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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 07-06-18
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Member States fail to implement EU legislation to combat corruption in
the private sector
[02] Commission clears acquisition of Alliance Boots by KKR and Stefano
Pessina
[03] Commission clears acquisition of SER by Iberdrola and api
[04] Further strengthening EU-Ukraine bilateral relations : visa
facilitation and readmission agreements are signed today
[05] EU will withdraw GSP trade preferences from Belarus over workers'
rights violations
[06] La Commission et la FAA lancent un plan d'action transatlantique pour
la réduction des émissions
[07] EU and Russia agree to set up aeronautics research cooperation
[08] Responsabilité des contrôleurs des comptes : la Commission publie
les résultats de la consultation sur une réforme éventuelle des régimes
de responsabilité dans l'UE
[09] Statutory minimum wages in euro varied by one to seventeen across the
EU ; variation of one to seven taking account of differences in purchasing
power
[10] Joe Borg : NEAFC review sets standard for other fisheries management
organisations
[11] Information society focus for Danuta Hübner's visit to Polish port of
Gdansk
[12] Andris Piebalgs welcomes the agreement between the Czech and Slovak
Republics to co-host a new Forum on Nuclear Energy
[13] Andris Piebalgs opens the 1st European Wind Day with a strong call for
more renewables in the EU
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2007-06-18
Reference: MEX/07/0618
Date: 18/06/2007
EXME07 / 18.6
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
18/06/07
[01] Member States fail to implement EU legislation to combat corruption in
the private sector
Today the European Commission adopted a report on the implementation of
Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA of 22 July 2003 on combating
corruption in the private sector. This report finds that most Member States
have not yet criminalised all circumstances in which corruption may occur
in the private sector.
[02] Commission clears acquisition of Alliance Boots by KKR and Stefano
Pessina
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Alliance Boots plc of the
UK by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, L.P. (KKR) of the US and Mr Stefano
Pessina of the UK, through an investment vehicle, AB Acquisitions Limited.
KKR is a private equity investment company. Stefano Pessina is a
shareholder and Executive Deputy Chairman of Alliance Boots. Alliance Boots
is active in the wholesaling of pharmaceutical products and retailing of
health and beauty products. The operation was examined under the simplified
merger review procedure.
[03] Commission clears acquisition of SER by Iberdrola and api
The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger
Regulation to the acquisition of joint control of Societ Energie
Rinnovabili S.r.l. (SER) of Italy by Iberdrola S.A of Spain and api holding
S.p.A. (api) of Italy. Iberdrola generates, distributes, supplies and
trades electricity and supplies natural gas. api is active in the
commercialisation and distribution of oil products and the generation and
wholesale supply of electricity in Italy. SER generates and supplies
electricity from wind power in Italy. The operation was examined under the
simplified merger review procedure.
[04] Further strengthening EU-Ukraine bilateral relations : visa
facilitation and readmission agreements are signed today
In the margins of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council that is taking place
today, EU and Ukraine will make a concrete step forward in their bilateral
relations, signing two agreements on visa facilitation and readmission. The
signature of these agreements follows the official start of the
negotiations on a new Enhanced Agreement reflecting the strategic
importance of developing EU-Ukraine relations.
[05] EU will withdraw GSP trade preferences from Belarus over workers'
rights violations
In December 2006 the EU warned that it would have to withdraw Belarus'
trade preferences under the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) if
Belarus did not comply with its International Labour Organisation (ILO)
obligations relating to freedom of association for workers. On 15 June 2007,
the ILO adopted its assessment that Belarus has not acted to ensure the
protection of certain key labour rights related to freedom of association
in Belarus. Belarus' GSP trade preferences will be therefore be withdrawn
from 21 June 2007.
[06] La Commission et la FAA lancent un plan d'action transatlantique pour
la réduction des émissions
Jacques Barrot, vice-président de la Commission européenne en charge des
transports, et Marion Blakey, administrateur de la Federal Aviation
Administration des Etats-Unis, lancent aujourd'hui, en présence de
représentants de l'industrie aéronautique, une initiative transatlantique
pour la réduction des émissions sous le nom d'AIRE.
[07] EU and Russia agree to set up aeronautics research cooperation
Today at the Paris Air Show, the EU and Russia will sign an agreement to
work together more closely in the field of aeronautics research. As part of
the overall objective of creating a EU-Russia common space of research and
education, an Aeronautics Research working group will be set up, joining
others in areas such as energy, food, life sciences and nanotechnologies.
The working group will build on the good experience of EU-Russia
collaboration in the Sixth Research Framework Programme, as well as two
high-level workshops, to increase the potential for partnerships within the
Seventh Research Framework Programme.
[08] Responsabilité des contrôleurs des comptes : la Commission publie
les résultats de la consultation sur une réforme éventuelle des régimes
de responsabilité dans l'UE
La Commission européenne publie un résumé des 85 réponses
apportées dans le cadre de la consultation publique sur une réforme
possible des régimes de responsabilité des contrôleurs des comptes dans
l'UE, lancée en janvier 2007 (IP/07/60). Cette consultation faisait suite
une étude indépendante sur les répercussions économiques des régimes
de responsabilité actuels des auditeurs et sur la situation en matière
d'assurance dans les Etats membres.
