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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 06-06-09
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Marché unique des transports aériens entre l'Union européenne et
Singapour
[02] EU & South East Europe: first steps towards an extended Single
Aviation Market
[03] Accord pour un corridor de fret ferroviaire haut débit
[04] L´axe ferroviaire Paris-Strasbourg-Stuttgart-Vienne-Bratislava
progresse grande vitesse
[05] Bathing Water: Large majority of beaches continues to meet EU
standards
[06] “An external EU energy policy cannot work without strong commitment
to the internal market”, says Energy Commissioner Piebalgs
[07] EU and Greenland initial new fisheries partnership agreement
[08] Energy savings: Cooperation with the USA on promoting energy efficient
office equipment
[09] European Commission and the Government of Timor-Leste sign strategic
document on their cooperation for the period 2006-2007
[10] Commission supports Ukraine to becom 37th Member Country of EUREKA
[11] EU guarantees access to air travel for people with reduced mobility
[12] First quarter 2006 compared to fourth quarter 2005 - Production in the
construction sector down by 1.3% in the euro area - Down by 0.8% in the
EU25
[13] Animal Welfare in Transport: Navigation systems up for discussion
[14] Rédiffusion
[15] Energy Council takes steps forward in developing a European Energy
Policy
[16] Ministers hail largest energy internal market in the world – Energy
Community Treaty
[17] Autre matériel diffusé
Midday Express of 2006-06-09
Reference: MEX/06/0609
Date: 09/06/2006
EXME06 / 9.6
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Communication Directorate General's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Direction Générale Communicationb
09/06/06
[01] Marché unique des transports aériens entre l'Union européenne et
Singapour
Le vice-président de la Commission européenne, Jacques Barrot, le vice
chancelier autrichien, Hubert Gorbach, et le sécrétaire d’Etat aux
finances et aux transports de Singapour, Yeo Cheow Tong, ont signé
aujourd'hui un accord dans le domaine de l'aviation qui permettra au
compagnies aériennes communautaires d'exploiter des services aériens
entre Singapour et les États membres de l'Union européenne. Singapour est
le premier pays asiatique signer un accord «horizontal» avec la
Communauté européenne dans ce domaine.
[02] EU & South East Europe: first steps towards an extended Single
Aviation Market
The European Union and Transport Ministers of South-East European partners
(Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and the United Nations
Mission in Kosovo), Iceland and Norway have opened for signature the
agreement to create a European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) in Luxembourg
today. The ECAA Agreement is the first comprehensive aviation agreement
accomplished since the adoption of a roadmap to develop the Union’s
external aviation policy. A fundamental aim of this policy is to create a
wider Common Aviation Area with neighbouring countries by 2010, starting
with the integration of South East-Europe into the single European aviation
market and continuing with the expansion of the common aviation area to the
whole neighbourhood of the EU.
[03] Accord pour un corridor de fret ferroviaire haut débit
Les Ministres de Belgique, du Luxembourg, de Suisse et de France ont signé
aujourd’hui en présence de Jacques Barrot, Vice-président de la
Commission en charge des transports, une lettre d’intention portant sur
la réalisation d’une corridor de fret ferroviaire interopérable reliant
Anvers, Bâle et Lyon grâce au système européen de signalisation ERTMS.
[04] L´axe ferroviaire Paris-Strasbourg-Stuttgart-Vienne-Bratislava
progresse grande vitesse
Les Ministres d’Allemagne, d’ Autriche de Slovaquie et de France, ont
signé une déclaration d´intention, s´engageant réaliser
l´axe ferroviaire grande vitesse « Paris-Strasbourg-Stuttgart-Vienne-
Bratislava » dans les meilleurs délais possible.
[05] Bathing Water: Large majority of beaches continues to meet EU
standards
A large majority of bathing sites across the EU-25 continued to meet EU
cleanliness standards in 2005, according to the annual bathing water report
presented by the European Commission today. However, the proportion of
compliant sites decreased slightly in coastal areas and more significantly
at inland bathing sites like lakes and rivers. Coming just before the
bathing season begins, the report provides useful water quality information
for the millions of people who visit Europe's beaches each summer. While
96% of coastal bathing sites met the mandatory standards of the EU bathing
water directive last year, the proportion of inland waters in compliance
continued to fall, decreasing by almost four percentage points to 86%.
