The Week in Europe 03/03-09/03/01

19.03.2001 | Euroskop

EU news in brief

Foot-and-mouth protection

Existing protective measures in response to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK are due to be extended until 27 March. The dispatch of live animals, fresh meat and meat products, milk and milk products and other animal products from the UK continues to be prohibited. Further precautionary measures are to include an EU wide ban of markets and assembly points for all susceptible species, a standstill of all susceptible species except for direct slaughter and direct from farm to farm, subject to authorisation and disinfection of the tyres of vehicles travelling from the UK to other Member States. These measures will be formally adopted by the Commission in the next few days and will be reviewed at the next meeting of the Standing Veterinary Committee scheduled for 20 and 21 March. The Commission and the Member States believe that recourse to vaccination would not be an appropriate response at this stage. [Background text: IP/01/321]

Information on home loans

Guidelines on the information to be made available to consumers on home loans were agreed on 5 March. The Voluntary Code of Conduct, agreed between the mortgage-lending industry and consumer groups, aims to make it easier for consumers to compare loans from different lenders, including those from other Member States, so that they can make an informed choice. The Code will be monitored by the Commission and a list of mortgage lenders committed to respecting it will be published. Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said it would be of great practical help to borrowers and was a good example of how industry and consumer groups can work together in their common interest to find solutions that avoid the need for legislation. [Background text: IP/01/305]

Football transfer agreement

Revised FIFA regulations on international football transfers have been agreed by the Commission and FIFA/UEFA. Commission President Romano Prodi welcomed the outcome of the talks which he felt respected the special needs of the sport but also of Community law. It would preserve the legitimate rights of players to move from one country to another whilst ensuring European football would be able to go from strength to strength. [Background text: IP/01/314 IP/01/320]

Green electrical goods

A new approach to the free movement of environmentally-friendly electrical and electronic equipment has been put forward by the Enterprise D-G of the Commission. The Lisbon Council in March 2000 called for simplification of the regulatory environment and this initiative represents a practical example of an alternative way of approaching regulation. It also reflects EU determination to integrate sustainable development in other policy areas, including enterprise policy. The aim is to maintain a high level of environmental protection whilst allowing competition to flourish and companies to enjoy incentives for innovation in environmental design. A widespread consultation process is underway involving Member States officials, manufacturers, suppliers, non-governmental organisations, consumers and other interested parties. A thorough assessment of the potential impact on business is proceeding in parallel which will help to ensure that the administrative burden is kept as light as possible.

[Background text: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/electr_equipment/index.htm]

G8 Environment meeting

Environment Ministers from the G8 countries met last weekend to discuss climate change, preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development and health and environment. Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström reported that all G8 countries share a sense of urgency about combatting climate change, particularly since there is new scientific evidence that global warming is happening faster and to a greater extent than was thought. Common objectives for next year's World Summit on Sustainable Development were identified and work on environment and health, notably children's health, will be pursued. [Background text: MEMO/01/63]

International Women's Day

To mark International Women's Day on 8 March, the Commission is spotlighting the growing problem of trafficking in women. An information pack has been prepared to raise awareness and to give an overview of European strategies and actions. The information sheets cover issues common to various types of trafficking in human beings but concentrating on trafficking in women while the funding sheets outline the EU programmes and initiatives that aim to tackle the problem.

The pack is available at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/equ_opp/index_en/htm

[Background text: MEMO/01/64]

Opinion on depleted uranium

A group of independent scientific experts reported to the Commission on 6 March on the possible radiological health effects of depleted uranium. On the basis of the information available to date the experts have concluded that radiological exposure to depleted uranium could not result in a detectable effect on human health, e.g cancer. Concerns about the health effects of exposure to depleted uranium followed reports of cases of cancer in soldiers who had served in Kosovo. The Community has certain responsibilities under the Euratom Treaty in relation to dangers arising from ionising radiation. [Background text: IP/01/315]

Simplifying regulation

An interim report proposing a comprehensive strategy to improve the regulatory environment in the EU was adopted on 7 March. It reviews the work done in this field and sets out the main principles for better regulation. It is due to be followed by a White Paper on European governance in July which will set the regulatory debate within the wider debate on the functioning of the EU. This will in turn be followed by an action plan for simplifying and improving the regulatory environment scheduled for the end of the year. [Background text: IP/01/323]

Debating the future of the EU

A new web-site FUTURUM

(http://europa.eu.int/futurum/index_en.htm) was launched on 7 March as part of the debate on the future development of the EU. It will provide a permanent focus for all the initiatives relating to the public debate on this subject over the next three years. Initially operating in four languages, this will be extended to 11 languages from 15 June. There will be a discussion forum and everyone is invited to contribute at

http://europa.eu.int/futurum

[Background text: IP/01/328]

EU policies and activities on SMEs are set out in a Commission report adopted on 1 March. [Background text: IP/01/297]

The 2000 Broad Economic Policy Guidelines are assessed by the Commission in a report to be submitted to the Stockholm Council. [Background text: IP/01/324 ]

Enlargement news

More trade agreements concluded with candidate countries

Trade with the EU candidate countries received a further boost on February 26, when two new trade deals were signed with the Czech Republic and Hungary, and when the General Affairs Council agreed on concessions on the wine trade with Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The deals with the Czech Republic and Hungary - the first of their kind - received a particularly high profile, with Leif Pagrotsky, Minister of Trade of Sweden, and European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy both turning out for the EU side. Formally speaking, the deals are protocols on conformity assessment and acceptance of industrial products to the Europe Agreements with each of the two countries. Also known as "PECA-agreements", they aim to bring the Czech Republic and Hungary one step closer to the EU internal market.

