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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 07-09-26
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[I] Résultats de la Commission du 25 septembre 2007 - Outcome of
Commission meeting of 25 September
[01] Mobilité urbaine : agir ensemble pour une ville plus verte
[02] Commission issues final report on Business Insurance Sector Inquiry
[03] Commission opens investigation into possible aid for privatisation of
Romanian company Tractorul
[04] La Commission ouvre une enquête sur des aides éventuelles de la
Roumanie à Mittal Steel Roman
[05] Commission opens investigation into restructuring aid to Italian
textile producer Legler
[06] La Commission conclut que la garantie accordée par l'Etat français
en faveur de TVO, l'exploitant finlandais de centrales nucléaires, ne
constitue pas une aide
[07] Bluefin tuna fisheries : Commission opens infringement procedures
against 7 Member States
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[08] Leonard Orban, commissaire au multilinguisme : "Le nombre de jeunes
qui apprennent des langues étrangères est plus élevé qu'autrefois et
ils commencent bien plus tôt que leurs parents"
[09] Commission launches a Have Your Say corner and an on-line consultation
on multilingualism
[10] Recommandations du Groupe de haut niveau sur le multilinguisme pour
encourager l'étude des langues
[11] Commission approves proposed acquisition of BASF's animal feed premix
business by Nutreco
[12] La Commission autorise le projet d'acquisition de DSI Holding par CVC
[13] Benita Ferrero-Waldner on the situation in Burma/Myanmar
[14] European Group on Ethics held a public roundtable debate on the issues
related to Animal Cloning for Food Supply
[15] International Day of Tourism - Women make up 56% of those employed in
the hotels and restaurants sector in the EU27 compared with 44% in the
whole economy
[16] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2007-09-26
Reference: MEX/07/0926
Date: 26/09/2007
EXME07 / 26.9
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
26/09/07
[I] Résultats de la Commission du 25 septembre 2007 - Outcome of
Commission meeting of 25 September
[01] Mobilité urbaine : agir ensemble pour une ville plus verte
"Vers une nouvelle culture de la mobilité urbaine" est le titre du Livre
vert adopté par la Commission européenne pour débattre des principaux
enjeux de la mobilité urbaine : des villes fluides et moins polluées, une
mobilité urbaine plus intelligente et un transport urbain accessible, sûr
et sécurisant pour tous les citoyens européens. Avec ce Livre vert, la
Commission souhaite recenser, en partenariat avec toutes les parties, les
entraves actuelles à une bonne mobilité urbaine et les moyens de les
éliminer.
[02] Commission issues final report on Business Insurance Sector Inquiry
The European Commission has adopted the final report of the competition
inquiry on the business insurance sector. Building on the interim report of
January 2007, a wide public consultation and extensive further fact-finding,
the final report raises concerns about the operation of two areas of
business insurance. First, long-standing and widespread industry practices
in the reinsurance and coinsurance markets involving the alignment of
premiums, which may lead to higher prices for large risk commercial
insurance. The report leaves open the question of whether these constitute
infringements of the prohibition on restrictive business practices (Article
81), but invites the industry either to justify the business practices
concerned under the competition rules, or to reform them. Second, the
Commission also confirms its concerns as to transparency of remuneration
and conflicts of interest in insurance brokerage which may inflate prices
and reduce choice, in particular for SMEs. The Commission will further
explore this issue during the review of the Insurance Mediation Directive
(2002/92/EC).
[03] Commission opens investigation into possible aid for privatisation of
Romanian company Tractorul
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation under EC Treaty
state aid rules into possible aid in the context of the privatisation of
tractor producer Tractorul and its sale to Flavus Investments SRL in July
2007. The Commission has also required Romania to suspend the -granting of
any unlawful aid until the Commission takes a decision on the compatibility
of the aid. The Romanian authorities attached specific conditions to the
privatisation, in particular the maintenance of the current activity for 10
years and the rehiring of former employees of Tractorul. The Commission has
to verify whether these conditions resulted in a lower sales price than if
the privatisation had been unconditional, in which case there could be some
element of state aid. The opening of an investigation gives interested
parties the possibility to comment on the measures under examination. It
does not prejudge the outcome of the procedure.
