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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 03-07-14
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Sécurité routière : la Commission veut renforcer la sécurité des
véhicules automobiles dès 2006
[02] La Commission se félicite de la nomination du Directeur exécutif de
l'Agence Européenne de la Sécurité Aérienne
[03] Excise duties : Commission calls on Germany to tax "hand made"
cigarettes properly
[04] Internal Market : Commission moves against 13 Member States for
failure to implement EU legislation
[05] Don't take tobacco lightly : infringement proceedings against Austria,
Italy and Luxembourg
[06] Commission takes four Member States to Court over protection of laying
hens
[07] Directive sur les garanties : la Commission intente une action en
justice à l'encontre de la Belgique, de l'Espagne, de la France et du
Luxembourg
[08] Commission approves merger between Konica and Minolta subject to
commitments
[09] Labour Force Survey Spring 2002 : Employment rate in the EU up from
63.9% in 2001 to 64.2% in 2002 ; one man in two aged 55-64 in employment
[10] Monthly note on the Euro-denominated Bond Markets (June 2003)
[11] EU-Mercosur : Commission tables offer on government procurement
[12] Erkki Liikanen and Mario Monti ready to take up new tasks in
telecommunications policy
[13] Chris Patten to meet US Secretary of State Colin Powell and to address
academic community
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 14/07/2003
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 14/07/2003
[01] Sécurité routière : la Commission veut renforcer la sécurité des
véhicules automobiles dès 2006
La Commission européenne a adopté aujourd'hui une proposition de directive
qui établit de nouvelles dispositions techniques pour le secteur automobile
en vue d'accroître la sécurité routière. Ces mesures concernent
principalement les véhicules utilitaires (camionnettes, camions,
remorques…) et les autocars. Parmi les dispositifs rendus obligatoires qui
auront le plus d'impact sur la sécurité routière, figurent l'ABS (anti-
blocage des roues au moment du freinage), de nouveaux rétroviseurs plus
performants, la signalisation lumineuse renforcée, les dispositifs de
protection latérale, etc. Autre facette de cette proposition, les autobus
et les autocars devront obligatoirement être conçus pour offrir un accès
aisé aux personnes à mobilité réduite. Jusqu'à présent, seules les voitures
devaient se conformer à des normes de construction harmonisées au sein de
l'Union européenne ; à partir de 2006, toutes les catégories de véhicules
seront concernées. Ces normes s'appliqueront aux nouveaux véhicules. Au
total, chaque année, plus de 2 millions de véhicules utilitaires devront se
conformer à ces nouvelles dispositions. Elles viendront renforcer le
fonctionnement du marché intérieur et simplifieront grandement les
procédures d'homologation et d'immatriculation des véhicules.
[02] La Commission se félicite de la nomination du Directeur exécutif de
l'Agence Européenne de la Sécurité Aérienne
Lors de sa réunion tenue à Bruxelles le 11 juillet 2003, le Conseil
d'administration de l'Agence européenne de la sécurité aérienne a nommé,
sur proposition de la Commission européenne, M. Patrick Goudou, Directeur
exécutif de l'Agence. Loyola de Palacio, Vice-Présidente de la Commission
en charge de l'Energie et des Transports a déclaré : "Cette nomination
contribuera grandement à rendre l'Agence européenne de la sécurité aérienne
un acteur crédible et efficace dans ce domaine. Le Directeur exécutif fera
notamment en sorte, dans les prochains mois, que l'Agence puisse prendre la
place qui lui revient dans la communauté aérienne internationale."
[03] Excise duties : Commission calls on Germany to tax "hand made"
cigarettes properly
The European Commission has called on Germany to stop applying a lower rate
of duty to rolls of tobacco from which consumers can make their own
cigarettes. The Commission believes this practice to breach the Excise
Directives applicable which require these products to be taxed like
cigarettes. The official request takes the form of a reasoned opinion,
which is the second stage in the infringement procedure laid down by
Article 226 of the Treaty. If a satisfactory response is not forthcoming
within two months of receipt of the reasoned opinion, the Commission may
decide to take the matter to the Court of Justice.
