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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 00-12-08
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
08/12/2000
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission opens in-depth inquiry into Aker Maritime's take-over of
Kvaerner
[02] Commission clears acquisition of Interpharm by Alliance UniChem
[03] Commission clears acquisition by Deutsche Bank and DBG of battery
maker Varta
[04] La Commission autorise Enron à acquérir les négociants allemands en
métal Bergmann et Hutzler
[05] First estimates for the third quarter of 2000 - EU15 current account
deficit euro 14.3 billion
[06] Commission proposes measures to curb alcohol consumption amongst young
Europeans
[07] Result of technical talks on climate change in Ottawa
[08] La Commission fait le point sur les résultats de la Conférence
mondiale des radiocommunications 2000
[09] Pascal Lamy welcomes WTO Accession of Lithuania
[10] Commission and World Bank announce Donor Coordination meeting for FRY
on December 12, 2000
[11] Poul Nielson to visit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (11-15/12)
[12] La Commission reprend son soutien financier au Burundi
[13] Fusion approuvée selon la procédure simplifiée
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
[01] Commission opens in-depth inquiry into Aker Maritime's take-over of
Kvaerner
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Aker
Maritime's acquisition of shares in Kvaerner. Aker Maritime and Kvaerner
both have significant activities in the oil and gas sector as well as in
shipbuilding. The Commission's initial investigation has shown that the
transaction may create or strengthen a dominant position on the markets for
contracts for construction of oil & gas platforms as well as the
modification and maintenance of such platforms.
[02] Commission clears acquisition of Interpharm by Alliance UniChem
The European Commission has authorised an operation whereby Alliance
UniChem Plc will buy Interpharm of the Netherlands, both active in
pharmaceutical wholesales. The operation raises no competition problems
since Alliance UniChem's activities in the Netherlands are currently very
limited.
[03] Commission clears acquisition by Deutsche Bank and DBG of battery
maker Varta
The European Commission has decided to clear the acquisition of joint
control by Deutsche Bank and DBG Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH of
the whole of Varta AG. The deal will not create a dominant position as the
companies concerned are currently active in different businesses.
[04] La Commission autorise Enron à acquérir les négociants allemands en
métal Bergmann et Hutzler
La Commission européenne a autorisé la société de droit américain Enron
Corp à acquérir le contrôle de Bergmann et de Hutzler par l'intermédiaire
de sa filiale allemande MG Metall Recycling. La concentration, qui concerne
le commerce des métaux non ferreux et des déchets métalliques non ferreux,
ne pose pas de problème de concurrence.
[05] First estimates for the third quarter of 2000 - EU15 current account
deficit euro 14.3 billion
(! embargo 12 am !) According to Eurostat, the EU15 external current
account recorded a deficit of euro 14.3 billion in the third quarter of
2000, as compared with a surplus of euro 1.2 billion in the third quarter
of 1999 and a deficit of euro 10.5 billion in the second quarter of 2000.
In the third quarter of 2000 the EU15 external balance of trade in services
recorded a surplus of euro 3.7 billion as compared with a surplus of euro
4.6 billion in the third quarter of 1999 and a surplus of euro 2.6 billion
in the second quarter of 2000.
[06] Commission proposes measures to curb alcohol consumption amongst young
Europeans
The European Commission has recently adopted a proposal for a Council
Recommendation which invites Member States to take action to address the
problem of under-age drinking through education, information and
strengthened enforcement of national rules on alcohol sales. The proposed
Recommendation also calls on alcohol producers and retailers to communicate
responsibly and to enforce self-regulatory rules on advertising. National
governments are invited to elaborate with the industry codes of conduct to
ensure that manufacturers do not target alcoholic products at children and
adolescents and that alcoholic beverages are not designed or promoted to
appeal particularly to them. While stressing that it does not intend to ban
alcohol advertising, the Commission nonetheless considers there is a need
for scrutiny of commercial communication and of national self-regulatory
codes of good practice with respect to advertising targeted at young
people. The proposal can be found under : http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph/key_doc/index_en.html
[07] Result of technical talks on climate change in Ottawa
At the invitation of the Government of Canada, negotiators met on 6 and 7
December in Ottawa to follow up on recent discussions at the Sixth
Conference of the Parties (CoP 6) to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. Among the issues discussed were the role of
domestic action, forests and farmlands, and the compliance regime under the
Kyoto Protocol. Though much remains to be done, progress was made in
clarifying issues and resolving technical differences among Parties.
Negotiators will now report to the political level in capitals so that next
steps can be decided. This informal meeting in Ottawa took place in
response to the request made by CoP 6 President Jan Pronk of the
Netherlands at the end of the Conference in The Hague last month. Mr Pronk
urged Parties to continue to meet in order to promote a global consensus
when CoP 6 reconvenes, probably in the late spring of 2001. The following
Parties participated in this session : Australia, Belgium, Canada, France,
Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of
America and the European Union.
[08] La Commission fait le point sur les résultats de la Conférence
mondiale des radiocommunications 2000
La Commission européenne a adopté une Communication qui passe en revue les
principaux résultats de la Conférence mondiale des radiocommunications 2000
(WRC-2000), forum organisé sous l'égide des Nations Unies et au cours
duquel se décide l'attribution des fréquences du spectre au niveau mondial.
