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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 00-06-30
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
30/06/2000
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Transeuropean Networks : Commission hails opening of Øresund bridge
between Denmark and Sweden
[02] La Commission adopte une décision visant à enlever les matériels à
risque spécifiés (agents de l'ESB) de la chaîne alimentaire humaine ou
animale
[03] La Commission autorise l'entreprise commune entre Phillips et Chevron
[04] Commission clears the acquisition of Pearson TV by Bertelsmann and GBL
[05] La Commission autorise l'ENI à prendre une participation dans la
société portugaise de pétrole et de gaz GALP
[06] Commission clears purchase of Land Rover by Ford
[07] Commission clears merger between Granada and Compass Group
[08] La Commission autorise la prise du contrôle commun de Stream par
Telecom Italia et News Television
[09] David Byrne welcomes rapid political agreement in Council on tobacco
products directive
[10] Euro-zone external trade surplus euro 1.1 billion in April 2000 ; euro
7.1 euro deficit for EU15
[11] Euro-zone labour costs up by 3.5% ; EU15 up by 4.0%
[12] Conférence IST (Technologies de la Société de l'Information) 2000 Nice
[13] International conference on WTO non-trade concerns in agriculture
[14] Conclusion of a Border Agreement between Saudi Arabia and Yemen
[01] Transeuropean Networks : Commission hails opening of Øresund bridge
between Denmark and Sweden
The Øresund fixed rail-road link between Denmark and Sweden will be
officially inaugurated on 1st July 2000. This historic project has received
euro 1 billion of support from the European Union. European Commission Vice-
President Loyola de Palacio, who will be present at this opening, said :
"The construction of the Øresund Link is one of the European engineering
marvels of the 20th century. This bridge/tunnel link between Copenhagen in
Denmark and Malmö in Sweden is one of the main building blocks in European
infrastructure development."
[02] La Commission adopte une décision visant à enlever les matériels à
risque spécifiés (agents de l'ESB) de la chaîne alimentaire humaine ou
animale
La Commission européenne a adopté une décision aux termes de laquelle tous
les Etats membres veillent à ce que les tissus animaux qui pourraient
présenter un risque d'ESB soient enlevés de la chaîne alimentaire humaine
ou animale. L'adoption finale de cette mesure essentielle de protection de
la santé des consommateurs a été rendue possible grâce à une percée
réalisée lors du Conseil agriculture du 19 juin, à l'occasion de laquelle
une majorité d'Etats membres s'est prononcée en faveur de ces mesures. A
compter du mois d'octobre, tous les abattoirs, les ateliers de découpe et
les usines de traitement des déchets d'animaux dans l'ensemble de l'Union
européenne devront appliquer de nouvelles règles harmonisées. Les
importations de viande en provenance de pays tiers seront soumises à des
exigences comparables à compter du 1er avril 2001, sauf si une évaluation
scientifique indique que de telles mesures ne sont pas nécessaires.
[03] La Commission autorise l'entreprise commune entre Phillips et Chevron
La Commission européenne a autorisé l'entreprise commune entre Phillips
Petroleum Company (Phillips) et Chevron Corporation (Chevron), dans le
cadre de laquelle les parties combineront presque toutes les participations
qu'elles détiennent au niveau mondial dans le domaine de la chimie.
[04] Commission clears the acquisition of Pearson TV by Bertelsmann and GBL
The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of British television
production company Pearson Television by Bertelsmann and Groupe Bruxelles
Lambert (GBL). Although all the companies involved direct or indirectly
have interests in the television sector, the deal will not significantly
reduce competition.
[05] La Commission autorise l'ENI à prendre une participation dans la
société portugaise de pétrole et de gaz GALP
La Commission européenne a autorisé le groupe énergétique italien ENI à
acheter à l'Etat portugais une participation minoritaire au sein de
Petróleos e Gás de Portugal GALP. A l'issue de cette opération, GALP sera
contrôlée par l'ENI et l'Etat portugais.
[06] Commission clears purchase of Land Rover by Ford
The European Commission has cleared Ford Motor Company's acquisition of
British car company Land Rover from Germany's BMW. The deal poses no
competition problems given Ford's small share in the British market for
special utility four-wheel-drive passengers cars, or jeeps.
[07] Commission clears merger between Granada and Compass Group
The European Commission has approved the merger between Granada Group Plc
and Compass Group Plc, both British. The companies' activities overlap in
the supply of contract foodservice in Britain and Ireland and in concession
foodservice in Britain where they will become market leader. But the
Commission's review concluded to sufficient competition .