[04] La Commission ouvre une enquête sur des aides éventuelles de la
Roumanie à Mittal Steel Roman
La Commission européenne a ouvert une procédure formelle d'examen, en
application des règles du traité CE relatives aux aides d'Etat,
concernant des aides éventuelles accordées à Mittal Steel Roman,
anciennement Petrotub, pour un montant total de €26 millions. L'enquête
portera notamment sur le fait que plusieurs organismes publics ont accepté
de renoncer à une partie des dettes non acquittées et de les
rééchelonner lors de la privatisation de l'entreprise en 2003. La
Commission doit vérifier si ces renonciations et rééchelonnements
répondent au critère de l'opérateur en économie de marché, c'est-à -
dire si la privatisation a été plus favorable du point de vue économique
pour les pouvoirs publics que la liquidation de l'entreprise. L'ouverture
de la procédure formelle d'examen donne aux parties intéressées
l'occasion de commenter les mesures soumises à examen. Cela ne préjuge en
rien l'issue de la procédure.
[05] Commission opens investigation into restructuring aid to Italian
textile producer Legler
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation under EC Treaty
state aid rules into a series of aids amounting to €40.7 million that
Italy intends to grant to Legler S.p.A, a denim textile producer. The
Commission doubts at this stage that the restructuring plan of Legler
S.p.A. would restore the beneficiary's commercial viability and is
concerned that the aid would create undue distortions of competition in
this highly competitive market. The opening of the formal investigation
gives interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed
measures. It does not prejudge the outcome of the procedure.
[06] La Commission conclut que la garantie accordée par l'Etat français
en faveur de TVO, l'exploitant finlandais de centrales nucléaires, ne
constitue pas une aide
La Commission européenne a mis fin à une enquête approfondie, en
application des règles du traité CE relatives aux aides d'Etat, concluant
qu'une garantie du gouvernement français concernant un prêt consenti au
producteur finlandais d'électricité TVO ne constituait pas une aide
d'Etat. Le prêt garanti finance l'achat par TVO d'une partie d'une
centrale nucléaire à la société française AREVA NP (anciennement
Framatome). La Commission a estimé que la garantie ne conférerait aucun
avantage à TVO. D'une part, la Commission est arrivée à la conclusion
selon laquelle TVO disposait d'un accès suffisant aux marchés financiers
pour financer l'ensemble du projet sans intervention publique. Le
financement du projet ne dépend donc pas de la garantie d'Etat. D'autre
part, la prime de garantie versée par TVO aux autorités françaises n'est
pas inférieure aux prix du marché.
[07] Bluefin tuna fisheries : Commission opens infringement procedures
against 7 Member States
The European Commission has opened infringement procedures against the
seven Member States which take part in the EU bluefin tuna fishery in the
eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Letters of formal notice have been
sent to Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain for
failings in their obligation to send catch data to the Commission. In the
case of France and Italy, the infringement procedure also concerns
shortcomings in their control in this fishery. Member States have a month
to respond to the Commission. Last week, the Commission closed the EU
bluefin fishery until the end of 2007 as the EU quota for this year has
been exhausted (see IP/07/1355). Bluefin tuna is dwindling due to years of
over fishing. It is imperative that the international recovery plan, agreed
last year by the international Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic
Tunas (ICCAT), be urgently and fully implemented by all fishing parties.
[II] Other news - Autres nouvelles
[08] Leonard Orban, commissaire au multilinguisme : "Le nombre de jeunes
qui apprennent des langues étrangères est plus élevé qu'autrefois et
ils commencent bien plus tôt que leurs parents"
Le 25 septembre, la Commission européenne a adopté un rapport sur la mise
en Å“uvre du plan d'action 2004-2006 "Promouvoir l'apprentissage des
langues et la diversité linguistique". Ce rapport conclut que la quasi-
totalité des Etats membres ont amélioré l'enseignement des langues,
notamment en faveur des plus jeunes. Au niveau du secondaire,
l'enseignement de deux langues étrangères est proposé à un nombre plus
élevé d'étudiants, mais pas dans tous les Etats membres. Le rapport
relève en outre quelques faiblesses dans l'enseignement des langues
dispensé aux adultes.
[09] Commission launches a Have Your Say corner and an on-line consultation
on multilingualism
The consultation process on multilingualism has entered a new phase:
consultation with stakeholders and the general public. An online
consultation has been launched and a Have Your Say corner is also available
on Commissioner Leonard Orban's website. So far, the consultation has
included dialogue with governments and authorities from Member States, with
multilingualism experts and with intellectuals and companies.
[10] Recommandations du Groupe de haut niveau sur le multilinguisme pour
encourager l'étude des langues
Le Groupe de haut niveau sur le multilinguisme a remis aujourd'hui à M.
