Le très haut débit s’étend en Bretagne grâce aux fonds européens
74,5 millions d’euros du Fonds européen de développement régional (FEDER) sont investis dans le déploiement du très haut débit dans la région française de Bretagne. Cet investissement de l’UE complètera les investissements du secteur privé et contribuera ainsi à faire passer la couverture très haut débit de la région de 6,2% de la population en 2013 à 68,4% en 2023, un chiffre qui n’aurait atteint que 39,9% sans l’intervention des fonds européens. La Commissaire à la politique régionale Corina Crețu a commenté: “Ce projet de la politique de Cohésion accompagne la stratégie de développement de la Bretagne, en créant de nouvelles opportunités là où la région excelle, comme les sciences et l’économie maritimes ou l’agroalimentaire. Le très haut débit va permettre aux entreprises locales d’accéder à de nouveaux marchés, voire à rayonner à l’international. Par ailleurs, le déploiement du très haut débit permettra d’avoir des services publics plus accessibles pour les populations en zones rurales.” Grâce à ce projet soutenu par le FEDER, de nouveaux services et applications numériques vont pouvoir se développer dans des domaines tels que l’e-santé, les formations en ligne, le travail à distance ou les démarches administratives en ligne. Le projet devrait être achevé à la fin de 2020. (For more information: Johannes Bahrke – Tel.: +32 229 58615; Andreana Stankova – Tel.: +32 229 57857)
Commission welcomes European Parliament’s vote on the strengthening of the Structural Reform Support Programme
The European Commission welcomes today’s vote by the European Parliament on increasing the budget of the Structural Reform Support Programme by €80 million. Today’s vote will enable the EU to respond to the high demand from Member States and increase its support for reforms already next year. It will also allow the Commission to provide targeted technical support to EU Member States which wish to adopt the euro. Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said: “Structural reforms are crucial to modernise our economies, encourage investment, generate jobs and raise living standards. Today’s vote on the strengthening of the Structural Reform Support Programme will enable us to increase the support we provide to Member States to prepare, design and implement growth-enhancing reforms.” The proposal to strengthen the Structural Reform Support Programme is part of European Commission’s package of proposals of 6 December 2017 to deepen Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union. The Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) entered into force in May 2017 and currently has a budget of €142.8 million for the years 2017-2020. Today’s agreement will bring the total budget of the Programme to €222.8 million for 2017-2020. The support is provided by the Structural Reform Support Service created in 2015. (For more information: Christian Spahr – Tel.: +32 229 50055; Annikky Lamp – Tel.: +32 229 56151)
16th European country to join eHealth cooperation for personalised healthcare
Austria became today the 16th country to sign the European Declaration on linking genomic databases across borders that will improve understanding and prevention of diseases, allowing for more personalised treatments, in particular for rare diseases, cancer and brain related diseases. The signature took place this morning in Vienna, Austria at the margins of the informal meeting of EU health ministers. The Declaration is an agreement of cooperation between the countries that want to provide secure and authorised cross-border access to national and regional banks of genetic and other health data, in accordance with all EU data protection rules. Enhanced cooperation between Member States will help to overcome lack of interoperability and fragmentation of initiatives across the EU, while guaranteeing highest standards for personal data protection. This eHealth initiative will also keep the EU at the forefront of personalised medicine globally, fostering scientific output and industrial competitiveness. The Declaration was originally launched on 10 April 2018 during the Digital Day and has been since then signed by Greece, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Read more about European digital health initiative here and in our recent press release. (For more information: Nathalie Vandystadt – Tel.: +32 229 67083; Inga Höglund Tel.: +32 229 50698)
Mergers: Commission clears the acquisition of joint control of Bioepis by Biogen and Samsung BioLogics
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control by Biogen of the USA over Bioepis, currently solely controlled by Samsung BioLogics, both of South Korea. Biogen, Bioepis and Samsung BioLogics are all active in the development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products worldwide. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because there are no overlaps between the companies’ activities in the European Economic Area. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.8956. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)
Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Vicentini by Eurocar
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Vicentini S.p.A. of Italy by Eurocar Italia S.r.l. (“Eurocar”) of Germany. Eurocar is ultimately controlled by Volkswagen AG (“VW”) of Germany. Both Vicentini and Eurocar are active in the retail distribution of new and used passenger cars and light commercial vehicles of VW brands in Italy, related repair activities and the sale of original equipment manufacturer spare parts. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given the limited overlaps between the companies’ activities in Italian provinces and the lack of incentive for the combined entity to shut out downstream competitors from the market. The case was examined under the normal merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9070. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)
Eurostat: L’emploi en hausse de 0,4% tant dans la zone euro que dans l’UE28, respectivement +1,5% et 1,4% par rapport au deuxième trimestre 2017 (Deuxième trimestre 2018 par rapport au premier trimestre 2018)
