Da: press-newsletter@cec.eu.int Inviato: venerdě 25 luglio 2003 18.02 Oggetto: Europa Newsletter No. 17 ================================================================ Europa Newsletter Keeping up to date with the latest news and developments on EU websites 25th July 2003 - issue 17 Next issue: 16th September 2003 This newsletter can be viewed online at: http://europa.eu.int/newsletter/current/index_en.htm Previous issues can be viewed online at: http://europa.eu.int/newsletter/previous_en.htm ================================================================ ======== FOREWORD ======== The Europa Newsletter will take a break during August, and so the next issue will be on 16th September. This is because the European Institutions break for August, and the last Commission, Council and Parliament meetings have already taken place. It means as well that this issue of the Newsletter is a little bit different than usual. In our 'Coming up' section, we have focused on the WTO Ministerial in Cancún, Mexico, which will take place from September 10th-14th 2003. The articles here provide an insight into the WTO and the Doha Development Agenda. They also present an overview of the most prominent issues that the EU expects to discuss in Cancún, and the EU's stance in these areas. ======== CONTENTS ======== Coming up... WTO, Cancún 2003 The Doha Development Agenda, DDA What has the EU done so far? Agriculture Trade and environment Access to medicines More about the WTO Highlights Recently published... GMOs, Guidelines for Europe New rules for animal transportation Cracking down on health claims More information from the last fortnight Site in Focus... OLAF Citizens' Interests... Europe Direct ________________________________________________________________ ======== COMING UP ======== WTO Cancún 2003 ----------- The fifth World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference will take place in Cancún, Mexico, from 10th-14th September. Ministers from around the world will meet in order to take stock of the progress made in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) at its half-way point. This is a major event for the EU, involving a lot of different policy areas that are important to European citizens and the rest of the world. Government representatives and Ministers from all over the world will attend the summit, as well as representatives from NGOs, civil society and industry. Commissioners Pascal Lamy and Franz Fischler, and European Parliament President Pat Cox, will represent the EU. All of the EU Member States and Accession Countries are members of the WTO on an individual basis, and government representatives from each country will also attend the summit. However, the European Commission alone speaks for the EU at almost all WTO meetings. This is because the Member States negotiate a single EU international trade policy through the European Commission. EU Member States agreed on a single set of priorities for the EU in Cancún on 21st July. The European Union is the largest and most comprehensive entity in the WTO, and accounts for more than a fifth of the world's trade. 5th WTO Ministerial Conference: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min03_e/min03_e.htm DDA: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm EU priorities for Cancún: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/newround/ doha_da/cancun/cc210703_en.htm The Doha Development Agenda DDA ---------------------------- More than three quarters of WTO Members are developing countries or some of the least developed countries in the world. Current WTO rules apply a system of preferences for developing countries in recognition that they cannot operate on the same terms as wealthier nations. These provide flexibility in the application of some WTO rules, and provide technical and financial assistance to help give developing countries a foothold in world trade. However, at the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001, Ministers agreed that more must be done to level out the playing field. This kick-started the Doha Development Agenda. The DDA is working towards helping developing countries to implement WTO Agreements, so that they can play a full part in global trade. It also launched negotiations for new global trade rules, particularly those that address the importance of the environment and sustainable development. In Doha, Ministers agreed to around fifty negotiating mandates to clarify developing countries' commitments over issues such as subsidies, technical barriers to trade, trade related investment and rules of origin. It also addresses trade sectors such as agriculture, textiles and clothing. The DDA is the EU's first trade policy priority. In Cancún, the EU will be pressing for progress on issues such as industrial tariffs, agriculture, and access to medicines. Development and environmental issues lie at the heart of all these policies. The deadline for the DDA negotiations is 1st January 2005. This means that Cancún is the mid point of the agenda. Because the WTO must reach full agreement (rather than operating a majority voting system), and because virtually every item for negotiation must be completed as a whole, indivisible package, negotiations have been long, complicated and controversial. WTO system of preferences: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/global/gsp/index_en.htm DDA: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm What has the EU done so far? ---------------------------- The EU believes that trade has the potential to lift millions out of poverty. In the DDA negotiations, the EU has worked with NGOs and civil society to push for the best solutions to WTO reform that will give developing countries a fairer deal. There is still a long way to go, but, due to some EU initiatives, developing countries are doing more trade than ever with the EU. Developing country exports to the EU have increased significantly since 1995, and now account for around 42% of EU imports (?432 bn in 2000). The EU is the market for over two thirds of Africa's exports, whilst only