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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-04-25
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Programme Interreg : l'UE apporte un concours de 59,7 millions d'€ à
la coopération transnationale dans l'"Espace alpin"
[02] Commission refers local public transport joint venture to German
Bundeskartellamt
[03] Commission clears joint venture between Hochtief and Volkswagen
[04] La Commission approuve le rachat de certaines activités d'Alcatel
Business Systems par Jabil
[05] Commission clears joint acquisition of Single Source by ABB, OKO and
Novitra
[06] La Commission encourage les partenariats public-privé dans le domaine
de l'éducation
[07] Company law : expert group launches online consultation on possible
reforms
[08] Infrastructures de recherche : la Commission lance un Forum
Stratégique Européen
[09] Open Door Day at the Commission, Saturday May 4, 2002
[10] Social protection - Expenditure on pensions accounted for 12.7% of the
EU's GDP in 1999 - Old-age pensions make up three-quarters of the value of
all pensions
[11] Pascal Lamy travels to Mexico to take stock of a special relationship
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 25/04/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 25/04/2002
[01] Programme Interreg : l'UE apporte un concours de 59,7 millions d'€ à
la coopération transnationale dans l'"Espace alpin"
Michel Barnier, commissaire européen chargé de la politique régionale, a
annoncé l'approbation par la Commission d'un programme en faveur de
l'"Espace alpin" qui contribuera à la coopération transnationale entre
l'Autriche, la France, l'Allemagne et l'Italie, pour ce qui est de l'UE,
mais aussi la Slovénie, la Suisse et le Liechtenstein. Pour les Etats
membres concernés par ce projet, le programme sera financé par l'initiative
Interreg III. Il vise principalement à promouvoir les activités de
communication ainsi que le développement économique et territorial dans la
région. Le financement européen sera de 59,7 millions d'€ et il attirera un
concours complémentaire de 59,7 millions d'€ provenant des budgets
nationaux et de participations du secteur privé. Enfin, les contributions
des budgets nationaux suisse et slovène, de quelque 4,34 millions d'€,
porteront le financement total à 123,7 millions d'€.
[02] Commission refers local public transport joint venture to German
Bundeskartellamt
The European Commission has referred to the German competition authorities
(Bundeskartellamt) a joint venture by which Connex Verkehr GmbH, a
subsidiary of the French Vivendi group, and Deutsche Nahverkehrsgesellschaft
mbH (DNVG) plan to offer local public transport services in the Riesa area
(Saxony, Germany). The referral had been requested by the Bundeskartellamt
because the competitive impact of the transaction is limited to local
markets within Germany.
[03] Commission clears joint venture between Hochtief and Volkswagen
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the creation of a joint venture called car.e Facility Management GmbH
between Hochtief Facility Management GmbH, controlled by Hochtief AG, and
VW Kraftwerk GmbH and Volkswagen Immobilien Service GmbH, both controlled
by Volkswagen AG. (The operation was examined under the simplified merger
review procedure)
[04] La Commission approuve le rachat de certaines activités d'Alcatel
Business Systems par Jabil
La Commission européenne a approuvé sous le Règlement Concentrations le
projet d'acquisition de certaines activités de production d'Alcatel
Business Systems à Brest, en France, par Jabil Circuit Inc. des Etats-Unis.
(L'opération a été examinée à l'abri de la procédure simplifiée introduite
en septembre 2000)
[05] Commission clears joint acquisition of Single Source by ABB, OKO and
Novitra
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of joint control of the Finnish undertaking Single
Source Oy, active in the development and execution of project and document
management software, by the Dutch investment firm ABB New Ventures BV, a
unit of ABB Group, Finnish Promotion Capital Ky, a unit of OKO Bank Group,
and Finland's Novitra Investment Oy, a high technology holding-company.
(The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure)
[06] La Commission encourage les partenariats public-privé dans le domaine
de l'éducation
Dans le cadre de la promotion de la mise en œuvre de l'apprentissage en
ligne en Europe, Viviane Reding, membre de la Commission responsable de
l'éducation et de la culture, s'est félicitée aujourd'hui du lancement du
consortium eLearning. Ce groupe, créé à l'initiative de 15 entreprises de
pointe, aidera la Commission et les gouvernements des Etats membres dans la
réalisation des objectifs du plan d'action eLearning de la Commission.
[07] Company law : expert group launches online consultation on possible
reforms
The High Level Group of Company Law Experts set up by the European
Commission has launched consultations on possible reforms to company law in
Europe. The issues covered include both general themes and the following
seven specific issues : corporate governance; shareholder information,
communication and decision-making ; alternatives to capital formation and
maintenance rules ; the functioning of groups of companies ; corporate
restructuring and mobility ; a European Private Company ; and co-operatives
and other forms of enterprise. The deadline for comments is 21st June 2002.
