Bulletin of the European Union

Secretariat-General European Commission

Description

mars-03
Activities of the institutions and bodies
Target audience: Specialised/Technical

Sujets

• Periodical publication
• Union européenne
• Economie gestion

Informations

• Publié par: SECRETARIAT-GENERAL-EUROPEAN-COMMISSION
• Nombre de lectures: 11
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

ISSN 1025-4005
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
L L Ε Τ I
OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
3 Φ 2003
*v The Bulletin of the European Union reports on the activities of the Commission and the other Community
institutions. It is produced by the Secretariat-General of the European Commission and published
10 times a year in the official European languages.
The following reference system is used: the first digit indicates the part number, the second digit the
chapter number and the subsequent digit or digits the point number. Citations should therefore read as
follows: Bull. 1/2-1994, point 1.1.1 or 2.2.3.
The Bulletin is also available on the Europa server
(http://europa.eu.int7abc/doc/off/bull/en/welcome.htm).
A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
European Commission
Secretariat-General
B-1049 Brussels — Tel. [phone]
Sent to press in June 2003
© European Communities, 2003
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Β U L L Ε Τ I
OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
3 · 2003 Bulletin information service
Readers can obtain information on developments since this issue went to press (date of adop­
tion of instruments by the Council, of opinions given by Parliament or the Economic and
Social Committee, of publication in the Official Journal, etc.) by telephoning the documenta­
tion service of the Commission Offices on the following numbers:
London (44-20)72 22 8122
Belfast (44-28) 90 24 07 08
Cardiff (44-29) 20 89 50 20
Edinburgh (44-131)225 20 58
Dublin (353-1)67122 44
References in the text s to other parts of the same issue of the Bulletin are given in parentheses in text,
thus (-> point 2.1.53).
Abbreviations
Publications cited in this Bulletin
Bull. Bulletin of the European Union
Supplement — Bull. Supplement to the Bulletin of the European Union
General Report General Report on the Activities of the European Union Contents
Part One Activities in March 2003
News in brief
Brussels European Council 7
Presidency conclusions 8
Future of the Union and institutional questions 24
Human rights 27
The Community economic and social area 29
Economic and monetary policy 29
Statistical system 36
Employment and social policy 37
Equal opportunities 41
Internal market 42
Competition 46
Enterprise 48
Research and technology 52
Information society 54
Economic and Social cohesion 56
Trans-European networks 56
Agriculture 57
Fisheries 57
60 Citizenship and quality of life
Area of freedom, security and justice 60
Education and culture 63
Environment 64
Energy 68
Transport 71
Health and consumer protection 76
5 Enlargement 82
6 Role of the Union in the World
Common foreign and security policy
International organisations and conferences 95
Common commercial policy 95
Development cooperation 99 Humanitarian aid 101
Relations with the western Balkans 101
104 s with the southern Mediterranean and the Middle East
Relations with the countries of eastern Europe,
106 the Caucasus and central Asia
Relations with the United States, Japan
and other industrialised countries 108
108 Relations with Asia
110 s with Latin America
ACP countries and OCTs 112
Financing Community activities, resource management,
protection of financial interests 116
Budgets 116
Protection of the Communities' financial interests
and the fight against fraud 119
Community law 121
Monitoring the application of Community law 121
Decisions by the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance 123
128 Community institutions
European Parliament 128
129 Council
135 Commission
Court of Auditors 137
137 European Investment Bank
139 n Economic and Social Committee
Part Two Documentation
1 The euro 142
2 Additional references in the Official Journal 143
3 Corrigenda 145
4 Index 146 PARTONE
ACTIVITIES
IN MARCH 2003 News in brief
D Brussels European Council: the European Council meets in Brussels on 20 and 21 March
for its third spring session devoted to economic, social and environmental issues within the frame­
work of the strategy outlined in Lisbon in 2000. It establishes the priorities and guidelines for the
three key instruments comprising the broad economic policy guidelines, the European employ­
