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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 02-12-09

Midday Express: News from the EU Commission Spokesman's Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>


CONTENTS / CONTENU

  • [01] VAT : Commission proposes to adapt rules for gas and electricity supplies
  • [02] Commission clears merger of Logica and CMG
  • [03] La Commission approuve l'acquisition de GIB par AvH et CNP
  • [04] Commission clears venture between Japanese firms Toray, Murata and Teijin
  • [05] La Commission publie les nouvelles prévisions à moyen terme concernant les marchés agricoles de l'UE
  • [06] Commission launches public consultation on open platforms in digital TV and 3G
  • [07] La Commission recommande des critères de qualité applicables aux sites Web consacrés à la santé
  • [08] Copyright : report highlights successful EU-wide recognition of directors as "authors" of films
  • [09] Renewable sources of energy : winners of the 2002 EU Campaign for Take- Off received their awards on 9 December
  • [10] Crisis in Ethiopia : Commission to increase emergency aid to €97 million by the end of 2002
  • [11] Chris Patten welcomes adoption of Constitutional Charter for Serbia and Montenegro
  • [12] Autre matériel diffusé Midday Express 09/12/2002 TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 09/12/2002

  • [01] VAT : Commission proposes to adapt rules for gas and electricity supplies

    The European Commission has adopted a proposal to amend the rules on the place of taxation of natural gas and electricity for the purposes of Value Added Tax (VAT) so as to facilitate the functioning of the Single Market for energy. The proposal would eliminate current problems of double taxation and non-taxation and distortions of competition between traders by changing the place of taxation of natural gas in pipelines and of electricity from the place of supply to the place of consumption. Under the proposed rules, where the buyer was a trader reselling the supplies, the place of taxation would be the place where the buyer was established. Where the sale was to a final consumer, the place of taxation would be the place of consumption. For transmission services closely linked to the supply of gas and electricity, the proposal contains a corresponding clause providing that taxation would take place in the country where the customer was established. The current rules have worked adequately in a national context but are not appropriate now with market liberalisation and increasing cross- border supplies of gas and electricity. It is difficult to determine where the place of supply of gas and electricity is located and this leads to differences of interpretation of the rules by Member States and difficulties for traders supplying gas and electricity across borders.

    [02] Commission clears merger of Logica and CMG

    The European Commission has cleared the proposed merger of information and communication technologies companies Logica of Britain and Anglo/Dutch CMG. The merged company will have a strong position in the market for mobile telephone text messaging (Short Messaging Services or SMS) technology. But the Commission concluded that LogicaCMG would be under sufficient competitive constraint both in the current technology and the new version Multimedia Messaging Services which combines text, image and sound.

    [03] La Commission approuve l'acquisition de GIB par AvH et CNP

    La Commission européenne a donné son feu vert à un projet de concentration par lequel les entreprises belges Ackermans & van Haaren NV/SA (AvH), contrôlée par Belfimas NV, et Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille SA (CNP), appartenant à Frère Bourgois Group, acquièrent le contrôle en commun de l'entreprise belge GIB SA. (L'opération, qui avait été notifiée le 5 novembre 2002, a été examinée sous une procédure simplifiée)

    [04] Commission clears venture between Japanese firms Toray, Murata and Teijin

    The European Commission has granted regulatory approval to a proposed joint venture between Japanese companies Toray, Murata and Teijin which will combine their respective activities in the synthetic fibre machinery sector. The deal raises no competition concerns in the European Union.

    [05] La Commission publie les nouvelles prévisions à moyen terme concernant les marchés agricoles de l'UE

    La Commission européenne a publié aujourd'hui les nouvelles prévisions à moyen terme concernant les marchés agricoles de l'Union européenne. Le rapport tient compte des effets anticipés de la nouvelle loi américaine sur l'agriculture, des derniers accords "double profit" conclus avec les pays candidats et de la récente évolution des marchés agricoles et de l'économie communautaire. A la suite de la publication, en juin 2002, des perspectives pour les marchés agricoles 2002-2009, cette évolution probable des marchés de l'UE a été établie en tenant compte des marchés mondiaux des produits de base qui devraient rester assez largement similaires à ceux qui ont servi à établir les projections de juin.

