|
|
|
European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 03-09-11
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Message of Romano Prodi to the Swedish government on the death of Anna
Lindh
[02] Four aid workers killed in Afghanistan
[03] Safe management of GMOs : the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety becomes
law
[04] Commission staff study points to projected trends in candidate
countries' debt ratios in the light of the 2003 fiscal notifications
[05] Commission staff study points to the main results of the April 2003
fiscal notifications presented by the candidate countries
[06] Erkki Liikanen to visit South Korea and China
[07] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 11/09/2003
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 11/09/2003
[01] Message of Romano Prodi to the Swedish government on the death of Anna
Lindh
The President of the European Commission Romano Prodi has sent this morning
the following message of condolence to the Swedish Prime Minister Goran
Persson : "The whole European Commission is in great sorrow after learning
that Ms Anna Lindh, Minister for Foreign Affairs in your government, passed
away this morning. I was filled with dismay when I heard the news of the
vicious attack of which she was a victim yesterday. I am deeply saddened
that she did not survive this brutal aggression. The members of the
Commission join me in addressing our most sincere condolences to her family,
to your government and to the whole Swedish nation. We will remember Ms
Lindh as a dedicated, courageous and intelligent politician, but first and
foremost a warm and generous person. I have worked closely with Anna for
years and liked her enormously. She has taken an active part in the
construction of our European Union and her death will be deeply regretted
by the Commission and all her European colleagues."
[02] Four aid workers killed in Afghanistan
Four Afghan aid workers were murdered on the 8th of September by a group of
suspected Taliban insurgents in Ghazni province in south eastern
Afghanistan. Five Afghans working with the Danish organisation DACAAR were
driving on a back road returning to the DACAAR field office in Makur
village in Ab Band District of Ghazni. The aid workers were pulled from
their car, tired up and riddled with bullets. Miraculously, one aid worker
survived by feigning death and is now in hospital in Kabul. DACAAR, an
international organisation with a large Afghan staff of 1,100, is one of
the European Commission's major implementing partners in rural development
projects. With support from the Commission, DACAAR has been active in
improving access to safe water for millions of Afghans a decade.
[03] Safe management of GMOs : the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety becomes
law
Today, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety enters into force. The Protocol
is designed to protect biological diversity and human health from the
potential risks arising from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by
providing a clear legal framework for their transboundary movement. The
Advanced Informed Agreement (AIA) procedure established by the Protocol
will ensure that countries can make informed decisions on whether to import
GMOs intended for introduction into the environment. Shipments of GMO
commodities will have to fulfil specific documentation requirements. The
entry into force should be an incentive for more countries to ratify the
Protocol, ensuring their participation to the First Meeting of the Parties
scheduled for February 2004 in Malaysia.
[04] Commission staff study points to projected trends in candidate
countries' debt ratios in the light of the 2003 fiscal notifications
A new study carried out by economists in the European Commission's
Directorate General of Economic and Financial Affairs develops a set of
government debt projections that relies upon the deficit and debt data
reported in April 2003 and the fiscal plans presented in the 2002 Pre-
Accession Economic Programmes (PEPs). It, thereby, takes advantage of the
further progress towards compliance with the EU methodology shown by the
2003 fiscal notifications. Due to the present absence of commonly agreed
projections on age-related expenditures, however, this study can only offer
some preliminary insights on the medium-termsustainability of public
finance in the candidate countries (CCs), and the acceding countries in
particular (ACs). To this end, after briefly recalling the current
budgetary position of the CCs and discussing some methodological issues,
the paper illustrates the projected evolution of CCs' debt to GDP ratio
under different scenarios and concludes highlighting the preliminary nature
of these remarks and suggesting areas for further work. Full document
available on: http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/enlargement_papers/elp16_en.htm
[05] Commission staff study points to the main results of the April 2003
fiscal notifications presented by the candidate countries
A new study carried out by economists in the European Commission's
Directorate General of Economic and Financial Affairs presents the
evaluations of the fiscal notifications submitted in April 2003 by the
acceding and other candidate countries. The fiscal notifications consist of
reporting to the Commission government deficit and debt figures calculated
in accordance with the EU methodology (ESA 95 system of economic accounts).
The fiscal notifications submitted annually by the acceding and other
candidate countries use the same format and consist of producing the same
data as the notifications provided by the Member States in the framework of
the Excessive Deficit Procedure. The April 2003 notifications are the third
exercise performed by the candidate countries following the April 2001 and
April 2002 submissions. Full document available on : http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/enlargement_papers/elp17_en.htm
[06] Erkki Liikanen to visit South Korea and China
European Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen
will travel to South Korea and China from 13 to 18 September 2003. The
visit to China will be an opportunity to give political impetus to the
increasingly close bilateral policy and regulatory cooperation in many
areas. In South Korea, he will have wide-ranging discussions with leaders
of government and industry. In particular, Mr Liikanen will meet with
Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je and Minister of
Commerce, Industry and Energy Yoon Jin-sik. In China, he will meet among
others, Information Industry Minister Wang Xudong, Science and Technology
Minister Xu Guanhua and Minister Ma Kai of the National Development and
Reform Commission to pursue cooperation on industrial policy issues. He
will also meet Minister Li Changjiang of the General Administration of
Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) one year after the
establishment of the successful and already mature Consultation Mechanism
between the EU and China on regulation and standards for industrial
products. Finally, he will also meet business and industry representatives
and will open the first EU-China seminar on certification issues one month
after the entry into force of the new Chinese certification system. Mr
Liikanen will also give a speech at the China National School of
Administration on e-Governance.
[07] Autre matériel diffusé
Note sur la préparation du Conseil informel Ecofin
Discours de M. Lamy : "L'Agenda pour le Développement de Doha peut-il être
à la hauteur de son nom ?" à la session plénière de la 5ème Conférence
Ministérielle de l'OMC (10/09, Cancun)
Discours de M. Lamy : "Initiative coton" à la 5ème Conférence Ministérielle
de l'OMC (10/09, Cancun)
Speech by Poul Nielson : "Current and future trends of the human rights and
democratisation agenda an EU perspective" at the 5th International
Conference of New and Restored Democracies (10/09, Ulan Baatar, Mongolia)
Discours de M. Busquin : "La coopération scientifique avec la Tunisie, clef
du partenariat euro-méditerranéen " à une rencontre avec un groupe de
chercheurs tunisiens (Tunis, ! embargo 17h15 !)
Speech by Loyola de Palacio : "EU Transport Policy : towards global growth
and sustainable mobility" at the 3rd International Conference on Transport
Europe-Asia (St Petersbourg)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
|
