on the theme of trade development and poverty reduction
[04] Colombia : Commission approves humanitarian aid worth 6.5 million Euro
for internally displaced persons
[05] Commissioner Nielson delivers address to World Bank Development
Committee on the theme of trade, development and poverty reduction
[06] Leader +, the Community Initiative for Rural Development Member States
invited to present their applications
[01] Dialogue with Business: Feedback Mechanism to improve business
environment
The European Commission has launched today the 'Business Feedback
Mechanism', a new initiative to ensure future policy making can take better
account of the practical experience of European businesses operating in the
Internal Market. Under this initiative, queries from business to 41 Euro
Info Centres will be analysed in order to pinpoint which issues give rise
to most problems for business. The Commission will be able to take account
of this analysis, which will be available on-line, in future policy making.
The 41 EICs participating in the scheme, covering all Member States, have
been selected as the most representative of the 300 such Centres, which
provide information, advice and assistance to business on EU-related
issues. The 'Business Feedback Mechanism' initiative will help the
Commission to fulfil the Lisbon European Council's request to 'pay
particular attention to the impact and compliance costs of new proposals'
and to 'pursue their Dialogue with Business and Citizens with this in
mind'. The Dialogue with Business website (http://europa.eu.int/business)
has received more than 2.5 million requests for information and advice
since its launch in January 1999
[02] Ethiopia drought : Commission approves two million Euro for emergency
food aid
The European Commission has cleared funding worth two million euro for
emergency food aid in Ethiopia. The funding, channelled via the European
Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), will enable the International
Committee of the Red Cross to bring supplementary food rations to those
most severely affected by the drought. This supplementary food ration of
oil and UNIMIX, a fortified blend of soya and cornmeal, will be used in an
emergency programme in four districts of southern Ethiopia to prevent the
nutritional status of some 181,000 people from worsening. This special food
ration for those worst affected by the drought is part of the European
Commission's overall plan to ward off famine in Ethiopia. Separately, it is
making bulk food aid of 432 526 tonnes available for this year, with
another 110 00 tonnes due to arrive at the beginning of 2001. Further
emergency aid will be made available this year via ECHO once needs have
been assessed. (for more information: Michael Curtis tel.:296.59.32 fax:
296.79.12)
[03] Commissioner Nielson delivers address to World Bank Development
Committee on the theme of trade development and poverty reduction
Mr Poul Nielson, Commissioner for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian
Aid, today addressed the Spring meeting of the World Bank Development
Committee on the relationship between globalisation and trade
liberalisation with development and poverty reduction. Mr Nielson argued
notably that liberalisation should not be seen as an end in itself but as a
means to fight poverty. This cannot be done in isolation from the necessary
political action so as to ensure that the benefits of trade accrue to the
poor.
[04] Colombia : Commission approves humanitarian aid worth 6.5 million Euro
for internally displaced persons
The European Commission has cleared a package of aid worth 6.5 million Euro
for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Colombia. The funding,
channelled via the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), will
enable the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Spanish Red Cross,
Oxfam UK and several non-governmental organisations to carry out emergency
aid projects as well as projects to support community integration in rural
areas. Conflict with guerrilla and paramilitary groups for control of
territory in rural areas has escalated over the past five years and led to
a dramatic increase in the number of IDPs. Their number is now estimated at
over 1 million. Humanitarian organisations will work on a regional basis,
pooling their fields of competence in a joint effort to assist the IDPs.
Aid will be provided to assist the return and/or resettlement process. It
will include emergency assistance as well as help with restoring IDPs' self-
sufficiency through agricultural rehabilitation activities or provision of
psychological support. This assistance is also intended to help rebuild
Colombia's social fabric and will involve local institutions in taking on
responsibility for IDPs.
[05] Commissioner Nielson delivers address to World Bank Development
Committee on the theme of trade, development and poverty reduction
Mr. Poul Nielson, Member of the European Commission responsible for
Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, today addressed the Spring
Meeting of the Development Committee. This is the first time the European
Commission has been invited to attend both the open and restricted sessions
of the meeting. The European Union (EU) was invited in its capacity as one
of the world's largest donors.
[06] Leader +, the Community Initiative for Rural Development Member States
invited to present their applications
The European Commission has adopted the final guidelines for the new
community initiative for rural development, called LEADER+ and invites
applications from Member States. LEADER+ like proceeding LEADER programs,
encourages the active involvement of local rural communities in determining
their own future. It retains the key features of the previous programs:
integrated strategies to try to exploit all the local economic potential
rather than a sector-by-sector approach; a bottom-up approach with a strong
emphasis on active participation of the local population; and co-operation
and networking between rural areas to share experiences and transfer know-
how. The total community contribution for the period 2000-2006 will be 2020
million EUR at 1999 prices. The indicative allocation by Member State was
announced last year (IP/99/744) Dialogue Commission-Sport: Monti explains
how competition rules apply to sports
Application of competition rules to the sports sector makes sense because
of the growing economic interests in football, Olympic Games and other
events, most clearly regarding broadcasting rights, European Competition
Commissioner Mario Monti will tell a conference today gathering
representatives of the sports world and Commission officials. Noting that
the increasing economic importance of sports allowed for the creation of
two million jobs in recent years, M. Monti will insist on the need to
provide a level playing field between the different players including
sports organisations, clubs and television companies while respecting the
social role and integrity of sport.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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