The Protocols mean that Czech and Hungarian goods in around ten sectors (including electrical safety, machinery and pharmaceuticals) get access to the internal market of the EU more easily - and vice versa. Testing of products according to EU rules now becomes possible, whereas previously products imported from these countries had to undergo testing in the EU. For all producers this means a considerable simplification, cost savings and increased trading opportunities.

"The Protocols we are signing today are important agreements with regard to the enlargement strategy, because they provide, in advance of the accession of the Czech Republic and the Republic of Hungary to the European Union, for an extension of some important benefits of the Internal Market. This makes the European Market larger, for the benefit of all producers", said Pagrotsky. He said they will facilitate a smooth transition to the full application of the EU Internal Market rules.

Economic progress among candidates

The latest set of figures from the European Commission suggests that reforms are paying off in some of the candidate countries, and that economic progress is being made. The figures, compiled by the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs on the basis of the first three quarters of 2000, provide a largely complimentary picture of developments in the applicant countries in central and eastern Europe. However, there are frequent warnings in the EU text or subtext - particularly about the need for tougher fiscal discipline, and about the risks from rising unemployment.

The Czech economy performed well in the first three quarters of 2000. GDP growth stabilised, and domestic demand picked up on the back of rising fixed investments. But the economic recovery has been accompanied by a widening current account deficit and by a modest pick-up of inflation. Loose fiscal policy has become the main risk to the otherwise smooth recovery of the Czech economy.

GDP in Hungary rose strongly in 2000, albeit at flattening growth rates during the second half of the year. But inflation was higher than projected, and remains a concern, and the structural economic reform plan provides for substantial increases of minimum wages, pensions and public sector wages. After a one-off tightening of monetary policy in October 2000, the Central Bank has returned to a policy of interest rate cuts, thus giving priority to growth over disinflation.

In Poland, economic growth has slowed markedly over the course of 2000, with the economy expanding at around 4.1 percent - primarily the result of a slowdown in domestic demand, and private consumption, in the face of tighter monetary policy and moderate wages. But the sustainability of disinflation is still questionable. Monetary policy decisions will depend also on the extent to which the fiscal consolidation embedded in the 2001 budget will actually be implemented. A positive development in recent months is that net exports have become the engine for growth, and both the trade deficit and the current account deficit have markedly narrowed in 2000.

In Slovakia, growth in the first three quarters of 2000 remained positive - helped by strong export performance and a continuing decline in domestic demand. Unemployment remains a major concern, and inflation stayed high until June 2000. The general government deficit in 2000 reached 5.1 percent of GDP and is budgeted at close to 6 percent in 2001. Monetary policy eased and interest rates fell consistently over the year 2000.

Candidate countries will be invited to Laeken

Belgium, which will hold the rotating EU Presidency in the second half of this year, has announced that the candidate countries for EU membership will be invited for the December EU Summit in Laeken (Brussels). They will also be associated with the adoption of the Laeken Declaration on the Future of Europe. "The Laeken Declaration will be adopted by the 15 Member States and the candidate countries," said the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt during a recent visit to Estonia. The Laeken Declaration will define guidelines for the preparation of the 2004 Intergovernmental Conference, at which further major reforms of the EU are expected, covering the competences of the EU and the member states, the status of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, simplification of the Treaties, and the role of national Parliaments in the European architecture. EU leaders at Nice made clear that this new IGC "shall not constitute any form of obstacle or pre-condition to the enlargement process".

Multi-annual Financing Agreement signed with Hungary

Preparations for accession of new EU Member States received another significant boost when European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries Franz Fischler signed on 1 March the Multi-annual Financing Agreement and the Annual Financing Agreement with Hungary. The agreements, under the EU's SAPARD programme for helping candidates adapt their agriculture in the pre-accession period, represent the penultimate step in making the programmes fully operational. Following accreditation of Hungary's SAPARD agency, money can start to flow. The deadline for spending EU-funds earmarked for SAPARD in the 2000 budget is 31 December 2002. Commissioner Fischler urged the applicant countries "to continue to demonstrate their commitment to the enlargement process and to the successful implementation of the SAPARD initiative."

Verheugen in Slovakia

During his second visit to Slovakia in only a matter of weeks, European Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen said that the country has "a considerable chance of catching up in the integration with the European Union with the other three Visegrad countries - Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary - which, unlike Slovakia, have been negotiating since March 1998.

Speaking on the impact of enlargement on smaller firms in Brussels on March 1, Frits Bolkestein, European Commissioner for internal market and taxation, said: "We in the European Union sometimes tend to behave as if these countries are coming back to Europe. This is of course totally absurd. They have always belonged to Europe as any other current EU member state." Around 60% of EU small and medium sized enterprises view enlargement of the Union as beneficial, according to a recent survey of 4,000 EU businesses in the framework of the EU Single Market Scoreboard. The same percentage of SMEs agree that market conditions in the candidate countries have improved over the last two years. Excessive bureaucracy for cross-border activity and the incomplete legislative framework are seen as the two main obstacles to seize new business opportunities in the accession countries.