Le nombre de personnes ayant un emploi a augmenté de 0,4% dans la zone euro (ZE19) ainsi que dans l’UE28 au deuxième trimestre 2018 par rapport au trimestre précédent, selon les estimations basées sur les comptes nationaux et publiées par Eurostat, l’office statistique de l’Union européenne. Au premier trimestre 2018, l’emploi avait progressé de 0,4% dans la zone euro et de 0,5% dans l’UE28. Ces chiffres sont corrigés des variations saisonnières. Un communiqué de presse Eurostat est à votre disposition en ligne. (Pour plus d’informations: Christian Wigand – Tél.: +32 229 62253; Sara Soumillion – Tél.: + 32 229 67094)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Commissioner Arias Cañete at Global Climate Action Summit in California
Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete will attend the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) taking place in San Francisco, California, on 12-14 September. The summit brings together representatives of national, regional and local governments and of cities, business, industry, academia and civil society – intending to take global climate ambition “to the next level”. Organised by the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, the summit will highlight the central role of non-state actors in climate action. The participants will seek to raise the commitment and ambition of all parties to the Paris Agreement, ahead of the UN climate summit (COP24) in Katowice in December. Commissioner Arias Cañete will address the opening session on 13 September, stressing the need to see climate action as a central element for the modernisation of the European economy and industry. Mr Arias Cañete will also participate in a number of affiliated events and hold meetings with ministerial counterparts and stakeholder groups. The European Commission will co-host two events in San Francisco, on carbon markets (11 September) and clean mobility and decarbonising road transport (12 September). Read more about Commission’s actions on clean energy transitionhereand clean mobility here. Further information about the GCAS here. (For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 229 56186; Lynn Rietdorf – Tel.: +32 229 74959)
Commissioner Navracsics in Verona to promote cultural heritage and in Ljubljana for a Citizens’ Dialogue
This Thursday, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, will attend events in Verona, Italy and Ljubljana, Slovenia. In Verona, he will speak at the launch of the 16th edition of the Tocatì Festival – the International Festival of Games in the Streets. The festival, which coincides with theEuropean Year of Cultural Heritage, helps to promote traditional games and sports. Later in the day, the Commissioner will hold a Citizens’ Dialogue in Ljubljana, which is part of a full day conferenceentirely devoted to youth, youth work, youth employment and the active participation of youth in society. The event will bring together several NGOs involved in youth work from Slovenia who have led projects, backed by EU funds, to help young people gain skills, enter the labour market, open their own business and to make their voice heard. Live web streaming is available with interpretation from Slovenian into English. More details on the Dialogue, including registration, are available online. (For more information: Nathalie Vandystadt – Tel.: +32 229 67083 and Joseph Waldstein – Tel.: +32 229 56184).
Commissioner Crețu discusses the present and future of cohesion policy on an official visit to Romania
Starting on Wednesday 12 September, Commissioner Crețu will travel across the western part of Romania and meet with local authorities to discuss the present and future of cohesion policy in the country. Upon her arrival on 12 September, she will meet with Ms Astrid-Cora Fodor, major of Sibiu, Ms Daniela Câmpean, President of the County Council, and Ms. Adela Maria Muntean, Prefect of the Sibiu County. On 13 September, Ms Crețu will participate in and deliver a speech at the High-level Conference “Romanian coal regions in energy transition” in the city of Petroșani. On 14 September, together with Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mr Phil Hogan, Ms Crețu will participate in a Citizens’ Dialogue on “A modern budget for a stronger Union” in Cluj-Napoca. The two Commissioners will be joined by Mr Petre Daea, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Romania. On 15 September, the Commissioner will travel to Turda and Alba-Iulia. She will meet with the mayors of the two cities, Mr Cristian Octavian Matei and Mr Mircea Hava, respectively, as well as with Mr Dănuț-Emil Halalai, Prefect of Alba County, Mr Ion Dumitrel, President of Alba County Council and Mr Nicolaie Moldovan, City Manager of Alba Iulia. The visit will continue on 17 and 18 September, when the Commissioner will participate in high-level events in the capital Bucharest, including the Three Seas Initiative Business Summit. (For more information: Johannes Bahrke – Tel.: +32 229 58615, Andreana Stankova – Tel.: +32 229 57857)
Le Commissaire Phil Hogan présente le certificat d’Indication Géographique Protégée de la “choucroute d’Alsace” à Strasbourg
Le Commissaire à l’agriculture Phil Hogan remettra aujourd’hui officiellement le certificat d’Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) de la «choucroute d’Alsace» lors d’une cérémonie organisée à la Maison de la Région du Grand Est à Strasbourg. Ce terme a été ajouté au registre européen des IGP cet été. Les feuilles de choux sont préparées en Alsace pour devenir de la «Choucroute d’Alsace» pouvant être servie crue ou cuite. La choucroute est associée à l’Alsace depuis longtemps comme en témoigne par exemple l’étymologie et l’origine du terme choucroute en français, proche du terme alsacien Sürkrüt (sür: qui signifie aigre et krüt: chou). Ce légume ainsi cuisiné est ensuite consommé comme une garniture à de nombreux plats dont la fameuse choucroute garnie, accompagnée de saucisses, pommes de terre et lard. La France compte actuellement 249 termes de produits régionaux et recettes traditionnelles protégées – sans compter les nombreux vins et spiritueux -par un des trois labels de protection européen: Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP), Indication Géographique Protégée, et Spécialités Traditionnelles Garanties (STG). (Pour plus d’information: Daniel Rosario – Tel: +32 2 29 56185; Clémence Robin – Tel: +32 229 52 509)
Upcoming events of the European Commission (ex-Top News)
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