These falls were mainly due to insufficient sampling of water quality which
counts as non compliance.
[06] “An external EU energy policy cannot work without strong commitment
to the internal market”, says Energy Commissioner Piebalgs
At the World Gas Conference in Amsterdam, Energy Commissioner Andris
Piebalgs addressed the growing role of gas in both EU and world energy
supply. He underlined the increasing importance of LNG (liquefied natural
gas), the need for a stable regulatory framework for infrastructure
investment and the compatibility of supply security and competition. The EU
is currently developing a new energy policy, which for gas is based on
three pillars: encouraging investment, a coordinated EU approach and
international cooperation.
[07] EU and Greenland initial new fisheries partnership agreement
The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union, and Greenland
have recently initialled a Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) for a
period of six years, from 1 January 2007. This fisheries agreement will
replace the current one, which has been in force since 1985. The new
Protocol under the FPA provides fishing opportunities on several species in
Greenland waters. Part will go to the EU fleet and another part will be
used for exchange of quotas with third countries to balance the EU
fisheries agreements in the North Atlantic. The annual EU financial
contribution will be € 15,847,244, of which 25% is earmarked for support
to the Greenlandic fisheries policy. In addition to the EU financial
contribution, a payment of € 2,000,000 is expected from ship owners in
the form of licence fees. Greenland will also receive € 25 million from
the EU for cooperation in areas other than fisheries. This means that, in
all, Greenland will receive the same amount as it does under the current
fisheries protocol.
[08] Energy savings: Cooperation with the USA on promoting energy efficient
office equipment
The European Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency have
successfully finalized the negotiations on a new EU-US Agreement on the
ENERGY STAR for office equipment. The new Agreement is expected to be
concluded in autumn. It provides the framework for continuing EU-US
cooperation on fostering the energy efficiency of computers, monitors,
copiers, printers, scanners and fax machines and contains new demanding and
innovative energy efficiency criteria. These cover the energy consumption
both in the standby and in the use phase, and will be further developed and
adapted to future technology and market evolution. New criteria for
computers are currently under development and will be added soon. ENERGY
STAR is part of the Community strategy to better manage energy demand,
contribute to security of energy supply and mitigate climate change.
Further information on the programme is available at <a href="http://www.eu-
energystar.org">www.eu-energystar.org.
[09] European Commission and the Government of Timor-Leste sign strategic
document on their cooperation for the period 2006-2007
The European Commission and the Government of Timor-Leste have signed today
the Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for 2006-2007. Timor-Leste ratified the
Cotonou Agreement in December 2005. The CSP foresees an envelope of € 18
million and is accompanied by a National Indicative Programme (NIP) that
identifies sustainable rural development and institutional capacity
building as the main areas for the EC cooperation in the next two years.
[10] Commission supports Ukraine to becom 37th Member Country of EUREKA
The European Commission has decided to support Ukraine’s request to join
EUREKA, a pan-European network for market-oriented, industrial research and
development. Its aim is to reinforce Europe’s competitiveness by
promoting collaborative projects which address market needs. EUREKA is open
to all European countries which accept the terms of the Declaration of
Principles, set out when EUREKA was established. The Conference of
Ministers must then give the green light to the accession, after which a
Memorandum of Understanding is signed. The European Commission, which
represents the EU in EUREKA, has therefore signalled its intention to
support Ukraine’s membership at the Conference of Ministers. For more
information on EUREKA - www.eureka.be .
[11] EU guarantees access to air travel for people with reduced mobility
The Transport Council adopted a Regulation which will guarantee people with
reduced mobility the same access to air transport as any other passenger
when flying out of European Union airports (COM(2005)47 – IP/05/182).