ment strategy and the internal market strategy; in addition, the Commission is invited to set up a
European employment task force and deadlines are set for reaching final agreement on the remain­
ing reforms in line with the Lisbon objectives; a series of measures geared to maritime safety is
decided upon and the European Union is called on to play a leading role in promoting sustainable
development on a global scale. Other work is focused on concerns arising from the armed conflict
in Iraq, as well as the situation in the Middle East in general, in the Balkans and in North Korea
(-» points 1.2 to 1.49).
D Enterprise/Innovation: the Commission adopts a communication entitled 'Innovation pol­
icy: updating the Union's approach in the context of the Lisbon strategy' (—» point 1.3.70).
D Fisheries: the Commission adopts a communication entitled 'Towards uniform and effective
implementation of the common fisheries policy' (—» point 1.3.98).
D Environmental crime: the Commission adopts a proposal for a directive on ship-source pol­
lution and on the introduction of sanctions, including criminal sanctions, for pollution offences
(-» point 1.4.47).
D Asylum and immigration: the Commission adopts a communication on the common asylum
policy and the agenda for protection (—» point 1.4.5).
D Enlargement: results of the referenda organised in Malta and Slovenia on those countries' ac­
cession to the European Union (—» points 1.5.3 and 1.5.4); the Commission adopts three proposals
for Council decisions on the principles, priorities, intermediate objectives and conditions con­
tained in the accession partnership with Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey respectively (—» points
1.5.5 to 1.5.7).
D 'New neighbours': the Commission adopts a communication entitled 'Wider Europe —
Neighbourhood: a new framework for relations with our eastern and southern neighbours'
(-> point 1.6.79).
D European security and defence policy: the Commission adopts a communication entitled
'European defence — Industrial and market issues: towards an EU defence equipment poUcy'
(-» point 1.6.7).
D Balkans: the Council adopts a decision relating to the launch of the EU military operation in
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (—» point 1.6.55).
D Iraq: the Commission presents a communication to the Council and the European Parliament
on the consequences of the war in Iraq for energy and transport (—* point 1.4.33).
D Protection of the Communities' financial interests and the fight against fraud: the Com­
mission adopts a follow-up report on the Green Paper on the criminal-law protection of the finan­
cial interests of the Community and the establishment of a European Prosecutori—» point 1.7.15).
Bull. EU 3-2003 I — Brussels European Council
D setting the direction for the broad economic Brussels, 20 and 21 March 2003
policy guidelines and the revised European em­
ployment strategy to be adopted in June; /. /. The European Council meeting in Brussels was
chaired by Mr Simitis, Prime Minister of Greece Π inviting the Commission to establish a Euro­
and President of the Council, with Mr Prodi, Pres­ pean employment task force to help identify prac­
ident of the Commission, in attendance. The meet­ tical reforms that may have the most direct and
ing was preceded by the customary exchange of immediate impact on the implementation by
views with the President of the European Parlia­
Member States of the revised employment strat­
ment, Mr Cox, concerning the main items on the
egy;
agenda. For the first time, the meeting was also
Π identifying key labour market reforms to be preceded by the recently established Tripartite So­
pursued at national level; cial Summit for Growth and Employment. In addi­
tion, the Heads of State or Government, and the D launching action to strengthen the Union's
Foreign Affairs and Finance Ministers of the Un­ support for knowledge, innovation, and entrepre­
ion, met with their counterparts from the 13 acced­ neurship, making competitiveness a central ele­
ing and candidate countries. ment;
D setting deadlines for final agreement on the
Although the very particular circumstances of the remaining Lisbon reforms in key areas ahead of
war in Iraq shaped some of the European Coun­ the spring 2004 European Council: railways, en­
cil's work, its main focus was on development of ergy markets, single European sky, financial mar­
the strategy set out in Lisbon in March 2000 in the kets, procurement markets, information society,
economic, social