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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 07-04-30
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] EU and US to sign up to transatlantic economic integration plan at
Washington Summit on 30 April
[02] Coup d'accélérateur sur le marché des carburants durables : la
Commission lance une consultation publique sur les biocarburants
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Dresser by Carlyle Riverstone and
First Reserve
[04] Commission clears proposed acquisition of UGS by Siemens
[05] New test eliminates need for skin irritancy tests on rabbits
[06] April 2007 : Economic sentiment stabilises at a high level in both the
EU and the euro area
[07] April 2007 : Business Climate Indicator for the euro area continues to
rise in April
[08] Estimation rapide - avril 2007 : l'inflation de la zone euro estimée
à 1,8%
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2007-04-30
Reference: MEX/07/0430
Date: 30/04/2007
EXME07 / 30.4
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
30/04/07
[01] EU and US to sign up to transatlantic economic integration plan at
Washington Summit on 30 April
The annual EU-US Summit at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday 30
April will mark the adoption of a new framework for promoting transatlantic
economic integration. The two-hour Summit, followed by a working lunch,
will also deal with a full agenda of other issues such as Kosovo, working
together to support the Middle East peace process, tackling climate change,
and boosting energy security through the search for sustainable new
resources and credible energy efficiency measures. The EU side will be
asking the US to extend its Visa Waiver Programme to citizens of all Member
States so that EU citizens, like American ones, can cross the Atlantic
freely.
[02] Coup d'accélérateur sur le marché des carburants durables : la
Commission lance une consultation publique sur les biocarburants
La Commission européenne a lancé une consultation publique concernant les
biocarburants dans la nouvelle législation sur la promotion de l'énergie
renouvelable. Y sont notamment abordés les moyens d'obtenir une part de
biocarburants de 10% et de garantir la viabilité environnementale. Cette
consultation fait suite à la nouvelle politique énergétique pour l'Europe,
récemment adoptée, qui propose notamment un objectif contraignant de 20%
d'énergies renouvelables dans la consommation énergétique totale de l'UE
d’ici 2020 et un objectif contraignant de 10% de biocarburants dans les
transports. La consultation a pour but d'aider la Commission à élaborer
des propositions permettant de traduire ces objectifs sous une forme
législative.
[03] Commission clears acquisition of Dresser by Carlyle Riverstone and
First Reserve
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of Dresser Inc. of the US by
Carlyle Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund III, LP., (Carlyle/Riverstone)
of the US, jointly owned by Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings LLC both
of the US, and First Reserve Corporation (First Reserve) of the US. Carlyle
and Riverstone are private equity companies and Carlyle/Riverstone is a
private equity fund. First Reserve is also a private equity company.
Dresser is a global producer of energy infrastructure, oilfield products
and services. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review
procedure.
[04] Commission clears proposed acquisition of UGS by Siemens
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the
proposed acquisition of UGS, a US company active in product life-cycle
management software solutions, by Siemens AG of Germany. The Commission
concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective
competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it.
[05] New test eliminates need for skin irritancy tests on rabbits
The Scientific Advisory Committee of European Centre for the Validation of
Alternative Methods (ECVAM) has announced on 27 April the validation of
five new "in-vitro" tests, which take an important step towards ending the
practice of using rabbits in skin and eye irritancy testing. These tests
will apply to many everyday products such as washing-up liquid, face cream
or make-up, and also literally thousands of industrial chemicals that will
have to be assessed under the new REACH chemicals legislation. One of the
validated tests mimics human skin and predicts the skin irritancy potential
of chemicals with great accuracy and precision and will therefore fully
replace tests on rabbits. Two other tests can identify severe eye irritants,
thereby avoiding the need to use the live rabbit eye test. Furthermore, a
new validated test strategy for skin allergy cuts animal use by half saving
up to 240,000 mice in the implementation of the REACH legislation. These
tests, validated by a committee composed of nominees from the EU Member
States, industry, academia and animal welfare, must now be accepted by
regulatory authorities and in the Member States. The role of ECVAM, which
is based at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre is to replace,
refine and reduce methods of animal testing for cosmetics, drugs and
chemicals.
[06] April 2007 : Economic sentiment stabilises at a high level in both the
EU and the euro area
The Economic Sentiment Indicator remained broadly stable at a high level in
both the EU and the euro area in April. The indicator edged down by 0.2 of
a point in the EU and by 0.1 of a point in the euro area, to 113.6 and
111.0 respectively.
[07] April 2007 : Business Climate Indicator for the euro area continues to
rise in April
After levelling off in March, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the
euro area picked up again slightly in April, to reach an all-time high.
This augurs well for continued strong industrial production growth in the
first two quarters of 2007, in line with the pick-up recorded in February.
The slight increase in the BCI in April is due to improvements in managers'
views on total order books, production trend observed in recent months and
production expectations for the months ahead. Managers' assessment of their
stocks of finished products and export order books remained stable.
[08] Estimation rapide - avril 2007 : l'inflation de la zone euro estimée
à 1,8%
Selon une estimation rapide publiée par Eurostat, le taux d'inflation
annuel de la zone euro s'établirait à 1,8% en avril 2007. En mars, le taux
était de 1,9%. L'inflation de la zone euro est mesurée par l'Indice des
Prix à la Consommation de l'Union Monétaire (IPCUM). Des informations
complémentaires sont disponibles dans le communiqué d'Eurostat 113/2001
du 5 novembre 2001.
[09] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by President José Manuel Barroso : "Strengthening the Transatlantic
Economy" at Business Forum (27/04, New York)
Speech by Joe Borg : "Current challenges in the Common Fisheries Policy:
Dialogue with stakeholders" at annual general meeting of the Danish
Fishermen Association (27/04, Denmark)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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