[04] Internal Market : Commission moves against 13 Member States for
failure to implement EU legislation
The European Commission has decided to pursue infringement procedures
against thirteen Member States for failure to implement or for implementing
incorrectly in national law various Internal Market Directives and EC
Treaty obligations. The Commission will formally ask Belgium, Germany,
Spain, Greece, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria,
Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the UK to implement quickly the necessary
legislation in a total of 16 cases covering Directives on copyright and
exchange of securities markets information, along with the Second Postal
Services Directive. The Commission has also decided to request Greece to
amend its legislation in order to implement correctly the First Postal
Services Directive. These requests will take the form of "reasoned
opinions", the second stage of the infringement procedure under Article 226
of the EC Treaty. Should a Member State which has received a reasoned
opinion fail to give a satisfactory reply within the deadline (usually two
months), the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of
Justice. In addition, the Commission has decided, under Article 228 of the
EC Treaty, to send further reasoned opinions requesting France and Ireland
to comply immediately with judgements of the European Court of Justice,
requiring France to implement EU law on product liability and Ireland to
ratify the Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic
works (Paris Act, 1971). If the countries concerned do not comply, the
Commission can ask the Court to impose daily fines.
[05] Don't take tobacco lightly : infringement proceedings against Austria,
Italy and Luxembourg
The European Commission has sent 'Reasoned Opinions' to the governments of
Austria, Italy and Luxembourg over their failure to implement the Tobacco
Products Directive (2001/37/EC). They should have done so by 30 September
2002 at the latest. The Directive on the sale, marketing and manufacturing
of tobacco products is one of the most effective pieces of European
legislation in the fight against tobacco consumption. It sets out rules
based on scientific advice on key issues such as additives, addictive
substances, health warnings and misleading claims. It also reduces the
maximum levels of tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarettes (see also
IP/01/702 and IP/02/1383). The sending of a 'Reasoned Opinion' is the
second step in infringement proceedings under Article 226 of the EU Treaty.
If the Member States still do not implement the Directive the next step for
the Commission will be to lodge cases against them with the European Court
of Justice.
[06] Commission takes four Member States to Court over protection of laying
hens
The European Commission decided to refer Austria, Belgium, Greece and Italy
to the European Court of Justice over their apparent failure to implement
the 1999 Directive setting out the minimum standards for the protection of
laying hens (1999/74/EC). All Member States were obliged to implement the
Directive in national law by 1 January 2002 and notify the Commission of
the measures taken. The Member States concerned received a "reasoned
opinion" in January 2003 but have still failed to implement the Directive,
which is why the Commission has now decided to take them to the European
Court of Justice.
[07] Directive sur les garanties : la Commission intente une action en
justice à l'encontre de la Belgique, de l'Espagne, de la France et du
Luxembourg
La Commission européenne a décidé d'intenter une action à l'encontre de la
Belgique, de l'Espagne, de la France et du Luxembourg devant la Cour
européenne de Justice pour non-transposition partielle de la directive sur
les garanties des biens de consommation (1999/44/CE). Cette directive,
adoptée en mai 1999 (voir IP/99/332), accorde un ensemble minimum de droits
légaux aux consommateurs achetant des biens sur le territoire de l'Union
européenne, dont celui de renvoyer les biens présentant des défauts ou de
demander leur réparation ou leur remplacement dans les deux ans qui suivent
la livraison. Les Etats membres étaient tenus de transposer la directive
avant le 1er janvier 2002. En janvier 2003, la Commission a adressé un avis
motivé aux huit Etats membres qui n'avaient pas encore informé la
Commission des mesures adoptées en droit national pour mettre en œuvre la
directive (voir IP/03/3). Quatre de ces huit Etats membres ont désormais
transposé la directive dans sa totalité, mais, d'une part, les mesures
notifiées par l'Espagne à la Commission ne transposent la directive que
partiellement et, d'autre part, la Belgique, la France et le Luxembourg
n'ont encore pris aucune disposition pour transposer la directive. Un arrêt
de la Cour contre les Etats membres les contraindra à prendre les mesures
nécessaires ou à s'exposer à des sanctions financières.
[08] Commission approves merger between Konica and Minolta subject to
commitments
The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of Minolta by
Konica, two Japanese manufacturers of cameras, photocopiers and other
imaging products. The Commission had concerns that the deal might create a
dominant position in the market for photometers, which are devices used by
professional photographers to measure light exposure. But Konica offered to
divest its approximately 40% stake in Sekonic, a Japanese manufacturer of
photometers, which removes the competition concerns.
