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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-11-17
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[I] Résultats de la Commission du 16 novembre 2004 -
[01] La Commission prépare le sprint final dans les négociations sur ITER
[02] New Member States grant more subsidies than old ones, but amount
likely to fall
[03] Commission opens formal investigation into possible subsidies to
Finland's Componenta
[04] La Commission approuve le financement public de projets haut débit
dans le département des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, en Ecosse et dans les
Midlands
[05] Commission creates level playing field for all grain brandy producers
in Germany
[06] La Commission autorise la prolongation jusque 2010 d'un régime d'aide
instauré par la Belgique pour favoriser l'utilisation des voies navigables
intérieures
[07] Commission approves German on-board training aid in favour of
seafarers
[08] Commission appoints Zoltán Kazatsay Deputy Director-General for DG
Energy and Transport
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[09] Reaction of European Commisioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid
Poul Nielson on the presumed death of Margaret Hassan in Irak
[10] Contrôles des espèces monétaires : la Commission se félicite de
l'accord du Conseil sur de nouvelles mesures en vue de combattre le
blanchiment de capitaux
[11] Négociations UNESCO sur la diversité culturelle : la Commission
obtient un mandat du Conseil
[12] Cambodia : €25 million for the Northwest Provinces
[13] Octobre 2004 : le taux d'inflation annuel de la zone euro en hausse Ã
2,4% ; le taux de l'UE 25 en hausse à 2,3%
[14] September 2004 compared to August 2004 : industrial production up by
0.5% in euro-zone ; EU25 up by 0.4%
[15] 11 établissements d'enseignement supérieur reçoivent le label ECTS
à l'occasion de la première rencontre européenne des promoteurs du
processus de Bologne
[16] Guide prices for fisheries products in 2005 : decreases for a number
of white fish species
[17] EEA unveils first digital map of Europe's changing landscapes
[18] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2004-11-17
Reference: MEX/04/1117
Date: 17/11/2004
EXME04 / 17.11
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Press and Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Général Presse etb
Communication
17/11/04
[I] Résultats de la Commission du 16 novembre 2004 -
Outcome of Commission meeting of 16 November
[01] La Commission prépare le sprint final dans les négociations sur ITER
La Commission européenne a adopté une proposition de décision du Conseil
sur les négociations internationales relatives à ITER (International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor – réacteur thermonucléaire
expérimental international). La Commission a proposé des modifications de
son mandat de négociation pour faciliter l'obtention d’un consensus dans
les négociations avec les six parties (UE, Japon, Chine, Russie, Corée du
Sud et Etats-Unis) en vue de construire ITER en commun au site candidat
européen de Cadarache, en France. En fonction de la décision du Conseil
le 26 novembre, la Commission s'efforcera d'arriver à une conclusion
positive avec toutes les parties dans les plus brefs délais. Un élément
central du consensus pourrait être un "véritable partenariat" entre l'UE
et le Japon. Le Japon pourrait bénéficier de conditions favorables
reflétant sa contribution particulière au projet ITER. En outre, l'UE
pourrait contribuer à d'autres initiatives de recherche dans le domaine de
la fusion au Japon pour compléter le projet ITER dans le cadre d'une
"approche élargie" de la maîtrise de l'énergie de fusion.
[02] New Member States grant more subsidies than old ones, but amount
likely to fall
The ten new members of the European Union spend more than the old ones in
state subsidies to businesses as a percentage of their gross domestic
product (GDP), but this is likely to be corrected as they overcome problems
specific to their economies prior to accession. In absolute amounts,
however, they granted an annual average of €6 billion in the four years
2000-2003 compared with €34 billion for the EU-15 in 2002, the latest EU
State aid scoreboard reveals. An EU-25 scoreboard will be published in the
spring.
