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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-08-08
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission clears de-merger of cross-Channel ferry operator P&O Stena
Line
[02] Commission clears joint venture for gas related logistic services
between RWE Gas and Lattice International
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Castorama by Kingfisher
[04] Commission clears acquisition of Logesta by Logista and Gestcamp
[05] Commission clears acquisition of AvestaPolarit by Outokumpu
[06] Le PIB de la zone euro et celui de l'UE15 en hausse de 0,3%
[07] Indicator-based forecast for euro area GDP for 2nd and 3rd quarter of
2002
[08] Commission adopts proposal to implement the ban on conflict diamonds
[09] La Commission lance un nouvel appel à propositions dans le cadre de
"l'initiative européenne pour la démocratie et les droits de l'homme"
[10] Commission provides humanitarian aid worth €10.3 million for Cambodia,
Myanmar, Iran, Madagascar and China
[11] EU-Brazil agreement on mutually beneficial textile trade
liberalisation boosts prospects for EU-Mercosur trade negotiations
Midday Express 08/08/2002
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 08/08/2002
[01] Commission clears de-merger of cross-Channel ferry operator P&O Stena
Line
The European Commission has approved a transaction by which P&O (UK) will
acquire full control of P&O Stena Line, the cross-Channel ferry operator
which currently is a joint venture between P&O and Stena Line UK Ltd. The
analysis carried out by the Commission indicated that the change to sole
control which constitutes a concentration within the meaning of the Merger
Regulation - does not raise any competition concerns. The Commission
however remains fully committed to closely follow cross-Channel market
developments in contact with consumer organisations and national
authorities.
[02] Commission clears joint venture for gas related logistic services
between RWE Gas and Lattice International
The European Commission has granted regulatory clearance to an operation by
which the German company RWE Gas and UK based Lattice International will
acquire joint control of a newly created company viavera, which will offer
gas related logistic services in Europe.
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Castorama by Kingfisher
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of sole control, by way of exercise of an option, of the
French holding company Castorama Dubois Investissements S.C.A, by the
British Kingfisher plc. (The operation was examined under the simplified
merger review procedure)
[04] Commission clears acquisition of Logesta by Logista and Gestcamp
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of joint control of the Spanish undertaking Logesta
Gestion de Transporte SA. Active by Logista S.A. (belonging to Altadis
group) and Corporación Gestcamp S.L. Logista S.A. is a logistic services
provider in the fields of wholesale distribution of tobacco in Spain and
Portugal, distribution of stamp duty, postage stamps and other documents in
Spain, wholesale distribution of newspapers and magazines in Spain and
Portugal and distribution of books in Spain. Gestcamp concentrates its
activities in the steel and automotive, automotive components, metal
structures and warehousing sectors. Logesta will be a land freight
forwarding company that will provide services to its parent companies and
to third parties. (The operation was examined under the simplified merger
review procedure)
[05] Commission clears acquisition of AvestaPolarit by Outokumpu
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of full control of the Finnish undertaking AvestaPolarit
Oyj Abp, currently jointly controlled by Outokumpu and the Corus Group plc
(UK) and active in the stainless steel production, by Outokumpu Oyj, a
Finnish undertaking active in copper products, metallurgy, stainless steel
and other industrial operations such as mining. (The operation was examined
under the simplified merger review procedure)
[06] Le PIB de la zone euro et celui de l'UE15 en hausse de 0,3%
(! embargo 12h00 !) Le Produit Intérieur Brut (PIB) de la zone euro et
celui de l'UE15 ont augmenté de 0,3% au cours du premier trimestre 2002,
selon les estimations publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat, l'Office
Statistique des Communautés européennes à Luxembourg. Ces résultats font
suite à une baisse de 0,2% dans les deux zones au cours du quatrième
trimestre 2001. En comparaison avec le premier trimestre 2001, le PIB de la
zone euro et celui de l'UE15 ont augmenté respectivement de 0,3% et 0,4%,
après une hausse de 0,4% et 0,6% au cours du trimestre précédent.
