Brussels, 30/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - The unanimous agreement between Ministers on the general product safety directive (see our article on page 13) was, on Thursday three quarters of the way through the session, the main formal progress of the Internal Market, Consumers, Tourism Council. During the evening, the ministers continued their work. We give an overview of the first results below:
Tourism. Commissioner Erkki Liikanen presented the Commission's report on further action to be given to the Council's conclusions on tourism and employment. The Ministers were briefed by the Presidency on the results of the Lille seminar entitled "Tourism and Sustainable Development". The round the table discussion allowed delegations who put their views forward (roughly half of them) to
express their support of better use of the European tourist potential with greater emphasis placed on employment (mainly in the tertiary sector with high employment potential), by avoiding competition distortion and strengthening the global competitiveness of the European tourist trade. The Presidency's Conclusions (and not those of the Council due to Portugal's refusal to adhere) welcome discussions of the seminar and ministerial meeting in Lille, taking their results on board.
Genetically modified organisms: The Council heard Commissioner David Byrne briefly present the work in progress, at the Commission, on "solutions" for strict rules of traceability and labelling of GMOs and derived products, covering cattle feed, seeds and novelty foodstuffs developed from bio-technologies. The Commissioner said he was aware of how urgent it is to present a "legislative package" which would give the Union a "complete regulatory framework". No date was given.
Promotion of consumer confidence in electronic commerce: During lunch, David Byrne presented to the Ministers the strategy he is contemplating to encourage best commercial practices and to set up an amicable settlement system for disputes with the possibility of referral to the courts as a last resort.
Remote marketing of financial services: The Council noted the state of progress of work. Ministers agreed to return to the subject in the spring when the Commission has presented its communication on electronic commerce and financial services (foreseen for February-March).
Counterfeiting and piracy: Commissioner Frits Bolkenstein presented his Communication on the follow-up to be given to the Green Paper on the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, adopted the same day by written procedure (see page 13). The future Swedish Presidency has undertaken to make it one of its priorities.
Information society: The Council approves a list of 23 indicators, which allow for the comparative assessment of the implementation of the "e-EUROPE 2002" action plan by the Member States: percentage of households with access to the Internet, cost of access to the Internet, number of computers connected to the Internet per 100 students, percentage of workers doing remote work, percentage of public market able to be concluded on-line. The Commission also gave an "encouraging" state of advancement over the use of the Internet (see page 15).
Public markets: the Council was unable to agree on common guidelines for the coordination of approval procedures for public supply, services and works markets. The discussions will continue at technical level, notably over two problematic issues: the sanctions against the bidder previously condemned for corruption and grand larceny, as well as negotiated markets. On the first point the European Commission proposes to pure and simply exclude the candidates that have been the object of such condemnations. Several Member States are reticent and aspire to a more gradual approach (in relation to the type of condemnation, its duration, etc.). On the second point, the Commission hopes that the possibilities for negotiation between the buying and the tendering authorities for complex markets (for example the construction of an airport) are very strictly framed. Certain States (Germany, United Kingdom, Austria) want to conserve the widest margin for manoeuvre. In the evening, the Council will discuss the European Food Authority and other issues.