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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 06-10-31
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] President Barroso presents the Commissioner designate for Romania
[02] Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, 4-
8 November 2006
[03] Afghanistan: Commission provides €2.5 million in humanitarian aid
for victims affected by drought
[04] Appointment of the Head of the Representation of the European
Commission in the Czech Republic
[05] October 2006: Economic sentiment improves again in both the EU and the
euro area
[06] October 2006: Business Climate Indicator for the euro area broadly
stable in October
[07] Commission clears acquisition of Pokrovsky Hills by Deutsche Bank and
AIG
[08] Flash estimate - October 2006 - Euro area inflation estimated at 1.6%
[09] Rédiffusion
[10] High Level Group looks at Europe’s long term energy future and
related investment needs
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2006-10-31
Reference: MEX/06/1031
Date: 31/10/2006
EXME06 / 31.10
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
31/10/06
[01] President Barroso presents the Commissioner designate for Romania
The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, today
presented the member designate of the European Commission proposed by the
Romanian Government, in agreement with him. The nominee is Mr Leonard Orban,
currently Secretary of State coordinating Romania’s preparation for
accession to the European Union. Mr Orban will be responsible for
multilingualism.
[02] Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, 4-
8 November 2006
The European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood
Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, will visit Uruguay on 4-5 November,
Argentina on 6 November and Chile on 7-8 November 2006. In Montevideo, the
Commissioner will participate in the XVI Iberoamerican Summit of Heads of
State and Government and will hold bilateral meetings with key leaders. She
will also sign an aviation agreement with Uruguay. In Argentina and Chile,
Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner will meet senior representatives of the
government of each country. In Argentina she will also participate in the
Mercosur-EU Business Forum.
[03] Afghanistan: Commission provides €2.5 million in humanitarian aid
for victims affected by drought
The European Commission has adopted a €2.5 million decision in emergency
humanitarian aid for victims affected by severe drought in Afghanistan.
Access to food and clean water supplies, as well as food security will be
improved for the most vulnerable populations, with a particular focus on
disabled persons and female headed households. Funds are channelled through
the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) under the
responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel.
[04] Appointment of the Head of the Representation of the European
Commission in the Czech Republic
Today, the European Commission has appointed Ms Irena Moozová the head of
the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic. The
Representation is part of the Directorate-General Communication and its
task is to act on behalf of the European Commission in the Czech Republic.
The main role of the Representation is to co-operate with the media,
monitor political, economical and social development of the Czech Republic,
inform the European Commission about the recent events in the Czech
Republic and to inform the public. Irena Moozová has been selected from
more than sixty candidates who participated in the competition. Until
August 2006, Ms Moozová worked as the permanent representative of the
Czech Republic to UNESCO. Having graduated from the Faculty of Law of the
Charles University in Prague and the Diplomatic Academy in Madrid, she
worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1991, first as an assistant
of the Secretary General (1991), later as a deputy director of the general
secretariat (1992) and as a director of the Department of Internal
Administration (1993 - 1995). In 1995 she was appointed the Deputy
Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Madrid. After she returned to the Czech
Republic in 1998 she worked as a Deputy Director at the Department of Human
Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998 – 2000). From 2000 to
2004 she lived in Vienna working as a Deputy Ambassador of the Permanent
Representation of the Czech Republic at OSCE. Irena Moozová was born on
March 19, 1963 in Prague. She is married and has two children. She has an
excellent command of English, Spanish, Russian and she also communicates in
French and German.
[05] October 2006: Economic sentiment improves again in both the EU and the
euro area
The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in both the EU and the euro area
continued to rise in October, reaching the highest levels since the
beginning of 2001. The indicator rose by 0.5 points in the EU and by 1
point in the euro area, to 111.5 and 110.3, respectively. In both areas,
sentiment has been on an upward trend since mid-2005.
[06] October 2006: Business Climate Indicator for the euro area broadly
stable in October
After an increase in September, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for
the euro area remained broadly stable in October. The BCI stays at a very
high level, last achieved in 2000. The high level of the BCI together with
the rebound in industrial production registered in August suggests that
industrial production growth has accelerated in the third quarter of 2006.
[07] Commission clears acquisition of Pokrovsky Hills by Deutsche Bank and
AIG
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of the assets and business
of the residential property complex in Moscow commonly known as Pokrovsky
Hills by Deutsche Bank AG of Germany and American International Group, Inc.
(AIG) of the US. Deutsche Bank is active in a variety of banking activities,
including deposit and lending operations, issuing business, asset
management, investment banking and financial services. AIG provides
insurance and financial services. The operation was examined under the
simplified merger review procedure.
[08] Flash estimate - October 2006 - Euro area inflation estimated at 1.6%
Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.6% in October 2006 according
to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat. It was 1.7% in September. Euro area
inflation is measured by the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices
(MUICP). To compute the MUICP flash estimates, Eurostat uses early price
information relating to the reference month from Member States for which
data are available as well as early information about energy prices. The
flash estimation procedure for the MUICP combines historical information
with partial information on price developments in the most recent months to
give a total index for the euro area. No detailed breakdown is available.
Experience has shown the procedure to be reliable (14 times exactly
anticipating the inflation rate, 9 times differing by 0.1 and once
differing by 0.2, in January 2005, over the last two years). Further
information can be found in Eurostat News Release 113/2001 of 5 November
2001.
[09] Rédiffusion
[10] High Level Group looks at Europe’s long term energy future and
related investment needs
Today the High Level Group (HLG) on Competitiveness, Energy and the
Environment adopted its second report, which looks at the long term energy
future for Europe and investment in power generation and energy efficiency.
It includes a number of concrete recommendations on how policy options can
be developed to deliver a sustainable, low carbon, and competitive energy
system for Europe’s future. Composed of high level stakeholders, the HLG
looks at ways to foster consistency between policy and legislative
initiatives and to contribute to creating a more stable, predictable and
competitive regulatory framework (see IP/06/244, IP/06/226 and IP/06/729).
[11] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Andris Piebalgs « EU and Russian Energy Strategies » at the
EU-Russia Energy Dialogue Conference in Moscow
Speech by Joaquín Almunia “Jobs in Europe need Economic growth and
monetary stability” at the Bavarian Business Forum in Munich
Speech by President Barroso “A European Strategy for energy: closing
speech” at the Conferência DN in Lisbon
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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