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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 06-06-15
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Telecommunications: Commission urges the German regulator to impose
more effective competition remedies for fixed telephony
[02] European Commission adopts an EU Forest Action Plan
[03] Erasmus Mundus 2006-2007: plus de 1 600 diplômés vont étudier et
enseigner dans les universités européennes
[04] Danuta Hübner in West Netherlands: "Cohesion policy is a cornerstone
of the EU’s growth and jobs strategy"
[05] Securities markets: Commission appoints members of new expert group
[06] Executive Director of Community Fisheries Control Agency appointed
[07] European Union deploys Election Observation Mission to Mexico
[08] 100 Erasmus Mundus students gather in Brussels :
[09] Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy Benita
Ferrero-Waldner to meet Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime
Minister of Nepal, Sharma Oli
[10] May 2006 - Euro area annual inflation up to 2.5% - EU25 up to 2.4%
[11] PIB par habitant en 2005 - Le PIB par habitant varie de un cinq
parmi les Etats membres de l’UE25
[12] Commission clears acquisition of Lind by Inchcape
[13] Commission clears acquisition of Vopak ITC by Mitsui and Vopak
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2006-06-15
Reference: MEX/06/0615
Date: 15/06/2006
EXME06 / 15.6
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
15/06/06
[01] Telecommunications: Commission urges the German regulator to impose
more effective competition remedies for fixed telephony
The lack of competition in the German end-user market for access to the
public telephone network requires more effective regulatory obligations,
says the European Commission today in its response to the German telecom
regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA). The Commission calls for an efficient
price control mechanism in order to protect consumers against the risk of
excessive prices being charged by the dominant operator Deutsche Telekom.
[02] European Commission adopts an EU Forest Action Plan
Today the European Commission has demonstrated its commitment to enhancing
sustainable forest management by adopting an EU Forest Action Plan. The
Action Plan builds on last year's report on the implementation of the EU
Forestry Strategy and consequent conclusions by the Council. The Action
Plan focuses on four main objectives: (1) to improve long-term
competitiveness; (2) to improve and protect the environment; (3) to
contribute to the quality of life; and (4) to foster coordination and
communication. Eighteen key actions are proposed by the Commission to be
implemented jointly with the Member States over a period of five years
(2007–2011).
[03] Erasmus Mundus 2006-2007: plus de 1 600 diplômés vont étudier et
enseigner dans les universités européennes
Le programme de masters Erasmus Mundus a rencontré un tel succès depuis
son lancement en 2004 qu'il a dû tre élargi pour répondre la demande.
Les masters Erasmus Mundus sont des cours de qualité très élevée
proposés par des partenariats d'établissements européens d'enseignement
supérieur. Actuellement, les candidats peuvent choisir parmi 57 mastères,
qui couvrent des domaines très variés allant de l'ingénierie et de la
technologie au droit et aux lettres, en passant par les sciences naturelles,
les sciences de la vie, les sciences sociales, le commerce et l'économie.
Pour l'année universitaire 2006-2007, la Commission européenne a
sélectionné 1 377 étudiants et 231 professeurs d'université qui
participeront au programme.
[04] Danuta Hübner in West Netherlands: "Cohesion policy is a cornerstone
of the EU’s growth and jobs strategy"
“The EU’s new cohesion policy will focus on creating growth and jobs
and cooperation between cities and their regions will be key to its
success”, said regional policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner on the first
day of her visit to West Netherlands. Commissioner Hübner noted that
national and regional authorities are working closely with the Commission
to prepare for the next programming period (2007-2013) and invited all
parties to intensify their efforts so that the new programmes can start in
the beginning of 2007. The Commissioner is meeting Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Economic Affairs Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, State Secretary
for Economic Affairs Karien van Gennip, the Queen’s Commissioner for the
Province of South Holland, Mr Franssen, the Mayors of Rotterdam, Amsterdam,
Leiden and The Hague, and other regional and local authorities. Among the
projects she is visiting during her two-day stay are projects financed by
URBAN in Rotterdam, "Greenhouses on the floor" in the “Westland” and
the Bio Science park in Leiden. The Commissioner will also lead the
Commission delegation for a high-level meeting with the Dutch authorities
on 16 June. The meeting will take stock of implementation so far of the
Dutch National Reform Programme under the EU’s Lisbon Strategy for Growth
and Jobs and look at how the Dutch authorities intend to update their
programme.
