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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-03-30
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission clears termination of joint venture between P&O and Royal
Nedlloyd
[02] Commission clears J&J acquisition of Merck's stake in their non-
prescription drugs venture
[03] Commission clears joint venture between Fujisu and SEI
[04] Global efforts to phase out ozone-depleting substances back on track
[05] Chris Patten to attend International Conference on Afghanistan in
Berlin
[06] Pascal Lamy in Baltic countries to discuss trade implications of
enlargement
[07] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 30/03/2004
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 30/03/2004
[01] Commission clears termination of joint venture between P&O and Royal
Nedlloyd
The European Commission has approved, pursuant to the Merger Regulation, a
proposed transaction by which the British port operator P&O and the Dutch
liner shipping company Royal Nedlloyd reorganise their common activities in
the container liner shipping business. The Commission did not identify any
anti-competitive consequences stemming from this transaction on the market
for containerised liner shipping services.
[02] Commission clears J&J acquisition of Merck's stake in their non-
prescription drugs venture
The European Commission has approved the acquisition by Johnson & Johnson
of the 50% stake held by Merck & Co in their joint venture Johnson &
Johnson MSD Europe, a manufacturer of non-prescription pharmaceutical
products. The acquisition does not pose any competition concerns.
[03] Commission clears joint venture between Fujisu and SEI
The European Commission has granted clearance under the Merger Regulation
to the creation of the joint venture Fujisu Quantum Devices Limited by the
Japan-based undertakings Fujitsu Limited and Sumitomo Electric Industries,
Ltd (SEI). SEI and Fujitsu will respectively transfer their electronic
devices business and entire compound semiconductor business to the joint
venture which will be active in the development, production, marketing and
sales of compound semiconductor devices. (The operation, notified on 26
February 2004, was examined under the simplified merger review procedure)
[04] Global efforts to phase out ozone-depleting substances back on track
The European Commission welcomes the outcome of an extraordinary meeting of
the Parties to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, on 24-26 March in Montreal, the
Protocol's birthplace. The 183 Parties agreed how to respect a scheduled
ban on the production and consumption of methyl bromide, a highly ozone
damaging pesticide still in use in some countries. Under the Montreal
Protocol, the ban is to come into effect in industrialised countries on 1
January 2005. Demands for far-reaching exemptions put forward by the US and
a number of other countries, including some EU Member States, had
jeopardised the phase-out timetable and were the main reason that a
previous conference of the Parties in Nairobi last November collapsed.
[05] Chris Patten to attend International Conference on Afghanistan in
Berlin
European Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten will attend the
International Conference on Afghanistan in Berlin on the 31st of March. The
Conference, which is expected to be attended by 55 countries, including all
EU Member States and those acceding on 1 May, and 10 international
organisations, will discuss achievements to date and the key political and
economic challenges faced by Afghanistan three years after the Bonn
agreement. Once this year's elections have been held, Afghanistan will have
completed the steps set out in that Agreement. The Berlin Conference is
therefore an important opportunity to map out the next steps for the
partnership between the Government of Afghanistan and the International
Community.
[06] Pascal Lamy in Baltic countries to discuss trade implications of
enlargement
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will travel successively to Vilnius,
Riga and Tallinn between 31 March and 1 April to discuss with the
governments, business and civil societies, the trade implications of the
upcoming accession of the three countries to the EU. He will end the trip
with a visit to to Finland on 2 April. On the eve of his departure Pascal
Lamy said : "When I arrive in Vilnius we will have exactly 30 days to go
before enlargement and I want to make sure that we are all ready for this
historical event. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are already members of the
EU trade family and I wish to review with the governments, business and
civil societies of the three countries the ways to promote our common
interests together in all aspects of our trade policy."
[07] Autre matériel diffusé
Afghanistan : How the EU is making a difference
Speech by David Byrne : "Animal transport: consultation of EP on revision
of legislation" at European Parliament Plenary Session (Strasbourg)
Speech by Franz Fischler : "Opening of SIAL and EU Stand" at SIAL Fair
(Shanghai)
Speech by Franz Fischler : "China and the EU : Boosting the great farm
trade potential" at European Chamber of Commerce (29/03, Shanghai)
Discours de M. Lamy : "Les politiques communes et l'Europe dans la
mondialisation" à l'Institut de France - Académie des Sciences morales et
politiques (29/03, Paris)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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