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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-03-11
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Declaration by President Prodi on the bomb attacks in Madrid
[02] Commission suspends EU poultry imports from Canada after avian
influenza outbreak
[03] La Commission entend renforcer l'efficacité de l'aide européenne au
développement par une meilleure coordination et harmonisation
[04] Commission clears joint acquisition of German regional train company
TransRegio
[05] Commission clears Blackstone acquisition of Celanese
[06] European Regulators Group for Electricity and Gas launches its work
programme for 2004
[07] Maritime safety : Commission gives new implementing powers to the
Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
[08] EU enlargement - The new EU of 25 compared to EU15
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 11/03/2004
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 11/03/2004
[01] Declaration by President Prodi on the bomb attacks in Madrid
"I must express my deep outrage and shock at this savage, bloodthirsty and
totally senseless slaughter of innocent lives. At this hour the pain and
suffering of the victims, their families and loved ones are foremost in my
thoughts, and my sympathy and compassion go out to them and their relatives,
to all the people of Spain, who have been so cruelly and viciously targeted
today, to the Spanish Government and to the King of Spain, whose dismay and
grief I share. There is absolutely no excuse for the perpetrators of this
appalling act of blind hate to hide behind. It is not a political act, it
is not an act of revolt or rebellion. It is a vicious attack against
unarmed, defenceless people, an aberrant and revolting act that only the
perverted minds of terrorists could have hatched. It is violence for its
own sake, gratuitous and pointless violence that leads nowhere, and the
whole international community is -- and will continue to be -- mobilised
against this inhuman, intolerable phenomenon until it is completely
eradicated."
[02] Commission suspends EU poultry imports from Canada after avian
influenza outbreak
Following the confirmation of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI)
outbreak in British Columbia (Canada), the European Commission adopted the
proposal from European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David
Byrne to suspend the import of live poultry, poultry meat and products,
eggs and pet birds from this country into the European Union with immediate
effect until 6 April. Avian influenza is a highly contagious poultry
disease that can cause severe economic damage to the poultry industry and
can, in exceptional cases, be transmitted to humans.
[03] La Commission entend renforcer l'efficacité de l'aide européenne au
développement par une meilleure coordination et harmonisation
La Commission européenne a adopté aujourd'hui son deuxième rapport annuel
sur les efforts consentis par les Etats membres pour respecter les
engagements pris dans le cadre de la conférence de Monterrey sur le
financement du développement (2002). Le rapport conclut que les Etats
membres sont en bonne voie d'accroître dans une large mesure le volume de
l'aide publique au développement (APD) d'ici 2006. Si l'on en croit les
prévisions et feuilles de route actuelles, plus de 19 milliards d'€ d'APD
de l'Union européenne seront ainsi disponibles pour la période 2003-2006.
L'effort annuel en termes d'APD augmentera progressivement pour atteindre
38,5 milliards d'€, soit 0,42% du RNB total de l'UE, en 2006. Cela
représente une augmentation de 10 milliards d'€ par an par rapport à 2002
et équivaut à une hausse de 35%. Les estimations portent aussi sur les pays
qui rejoindront l'UE cette année. Mais le rapport conclut également que
l'UE n'est toujours pas parvenue à renforcer de manière significative la
coordination de ses politiques de développement ni à harmoniser les
procédures de mise en œuvre de l'aide. Pour tenter de renforcer
l'efficacité de l'aide européenne au développement et de réduire les frais
administratifs liés à sa mise en œuvre, le rapport expose une série de
recommandations concrètes sur la manière d'améliorer la situation actuelle,
dont une proposition de la Commission concernant un cadre commun pour les
procédures de mise en œuvre de l'aide.
[04] Commission clears joint acquisition of German regional train company
TransRegio
The European Commission has cleared under the Merger Regulation the
proposed acquisition of TransRegio Deutsche Regionalbahn GmbH by EuRailCo
GmbH, a subsidiary of RATP Développement, and Transdev SA of France as well
as Rheinische Bahngesellschaft, all providers of short-distance public
passenger transport. (The transaction, which was notified on 9 February,
was examined under a simplified procedure for unproblematic mergers).
[05] Commission clears Blackstone acquisition of Celanese
The European Commission has cleared under the Merger Regulation the
proposed acquisition of German chemicals company Celanese AG by US private
equity firm Blackstone. (The acquisition which was notified on 9 February,
was examined under a simplified procedure for unproblematic mergers).
[06] European Regulators Group for Electricity and Gas launches its work
programme for 2004
At its second meeting on 3 March 2004, the European Regulators Group for
electricity and gas launched its work programme for 2004 and became fully
operational. Two working groups ("focus groups") were set up, one on
electricity and one on gas. In electricity, the Group will focus its work
on congestion management and network access charges, in gas on storage and
network charges, including cross-border issues. The overall objective is to
guarantee efficient operation of the single market for electricity and gas.
[07] Maritime safety : Commission gives new implementing powers to the
Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
The European Commission has amended the rules governing the Committee on
Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS) in order to
confer new implementing powers on the Committee. These new powers addressed
in the relevant EU Regulations and Directives cover : reporting formalities
for ships arriving in and/or departing from European Union ports ;
Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system ; the
prohibition of organotin compounds on ships ; and specific stability
requirements for "roll on roll off" passenger ships. The Committee was
established in 2002 with the aim of centralising the duties of the
committees created under several EU legal instruments dealing with maritime
safety and the prevention of the pollution from ships.
[08] EU enlargement - The new EU of 25 compared to EU15
With the accession of 10 new Member States - the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia -
the European Union will undergo the greatest enlargement in its history.
What will be the impact of the 10 Acceding Countries on the new EU compared
with EU15? And how will the EU25 compare with the United States? For this
event, Eurostat publishes today a compilation of economic and social
indicators drawing a portrait of the European Union of 25 Members.
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Le consensus de Monterrey et l'Union européenne
Speech by Franz Fischler : "Fast tracking the development of
environmentally-friendly fishing methods" at Conference on environmentally-
friendly fishing methods (Dundalk, Irl)
Discours de M. Busquin : "Energie et croissance économique : le rôle de la
recherche européenne" au European Business Summit 2004
Speech by Margot Wallström : "Towards a low carbon economy" at the European
Business Summit 2004
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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