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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 05-09-14
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[I] Résultats de la Commission de ce jour - Outcome
of today's Commission meeting
[01] Commission finds that Greece has granted illegal State aid to Olympic
Airways and Olympic Airlines
[02] Commission fines producers of industrial thread a total of €43,497
million for cartels
[03] Commission appoints new Deputy Director General in DG Trade
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[04] Les voitures appelleront le 112 – mais y aura-t-il quelqu'un au bout
du fil ? La Commission presse les Etats membres d'agir pour mettre en
place l'appel d'urgence embarqué ("eCall")
[05] Educational exchanges between the EU and Australia receive another
boost
[06] National surveillance programmes for avian flu approved and further
wild bird surveillance measures agreed
[07] Markos Kyprianou visits Cyprus
[08] Joe Borg visits Belgium and the Netherlands (14-16/09)
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2005-09-14
Reference: MEX/05/0914
Date: 14/09/2005
EXME05 / 14.9
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Press and Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Presse etb
Communication
14/09/05
[I] Résultats de la Commission de ce jour - Outcome
of today's Commission meeting
[01] Commission finds that Greece has granted illegal State aid to Olympic
Airways and Olympic Airlines
The European Commission has declared illegal a number of measures taken by
the Greek State which gave an unfair advantage to Olympic Airways and
Olympic Airlines, the new company which has taken over its flight
operations. This decision closes the investigation, started on 16 March
2004, into the State aid granted since December 2002, when the airline was
ordered to repay €160 million in illegal aid.
[02] Commission fines producers of industrial thread a total of €43,497
million for cartels
The European Commission has fined thread producers from Germany, Belgium,
The Netherlands, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom a total of
€43,497 million for operating cartels in the market for industrial thread
in violation of EC Treaty rules on restrictive business practices (Article
81). Industrial thread is used in a variety of industries to sew or
embroider various products such as clothes, home furnishings, automotive
seats and seatbelts, leather goods, mattresses, footwear, and ropes.
[03] Commission appoints new Deputy Director General in DG Trade
Peter Balas was appointed Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-
General for Trade. In his new function Mr Balas will supervise the services
responsible for the coordination of WTO and OECD matters, agricultural
trade, services, sustainable development as well as textiles, new
technologies, intellectual property and public procurement.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[04] Les voitures appelleront le 112 – mais y aura-t-il quelqu'un au bout
du fil ? La Commission presse les Etats membres d'agir pour mettre en
place l'appel d'urgence embarqué ("eCall")
L'industrie est en bonne voie d'équiper votre voiture d'un système
d'appel d'urgence, mais la modernisation des infrastructures nécessaires
pour gérer les appels a pris beaucoup de retard, selon une Communication
de la Commission européenne adoptée aujourd'hui. Tous les véhicules
neufs fabriqués en Europe vont être équipés d'un système
automatique d'appel d'urgence ("eCall") dès 2009, dans le cadre d'un plan
d'action approuvé par la Commission et l'industrie en février de cette
année.
[05] Educational exchanges between the EU and Australia receive another
boost
The EU and Australia are stepping up their efforts to promote cooperation
between their universities and vocational training institutions. After a
three-year pilot phase, the European Commission and the Australian
government have each tripled their commitment to €1 million to stimulate
innovative curriculum development and student exchange projects.
[06] National surveillance programmes for avian flu approved and further
wild bird surveillance measures agreed
A European Commission proposal to approve Member States' individual
surveillance plans for avian influenza, and to provide up to 50% co-funding
for the programmes has been endorsed by the Standing Committee on the Food
Chain and Animal Health. The EU will contribute an initial €884,000
towards the costs of these surveillance programmes for the period July 2005
to January 2006, and further funds will be made available as necessary. The
approved programmes outline the number of samples that will be taken from
both wild and domestic birds in each Member State, and the type and number
of tests that will be done. In certain cases, the type of birds that will
be tested is also detailed. In line with guidelines on better surveillance
of wild birds, presented by experts at a working group meeting on September
6th (see MEMO/05/304), a number of Member States further increased the
surveillance of wild birds in their national programmes. In total, around
25,000 tests in wild birds have now been submitted for co-financing for
2005/06 – a three fold increase on the number of tests carried out on
wild birds for the same period last year. In a separate decision, the
Standing Committee unanimously backed a Commission proposal to extend the
requirements for wild bird surveillance, so that wild bird, hunting and
other relevant organisations will be obliged to immediately notify national
competent authorities of any abnormal mortality or significant disease
outbreaks occurring in wild birds.
For more information on avian influenza, see :
<a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/animal/diseases/controlmeasures/avian/index_en.htm">http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/animal/diseases/controlmeasures/avian/index_en.htm
[07] Markos Kyprianou visits Cyprus
European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou is on
an official visit to Cyprus on 15-16 September. Mr Kyprianou will meet the
Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Mr Efthimiou and
the Minister of Health Mr Gavrielides (15 September). The main issues to be
discussed are Cyprus' national surveillance and control plans for avian
influenza and influenza pandemic preparedness planning. On 16 September,
the Commissioner will present the 'Europa Diary' to students at the Lyceum
Apostolos Varnavas in Strovolos, in the presence of the Minister of
Education Mr Georgiades and the President of the Cyprus Consumer
Association Mr Petros Markou. The Europa Diary is an EU-wide, Commission
funded effort to inform young people of their rights as consumers, and to
provide them with information on key public health issues. It is aimed at
students between the ages of 15 and 18 and has been distributed at no cost
among schools who request it across the EU, together with a teacher’s kit
to provide an additional teaching resource.
[08] Joe Borg visits Belgium and the Netherlands (14-16/09)
Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, will
start a visit to the Belgian coast this evening in Oostende where he will
have a meeting with Mr Yves Leterme, Minister-President of the Flemish
Government. After a visit to a processing plant in Zeebrugge, tomorrow
morning, Commissioner Borg will visit the port before meeting with
representatives of the Belgian fishing sector. On Friday, he will be in the
Netherlands where the day will start with a meeting with Mr Cees Veerman,
Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food. This will be followed by a visit
of Scheveningen Harbour and a visit to a pelagic trawler (targeting mid-
water species). The Commissioner will then meet with representatives of the
Dutch pelagic freeze trawler association. This will be followed by a visit
to a fish trading company before boarding a fishing vessel for a
demonstration of pulse-fishing for flat fish. In the afternoon, the
Commissioner will meet with Dutch stakeholders. The visit will be concluded
by a meeting with Minister Veerman.
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
i2010 Intelligent Car Flagship Initiative : questions and answers
Speech by Peter Mandelson : "The right choices for the Doha Round" at
National Press Club (13/09, Washington DC)
Speech by Neelie Kroes : "Delivering Lisbon – the Role of Competition
Policy" au European Liberal Democrat City Forum (London, ! embargo 23h30 !)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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