News report : 15-04-97

• Official visit to Belgium
• EU/China
• eu/south korea
• Making Europe a Union of knowledge
• Proposals on mobility in the EU
• Third Pan-European Transport Conference- in Helsinki
• Consumer protection: The Euro

Official visit to Belgium

EU/China

EU/C hina: Sir Leon Brittan Says The EU Should Speak With One Voice

Addressing the Committee on Foreign affairs (chair: Tom SPENCER, EPP, UK) on 14 April, Sir Leon BRITTAN said he was convinced that the EU should seek to develop a policy enabling China to be linked to the rest of the world as far a economic policy is concerned. Economic liberalization, he said, could help shape the political situation. China should be integrated into the World Trade Organization. He called for the EU to speak with one voice in its dealings with China, particularly with regard to human rights. Referring to the impossibility of the Member States to agree to the Dutch Presidency's proposal to adopt a common attitude towards the UN's Commission on Human Rights, Sir Leon said: 'I deplore the fact that there is no consensus...I would hope that some States which advocate a qualified majority in negotiations on the IGC would adopt a qualified majority on China.' As to the attitude which the EU should take towards China ,if China were to take retaliatory action against Denmark because of its proposal for a resolution, he said: 'if such reprisals were to be taken, I am convinced that the EU would demonstrated solidarity'.

With regard to negotiations with Australia, Sir Leon recalled that the Commission initially wanted a 'human rights clause" to be inserted in the framework agreement, but that the Australians were categorically opposed. The Commission and Australia were therefore trying to draft a joint declaration. Mr SPENCER expressed his surprise, and his regrets that the Commission had agreed to continue negotiations on the basis of a simple joint declaration..

On the question of differences between the EU and the USA on the Helms-Burton Act and other measures, he hoped very much that negotiations with the American Administration would prove fruitful since the compromise reached between Sir Leon and the American Under-Secretary of State, Stuart EISEDNSTADT, should make it possible to exclude European companies from the retaliatory measures. Nevertheless, he added, The Secretary of State was not able to do everything and he would need the backing of Congress. For the EU+'s part, Council Officials should be confirming the agreement on Wednesday.

Further information: Jacques NANCY - Tel: 284.24.85

eu/south korea

EU/SOUTH KOREA: CALL FOR PARLIAMENT TO SUSPEND
RATIFICATION OF COOPERATION AGREEMENT

The Foreign Affairs Committee (chairman: Tom SPENCER, EPP, UK) has called on the Commission for External Relations to suspend work on the cooperation agreement with South Korea. MEPs feel that the revised labour laws, promised by the South Korean government in October 1996 - which were a prior condition for joining the OECD - should be carefully scrutinized. The Foreign Affairs Committee says that Korea is continuing to violate the ILO's rules on freedom of association and Parliament should not ratify the cooperation agreement until Korea complies with international standards.

Further information: Jacques NANCY, tel. 284.24.85

The minister said that transforming what was essentially an 'agricultural Union' would take several stages: language learning, removing obstacles to mobility, the quality of teaching, the training of teachers etc. One point of departure for this long-term project might be to include a reference in the preamble to the future Amsterdam Treaty to this 'Union of knowledge'.

In common with Corradiol AUGIAS (PSE, I), all members supported the Minister's view, but following the example of the chairman they stressed the need to move beyond high-sounding words and to take specific measures. These should cover a large spectrum ranging from increasing funding for European programmes to maintaining the position of sport in schools.

In his replies Mr RITZEN felt that there should be a substantial increase in the Community budget for education, but he stressed that moving towards a 'Union of knowledge'" was a long-term process. He acknowledged that progress had not always matched hopes, since Education Ministers had little room to manoeuvre in a period of austerity.
Further information: Patrick BARAGIOLA - Tel: 284.32.51

While congratulating the Commission on its Green Paper and the excellent analysis of the obstacles, the TODINI report highlights a number of ways of increasing mobility. They concern very specific measures such as validation and certification of skills and competence in vocational training, a statue for trainees in companies, a common definition of apprenticeship, the transferability of study grants, improving social security cover etc.

As far as Community programmes are concerned, the report wants better information and, in particular, an increase in funding , for the SOCRATES Programme.

Lastly, and most importantly, the report wants the Council to adopt a precise timetable for the Green Paper's recommendations, and to set up a coordinating committee made up of representatives of the Member States which would submit proposals aimed at enabling the Member States to meet the deadlines. This committee would also have to look into practical solutions to the recognition of titles and periods of training.

Further information: Patrick BARAGIOLA - Tel: 284.32.51

Third Pan-European Transport Conference- in Helsinki

Representatives of all European governments and parliaments (EU and non-EU) will attend this Conference, which is organized in close cooperation with the Dutch Presidency of the Council, the Economic and Social Committee, the UN's Economic Commission for Europe and the European Conference of Ministers of Transport. The Conference should also provide a platform for the exchange of views between the representatives of the governments and parliaments of all European countries recognized by the Community and all supra- and inter- governmental organisations whose terms of reference include European transport policy. Representatives of the Mediterranean and Black Sea countries, of financial institutions and of the world's leading industrialized nations are also invited to attend as observers.

This morning, the Committee on Transport and Tourism (Chairman: Mr Jean-Pierre BAZIN (F, UFE) held a joint meeting with the Steering Committee for the conference in Helsinki and with representatives of parliamentary committees responsible for transport in Central and Eastern European Countries and certain member states.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: TON HUIJSSOON, TEL 284 92 53.

The consumer's organisations assured Parliament that they are not against the Euro, but that many practical implications and implementation issues will have to be solved before its introduction in 2002. The consumer will have to learn to live with the Euro and that takes time. They ask for a fair period of double pricing, which involves pricing in both national currencies and Euros. They argue that double pricing is vital to make introduction of the Euro work on behalf of consumers, but retailer organisations claimed that the cost of double pricing is too onerous to bear.

Banks, insurance companies and the public sector should not charge the consumer extra when introducing the single currency. The spokesman for the Banks would not exclude, however, that the consumer will at least have to pay a part of the Euro bill. The representative of the European Assurance Committee said that the cost of transition into the Euro will fall to three parties: shareholders, country governments AND consumers. In summary, the costs to the insurance industry for implementing the Euro are going to be substantial: "Part of these costs will be absorbed by shareholders through reduced tax income and governments, but consumers are also expected to bear some of them".

The social partners claimed that they cannot be held responsible for the costs of introducing the Euro. They disagreed on double pricing: UNICE, the employers' organisation, are in favour of maintaining the principle of subsidiarity, but the ETUC, the European Trade Union Confederation, asked for a period of double pricing covering the period from 1 January 2002 until 30 June 2002, during which all account balances and transactions should be specified in both Euros and the relevant national currency. Wage slips, salary statements, employment contracts should contain the same dual information.

The ETUC spokesman vehemently attacked the use of nickel in two of the eight Euro coins. Nickel represents a health problem and in Sweden there has been a ten year campaign for the prohibition of nickel in coins. Nickel is no longer used in Swedish coins. "Now we discover that two Euro coins are to contain nickel. There is a danger that consumers and unions in Sweden will see this as a provocation. It could lead to an entirely unexpected source of conflict. The representative of the European Blind Union expressed his deep concern that visually impaired people and people with tactile difficulties might meet in identifying Euro coins.
Finally the spokesman of the European public sector told MEPs that local and regional authorities in the member states, with the exception of Belgium, are totally unprepared for the introduction of the Euro in their areas.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: TON HUIJSSOON, TEL 284.24.08