[05] Securities markets: Commission appoints members of new expert group
The European Commission has appointed the 20 members of the European
Securities Markets Expert Group (ESME) – a new group which will look
carefully at how EU securities Directives work in practice, determine
whether or not they are delivering the intended results and propose changes
where necessary. Its creation is a follow-up action to the White Paper on
Financial Services 2005-2010 (see IP/05/1529) and a crucial part of the
Better Regulation agenda in financial services. It will meet up to four
times a year and it is likely that one or more sub-groups within the group
will be set up to examine specific issues.
[06] Executive Director of Community Fisheries Control Agency appointed
The administrative board of the Community Fisheries Control Agency, meeting
in Vigo yesterday and today, have announced the appointment of Mr Harm
Koster as Executive Director. Mr Koster, an economist from the Netherlands,
has a solid background in fisheries control issues at European level. For
seven years he headed the Inspection Unit in the European Commission's
Directorate-General for Fisheries, which controls inspection activities in
EU waters and areas covered by regional fisheries management agreements. He
is currently Head of the Unit responsible for bilateral fisheries
agreements.
[07] European Union deploys Election Observation Mission to Mexico
The European Commission is deploying an EU Election Observation Mission
(EOM) to the Presidential and legislative elections in Mexico, both
scheduled to take place on 2 July. The decision to observe these polls
comes in response to an invitation from the Instituto Federal Electoral
(Election Federal Institute), which was unanimously supported by all
political parties and government bodies. It testifies to the excellent
state of EU-Mexico bilateral relations. The Mission will be led by José
Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Member of the European Parliament.
[08] 100 Erasmus Mundus students gather in Brussels :
Tomorrow, the European Commissioner in charge of Education & Training, Ján
Figel’, will welcome in Brussels, at the Bibliothèque Solvay, over 100
students from third countries who are currently taking part in the Erasmus
Mundus programme. The students will take part in a two-day seminar (Friday
16 and Saturday 17 June) which will give them the opportunity to exchange
views on their experiences in European universities. The main purpose of
the meeting is to launch the Erasmus Mundus Alumni Association. During the
seminar, the students' feedback on the programme will be discussed, as well
as the results of a study on the perception of European higher education in
third countries. The Erasmus Mundus programme was launched in 2004 : at
present 35 Erasmus Mundus masters courses are operational and about 1,000
students from third countries have received a scholarship to obtain a
degree in Europe. By 2008, the final year of the 1st phase of the programme,
there will be more than 100 master courses operational and about 6,000
students will have received a scholarship.
Commissioner Figel’ will meet the press in Bibliothèque Solvay between
3pm and 3:30pm. Journalists who wish to attend the event must contact
Frédéric Vincent or Mona Lund Also see : IP 06/789 More information :
<a href="http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/mundus/index_en.html">http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/mundus/index_en.html
[09] Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy Benita
Ferrero-Waldner to meet Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime
Minister of Nepal, Sharma Oli
The Commissioner and the Deputy Prime Minister will exchange views on the
current situation in Nepal following the restoration of Parliament and the
formation of the new Seven Party Alliance government. They will discuss how
the Commission and wider international community can best assist in fully
supporting Nepal’s peace and reconstruction efforts. The visit comes
shortly after a high-level visit by a Commission official to Kathmandu two
weeks ago. During his first visit to Brussels, the Minister will also be
meeting with Javier Solana and will make a visit to the European Parliament
in Strasbourg.