    [06] Commission launches public consultation on open platforms in digital TV and 3G

    The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a report on remaining barriers to the achievement of widespread access to new services and applications of the Information Society through open platforms in digital television and 3G mobile communications, which was requested by the Barcelona Summit and the Seville Council. The consultation will run until 15 February 2003. A public hearing is currently scheduled for 4 February 2003.

    [07] La Commission recommande des critères de qualité applicables aux sites Web consacrés à la santé

    Les citoyens européens sont de fervents consommateurs d'informations relatives à la santé sur l'internet. La Commission européenne a adopté une communication établissant un ensemble de critères de qualité fondamentaux applicables aux sites Web consacrés à la santé. Les six critères de qualité suivants y sont fixés : transparence et honnêteté, obligation de référence, protection des données et de la vie privée, actualisation des informations, responsabilité et accessibilité. La communication dispose qu'il convient d'adapter ces critères selon les publics visés et décrit les méthodes de mise en œuvre des critères de qualité, notamment au moyen de codes de conduite, de l'adhésion volontaire à des codes ou des chartes de qualité, d'instruments d'orientation des utilisateurs, d'instrument de filtrage ou de labels de qualité et d'homologation par un organisme tiers.

    [08] Copyright : report highlights successful EU-wide recognition of directors as "authors" of films

    All Member States now recognise the principal director of a film or audiovisual work as an author of the work and accord him or her the associated intellectual property rights, in line with the 1992 Directive on the Rental and Lending Right and Certain Related Rights. This has not made it more difficult to distribute and market audiovisual works, despite fears expressed by some Member States when the Directive was adopted. Those are the main conclusions of a report issued today by the European Commission. The objective of the relevant provision in the Directive was to ensure copyright for the principal director as the main creator of a film. Member States remain free to use national law to designate other co-authors.

    [09] Renewable sources of energy : winners of the 2002 EU Campaign for Take- Off received their awards on 9 December

    European Commission Vice-President Loyola de Palacio and Mr José Folgado, Spanish Secretary of State for Energy handed-over today in Salamanca the 2002 EU awards of the Campaign for Take-Off. The Campaign for Take-Off rewards efforts made in promoting renewable energy and showcasing successful projects and initiatives all over Europe. For this third EU awards edition, the winners represent eight EU countries. "The European Union is making steady progress in legislating in favour of renewables, be it with the renewables Directive, now being implemented by Member States, with the energy efficiency in buildings Directive, adopted in record time, or with the biofuels Directive on which discussions are progressing. But legislation can sometimes be a dead letter without a true involvment from stakeholders. This is why I am particularly thrilled to see that on the ground innovative renewables projets are implemented throughout the European Union", said Loyola de Palacio.

    [10] Crisis in Ethiopia : Commission to increase emergency aid to €97 million by the end of 2002

    In response to the Ethiopian Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) appeal for emergency requirements in 2003, the European Commission is currently preparing a €70 million emergency food aid assistance programme to be adopted before the end of the year. This new contribution is equivalent to about 260,000 metric tons (Mt) of cereals and will meet food aid requirements during the first half of the year 2003. This comes in addition to the food aid assistance already provided for the needs of the last quarter of 2002 (€23 million 97,000 Mt) and non-food humanitarian aid worth €4 million allocated in November 2002 by the European Office for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), which comes under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson. This new contribution will bring the total EC emergency aid to the present crisis in Ethiopia up to €97 million for 2002. Member States are bilaterally providing €35 million in humanitarian aid and food aid in response provided by the EU to the present crisis in Ethiopia, bringing the total EU amount to €132 million.

    [11] Chris Patten welcomes adoption of Constitutional Charter for Serbia and Montenegro

    European External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten stated on 7 December : "I am delighted to hear that after much discussion and debate the Constitutional Charter for Serbia and Montenegro has been adopted by the Constitutional Commission. I hope everyone will now work together to make a success of these important new arrangements and that this will be followed by a rapid agreement on the action plan to create a single market and customs area."

    [12] Autre matériel diffusé

    Discours de M. Prodi : "Une éthique pour l'Europe" à la Conférence Politics and Morality (06/12, Vienne)

    Speech by Philippe Busquin : "The European Union and the Research and Development Gap" at the Innovation Lecture 2002 (The Hague)


    From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
    © ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996


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