[03] Commission opens formal investigation into possible subsidies to
Finland's Componenta
The European Commission has opened a formal state aid investigation
concerning a potential subsidy by the city of Karkkila, in the southern
part of Finland, to Componenta Corporation, a company which produces ready-
to-install cast, geared and machined components, based in the same city but
with activities also in Sweden and the Netherlands. Based on the
information available at this stage, the Commission believes that the
acquisition by the city of Componenta's 50% share in a real estate joint
venture might hide a subsidy which, if confirmed, would probably not be
allowed under regional investment aid rules or any other European Union
rules.
[04] La Commission approuve le financement public de projets haut débit
dans le département des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, en Ecosse et dans les
Midlands
Dans le cas du projet relatif au département des Pyrénées-Atlantiques,
la Commission européenne a décidé que, dans certaines conditions, le co-
financement public d'une infrastructure ouverte de haut débit constituait
la compensation d'une obligation de service d'intérêt économique
général et non une aide. Dans le cas des deux projets au Royaume-Uni, la
Commission a déclaré compatibles deux aides concernant la fourniture de
services de haut débit, considérant que les subventions étaient
nécessaires au déploiement de ces services dans des zones rurales et
isolées qui en étaient privées.
[05] Commission creates level playing field for all grain brandy producers
in Germany
The European Commission has decided that a German subsidy scheme for the
producers of Kornbranntwein, a brandy made out of corn, is in breach of EU
State aid rules because it distorts competition with other brandy
producers. However, the Commission has agreed to give the German producers
until 30 September 2006 to adapt to competition.
[06] La Commission autorise la prolongation jusque 2010 d'un régime d'aide
instauré par la Belgique pour favoriser l'utilisation des voies navigables
intérieures
La Commission européenne a décidé de ne pas soulever d'objections au
projet des autorités flamandes visant à prolonger jusqu'en 2010 le régime
d'aide offrant une aide financière pour la construction d'installations de
chargement et de déchargement le long des voies navigables de la région
des Flandres, en Belgique. Le régime d'aide, qui a été approuvé
par la Commission pour la première fois en 2001, vise à faciliter l'accès
aux voies navigables et à accroître leur utilisation pour le transport de
marchandises.
[07] Commission approves German on-board training aid in favour of
seafarers
The European Commission gave the go-ahead to German maritime training aid
for the next ten years (from 2004 to 2013). The Commission had already
approved on a yearly basis the same German scheme from 1998 to 2003. The
aid regime will help preserve maritime know-how and expertise on board
German merchant ships.
[08] Commission appoints Zoltán Kazatsay Deputy Director-General for DG
Energy and Transport
The European Commission has decided to appoint Mr Zoltán Kazatsay as the
new Deputy Director-General for Energy and Transport. Mr Kazatsay is 52
years old and of Hungarian nationality. He was until now Deputy State
Secretary at the Hungarian Ministry of Economy and Transport where he has
been in charge of the cooperation with the Commission, also replacing the
Hungarian minister, when absent, at the Transport Council. Mr Kazatsay has
a degree in civil engineering from the University in Budapest. He began his
career in 1978 at the Road and Railway Design Company as a senior
consultant. He then came to the Ministry of Transport in 1989 where he has
occupied different posts including Head of Division responsible for
transport and water-purification. Mr Kazatsay will be in charge of
coordinating the work of three operational directorates dealing
respectively with Inland, Air and Maritime Transport.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[09] Reaction of European Commisioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid
Poul Nielson on the presumed death of Margaret Hassan in Irak
"I was horrified to learn about the reported brutal murder of the aid
worker, Margaret Hassan. My thoughts are with her family and colleages, and
with the needy people of Iraq who have lost such a good friend. In peace
and war, Margaret dedicated her life to helping vulnerable Iraqis, most
recently through the humanitarian organisation Care International. This
kind of savagery makes it almost impossible for relief agencies to continue
their crucial work in Iraq. The main victims are the innocent and suffering
Iraqis that benefited from international aid programmes. The European
Commission has been financing Care's excellent and impartial aid work in
Iraq for almost a decade. I join the staff of the Humanitarian Aid
Department (ECHO) today in mourning the loss of a valued colleague who was
a true humanitarian."