La Commission est satisfaite des résultats obtenus par l'Europe et elle
veillera à ce que l'issue de la conférence mondiale de 2003 soit aussi
favorable.
[09] Pascal Lamy welcomes WTO Accession of Lithuania
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy today welcomed the accession of
Lithuania to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Speaking following the
decision by the WTO General Council to approve the accession package,
Commissioner Lamy said : "The European Union welcomes the successful
completion of the negotiations for Lithuania's accession to the WTO.
Accession to the WTO marks an important step in the process of Lithuania's
integration into the global economy. Moreover, with Lithuania's accession,
all three Baltic states will now be Members of the WTO. The EU also signals
its appreciation for the close working cooperation with Lithuania during
the course of the negotiations. These contacts have ensured that
Lithuania's future WTO commitments will not conflict with the EU's own WTO
commitments at the time of Lithuania's accession to the EU."
[10] Commission and World Bank announce Donor Coordination meeting for FRY
on December 12, 2000
In the context of their overall donor coordination responsibilities for
South Eastern Europe, the European Commission and the World Bank are
organising a Donor Coordination Meeting in Brussels on December 12, 2000,
with the participation of representatives of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (FRY), to help donors to programme and implement their immediate
plans for assistance. It is expected that the discussion will focus mainly
on Serbia, since it is likely that most urgent needs currently arise there.
This meeting will review assessments of urgent requirements, prepared by
the UN agencies in collaboration with the authorities, and will take stock
of existing and planned short term assistance for the winter months. The
FRY authorities will also indicate the latest state of the government's
thinking on economic policy and urgent needs. The meeting is designed as a
co-ordination session and will not be a pledging meeting. A special
pledging conference will take place when the needs of the FRY have been
fully assessed, when the new government has adopted its economic programme
and when sufficient progress on FRY's eligibility in funding from the
international financial institutions has been achieved.
[11] Poul Nielson to visit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (11-15/12)
Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development Cooperation and
Humanitarian Aid will visit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) from
11 to 15 December 2000. The visit will start in Belgrade before continuing
to Montenegro and Kosovo. High-level meetings will be held with President
Kostunica and representatives of and international aid agencies, such as
the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, as well as Non-
Governmental Organisations. In Montenegro, Mr Nielson will meet with
President Djukanovic before going on to Kosovo, where he is expected to
have discussions with Bernard Kouchner, Head of the UN Interim
Administration (UNMIK) and Ibrahim Rugova, leader of the Democratic League
of Kosovo. In the course of his visit, Poul Nielson will stress the
European Commission's ongoing solidarity with the population of the FRY,
following the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Speaking
before his departure for Belgrade, Poul Nielson said : "Relations between
the EU and the FRY have improved dramatically in recent months since the
fall of the Milosevic regime. It is important to consolidate this process
and one of the key aims of my visit will be to pave the way for even closer
cooperation. The EU has undertaken to provide large scale of assistance of
which some, I'm satisfied to see, is already arriving."
[12] La Commission reprend son soutien financier au Burundi
Le Commissaire européen chargé du Développement et de l'Aide humanitaire,
M. Poul Nielson, annoncera la reprise de la coopération financière entre
l'UE et le Burundi lors de la conférence sur le Burundi qui se tiendra à
Paris le 11 décembre prochain. Cette conférence, convoquée par le Président
Chirac et voulue par le médiateur Nelson Mandela, réunira les principaux
bailleurs de fonds dans le but d'apporter un soutien important au processus
de consolidation de paix au Burundi. A cette occasion, le Commissaire
annoncera un paquet d'aide de 150 millions d'euros pour 2001. Un accord de
43 millions d'euros visant à compenser les pertes de revenu des
exportations du pays (Stabex), destinée aux mesures de soutien et de
relance de l'activité agricole, sera signé par le Commissaire Nielson et
les autorités burundaises lors de la conférence. M. Nielson a déclaré :
"Cet acte est un signe tangible de la solidarité de l'UE vis-à-vis du
peuple burundais qui a tant souffert ces dernières années. Le Burundi a
fait d'importants progrès vers la paix dans les mois récents. Nous
l'encourageons à poursuivre ces efforts." Les autres fonds seront alloués à
la lutte contre la pauvreté, l'aide humanitaire et au secteur de la santé.
Un autre montant de 25 millions d'euros déjà annoncé par Poul Nielson au
Haut Commissariat pour les Réfugiés à Genève en octobre dernier, est
actuellement en voie de décision par la Commission et sera vraisemblablement
disponible avant la fin de l'année. Il est destiné à financer les mesures
nécessaires pour le retour des réfugiés. En septembre 2000, la Commission a
accueilli une réunion des experts qui a contribué à la préparation de la
conférence de Paris. La Commission décidera les mesures additionnelles
(aide humanitaire et développement) au début de 2001.
[13] Fusion approuvée selon la procédure simplifiée
Ratos AB (SV) / Quality-Laboratories Sweden AB
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Discours de M. Fischler : "Meeting our challenges - WTO, Enlargement and
Midterm Review" à la réunion du Conseil Agriculture danois (07/12,
Kollekolle, Denmark)
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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