[autom.vertaling] DINSDAG in de Europese Unie (en)

EUOBSERVER / TUESDAY (15 July) - The EU Ministers of Economy and Finance are gathering in Brussels this Tuesday to discuss an Italian proposal for increasing growth.

The proposal includes Trans-European Networks (TENs) which, according to the Presidency, play a key role in supporting the economy and increasing long term growth potential.

The idea is to involve the European Investment Bank (EIB) in this project by raising the rate of investment in TENs, currently considered insufficient, in order to overcome the backlog of investment in the agreed list of priority projects.

Economic situation in Netherlands

The ministers will also examine the stability programme of the Netherlands in accordance with the Stability and Growth Pact. The latest conclusions drawn up by the European Commission stated that the economy of the Netherlands was adversely affected by the sharp slowdown in the world economy, with GDP slowing to 0.2% in 2002.

The general government accounts deteriorated due to a combination of high expenditure growth in some areas and a weakening of revenues - the latter reflecting the combined lagged impact of the economic slowdown and tax reform. The debt ratio declined only slightly in 2002 and reached 52.6% of GDP.

The general government deficit is expected to increase to 1.6% of GDP in 2003, which is still within the 3% limit imposed by the Stability Pact rules.

Undesired emails tracked down

The EU Commissioner Erkki Liikanen (Enterprise) will present new legislation against unsolicited emails received everyday by all Internet users.

This will take place during a workshop organised in Brussels by Mr Liikanen and his colleague, EU Commissioner Mario Monti (Competition).

The new regulatory framework, which is operational from 25 July 2003, also gives the European Commission powers to oversee the national regulatory regimes in the field of electronic communication.

This mechanism is very important for the regulation of EU electronic communications markets, as it obliges national regulators to conduct a "national" and a "Community" consultation on the regulatory measures they intend to take. If necessary, the Commission can require national regulators to withdraw intended measures.

Other events

A special Committee in Agriculture also takes place in Brussels Tuesday at the same time as the Political Committee and Security of the EU (COPS).

COPS usually tracks factors affecting common foreign and security policy and exercises the political control and strategic direction of the crisis management operations carried out in the context of the European Security and Defence Policy of the EU.

Furthermore, the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels, organises a conference on the topic "From the Convention to Intergovernmental Conference: What prospects for success?".