[10] Contrôles des espèces monétaires : la Commission se félicite de
l'accord du Conseil sur de nouvelles mesures en vue de combattre le
blanchiment de capitaux
La Commission européenne se félicite de l'accord politique obtenu par le
Conseil des Ministres des affaires économiques et financières pour une
position commune relative à une proposition de la Commission pour un
règlement introduisant une approche communautaire des contrôles de
capitaux entrant et quittant l'UE (voir IP/02/955). Une fois adopté, le
règlement devrait exiger que chaque Etat membre s'assure que les voyageurs
qui franchissent les frontières extérieures de l'UE fassent une
déclaration s'ils transportent plus de 10.000 € (ou une somme
équivalente dans d'autres devises ou en biens facilement convertibles). En
2002, la Commission avait révélé dans un rapport que le total des
mouvements de capitaux atteignait les 135 billions d'€. Ce rapport
résultait d'une action conjointe menée de septembre 1999 à février 2000
par les autorités douanières des Etats membres qui avaient été
chargées de surveiller les mouvements d'argent liquide transfrontaliers
d'un montant supérieur à 10.000 €. Cette grande quantité de mouvements
de capitaux pouvait impliquer des activités de blanchiment d'argent et de
ce fait constituer une menace pour la communauté et les intérêts
nationaux.
[11] Négociations UNESCO sur la diversité culturelle : la Commission
obtient un mandat du Conseil
Le Conseil Education et Culture des 15 et 16 novembre a confié un mandat Ã
la Commission européenne afin que celle-ci négocie au nom de la
Communauté européenne et de ses Etats membres dans le cadre de la
Convention Unesco sur la diversité culturelle.
[12] Cambodia : €25 million for the Northwest Provinces
The European Commission has approved €25 million for a project to
alleviate poverty in the north-west provinces of Banteay Meanchey,
Battambang and Siem Reap in Cambodia. In this area, where agriculture is
the primary source of income, more than 44% of households live below the
poverty line. The purpose of the project, which will target smallholder
farmers and their families is to : increase and diversify agriculture,
livestock and fisheries production ; develop new employment opportunities ;
support activities at local and farmer's level relating to planning,
marketing, hygiene and sanitation and to improve access to basic amenities
such as safe drinking water. Furthermore, it will improve access to markets
and arable land by constructing and improving secondary roads, access to
land for the poor through the provision of land title to smallholders and
targeted mine clearance. The area for the project was initially chosen in
consultation with the Royal Government of Cambodia and the beneficiaries
have been actively involved in the project design.
[13] Octobre 2004 : le taux d'inflation annuel de la zone euro en hausse Ã
2,4% ; le taux de l'UE 25 en hausse à 2,3%
Le taux d'inflation annuel de la zone euro est passé de 2,1% en septembre
à 2,4% en octobre 2004, indique aujourd'hui Eurostat. Un an auparavant, il
s'élevait à 2,0%. Le taux d'inflation mensuel a été de 0,3% en octobre
2004. Le taux d'inflation annuel de l'UE25 a été de 2,3% en octobre 2004,
contre 2,1% en septembre. Un an auparavant, il s'élevait à 1,9%. Le taux
mensuel a été de 0,3% en octobre 2004. En octobre 2004, les taux
d'inflation annuels les plus bas ont été observés en Finlande (0,6%), au
Royaume-Uni (1,2%), en Suède (1,4%) et aux Pays-Bas (1,5%), et les plus
élevés en Lettonie (7,2%), en Hongrie (6,4%), en Slovaquie (6,3%) et en
Pologne (4,6%).
[14] September 2004 compared to August 2004 : industrial production up by
0.5% in euro-zone ; EU25 up by 0.4%
Seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 0.5% in the euro-zone in
September 2004 compared to August 2004, Eurostat estimates today.
Production fell by 0.6% in August after a rise of 0.2% in July. Output in
the EU25 grew by 0.4% in September 2004, after a fall of 0.5% in August and
a rise of 0.1% in July. In September 2004 compared to September 2003,
industrial production rose by 2.9% in the euro-zone and by 2.6% in the
EU25.