“These rules will enable the elderly and people with reduced mobility to
travel in Europe under the best possible conditions", said Jacques Barrot,
Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for transport. Around
10% of the European Union’s population have reduced mobility –
primarily disabled and elderly people. The Regulation now adopted by the
Council, which applies to EU and third country carriers alike, prohibits
operators from denying reservation or boarding to persons because of their
disability or age. It also guarantees them the right to receive assistance
free of charge in airports and on board aircraft. The Regulation will apply
in all Member States with effect from two years following the date of its
publication in the Official Journal, except Articles 3 (prevention of
refusal of carriage) and 4 (derogations for safety reasons), which will
apply with effect from one year following the date of publication in the
Official Journal.
[12] First quarter 2006 compared to fourth quarter 2005 - Production in the
construction sector down by 1.3% in the euro area - Down by 0.8% in the
EU25
In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production fell by 1.3% in
the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU25 in the first quarter of 2006,
compared to the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 20054,
production decreased by 0.2% in the euro area and remained stable in the
EU25. Compared to the first quarter of 2005, output in the first quarter of
2006 rose by 0.4% in both the euro area and EU25, after increases of 0.6%
and 1.1% respectively in the fourth quarter of 20054. These first estimates
are released by Eurostat.
[13] Animal Welfare in Transport: Navigation systems up for discussion
The European Commission is hosting a conference on satellite navigation
systems for road vehicles used to transport animals on long journeys, in
Varese, Italy on 12-13 June. Under the new Regulation 1/2005 on the
protection of animals during transport, which will enter into force in
January 2007, newly built vehicles transporting animals for 8 hours or more
will be required to have satellite navigation systems installed. This will
be mandatory for all vehicles used for transporting animals on long
journeys from January 2009. The satellite navigation systems will allow
Member States to improve their animal inspections and ensure that the new
animal transport legislation is being fully and properly applied. Before
the new Regulation enters into force, the Commission will propose specific
requirements for this navigation system. The aim of the conference in
Varese is to receive broad input into the technical aspects of such systems
and how they can be further developed. A wide range of stakeholders,
including European livestock traders and transporters, animal welfare
organisations and navigation system developers will participate in these
discussions. The Commission then will use the input from the conference, as
well as feedback from a previous questionnaire which was circulated to
stakeholders on this issue, to draw up a proposal on the technical
requirements for satellite navigation systems. This proposal will be voted
on by Member States through the Comitology procedure, with a view to the
requirements being established before the end of the year. For more
information, see: <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/transport/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/transport/index_en.htm
[14] Rédiffusion
[15] Energy Council takes steps forward in developing a European Energy
Policy
Energy Commissioner Piebalgs stated: “Today’s Energy Council took
important steps towards formulating an integrated European Energy Policy,
as requested by Hampton Court European Council and builds on the
Commission’s Green Paper for a Sustainable, Competitive and Secure
European Energy Policy. In particular, the discussions on international
energy policy, the internal electricity and gas market and sustainable
energy policy showed clear determination to reach concrete conclusions
providing for real progress by the end of this year.”
[16] Ministers hail largest energy internal market in the world – Energy
Community Treaty
The signatories of the Energy Community Treaty have today welcomed its
coming into force on 1 July this year, at the Ministerial meeting of the
Energy Community held in Luxembourg. The Energy Community Treaty creates
the largest internal energy market in the world, bringing together the 25
Member States of the European Union with 9 close European states and
territories into a single trading block. Energy Commissioner Andris
Piebalgs who participated in the meeting welcomed this achievement. “The
Energy Community is becoming a central plank of our external energy policy,
providing a means to spread EU standards and a way for non-EU countries to
access the EU market; the Treaty is a success for all concerned”, he
said.
[17] Autre matériel diffusé
Speech by Stavros Dimas on “Maritime Policy at the Heart of Marine
Protection” at the Conference on the Green Paper on Maritime Policy at
the committee of the Region
Speech by Marianne Fischer-Boel on “The view of the European Region on
the role of FAO as provider of public goods” at the 25th Conference of
the FAO in Riga
Speech by Margot Wallström on “Europe: where you set the agenda”at the
Plan D visit to Poland in Krakow
Speech by Charlie McCreevy on “The Island economy in a European
Context” in Newry
Bathing water : overview of the situation in Member States
Calendrier hebdomadaire du 12 au 18 juin 2006
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
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