a quarter go to the US. A lot of this is due to the EU's efforts to open its markets. The Everything But Arms initiative, which was established in 2001, means that exports from the least developed countries in the world face no protective barriers into the EU ? everything except arms. The EU has provided direct financial assistance to help developing countries participate in the DDA negotiations. The EU has contributed almost ?10 m to the DDA Global Trust Fund, making up 60% of overall contributions. It has also set up a ?10m programme to support for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries in the DDA negotiations. Furthermore, the EU has provided financial and logistical support for ACP ministers attending WTO negotiations and working with the WTO offices in Geneva. Many developing countries face considerable difficulty when exporting to the EU - not because of tariffs, but because they find it hard to meet high EU import standards on food and products. The EU does not want to lower these standards because European consumers expect a certain level of safety in the things they buy. To address this problem, the EU has contributed substantially to trade-related capacity building ? in other words helping industries in developing countries develop the necessary processes, equipment and research facilities in order to meet these standards. In 2002, the EU had provided ?300-500m for these projects. Everything but Arms: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/global/gsp/eba/ index_en.htm Support for ACP countries: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/regions/ acp/index_en.htm Agriculture ----------- Perhaps more than anything else, agriculture is central to the livelihoods of the world's poor. The EU is the world's largest importer of agricultural products and the main importer of food from developing countries and the least developing countries ? importing around 85% of Africa's agricultural exports and 45% from Latin America. Many of these exports enter the EU market tariff and quota free. The EU has faced a lot of criticism over its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), because subsidising farmers gives them an unfair advantage in the global marketplace. Yet some progress is being made. Last month the EU reached a long awaited agreement to reform the CAP in its current form. Central to the reform is the idea of 'decoupling' ? phasing out subsidies for food production and replacing them with payments linked to good farm and environmental management. The EU has also frozen its farm budget until 2006 at 0.5% of gross domestic product. In Cancún the EU will try to push other countries to instigate similar reforms. For example, the US Farm Bill has gradually increased farming subsidies, which in 2001 stood at 0.7% of gross domestic product. Trade in agriculture: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/sectoral/agri_fish/ index_en.htm CAP: http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/index_en.htm Trade and the environment ------------------------- The international community now recognises that respect for our environment should play a part in all policy development. This is why there are now around 200 multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). About 20 of these contain trade provisions. The Doha Development Agenda includes negotiations on how WTO rules will work in relation to MEAs. The EU supports measures to bring international trading standards in line with MEAs. In Cancún, the EU will try to forge an agreement incorporating environmental protection into WTO rules. Some of the aspects covered include the precautionary principle and clear labelling laws. The EU would also like to see reduced tariffs for environmental goods and services: for example catalytic converters, or consultancy services on wastewater management. It is also important in the negotiations to make sure that current trade agreements and practices do as little as possible to damage our environment. This is why it is so important to look into policy areas such as agriculture and fisheries. The EU is committed to providing technical assistance in order to help developing countries meet higher environmental standards. WTO negotiations on MEAs: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/envir_e/envir_e.htm EU positions on WTO negotiations: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/global/environment/ index_en.htm Access to medicines ------------------- Infectious diseases are responsible for almost half of all deaths in developing countries. Sadly, many of these deaths could be prevented if people in these countries had access to adequate medicines and treatment. In Cancún the EU hopes that the United States will join all the other WTO members in their support for measures to improve access to medicines in developing countries. One of the main problems in trade in medicines is to ensure that poorer countries can afford essential medicines whilst encouraging adequate investment in pharmaceutical research and development. Many NGOs have criticised the WTO over its Agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS). The EU, however, continues to support this measure in order to foster research, innovation and development. Companies invest a lot of money in the development of medicines, and they would like the drugs they develop and produce to be patented so that they are protected from 'piracy'. In order to make sure that the TRIPS Agreement does not prevent medicines reaching poorer countries, the EU has adopted a tiered pricing system for medicines that allows developing and least developed countries to purchase medicines at a lower cost. The EU also hopes that, in Cancún, WTO members will agree on a compulsory licensing system enabling countries that do not have the manufacturing capabilities for medicines can obtain medicines by compulsory licences. At the same time, the EU has adopted measures to prevent lower priced medicines intended for developing countries from re-entering the EU and other richer countries in order to