Responses to the consultation will be taken into account in the Group's
final report later this year. This report is due to suggest specific
priorities and measures for reforming company law. Copies of the
consultation paper are available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/company/company/modern/index.htm
[08] Infrastructures de recherche : la Commission lance un Forum
Stratégique Européen
Synchrotrons, lasers ultra-intenses ou accélérateurs de particules : les
infrastructures jouent un rôle fondamental dans la recherche européenne. La
mission du nouveau "Forum Stratégique Européen sur les Infrastructures de
Recherche", mis en place par les Etats membres de l'Union sur l'initiative
de la Commission, c'est d'offrir une plate-forme pluridisciplinaire,
ouverte à tous les pays de l'UE, pour analyser en permanence les besoins
exprimés par la communauté scientifique. La réunion inaugurale a lieu
aujourd'hui à Bruxelles. Les infrastructures incluent des grandes
installations mais aussi les super-ordinateurs pour la bioinformatique, les
architectures de type GRID pour la coopération scientifique, les bases de
données pour les sciences sociales, les bibliothèques virtuelles ou les
réseaux de réserves écologiques pour la biodiversité. Le Forum sera un
incubateur pour des projets européens ou multinationaux en vue du
développement de nouvelles infrastructures de recherche en Europe. Il est
composé de représentants des 15 Etats membres, nommés par les Ministres en
charge de la Recherche, et directement responsables en matière de politique
scientifique dans leur pays.
[09] Open Door Day at the Commission, Saturday May 4, 2002
The European Commission will open its doors to the general public on
Saturday 4 May. On the first Saturday in May the Commission celebrates,
together with the other European institutions, the prelude to Europe Day,
which marks the declaration of Robert Schuman. This declaration, made on
May 9 1950, paved the way for European integration and the creation of the
European Union. This year Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin will meet
the public on Saturday morning in the Commission's Breydel building. He
will talk about European issues and particularly research policy. Doors
open at 10h00 and the last visitors will be admitted at 17h30.
[10] Social protection - Expenditure on pensions accounted for 12.7% of the
EU's GDP in 1999 - Old-age pensions make up three-quarters of the value of
all pensions
According to a report published today by Eurostat, expenditure on pensions
in the EU, which constitutes almost half of all expenditure on social
protection was 12.7% of GDP in 1999. This share has varied very little
since 1993, when it accounted for 12.9% of GDP. Pensions are the biggest
item of social protection expenditure in all EU Member States except
Ireland, Denmark and Sweden. In 1999, they constituted more than 60% of
that expenditure in Italy, and between 50% and 52% in Greece, Spain,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Portugal. In that year, old-age
pensions accounted for more than three-quarters of all pensions in the EU,
the remainder comprising disability pensions (9.9%), survivors' pensions (9,
7%) and other types of pension (5.1%).
[11] Pascal Lamy travels to Mexico to take stock of a special relationship
European Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy, will visit Mexico from the 29th
to 30th April. During the visit, Mr Lamy will meet with President Vicente
Fox, Trade Minister Derbez, Foreign Minister Castañeda, the business
community, civil society and academia. This is Mr Lamy's second visit to
the country, and will provide an opportunity to assess EU trade relations
with Mexico almost two years after the entry into force of the Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) in July 2000. Mexico is a significant trading partner with
the EU, and plays a key role in EU-Latin American relations. The Free Trade
Agreement with Mexico was the first and most extensive to be negotiated
with a Latin American country. The visit takes place just weeks before the
EU-Latin American summit and the EU-Mexico Joint Council, to take place in
May in Europe. During his visit, Mr Lamy will also inaugurate the Institute
for European Integration Studies (IEIE) at the prestigious ITAM University,
a project co-financed by the EU. On the eve of his departure, Mr Lamy said
: "I look forward to my trip to Mexico where I am eager to see first hand
what has been achieved through our special relationship. Mexico occupies a
unique strategic position between North and South America, the Atlantic and
the Pacific. As our first FTA partner in Latin America Mexico is also an
essential partner in securing a successful conclusion to WTO negotiations
under the Doha Development Agenda".
[12] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Pedro Solbes : "Broad Economic Policy Guidelines for 2002 and
Spring economic forecasts for the European Union, the euro area and the
candidate countries" (24/04)
Speech by Chris Patten on Valencia, Barcelona Process and Middle East at
the European Parliament (24/04)
Discours de M. Vitorino sur l'immigration et la politique d'intégration
devant l'Association de Soutien aux Travailleurs Immigrés (24/04,
Luxembourg)
Speech by Günter Verheugen : "EU enlargement: the key questions" at the
Forum Europe Conference (24/04)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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