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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 04-05-17
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission secures guarantees for protecting personal data of
transatlantic air passengers
[02] Commission puts spotlight on coastal erosion
[03] CIVITAS support 17 clean urban transport projects including six cities
in the enlargement countries
[04] Mars 2004 par rapport à février 2004 : la production industrielle en
baisse de 0,2% dans la zone euro et dans l'UE25
[05] In Syria, Loyola de Palacio promotes energy as a vector for prosperity
and stability
[06] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express 17/05/2004
TXT: FR ENPDF:DOC:Midday Express 17/05/2004
[01] Commission secures guarantees for protecting personal data of
transatlantic air passengers
The European Commission has adopted a formal decision that will bring on
stream shortly new commitments by the US Government, guaranteeing
protection in the US for the personal data of transatlantic air passengers.
The decision indicates that the Commission considers that the data on air
passengers transferred to the US authorities enjoys the "adequate
protection" required under the EU's data protection Directive for data sent
to countries outside the EU. The commitments given by the US, negotiated
over the past year by the Commission with the US Department of Homeland
Security, means that less personal data from the Passenger Name Records
(PNR) of airlines are collected by the US authorities, that these are kept
for a much shorter period and that they are used for more limited purposes,
notably for the shared objective of fighting against terrorism. The
decision will enter into force once the US has signed its undertakings and
once the international agreement that will complement the adequacy decision
has been signed by the Council and the US.
[02] Commission puts spotlight on coastal erosion
Europe's coast is under growing threat from erosion. Coastal erosion is the
gradual destruction of land by the sea. A fifth of the enlarged EU's
coastline is already severely affected, with coastlines retreating by
between 0.5 and 2 metres per year, and in a few dramatic cases even by 15
metres. These are some of the findings of the most comprehensive study on
the problem of human-induced erosion ever done, "Living with Coastal
Erosion in Europe : Sediment and Space for Sustainability", which was
commissioned by the European Commission. Coastal erosion has dramatic
effects upon the environment and on human activity. It can make houses fall
into the sea and destroy roads and other infrastructure. It threatens
habitats of wildlife, the safety of people living at the coast, and
economic activities such as tourism. It is largely caused by human activity
in the form of intensive development and use of sand for construction and
engineering purposes. Rising sea levels and increasingly frequent storms
and floods have worsened the problem. To cope with it, new and sustainable
forms of coastal management are needed. The results and recommendations of
the study will feed into the EU's forthcoming "Thematic Strategy on Soil".
Tomorrow they will be discussed at an international conference in Brussels.
[03] CIVITAS support 17 clean urban transport projects including six cities
in the enlargement countries
Six cities of Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, are amongst
17 projects selected for the €50 million CIVITAS programme for the
promotion of clean urban transport. The European Commission revealed the
names of these six pilot cities in the new Member States (Debrecen, Krakow,
Ljubljana, Ploiesti, Suceava and Tallinn), to which 11 cities from the old
15 EU Member States (Burgos, Genoa, La Rochelle, Malmö, Norwich, Odense,
Potenza, Preston, Stuttgart, Toulouse and Venice) are added. "We are
particularly impressed by the quality of the projects from new members.
Cities in these countries are facing rapid increases in car-ownership and
decreases in the use of public transport. I want to encourage local
authorities in their efforts to develop and test new transition strategies
aimed at maintaining high shares of public transport use, walking and
cycling", said Loyola de Palacio, Vice-President of the Commission
responsible for energy and transport.
[04] Mars 2004 par rapport à février 2004 : la production industrielle en
baisse de 0,2% dans la zone euro et dans l'UE25
La production industrielle de la zone euro, ajustée des variations
saisonnières, a baissé de 0,2% en mars 2004 par rapport à février 2004,
selon les estimations publiées aujourd'hui par Eurostat. La production
avait augmenté de 0,4% en février 2004, après une baisse de 0,4% en
janvier. La production de l'UE25 a également diminué de 0,2% en mars 2004,
après une augmentation de 0,2% en février et une baisse de 0,1% en janvier.
Par rapport à mars 2003, la production industrielle a progressé en mars
2004 de 1,0% dans la zone euro et de 1,4% dans l'UE25.
[05] In Syria, Loyola de Palacio promotes energy as a vector for prosperity
and stability
European Commission Vice-President Loyola de Palacio visited Syria from 14-
17 May to discuss the future place of Syria in the regional energy networks
and its connection with the European Union energy markets, in the framework
of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.
[06] Autre matériel diffusé
EU/US aviation negotiations go ahead (15/05)
Speech by David Byrne : "Working towards good health for all" at the Open
Health Forum
Discours de M. Bolkestein : "Le partenariat public privé et les
concessions: la parole est aux acteurs" (! embargo 17h30 !)
Speech by Pascal Lamy : "The WTO volcano smoking again" at the OECD
Ministerial (14/05, Paris)
Speech by Franz Fischler : "Moving the WTO agricultural negotiations
forward" at the OECD Ministerial (14/05, Paris)
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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