|
|
|
European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-04-29
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] L'UE atteint l'objectif de stabilisation des émissions de gaz à effet
de serre en 2000
[02] Commission clears RWE stake in Italian power generation company
Elettra
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Gardena by Industri Kapital 2000
[04] Fourth quarter of 2001 - EU15 current account surplus €6.8 billion ;
€1.4 billion surplus on trade in services
[05] TVA : procédure d'infraction contre l'Italie pour retards de
remboursement
[06] Humanitarian aid : Commission adopts decisions granting almost €12
million
[07] EU and Angola agree on 3-month extension to fisheries agreement
[08] Frits Bolkestein underlines advantages of EU-wide consolidated tax
base for companies
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 29/04/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 29/04/2002
[01] L'UE atteint l'objectif de stabilisation des émissions de gaz à effet
de serre en 2000
L'Agence européenne de l'environnement a publié aujourd'hui les chiffres
relatifs aux émissions de gaz à effet de serre de l'Union européenne pour
l'année 2002. Ces chiffres indiquent que l'UE a rempli l'engagement auquel
elle avait souscrit dans le cadre de la convention-cadre des Nations Unies
sur les changements climatiques, de stabiliser pour l'an 2000 ses émissions
de gaz à effet de serre. En 2000, les émissions dans l'UE ont été
inférieures de 3,5 % au niveau de l'année de référence 1990. Mme Margot
Wallström, commissaire chargée de l'environnement, s'est félicitée du
rapport : "C'est une excellente nouvelle. Le rapport montre également que
l'UE a progressé vers l'objectif d'une diminution de 8% que nous nous
sommes fixé à Kyoto. Il est cependant préoccupant de constater, a-t-elle
toutefois ajouté, que les émissions ont légèrement augmenté entre 1999 et
2000 - il nous faudra à nouveau inverser cette tendance. De nombreux Etats
membres doivent encore fournir de gros efforts pour réduire leurs émissions
de gaz à effet de serre."
[02] Commission clears RWE stake in Italian power generation company
Elettra
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition by RWE Power AG of Germany of a 25-percent stake in
Italian electricity generation company Elettra GLL S.p.A. from Italian
company Lucchini S.p.A. As a result Elettra will be jointly controlled by
RWE Power and Lucchini. (The operation was examined under the simplified
merger review procedure)
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Gardena by Industri Kapital 2000
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of German garden equipment and systems maker Gardena
Holding AG by the Industri Kapital 2000 Ltd, a venture capital firm
incorporated in the Channel Islands. (The operation was examined under the
simplified merger review procedure)
[04] Fourth quarter of 2001 - EU15 current account surplus €6.8 billion ;
€1.4 billion surplus on trade in services
(! embargo 12 am !) According to the latest revisions issued today by
Eurostat, the EU15 external current account recorded a surplus of €6.8
billion in the fourth quarter of 2001, as compared with a deficit of €20.4
billion in the fourth quarter of 2000 and a surplus of €1.6 billion in the
third quarter of 2001. In the fourth quarter of 2001 the EU15 external
balance of trade in services recorded a surplus of €1.4 billion as compared
with a deficit of €1.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2000 and a surplus
of €2.9 billion in the third quarter of 2001. In 2001 as a whole, the EU15
current account registered a deficit of €15.6 billion, compared with a
deficit of €65.4 billion in 2000. The balance of trade in services
experienced a surplus of €7.3 billion in 2001, compared to a surplus of
€5.6 billion in 2000.
[05] TVA : procédure d'infraction contre l'Italie pour retards de
remboursement
La Commission européenne a décidé d'adresser à la République italienne une
demande formelle de changer sa pratique administrative en ce qui concerne
le remboursement de la TVA aux assujettis non établis en Italie. Ces
remboursements sont actuellement effectués avec des retards considérables.
La Commission estime que cette pratique n'est pas compatible avec la
huitième directive relative au système commun de la TVA. La demande est
sous forme d'un avis motivé, la deuxième étape de la procédure d'infraction
prévue par l'article 226 du traité CE. En l'absence d'une réaction
satisfaisante à l'avis motivé endéans les deux mois, la Commission pourrait
saisir la Cour de justice.
[06] Humanitarian aid : Commission adopts decisions granting almost €12
million
The European Commission has taken five humanitarian aid decisions
concerning Laos, Burkina Faso, ECHO Flight operations, Somali refugees and
Burmese refugees. The assistance is channelled through its Humanitarian Aid
Office (ECHO), which comes under the authority of Commissioner Poul
Nielson.
[07] EU and Angola agree on 3-month extension to fisheries agreement
The EU and Angola have agreed to extend the current protocol to their
fisheries agreement by three months. This protocol, due to end on 2 May
2002, will now run till 2 August 2002. The two parties have agreed to meet
for a second round of negotiations on 3-5 June 2002 in Luanda. This
agreement, which was concluded in 1987, concerns mainly fishing
possibilities for shrimps but also allows for some tuna, demersal (species
living near the sea bed) and pelagic (mid-water) fishing. Vessels operating
under this agreement come from Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Greece and
Ireland. The current annual financial compensation amounts to €13,975,000.
Some 29% of this amount (€4,025,000) was earmarked for scientific and
technical programmes and training in Angola's fishing sector.
[08] Frits Bolkestein underlines advantages of EU-wide consolidated tax
base for companies
"Without determined action on the tax front, the EU will fail to achieve
its self-imposed objective of becoming, in this decade, 'the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world'", said
European Taxation Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, opening the European
Company Tax Conference hosted by the Commission in Brussels on 29 and 30
April. He underlined that only the concept of a common consolidated tax
base, as suggested in the Commission's October 2001 Company Tax
Communication, "ultimately provides an answer to the challenges of company
tax systems in the EU today. The Commission therefore believes that
companies with cross-border and international activities within the EU
should in future be allowed to compute the income of the entire group
according to one set of rules and establish consolidated accounts for
fiscal purposes, thus eliminating the potential fiscal effects of purely
internal transactions within the group". The advantages of a consolidated
corporate tax base for EU-wide company activities, the Commissioner
explained, include significantly reduced compliance costs, elimination of
most transfer pricing problems, the possibility for companies to
consolidate profits and losses on an EU-wide basis, elimination of many
double-taxation problems and the removal of many other forms of
discrimination.
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Romano Prodi : "The EU, the UK and the World" at the Saïd
Business School (Oxford, ! embargo 4 pm
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
|