reassure the pharmaceutical industry. The EU would also like developing countries to reduce or abolish import tariffs on essential medicines in order to cut the price of medicines for the people that need them most. Non-developing countries in the WTO already allow medicines to enter their markets tariff-free. Access to medicines: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/global/medecine/ index_en.htm TRIPS: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/trips_e.htm EU measures to stop re-importation of tiered price drugs: http://trade-info.cec.eu.int/antitradediversion/index.pl Tariff reductions in developing countries: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/global/medecine/ttr.htm More about the WTO ------------------ The World Trade Organisation, or WTO, is the only international organisation dealing with the global rules of trade between nations. Nearly 150 countries are members of the WTO, accounting for 97% of world trade. About 30 more countries are currently negotiating membership. The aim of the WTO is to try to ensure that trade can move smoothly between nations in today's globalised economy. Many criticisms have been levelled at the WTO since it was set up in 1995, the most prominent being that the WTO gives priority to the commercial interests of the world's richest countries over poorer nations, the environment and health and safety issues. However, whilst environmental and health and safety issues are regulated by other international organisations, the WTO has never breached these regulations in the pursuit of commercial interests. Member governments are entitled to implement environmental trade policies, as long as these policies apply within their own country as well as to imports from outside ? for instance, a country could not ban imports of fossil fuels unless it also banned fossil fuel production in its own country. Furthermore, all members of the WTO have an equal voice within the organisation, so many of the smaller and developing countries in the WTO have the opportunity to tackle issues through the WTO that they may find much harder to achieve alone. Overall, the Member Governments of the WTO believe that the WTO promotes peace by helping free movement of trade and settling disputes, improves world trade efficiency, encourages good governance and also raises the income and cuts the cost of living for the consumer. More information about studies into these areas can be found on the WTO website. WTO: http://www.wto.org/index.htm Highlights ---------- 1st-4th September Plenary session of the European Parliament. The session can be followed live on Europe by Satellite. http://www.europarl.eu.int/plenary/default_en.htm http://europa.eu.int/comm/ebs/schedule.cfm 14th September Referendum on the Accession Treaty, Estonia. http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/ accession_process.htm 14th September Sweden will hold a referendum on whether to adopt the euro as its national currency. http://www.finans.regeringen.se/emu/english/ 20th September Referendum on the Accession Treaty, Latvia. http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/ accession_process.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- More information on forthcoming events can be found in the Agenda of the EU Institutions, which is published every Friday. http://europa.eu.int/news/cal-en.htm All documents referred to in this section will be made available on Europa as soon as possible after publication. ________________________________________________________________ ======== RECENTLY PUBLISHED ======== GMOs Guidelines for farmers ---------------------- On 23rd July, the Commission proposed a set of recommendations to Member States on managing the co-existence of GMO and conventional crops. The idea behind the recommendations is to ensure that farmers can have a choice about the crops they grow, whilst allowing others the choice to grow organic or conventional crops without too high a risk of cross pollination. Nevertheless, farmers will only be allowed to cultivate GMO crops that have been formally cleared by the EU. The Commission does not intend to impose legislation for the time being, believing that Member State governments and authorities are better placed to decide on the geographical considerations needed to impose the restrictions. The recommendations follow the recent adoption by the Council of the EU of a legislative framework for GMOs. This provides regulations on labelling and traceability of GMO products and authorisation procedures for GMO seeds. In this way, the consumer is already entitled to a certain level of protection and choice. Commission recommendations: http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/reports/ coexistence2/index_en.htm Council decision on GMOs: http://ue.eu.int/newsroom/LoadDoc.asp?DID=76772&LANG=1 Legislative framework: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/gmo/gmo_ongoinit_en.html New rules for animal transportation ----------------------------------- On 16th July, the Commission proposed new legislation for animal transportation in the EU. The new regulation would reduce the amount of time that animals could spend in transportation. It also adopts measures to improve the condition of animals during transportation, and imposes compulsory qualifications on drivers and animal handlers. The regulation also covers conditions before and after transport, for example in slaughterhouses or at ports. http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/aw/aw_transport_en.html Cracking down on health claims ------------------------------ On 16th July, the Commission adopted proposals on nutritional and health claims made on foods. In fact, the proposals address existing legislation that is not always enforced in the EU. The proposals aim to ensure that any health claims made on foods, such as 'this product will make you stronger and live longer', must be substantiated with scientific evidence. http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/fl/fl02_en.