[15] 11 établissements d'enseignement supérieur reçoivent le label ECTS
à l'occasion de la première rencontre européenne des promoteurs du
processus de Bologne
Les 18 et 19 novembre 2004, la Commission européenne organise à Bruxelles
la première rencontre des 200 promoteurs de Bologne sélectionnés par
leurs autorités nationales pour conseiller leurs collègues dans la mise
en oeuvre des réformes du processus de Bologne dans 40 pays européens.
Les participants s'accorderont sur une stratégie européenne pour
promouvoir ces réformes. La Commission remettra en outre le label ECTS
(système européen de transfert et d'accumulation de crédits) aux 11
établissements d'enseignement supérieur qui appliquent correctement
l'ECTS dans l'ensemble de leurs programmes. Ces établissements reçoivent
un financement communautaire pour étendre le système ECTS Ã
l'apprentissage tout au long de la vie.
[16] Guide prices for fisheries products in 2005 : decreases for a number
of white fish species
The European Commission has tabled its annual proposal on next year's guide
prices for fresh and frozen fisheries products as well as the Community
producer price for tuna for processing. Average prices for a majority of
white fish species have fallen over the period 2002-2004. The Commission
proposes therefore to decrease guide prices for most of these species by
between -0.5 to -3%. Increases of 0.5% for megrim and 1.5% for whiting are
proposed. The current prices of spotted dogfish, plaice, hake, dab and
common flounder would be maintained. In the case of pelagic species, there
are proposed increases of 1.5% for mackerel and 2% for anchovies, decreases
for herring (-3%) and whole albacore (-1%) and maintenance of current
prices for sardines and gutted albacore. Decreases are also proposed for
crustaceans, tuna for processing (-2%) and for frozen products except for
sea bream (+1%) and illex (+1.5%). Prices for Greenland halibut, hake
fillets, swordfish, squids and common squids would remain the same. The
Commission proposals are based on Member States' average market prices over
the previous three years. Other important factors also taken into account
include trends in production, market demand, the interests of consumers and
the need to avoid withdrawals of fisheries products from the market. The
proposal and table showing differences with current guide prices can be
accessed at the following address:
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/news_corner/press/inf04_45_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/news_corner/press/inf04_45_en.htm
[17] EEA unveils first digital map of Europe's changing landscapes
The first digital map of the multiple changes that have occurred in
Europe's landscapes since 1990 was unveiled today, enabling policy-makers
to draw lessons from how their decisions in areas such as agriculture and
transport are impacting on the region's finite land resources and the wider
environment. The European Environment Agency (EEA) presented today the
results of its Corine Land Cover (CLC) 2000 project at a high-level event
in Brussels for representatives from several European Commission Services -
including regional policy, agriculture, research and environment - the
European Space Agency and the EEA's current and prospective member
countries. Using a common methodology, CLC2000 provides the first
standardised survey of Europe's land cover for the year 2000 and of the
changes that happened over the decade since the first CLC was undertaken in
the late 1980s. Both products are publicly available at no cost through the
EEA's web site. CLC2000's combination of geographical breadth and local
detail is unmatched by any other land cover information programme in the
world. The project already covers 30 countries and the number is expected
to expand in 2005. The EEA has produced CLC2000 from IMAGE2000, a satellite
imaging programme undertaken together with the European Commission's Joint
Research Centre. Aerial photos and near-ground imaging were also used. From
IMAGE2000, experts from across Europe have produced detailed maps showing
44 different land cover types, such as 'continuous urban fabric', 'pasture'
and 'non-irrigated arable land'. CLC2000 is available at <a href="http://dataservice.eea.eu.int">http://dataservice.eea.eu.int,
where illustrative maps highlighting the changes between 1990 and 2000 in
selected areas can also be found. IMAGE2000 data can be accessed from <a
href="http://image2000.jrc.it">http://image2000.jrc.it.
[18] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Chris Patten : "Lifting of the arms embargo on China" at European
Parliament (16/11, Strasbourg)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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