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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-11-30
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] HIV/AIDS : risk to young Europeans increasing, says Markos Kyprianou
[02] Statement by Louis Michel on World AIDS Day – 1 December 2004
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Fuchs by MRW
[04] Commission clears acquisition of Bonus Energy by Siemens
[05] Commission fixes banana import quantities for new Member States in
2005
[06] Decisions on national bans on GMOs to be referred to Council
[07] November 2004 : economic sentiment worsened in both the EU and the
euro area
[08] November 2004 : Business Climate Indicator fell in the euro area
[09] Flash estimate - November 2004 : Euro-zone inflation estimated at 2.2%
[10] Dalia Grybauskaité at Budget Committee of the European Parliament
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2004-11-30
Reference: MEX/04/1130
Date: 30/11/2004
EXME04 / 30.11
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
30/11/04
[01] HIV/AIDS : risk to young Europeans increasing, says Markos Kyprianou
The new generation of Europeans face an unprecedented risk of catching HIV,
the virus that causes AIDS, according to Markos Kyprianou, European
Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection. Mr Kyprianou is due to
make a statement to the European Parliament tomorrow to mark World AIDS
Day. Speaking on the eve of World AIDS Day, Mr Kyprianou said : "Teenagers
and people in their early twenties, are too young to remember the safe sex
campaigns of the 1980s and early 1990s. With HIV infection rates rising
across our continent, urgent action is needed to avert a public health
disaster". The number of newly reported HIV cases in the EU has nearly
doubled since 1996, with the most drastic increase observed in the Baltic
States. The situation in neighbouring countries is equally grave. In Russia,
there are almost one million people infected with HIV, 80% of which are in
people under thirty. In September this year health ministers from across
the EU and its neighbours met in Vilnius, Lithuania, and endorsed a
strategy proposed by the Commission for fighting the AIDS epidemic in
Europe (see IP/04/1111).
[02] Statement by Louis Michel on World AIDS Day – 1 December 2004
The World AIDS Day must be an occasion to remind us all of the need to
reinforce our commitment to confront HIV/AIDS in Europe and throughout the
world, when the pandemic continues to spread and the number of people
currently living with HIV/AIDS gets close to 40 million.
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Fuchs by MRW
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of German company Fuchs by
Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG (MRW). MRW is active in the production and
distribution of tubes, including steel and input stock for the production
of tubes. MRW is active in the production and distribution of tubes as well
as steel and input stock for the production of tubes. Its parent company
Salzgitter is active in steel technology, the production and distribution
of steel products and the production of large welded diameter tubes. Fuchs
is active in the production and distribution of welded non-precision steel
tubes. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review
procedure. Although the acquisition did not have an EU dimension as the
turnover of Fuchs falls below the thresholds set by the EU Merger
Regulation, the parties referred it to the Commission to avoid having to
file it separately to four different national competition authorities (in
Austria, Germany, Poland and Spain) and because of the cross-border nature
of the transaction.
[04] Commission clears acquisition of Bonus Energy by Siemens
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Danish company Bonus
Energy by Siemens, Germany. Siemens is a global technology company active
in several business areas and Bonus is active in the manufacture of wind
turbines. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review
procedure.
[05] Commission fixes banana import quantities for new Member States in
2005
The European Commission adopted a Regulation fixing, for 2005, an
additional import quantity of bananas of 460,000 tonnes to supply the
market of the ten new Member States (NMS). This additional quantity is
fixed on a transitional basis and should in no way prejudge the outcome of
the negotiations in the context of the Article XXIV (6) GATT. This quantity
will provide the new Member States with a sufficient supply of bananas. On
the same basis, the Commission fixed in April 2004 an additional quantity
of 300,000 tonnes to supply the market of NMS for the period May-December
2004 (see IP/04/490). Background : After the accession of ten new Member
States on 1 May 2004, appropriate arrangements have been made to ensure
sufficient supply of bananas to consumers in the NMS. To this end, the
import volumes for bananas have been increased for an EU of 25. For the new
additional quantities, the current licensing mechanisms apply. These
transitional measures are without prejudice to the decision taken by the
Council to move to a tariff-only import system no later than 1 January
2006.