[09] Statutory minimum wages in euro varied by one to seventeen across the
EU ; variation of one to seven taking account of differences in purchasing
power
In January 2007, 20 of the 27 Member States of the EU had national
legislation setting statutory minimum wages. They varied widely, from €92
per month in Bulgaria to €1,570 per month in Luxembourg. When adjusted to
take into account differences in purchasing power, the disparities between
the Member States are reduced from a range of one to seventeen (in euro),
to a range of one to seven (in PPS) with Luxembourg (1503 PPS per month)
the highest and Romania (204 PPS) the lowest. It should be noted that the
proportion of employees receiving the minimum wage also differs greatly
between Member States, ranging from less than 1% in Spain to 17% in France.
These figures are published by Eurostat.
[10] Joe Borg : NEAFC review sets standard for other fisheries management
organisations
"The North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission should be congratulated for
undertaking an independent performance review, as recommended by the UN
General Assembly last December. This is an essential step towards
strengthening these Fisheries Organisations and enabling them to be
effective in protecting fish stocks on the high seas. I hope that others
will follow NEAFC's lead and launch similar reviews", commented Joe Borg,
European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs. NEAFC is the
first RFMO to have commissioned an independent review of its activities.
The conclusions of this review were presented last week at an extraordinary
meeting held in London. Several of the critical points made by the review
panel have already been addressed by NEAFC, and others were the subject of
proposals to the meeting. Commissioner Borg also congratulated NEAFC on the
success of its list of vessels identified as engaging in illegal fishing
activities. NEAFC noted that 15 vessels out of the 20 on the list have
since been effectively taken out of operation. The NEAFC meeting agreed to
extend the ban on fishing for orange roughly to the end of the year, and
adopted interim management measures for the recently-developed fishery for
pelagic redfish in the Norwegian Sea. The Commission would have liked to
see the application of a more precautionary approach to the redfish fishery
but acknowledged that the introduction of the new measures is encouraging.
On 1 May NEAFC contracting parties began to enforce the groundbreaking port
state control system which makes the landing of frozen fish in an EU port
impossible unless the vessel concerned has the necessary clearance from its
flag state (see IP/07/640).
[11] Information society focus for Danuta Hübner's visit to Polish port of
Gdansk
Information and Communication Technology is the theme for European
Commissioner Danuta Hübner's visit to the Polish port of Gdansk, capital
of the Pomorskie region, on 18 June. She will address a conference on the
role of new technologies in creating jobs, as well as discussing the
region's Operational Programme for 2007-2013 period with local authorities.
[12] Andris Piebalgs welcomes the agreement between the Czech and Slovak
Republics to co-host a new Forum on Nuclear Energy
European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs welcomed on 15 June the
agreement reached by the Czech and Slovak governments to co-host the new
"EU Nuclear Energy Forum", a structure for open and transparent dialogue on
nuclear issues. This Forum, proposed by the Commission and endorsed by the
European Council in 9th March, will meet twice per year, alternatively in
Bratislava and in Prague. "The EU Nuclear Energy Forum will be fundamental
to structure an open debate without any taboo on this source of energy.
With their generous offer the Czech and Slovak governments have taken an
important step forward to put on the table the challenges and the
opportunities of nuclear energy in full transparency", Commissioner
Piebalgs said. The European Council of 9th March approved the 10th January
proposal of the Commission to create a discussion Forum on nuclear energy
which would allow all the relevant stakeholders to hold an open and
transparent debate on nuclear energy. Similar forums exist already for
electricity (Florence), gas (Madrid), fossil fuels (Berlin) and renewable
and energy efficiency (Amsterdam). Prague and Bratislava had expressed
their interest to host the Nuclear Forum, and it will be the first time
that an energy forum is co-hosted by two countries. It is also the first
Energy Forum to be hosted in new Member States. Bratislava will host the
first meeting of the Forum for which no date has been yet decided.
[13] Andris Piebalgs opens the 1st European Wind Day with a strong call for
more renewables in the EU
European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs inaugurated on 15 June the
first European Wind Day by breaking a bottle of champagne to a wind
generator installed on the occasion in the centre of the European quarter
in Brussels. "If we want to reach the ambitious European target for
Renewable Sources of Energy we need to develop state of the art technology.
The wind generator installed in Rond Point Schuman is a good example of
this: it shows the citizens that wind energy is not dangerous and can
produce clean energy in a safe and sustainable way", said Commissioner
Piebalgs.
[14] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Joaquín Almunia : "Euro-med partnership: environmental challenge
as a driver for economic transition" at 11th Euro-Mediterranean Economic
Transition Conference
Speech by Janez Potočnik : "Knowledge – the borderless commodity" at the
first Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Higher Education and
Scientific Research (Cairo)
Speech by Danuta Hübner : "Inwestycje w nowe technologie motorem rozwoju
regionalnego" (Gdańsk)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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