[10] May 2006 - Euro area annual inflation up to 2.5% - EU25 up to 2.4%
Euro area annual inflation was 2.5% in May 2006, up from 2.4% in April. A
year earlier the rate was 2.0%. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in May 2006.
EU25 annual inflation was 2.4% in May 2006, up from 2.3% in April. A year
earlier the rate was 2.0%. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in May 2006. EICP
annual inflation was 2.4% in May 2006. These figures come from Eurostat. In
May 2006, the lowest annual rates were observed in Poland (1.5%), Finland
(1.7%), the Netherlands (1.8%) and Sweden (1.9%), and the highest rates in
Latvia (7.1%), Slovakia (4.8%), Estonia (4.6%) and Spain (4.1%). Compared
with April 2006, annual inflation rose in seventeen Member States, remained
stable in five and fell in two. The lowest 12-month averages4 up to May
2006 were in Finland (1.1%), Sweden (1.2%), Poland (1.3%) and the
Netherlands (1.6%); the highest were in Latvia (6.9%), Estonia (4.2%),
Luxembourg (3.9%) and Spain (3.7%).
[11] PIB par habitant en 2005 - Le PIB par habitant varie de un cinq
parmi les Etats membres de l’UE25
Les premières estimations des parités de pouvoir d’achat (PPA) pour
l’année 2005 sont maintenant disponibles. Basé sur ces premières
estimations, le PIB par habitant au Luxembourg a été plus de deux fois
supérieur la moyenne de l’UE25 en 2005. L’Irlande était près de
40% au-dessus de la moyenne, tandis que le Danemark, les Pays-Bas,
l’Autriche et la Belgique se situaient environ 20% au-dessus de la
moyenne. Le Royaume-Uni et la Suède étaient 15% au-dessus de la moyenne,
et la Finlande, l’Allemagne et la France environ 10% au-dessus de la
moyenne. L’Italie et l’Espagne se situaient autour de la moyenne de
l’UE25. À Chypre, en Grèce et en Slovénie, le PIB par habitant était
environ 20% inférieur la moyenne de l’UE25. La République tchèque,
le Portugal et Malte se situaient environ 30% en dessous de la moyenne et
la Hongrie et l’Estonie environ 40% en dessous de la moyenne. La
Slovaquie, la Lituanie, la Pologne et la Lettonie se situaient environ la
moitié de la moyenne de l’UE25. Ces données de PIB par habitant,
exprimées en standards de pouvoir d’achat4 (SPA) sont publiées par
Eurostat.
[12] Commission clears acquisition of Lind by Inchcape
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Lind Automotive Group Ltd
(Lind) of the UK by Inchcape plc, also of the UK. Inchcape is active in the
retail and servicing of motor vehicles, financial services and vehicle
fleet solutions. Lind sells and services motor vehicles The operation was
examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
[13] Commission clears acquisition of Vopak ITC by Mitsui and Vopak
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of Vopak ITC of the US by
Mitsui & Co (Mitsui) of the US and Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (Vopak) of The
Netherlands. Mitsui trades in commodities, including power and energy-
related products; iron and steel. Vopak operates tank terminals for the
storage of crude oil, petroleum products, chemicals, LPG and vegetable oils,
the inland waterway transportation of these products and the provision of
related services. The joint venture, Vopak ITC, will provide storage
facilities and related services in North America for chemicals,
petrochemicals, LPG, petrochemicals and petroleum products as well as
pipeline and other distribution systems. The operation was examined under
the simplified merger review procedure.
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Discours de J. Barrot “L’Europe spatiale en marche” au International
Independent Institute for Space & Satellite Solution Paris
Speech by Benita Ferrero-Waldner « Europa und Lateinamerika – Die
Zukkunft unserer Strategischen Partnerschaft” at the
Albert-Ludwigs-Universitât Freiburg, Colloquium Politicum in Freiburg
Rediffusion: Discours du Président Barroso au Parlement européen en vue
du Conseil européen des 15 et 16 juin 2006 Strasbourg
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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