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- On 22nd July, the Council of the EU adopted a new directive on emissions trading. This will help the EU meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. http://europa.eu.int/servlet/portail/RenderServlet?search= DocNumber&lg=en&nb_docs=25&coll=&in_force=NO&an_doc=2001&nu_ doc=581&type_doc=COMfinal ---------------------------------------------------------------- Pascal Lamy, Commissioner for International Trade, attended the 5th Asia Europe Meeting of Economic and Trade Ministers (ASEAN) in Dalian, China from 23rd-24th July. The meeting brought together ministers from the 15 EU Member States, ten Asian countries and the European Commission. The meeting discussed ways of enhancing trade and investment links between Europe and Asia, as well as closer co-ordination in the forthcoming WTO Ministerial in Cancún. http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/asean/intro/ index.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Italian Presidency of the Council of the EU has launched a new e-vote on its website: 'Should the European Union boost its military capacity in support of the growing international responsibilities it intends to assume?'. http://www.ueitalia2003.it/EN/LaPresidenzaEVoi/ VostreOpinioni/Opinione2.htm ________________________________________________________________ ======== SITE IN FOCUS ======== OLAF ---- OLAF is the European anti-fraud office. Its mission is to protect the financial interests of the EU, fight fraud, corruption and misconduct, including within the European Institutions themselves. The Single Market and the free movement of people in the EU have helped to boost the European economy, but it also means that action is required at a European level to fight fraud and corruption. OLAF operates through internal and external investigations conducted in co- operation with the relevant national organisations in the Member States. It also helps to design the anti-fraud strategy of the EU and to draft new legislation for the European Commission. OLAF investigations are conducted independently of the European Commission. Neither Commissioners nor Commission officials take part in OLAF investigations, nor are they allowed access to OLAF investigation documents. The website contains details of OLAF's activities, with reports on operational activities and European Commission evaluations of OLAF's work. There is a special section on action to protect the euro against fraud and counterfeiting. The section on legislation provides details of the relevant European legislation, including laws for the protection of financial interests in the EU, EU Directives for setting up OLAF in 1999, and the rules of procedure for OLAF's activities. You can also follow the developments of the Commission's plans to establish a European Public Prosecutor for the criminal law protection of the Community's financial interests. This initiative was launched in 2002 with extensive public consultation. The idea is to set up an independent judicial authority empowered to conduct investigations and prosecutions relating to offences against the Community's financial interests anywhere in the EU. This would be particularly effective in fighting cross- border crime, where different national procedures often hinder fraud investigations (for example, the authorities of one Member State may be prevented by national legislation from sharing information with another Member State). The site also provides details of OLAF's partner organisations in the Member States, Accession Countries, Candidate Countries and third countries, as well as with international organisations. The Anti-fraud Communication Network gathers together the information or communication officers of these organisations in the Member States in order to improve the free flow of information, encourage a permanent dialogue between the Member States and also inform European citizens of EU and Member State action to fight fraud. 'OLAF as seen by' is a collection of statements from figures working for the EU Institutions and partner organisations on the importance of OLAF in their work and in the EU as a whole. OLAF: http://europa.eu.int/comm/anti_fraud/index_en.html Reports on OLAF activities: http://europa.eu.int/comm/anti_fraud/reports/index_en.html Action to protect the euro: http://europa.eu.int/comm/anti_fraud/pages_euro/index_en.html Legislation: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/olaf/mission/legal/en.html European Pulic Prosecutor: http://europa.eu.int/comm/anti_fraud/green_paper/index_en.html Partner organisations: http://europa.eu.int/comm/anti_fraud/partners/index_en.html Anti-fraud Communication Network: http://europa.eu.int/comm/anti_fraud/press_room/olaf-oafcn/ en.html 'OLAF as seen by': http://europa.eu.int/comm/anti_fraud/partners/vu-par/en.html ________________________________________________________________ ======== CITIZENS' INTERESTS ======== Europe Direct 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 -------------------- Europe Direct has a new webpage. The service is a direct point of contact for European Citizens, providing answers to questions about the EU, be they general or more specific. The telephone service operates free of charge from anywhere in the 15 Member States of the European Union. The new site includes a web assistance service to help you navigate the EUROPA website and provide practical information on finding specific documents and general information about the EU. Europe Direct: http://europa.eu.int/europedirect/index_en.htm =============================================================== =============================================================== The Europa Newsletter is published by the European Commission, DG Press and Communication. http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/press_communication/index_en.htm (c) European Commission 2003. Non-commercial reproduction authorised, subject to acknowledgement of source. Follow the link below for further information on copyright, personal data protection and disclaimer: http://europa.eu.int/geninfo/legal_notices_en.htm