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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 00-10-24
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
24/10/2000
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission initiates formal procedure against certain practices of
Intercontinental Marketing Services
[02] La Commission autorise Ahold à acquérir Superdiplo
[03] Free movement of goods : Commission requests Belgium, Finland and
Greece to end trade barriers
[04] Financial services : Commission decides to request Austria to end tax
discrimination on securities
[05] Franz Fischler wants to cut red tape in farm policy
[06] Industrial production up 0.2% in euro-zone ; plus 0.4% in EU15
[07] Une exploitation durable de la forêt de l'UE - un rôle partiel mais
significatif dans la limitation des gaz à effets de serre (CO²)
[08] La Commission propose la participation de Chypre à la nouvelle
génération des programmes Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci et Jeunesse à partir
de 2001
[01] Commission initiates formal procedure against certain practices of
Intercontinental Marketing Services
The European Commission has sent Intercontinental Marketing Services Health
(IMS), the world leader in collecting data on prescriptions and sales of
pharmaceutical products, a statement of objections informing it that some
of its commercial practices could constitute an abuse of a dominant
position. Following two complaints, the Commission investigated IMS's sales
practices, especially the loyalty discounts, and reached the preliminary
conclusion that such practices make it very difficult for new competitors
to enter or stay on the market in question.
[02] La Commission autorise Ahold à acquérir Superdiplo
La Commission européenne a autorisé une opération à l'issue de laquelle le
détaillant néerlandais Koninklijke Ahold N.V. va acquérir le contrôle de la
chaîne espagnole de commerce alimentaire de détail Superdiplo S.A. Les
marchés concernés sont ceux du commerce de détail et de gros, ainsi que de
l'achat de produits de consommation courante. Les activités des entreprises
se chevauchent à Madrid et en Andalousie, mais leur part de marché cumulée
n'entraînera ni la création ni le renforcement d'une position dominante.
[03] Free movement of goods : Commission requests Belgium, Finland and
Greece to end trade barriers
The European Commission has decided to request Belgium, Finland and Greece
to remove a series of trade barriers within the Internal Market. The
Commission has asked Belgium to remove a barrier to imports of wheelchairs,
requested Finland tackle obstacles to imports of vitamin supplements and
called upon Greece to lift restrictions affecting imports of a series of
goods including clothing, shoes and cosmetics that either feature a
cannabis logo or contain hemp. These formal requests will be made in the
form of reasoned opinions, the second stage of formal infringement
procedures under the EC Treaty (Article 226). If there is no reply to the
reasoned opinion within two months or if the reply is unsatisfactory, the
Commission may decide to refer the case to the European Court of Justice.
The Commission has also decided to refer Greece to the European Court of
Justice because of restrictions imposed on the importation of medicinal
products. In all four cases, the Commission considers that the Member
States are violating EC Treaty rules on the free movement of goods (Article
28).
[04] Financial services : Commission decides to request Austria to end tax
discrimination on securities
The European Commission has decided to request Austria to put an end to
discrimination against investment funds from other Member States as regards
tax exemptions and advantages. The Commission considers that the way in
which current tax rules are applied violates EU Treaty rules on the freedom
to provide services and the free movement of capital because tax breaks are
available only for Austrian investment funds. The Commission request will
be made in the form of a reasoned opinion, the second stage of formal
infringement procedures under the Treaty (Article 226). If there is no
reply to the reasoned opinion within two months or the reply is
unsatisfactory, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the European
Court of Justice.
[05] Franz Fischler wants to cut red tape in farm policy
At a discussion in Council, Franz Fischler, European Commissioner for
Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, announced new initiatives to
simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The measures will reduce the
workload imposed by the CAP not only on farmers but also on national and EU
authorities and limit paperwork. The simplification measures will also make
agricultural legislation clearer, more transparent and more accessible.
"Since the CAP involves considerable amounts of taxpayers' money, there
must be a tight control of spending. Nevertheless, it is possible to reduce
red tape and cumbersome form-filling for farmers. Very shortly I will
present a proposal for a "Simplified Small Farmer's Scheme". The idea is to
pay out yearly flat-rate amounts of direct payments to those farmers who
receive relatively small payments. The scheme will substantially reduce the
administrative burden on small farmers", he said.
[06] Industrial production up 0.2% in euro-zone ; plus 0.4% in EU15
(! embargo 12 am !) Seasonally adjusted industrial production increased by
0.2% in the euro-zone in August compared to July, Eurostat estimates today.
This follows a gain of 0.4% in July3 and a decrease of 0.5% in June.
Production in the EU15 rose by 0.4% in August, after an increase of 0.5% in
July and a fall of 1.1% in June. Production was up in all reporting Member
States in August except in Belgium (-0.7%), the Netherlands (-1.2%), and
France where it was unchanged. Output gained 2.5% in both Spain and
Portugal, and advanced by more than 1% in Denmark (1.9%), Finland (1.3%),
Luxembourg (1.3%, forecast) and Italy (1.2%). Compared to August 1999,
output increased by 6.3% in the euro-zone and by 5.5% in the EU15 in August
2000. Durable consumer goods and capital goods registered the highest
growth rates with 11.1% and 10.4% respectively in the euro-zone and 9.5%
for both sectors in the EU15. Intermediate goods production was 6.2% higher
in the euro-zone and 5.6% in the EU15. Non-durable consumer goods increased
by 1.0% in both the euro-zone and the EU15.
[07] Une exploitation durable de la forêt de l'UE - un rôle partiel mais
significatif dans la limitation des gaz à effets de serre (CO²)
(! embargo 12h00 !) Les superficies boisées (forêts plus autres superficies
boisées) occupent dans l'UE une place importante en termes d'occupation des
sols, puisqu'elles couvrent plus de 40% du territoire communautaire, soit
autant que les zones agricoles. Le rapport publié aujourd'hui par Eurostat
fournit des éléments d'information appréciables sur la gestion du
patrimoine forestier dans les différents Etats Membres, ainsi que sur le
rôle des superficies boisées dans la préservation de l'environnement.
L'état des forêts est également abordé, à travers l'évolution de la
défoliation, l'impact des incendies et les conséquences des tempêtes de la
fin de l'année 1999.
[08] La Commission propose la participation de Chypre à la nouvelle
génération des programmes Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci et Jeunesse à partir
de 2001
La Commission européenne a adopté un projet d'accord avec Chypre en vue de
sa participation dans la deuxième phase des programmes Socrates et Leonardo
da Vinci, ainsi que dans le nouveau programme Jeunesse, pour les années
2001-2006. L'ouverture des programmes communautaires aux pays candidats à
l'adhésion est un des éléments essentiels de la stratégie de pré-adhésion.
La Commission s'attend à ce qu'au début de 2001, les trois programmes
regroupent ainsi trente Etats participants. De 1997 à 1999, Chypre a déjà
participé, dans le cadre de sa préparation à l'adhésion, à la première
génération de programmes, ce qui a permis aux institutions et
établissements chypriotes de s'intégrer dans les réseaux communautaires,
d'encourager la mobilité des jeunes, enseignants, formateurs et étudiants,
et de favoriser les échanges d'expériences et de bonnes pratiques. Le
projet d'accord négocié avec Chypre et proposé au Conseil permettra à cette
coopération de se poursuivre. Chypre versera une contribution annuelle au
budget des programmes, en utilisant partiellement les financements
communautaires de pré-adhésion.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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