[08] La Commission autorise la prise du contrôle commun de Stream par
Telecom Italia et News Television
La Commission européenne a autorisé l'acquisition du contrôle commun de
l'opérateur italien de télévision à péage Stream par la société italienne
de télécommunication Telecom Italia et par News Television, une filiale de
News Corp Ltd.
[09] David Byrne welcomes rapid political agreement in Council on tobacco
products directive
European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne has
welcomed the political agreement reached yesterday by the Council of Health
Ministers in Luxembourg on a proposal for a directive to harmonise the
manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products in the EU. The
Council has continued the rapid progress in securing agreement on this key
health protection measure since the Commission presented its proposal in
November 99 and the European Parliament adopted its opinion on June 14. The
Commission now looks forward to a speedy adoption of the proposal in the
second stage reading.
[10] Euro-zone external trade surplus euro 1.1 billion in April 2000 ; euro
7.1 euro deficit for EU15
(! embargo 12 am !) Euro-zone trade with the rest of the world in April was
a euro 1.1 billion surplus, compared with +4.8 billion in April 1999,
according to Eurostat. The March surplus was confirmed at 2.5 billion,
against +6.6 billion in March 1999. Euro-zone trade was in balance for the
first four months of 2000, compared with a surplus of 16.5 billion in 1999.
The first estimate for April extra-EU15 trade was a euro 7.1 billion
deficit, compared with -1.0 billion in April 1999. In March there was a
confirmed deficit at 3.4 billion, against a 0.9 billion surplus in March
1999. There was a deficit estimated at 29.7 billion in January-April 2000
compared with -7.5 billion in 1999.
[11] Euro-zone labour costs up by 3.5% ; EU15 up by 4.0%
(! embargo 12 am !) Total hourly labour costs in the whole economy of the
euro-zone grew by 3.5% in nominal terms in the first quarter of 2000
compared to the same period the previous year, Eurostat reports today. In
the fourth quarter of 1999 the increase was 2.4%. For EU15 the rise was
4.0%, compared to 3.0% in the previous quarter. Among countries for which
data are available, the smallest annual rises were in Sweden (2.7%),
followed by Finland (3.3%), and biggest in the United Kingdom (6.7%) and in
Italy (4.3%). In industry, hourly labour costs in the euro-zone rose by
3.5% whilst for EU15 the increase was 3.6%. From the data available, the
smallest increase was in Spain (2.3%) and the biggest was in the United
Kingdom (4.5%).
[12] Conférence IST (Technologies de la Société de l'Information) 2000 Nice
Du 6 au 8 novembre 2000, des décideurs et spécialistes des nouvelles
technologies de l'information se réuniront à Nice à l'occasion de la
Conférence IST, placée cette année sous le signe d'une Société de
l'Information pour tous. IST 2000 s'inscrit dans la lignée de l'initiative
eEurope de la Commission européenne. Cet événement est organisé par la
Direction générale Société de l'Information de la Commission, en étroite
collaboration avec le Ministère français de l'Economie, des Finances et de
l'Industrie et le Ministère de la Recherche.
[13] International conference on WTO non-trade concerns in agriculture
On the invitation of the European Commission and the governments of Japan,
Mauritius, Norway, Republic of Korea and Switzerland an international
conference on non-trade concerns in agriculture will be held in Ullensvang,
Norway, from Saturday 1 July to Tuesday 4 July 2000. A number of developing
and developed countries are worried that important and legitimate non-trade
concerns (NTCs), such as domestic agriculture's contribution to rural
development and to food security, will not receive adequate treatment in
the ongoing WTO negotiations in agriculture. Therefore, this conference
aims at elaborating a common ground of concepts and principles relating to
NTCs and WTO trade policy reform. The broad objective of this conference is
to provide a forum for discussion between countries on NTCs, which are
relevant to the policy objectives of all countries. This would have in mind
the need to ensure a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system
and equitable sharing of commitments.
[14] Conclusion of a Border Agreement between Saudi Arabia and Yemen
The European Commission welcomes the recent signing and ratification of a
border accord between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of
Yemen. This should mark the end of a long dispute over the boundary
demarcation and signals a new era in relations between the two largest
countries on the Arabian Peninsula. It is particularly welcomed that this
dispute has been resolved by peaceful means through bilateral discussions
and negotiations. In this, the Governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen have
set a positive example for the region. The European Union hopes that the
resolution of the border problem will facilitate the regular movement of
citizens and goods across the border and opens the way to increased
exchange and closer cooperation between Saudi-Arabia and Yemen. This will
benefit not only the people of these two countries but the region as a
whole and in particular increase the potential for regional economic
cooperation,development and growth.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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