Midday Express of 2012-08-31
News from the European Commission's Midday Briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi de la Commission européenne
Future of European Consultation: 10 more Days to go!
Over 8404 EU-citizens have already
had their say on the future of Europe by participating in the broad
web-based consultation on citizens' rights and the future of Europe
launched by the European Commission – the latest figures released today
show. On 9 May, Europe Day, the European Commission called on European
citizens to help set the policy agenda for the years to come and shape
the future of Europe ( IP/12/461).
Proposals about a 'Political Union', a 'European Federation' or a
'United States of Europe' are the talk of the town. This important
question about the future of the European Union should not only be
debated by politicians but by citizens as well. There are ten more days
for Europeans to share their views on questions such as "How would you
like the European Union to develop in the near future? In what kind of
European Union would you like to live in 2020?" The consultation will
close on 9 September.
European Commission appoints new Head of the Regional Office in Belfast
Colette Fitzgerald will take up
office as Head of the European Commission Regional Office in Northern
Ireland on 1 September 2012, following the retirement of Maurice
Maxwell, her predecessor, on 31 August. Ms Fitzgerald, who comes from
Belfast, joined the European Commission in 1991 and served in the
Directorate General for Regional Policy, initially dealing with
structural funding programmes for Ireland and Northern Ireland, and
later Sweden. She also worked on the preparation of the funding
programmes for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania prior to their accession.
July 2012 - Euro area unemployment rate at 11.3% - EU27 at 10.4%
The euro area
(EA17) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.3% in July 2012,
stable compared with June. It was 10.1% in July 2011. The EU27
unemployment rate was 10.4% in July 2012, also stable compared with
June. It was 9.6% in July 2011. Eurostat estimates that 25.254 million
men and women in the EU27, of whom 18.002 million were in the euro area,
were unemployed in July 2012. Compared with June 2012, the number of
persons unemployed increased by 43 000 in the EU27 and by 88 000 in the
euro area. Compared with July 2011, unemployment rose by 2.104 million
in the EU27 and by 2.051 million in the euro area.
Flash estimate - August 2012 Euro area inflation estimated at 2.6%
Euro area
annual inflation is expected to be 2.6% in August 2012 according to a
flash estimate issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the
European Union. It was 2.4% in July.
Cereals: satisfactory forecasts for EU harvest
The European Commission presented
its forecasts on cereals to EU Member States in the Management Committee
of 30 August. The main conclusions arising from the presentations were
as follows: At European level,
despite the drought in certain Member States, current forecasts for
agricultural products are at 279 million tonnes of cereals. This is 2%
lower than the average over the past five years, but is still 25 million
tonnes above figures for 2007/08, which proved to be a particularly bad
year. As regards soft wheat, current forecast is at 127 million tonnes,
which is a status quo compared to the average over the past five years.
As regards maize, current forecast is at 60 million tonnes, which is 2%
higher than the average over the past five years. Current balance sheet
shows a net exporter situation (around 10 million tonnes), instead of a
net importer situation for 2007/08 (around 8 million tonnes). At world level,
due to the drought in the United States, the forecast of world grains
production in 2012/13 is reduced compared to last month. Supported by
tightening world supplies, maize prices remained close to record highs
during August. World carryover stocks are forecast to contract by 33
million tonnes to 338 million tonnes. The current stocks/consumption
world ratio remains at a level comparable to 2011. It only decreased
from 20% to 19%. This is likely to keep prices at high levels with a
high level of volatility. Commenting these forecasts, Dacian Cioloş, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural development said: "The
recent developments on the agricultural and food markets have
demonstrated once again the need for a strong CAP. Over the past weeks,
the drought in several regions of the world has led to dramatic price
increases for certain commodities, mainly maize and soya which risk
destabilising certain sectors of the European agriculture. This
excessive volatility of markets shows clearly that world agriculture
requires investments, public management policies and predictability. In
the context of climate change and increasing food demand, it is crucial
to valorise in a sustainable way all the diversity of agricultural
potential in the EU. It is also crucial to help other parts of the
world, especially developing countries, to have their own and ambitious
agricultural policies in order to increase global food security". Detailed presentations are available at the following address: ( http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cereals/pres entations/cereals-oilseeds/market-situation-cereals_en.pdf)and ( http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cereals/pres entations/cereals-oilseeds/forecasts_en.pdf)
Commissionclears acquisition by APG and PGGM of LBC Terminals