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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 03-09-04
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission statement on Amina Lawal's case
[02] WTO Cancun : EU determined to make trade work for all a stronger
multilateral trading system at hand
[03] Commission clears purchase of Metlife's Spanish operations by Liberty
Insurance
[04] Analystes financiers : la Commission invite les parties intéressées à
présenter leurs observations sur la prévention des conflits d'intérêts
[05] Eurostat Yearbook 2003 : European statistics from A to Z
[06] Conference on security of credit cards and electronic payments
[07] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 04/09/2003
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 04/09/2003
[01] Commission statement on Amina Lawal's case
The European Commission has been closely following developments in the case
of Ms Amina Lawal in Nigeria who was sentenced to death by stoning for
adultery. The Sharia Appeal Court in Katsina, Nigeria, has announced that
it will pronounce its verdict on the appeal on 25 September. Recalling that
President Prodi has previously raised the issue with President Obasanjo,
the Commission wishes to restate its firm opposition to the use of death
penalty and certain particularly cruel forms of executions that cause
excessive suffering, such as the abominable practice of stoning punishments
which are still applied in far too many countries. The Commission sincerely
hopes that Ms Amina Lawal will be cleared of the charges against her. The
Commission trusts that the Nigerian federal government will ensure full
compliance with its international human rights commitments. The Commission
would also like to acknowledge the important role played by civil society,
in particular human rights non-governmental organisations associated to
this case.
[02] WTO Cancun : EU determined to make trade work for all a stronger
multilateral trading system at hand
On 10 September 2003 the World Trade Organisation will open its 5th
Ministerial Conference in Cancun. This meeting is an important staging post
on the road to a successful conclusion by end 2004 of the Doha Development
Agenda (DDA), the round of trade negotiations launched two years ago in
Qatar. The DDA is crucial for bolstering international economic growth, and
helping developing countries integrate into the global economy. So it is
critical that Cancun is a success, and the EU has pushed hard for progress
on the outstanding issues. But all WTO members must do their part, to
ensure that progress is maintained on market access issues (agriculture,
industrial tariff negotiations and services), as well as on global rule-
making in areas such as trade and environment, investment, competition,
trade facilitation and government procurement and that the all-important
development dimension of the negotiations is respected in full.
[03] Commission clears purchase of Metlife's Spanish operations by Liberty
Insurance
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the acquisition of Spanish insurer Metlife Iberia, S.A., currently
controlled by Metlife International Holdings Inc. of the United States, by
Liberty Insurance Group Compañía de Seguros y Reaseguros, S.A., which
belongs to the US group Liberty Mutual. (The operation, notified on 01
August 2003, was examined under the simplified merger review procedure)
[04] Analystes financiers : la Commission invite les parties intéressées à
présenter leurs observations sur la prévention des conflits d'intérêts
La Commission européenne a invité les investisseurs, les praticiens du
marché, les régulateurs et le grand public à présenter leurs observations
sur une série de recommandations concernant la prévention des conflits
d'intérêts pouvant surgir lorsque les analystes financiers des banques
d'affaires conseillent leurs clients sur des investissements dans des
sociétés auxquelles leurs employeurs fournissent également des services à
titre onéreux. Pour ce faire, les parties intéressées sont invitées à se
reporter aux recommandations émises par le groupe de discussion des
analystes financiers créé par la Commission en novembre 2002 (voir
IP/02/1763) en réponse aux conclusions d'un Conseil informel des ministres
de l'économie et des finances réuni à Oviedo en avril 2002. Ces
recommandations tendent à créer un cadre réglementaire et déontologique
optimal pour les analystes financiers, dans un marché européen des capitaux
intégré. Elles insistent sur le rôle de l'encadrement supérieur dans la
prévention ou la bonne gestion des conflits d'intérêts entre les
départements "banque d'investissement" et "études d'investissement" des
banques d'affaires, et dans la communication des conflits potentiels aux
investisseurs. La Commission tiendra compte des commentaires reçus dans sa
réflexion sur l'opportunité d'adopter des mesures européennes dans ce
domaine. Le rapport du groupe peut être consulté sur le site EUROPA de la
Commission, à l'adresse suivante: http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/finances/mobil/finanalysts/index_en.htm
[05] Eurostat Yearbook 2003 : European statistics from A to Z
Eurostat today publishes the 8th edition of its Yearbook, a wide-ranging
statistical guide that provides a good understanding of the major economic
and social developments in the EU which covers the period 1991 to 2001.
This new edition of the Yearbook is more user-friendly and is a combined
product consisting of a book and a CD-ROM. The Yearbook covers the EU and
the 15 Member States, the eurozone, as well as the principal economic
partners of the EU, wherever the data are comparable and a section is
devoted to the Candidate Countries.
[06] Conference on security of credit cards and electronic payments
Are electronic payments secure ? Do European citizens trust them ? Do
payment providers use the best technology available ? How much do citizens'
know about the security of the instruments they use ? What are the users'
expectations and their concerns ? What role should public authorities play
? These and other topical questions will be addressed at the "Payments and
Confidence" conference, organised by the European Commission, in Brussels
on 16th September 2003. Speakers will include Internal Market Commissioner
Frits Bolkestein, Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne, Gerhard
Schmid, Vice-President of the European Parliament and Gertrude Tumpel-
Gugerell, nominated Executive Board Member of the European Central Bank.
Other prominent speakers from public authorities, payment providers and
users, such as Hans van der Velde, President of VISA International EU, and
Gerard Hartsink, Chairman of the European Payment Council, will offer their
views on the security of modern payment products and systems in the
European Union. The Conference is part of the Commission Fraud Prevention
Action Plan. The full programme is available at : http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/finances/payment/conference
Journalists are welcome. Those who wish to attend should contact Linda Cain
on +32 2 299 9019
[07] Autre matériel diffusé
Frequently asked questions on WTO and agriculture
Speech by Franz Fischler : "Ten ingredients to make Cancun a success" at
the press conference before WTO Ministerial in Cancun
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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