[07] Indicator-based forecast for euro area GDP for 2nd and 3rd quarter of
2002
(! embargo 12 am !) The indicator-based model for quarterly GDP growth for
the euro area, developed by the Directorate General for Economic and
Financial Affairs of the European Commission, forecasts for the second
quarter of 2002 a range of 0.3% to 0.6% for the percentage change of GDP
vis-à-vis the previous quarter. For the third quarter of 2002, a
significant acceleration is expected and quarter on quarter growth is
forecast to be in the range of 0.6% to 0.9%. The latter forecast range has
been revised downwards by 0.1 point compared to the release of 9 July 2002.
The ISM index (previously NAPM) rally lost momentum in the second quarter
of this year. The situation in the retail and construction sectors in the
euro area also remained weak. Full document available on : http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/indicators_en.htm
[08] Commission adopts proposal to implement the ban on conflict diamonds
The European Commission today adopted a proposal for a Council Regulation
concerning a Community Certification scheme for the international trade in
rough diamonds. The purpose of the certification scheme is to prevent
"conflict" or "blood" diamonds from fuelling armed conflicts, such as those
in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the DR Congo, thereby contributing to the EU's
policy on conflict prevention (see http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/cpcm/cp.htm
for further details). An effective ban will deprive rebel movements of
significant finances and will therefore be an important contribution to
peace and stability. The scheme also aims to prevent conflict diamonds from
discrediting the legitimate market for rough diamonds, which makes an
important economic contribution, not least to certain developing countries
in Africa. Less than 4% of global diamond production is regarded as
'conflict diamonds', while a number of developing countries that are major
producers and processors of diamonds depend heavily on the legitimate
diamond industry for their economic and social development. The underlying
certification scheme has been developed in the 'Kimberley Process', with
the active participation of the EU.
[09] La Commission lance un nouvel appel à propositions dans le cadre de
"l'initiative européenne pour la démocratie et les droits de l'homme"
La Commission européenne a lancé un appel à propositions doté de 40
millions d'€ dans le cadre de l'initiative européenne pour la démocratie et
les droits de l'homme (IEDDH). Pour assurer un meilleur impact et une
utilisation plus stratégique de ces ressources, la Commission a désigné 29
pays dans lesquels l'IEDDH sera concentrée sur un nombre limité de
priorités thématiques, notamment le soutien aux droits de l'homme,
l'enseignement, la promotion de la liberté d'expression, le renforcement de
l'Etat de droit, la démocratie et la gouvernance ainsi que la prévention
des conflits.
[10] Commission provides humanitarian aid worth €10.3 million for Cambodia,
Myanmar, Iran, Madagascar and China
The European Commission has recently adopted five humanitarian aid
decisions relating to Cambodia (€4.8 million), Myanmar (€2 million), Iran
(€0.5 million), Madagascar (€1 million) and China (€2 million). The
assistance is channelled through the Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office
(ECHO), which comes under the authority of Commissioner Poul Nielson.
[11] EU-Brazil agreement on mutually beneficial textile trade
liberalisation boosts prospects for EU-Mercosur trade negotiations
(! embargo 2.30 pm !) The European Commission and Brazil agreed today on a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which significantly improves access for
textile products on each other's markets. The MoU gives Brazil better
access to the EU by removing the quotas on Brazil's textiles and clothing
exports to the EU. In return, Brazil will respect maximum tariff levels and
refrain from applying any non-tariff barriers to EU textile and clothing
exports. Both sides also make a best endeavour commitment to early tariff
dismantling in textiles and clothing in the EU-Mercosur negotiations. As
part of the package, Brazil should also discontinue the application of an
additional tax on textile and clothing imports. Commenting on the MoU,
Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said : "This agreement makes a significant
contribution to improving trade relations between the EU and Brazil, and is
an early deliverable for the on-going trade negotiations between the EU and
Mercosur. It contains concrete steps to remove trade barriers from both
sides. With such an agreement, the EU is showing that it is ready to
accelerate the opening of its textile and clothing market to third
countries that are in turn ready to offer a suitable degree of access to
their markets."
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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