[06] Decisions on national bans on GMOs to be referred to Council
A draft decision to lift national bans on certain authorised genetically
modified organisms currently in place in five EU Member States will pass on
the Council of Ministers. The draft decisions concern the GM maize
varieties T25 and MON810 banned in Austria, GM maize Bt176 banned in
Austria, Germany and Luxembourg, the oilseed rape varieties MS1xRF1 banned
in France and Topas 19/2 banned in France and Greece. The Regulatory
Committee, which is set up under Directive 2001/18/EC and representing the
Member States, did not reach the qualified majority necessary to support
the Commission proposal to ask the five Member States to lift their
national measures. The Commission will now, in the coming weeks, formally
transmit the proposals to the Council of Ministers for decision. The
Council can either adopt or reject the proposals with a qualified majority.
If no decision is taken after three months, the file returns to the
Commission who can then adopt it. If adopted, the Member States in question
would have to repeal their national bans at the latest 20 days after they
are formally notified of the respective decisions.
[07] November 2004 : economic sentiment worsened in both the EU and the
euro area
The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) for the EU fell in November by 1
point to a level of 103.4. In the euro area, economic sentiment also
worsened, although by a more moderate 0.5 points, reaching a level of
100.8.
[08] November 2004 : Business Climate Indicator fell in the euro area
The Business Climate Indicator for the euro area decreased by 0.12 points
in November, reaching a value of 0.39, following its sideward movement
during the previous 3 months. The decrease in November was driven by a
weakening in most components of the indicator, i.e. production trend in the
recent past, total and export order books as well as stocks of finished
products. Only production expectations remained unchanged.
[09] Flash estimate - November 2004 : Euro-zone inflation estimated at 2.2%
Euro-zone annual inflation is expected to be 2.2% in November 2004
according to a flash estimate issued today by Eurostat. It was 2.4% in
October 2004.
[10] Dalia Grybauskaité at Budget Committee of the European Parliament
Today, European Budget Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaite, gave her first
speech on the Financial Perspectives. She underlined that the Financial
Perspectives cannot be divorced from their political context and that the
goals ; to boost Europe's competitiveness and cohesion, to protect and
develop our natural resources, to offer security and give citizenship a
real meaning and to project a stronger voice worldwide, are common European
goals. "The EU budget should only be used when a euro spent at EU lever can
do the job better than a euro spent at national level", the Commissioner
said in the Budget Committee in the European Parliament. She emphasized
that an agreement on the Financial Perspectives next year is essential :
"It would be a tragedy to deprive ourselves of one of the real advantages
of EU financing – the long term approach". In her speech Ms Grybauskaité
also discussed one of the key issues in the ongoing debate, the 1% ceiling
: "The decision by some Member States to focus the debate on the overall
total of spending is understandable. But if the proposals on the table are
the best way to meet the goals we have set ourselves as a Union, if they
offer real added value and represent a good deal for the taxpayer and the
citizen, it would be irrational to dismiss them in favour of some arbitrary
spending limit." Ms Grybauskaité concluded by stressing that a 1% cap
would mean that the European Union will not be able to meet the common
goals.
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Ministerial meeting on Urban Policy (Rotterdam)
Speech by President José Manuel Barroso : "The EU and the Emerging World
Order - perceptions and strategies" at the 7th ECSA World Conference
Speech by President José Manuel Barroso at the opening of 80th meeting of
the ACP Council of Ministers
Speech by Günter Verheugen : "Mehr Wachstum, merh Wettbewerbsfähigkeit,
mehr Innovation - die EU und die Lissabon-Ziele" (29/11, Berlin)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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