Leonard Orban son rapport définitif, assorti de recommandations. Créé
dans le prolongement d'une communication de la Commission européenne
publiée en 2005 sous le titre 'Un nouveau cadre stratégique pour le
multilinguisme', ce groupe, qui se compose de onze spécialistes venus des
quatre coins de l'Europe, a été chargé "de dispenser aide et conseils
pour l'élaboration d'initiatives, de donner un nouvel élan et d'apporter
des idées nouvelles (...) pour une approche globale du multilinguisme dans
l'Union européenne".
[11] Commission approves proposed acquisition of BASF's animal feed premix
business by Nutreco
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the
proposed acquisition of parts of the animal feed premix business of the
German company BASF Aktiengesellschaft by Dutch based Nutreco. After
examining the operation, the Commission concluded that the transaction
would not significantly impede effective competition in the European
Economic Area or any substantial part of it.
[12] La Commission autorise le projet d'acquisition de DSI Holding par CVC
La Commission européenne a donné son feu vert, en application du
règlement européen sur les concentrations, au projet de rachat de DSI
Holding GmbH (Allemagne) par CVC Capital Partners Group SÃ rl (Luxembourg).
Après examen, la Commission est parvenue à la conclusion que l'opération
n'entraverait pas de manière significative une concurrence effective dans
l'Espace économique européen ou une partie substantielle de celui-ci.
[13] Benita Ferrero-Waldner on the situation in Burma/Myanmar
On the situation in Burma/Myanmar European Commissioner for External
Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said
on 25Â September : "I follow the peaceful protests by Buddhist monks and
civilian supporters in Burma/Myanmar very closely and I am concerned by the
increasing military presence on the streets. The demonstrators are merely
using their inalienable right of freedom of expression. The situation of
the population is dire. I urge the government of Burma/Myanmar to exercise
maximum restraint. I am very supportive of the "good offices" by the UN
Secretary General and his Special Envoy, Prof Ibrahim Gambari. I hope that
Prof Gambari is able to visit Burma/Myanmar shortly to continue his
mission. We always expressed our wish for a genuine inclusive political
dialogue and respect for human rights. This difficult situation could be
turned into a huge opportunity for political reform. We urge the Burmese
government once again for the release of all political detainees and the
release of Aung Sang Suu Kyi and an inclusive political dialogue and
respect for human rights."
[14] European Group on Ethics held a public roundtable debate on the issues
related to Animal Cloning for Food Supply
The European Group on Ethics of science and new technologies (EGE) which
advises the European Commission on ethical aspects of science and new
technologies, is preparing an Opinion on ethics of animal cloning for food
supply (Opinion 23). Within its preparatory work on the Opinion, the EGE
held on 24 and 25 September 2007 an open roundtable debate on the issues
related to Animal Cloning for Food supply. The round table was organised by
the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA). Among the speakers were
scientific experts, ethicists, representatives of consumers' organizations,
animal welfare and industry. Participants included European Institutions,
International Organizations, representatives of religions, consumers,
animal breeding and food industry, experts of the fields, etc. Issues
discussed included: the state of the art of animal cloning, ethics
implications, animal welfare and health considerations, consumers
perspectives, animal breeding and food market, labeling and international
trade. The Proceedings of the debate will be soon available in the EGE Web
page (<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/european_group_ethics/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/european_group_ethics/index_en.htm).
[15] International Day of Tourism - Women make up 56% of those employed in
the hotels and restaurants sector in the EU27 compared with 44% in the
whole economy
The International Day of Tourism will take place on 27 September 2007. The
UN World Tourism Organisation has declared this year's Day an occasion to
celebrate women's achievements in the tourism sector and stimulate action
in support of gender equality and empowerment of women. On this occasion
Eurostat, publishes data on women's employment and earnings in relation to
men in the hotels and restaurants sector, which is closely linked to
tourism.
[16] Autre matériel diffusé
Le livre vert : "Vers une nouvelle culture de la mobilité urbaine"
Discours de M. Leonard Orban : "Le multilinguisme permet aux citoyens
européens d'exercer leurs droits démocratiques" à l'occasion de la
Journée européenne des langues
Speech by Leonard Orban : "Languages – as a game..." for the European
Languages Day (! embargo 14h00 !)
Discours de M. Leonard Orban : "Les moyens de grande information, force
motrice du multilinguisme" dans le cadre de la Journée européenne des
langues (! embargo 15h00 !)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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