[09] Labour Force Survey Spring 2002 : Employment rate in the EU up from
63.9% in 2001 to 64.2% in 2002 ; one man in two aged 55-64 in employment
According to Eurostat, in Spring 2002, 163.0 million people had a job in
the EU, 1.7 million more than in Spring 2001. The corresponding employment
rate rose from 63.9% in 2001 to 64.2% in 2002. The employment rate of women
increased from 54.8% to 55.5%. In the Acceding Countries, 28.9 million
people had a job in spring 2002, corresponding to an employment rate of
56.1%. The employment rate for women was 50.3%. In spring 2002, the highest
employment rates were observed in Denmark (76.4%), the Netherlands (74.5%),
Sweden (74.0%) and the United Kingdom (71.5%), and the lowest in Italy
(55.4%), Greece (56.9%), Spain (58.4%) and Belgium (59.7%).
[10] Monthly note on the Euro-denominated Bond Markets (June 2003)
Expectations of further monetary easing remained in the market even after
the ECB's 50 basis points rate cut on 5 June. Following a month-long rally,
euro-area benchmark bonds reached their lowest level so far in mid June
(with the 10-year yield just below 3.5%), before growing concern about a
bond market bubble on both sides of the Atlantic induced some selling-off
in the second half of the month. Total issuance of euro-denominated bonds
in June amounted to €165 billion compared to €178 billion in May. The
composition of issuance compared to the 12 previous months was
characterised by a below-average share of central government bonds, while
the share of corporate bonds increased. Other notable characteristics of
issuance in June were an increased share of single-A rated bonds versus a
reduced share of triple-A bonds and a shift from sort to long maturities.
Full document and statistical annex available on : http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/bondmarkets_en.htm
[11] EU-Mercosur : Commission tables offer on government procurement
In the on-going talks between the EU and Mercosur for the conclusion of an
Association Agreement, the European Commission has tabled its offer on
public procurement. This move intends to inject dynamism in the
negotiations, further to the last round of negotiations held in Asunción
(Paraguay) between 23 and 27 June 2003. Government procurement was not
discussed in Asuncion, contrary to the agreed work programme, given the
absence of a Mercosur offer. European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said :
"We have made ambitious proposals to open our market for trade in goods and
in services and to create rules on investments, to which we now add
government procurement. This is a clear a sign of our commitment to move
full steam ahead. I hope Mercosur tables its proposal soon, so that we
inject new dynamism in the negotiations."
[12] Erkki Liikanen and Mario Monti ready to take up new tasks in
telecommunications policy
With ten more days to go before the 25 July date for the transposition of
the new Framework Directive for electronic communications networks and
services, European Commissioners Erkki Liikanen (Enterprise and the
Information Society) and Mario Monti (Competition) will host a workshop on
15 July in Brussels. This workshop will focus on the Commission's oversight
role under Article 7 of the Framework Directive. It will present the
Commission's preparations regarding the procedures envisaged for
notifications of intended measures by Member States' regulators under
Article 7. Tomorrow's workshop will be open to anyone with an interest in
how this consultation will work in practice, in particular service
providers and public authorities. In the afternoon, a special meeting is
scheduled with the relevant authorities, in particular the national
regulatory authorities, the national competition authorities and
ministries.
[13] Chris Patten to meet US Secretary of State Colin Powell and to address
academic community
European Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten will travel to
the US from 14 to 20 July. His first stop will be Washington to meet on 15
July with Secretary of State Colin Powell and other senior US
Administration officials. At these meetings Commissioner Patten will
discuss security and economic issues of mutual interest and concern as well
as the reconstruction of Iraq, progress in the Middle East Peace Process
(MEPP) and Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. On 16 July Commissioner Patten will
travel to San Francisco to participate in the Board Meeting and give a
speech at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and to participate
at Bohemian Groves.
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Romano Prodi : "The European and African Unions" at the African
Union Summit (11/07, Maputo)
Speech by Chris Patten : "Current and future trends of the human rights'
agenda" at special Seminar with NGOs
Note sur la préparation du Conseil Ecofin
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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