eurororum ! europe day by day Brussels, February 1, 1977 No 5/77 0 0 0 C> 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 C> C> 0 0 0 MATAt:'N€0/i • Poverty a priority stop for consumer society his bulletin is published by the Commission of the European Communities Directorate General of Information Rue de Ia Loi 200 B-1 049 - Brussels - Tel. 735 00 40 Further information is available from the Commission's press and information offices in the countries listed on the back page. This bulletin, which is produced with journalists in mind, gives an informal account of Community activities. It does not necessarily reflect the official position of the Commission. The Commission disclaims all responsibility for the use made of material published in this bulletin. IN THIS ISSUE ++ Poverty : an open wound ( p. 3) ++Europe through the eyes of its public (p. 3) ++ The new European Commission (p. 3) ++Priorities for the European Commission (p. 3) ++ Old soldiers battle for Europe (p. 3) ++The economic situation as seen by industry (p. 4) ++Ups and downs of Community car production (p. 4) ++ Agriculture 1976 in the Community (p. 4) ++More information on multinationals (p. 5) ++Community aid to increase agricultural efficiency (p. 5) ++ Asbestos and your health (p. 5) ++ Assistance for unemployed executives (p. 6) ++ The British press in the European Community (p. 6) ++ The dental art (p. 6) ++Door to door selling (cont ••• ) (p. 7) ++A donation from Jean Moilnet to the Paul Finet Foundation (p. 7 ) ++Community aid to Uganda (p. 7) ++ Competition -policy in the European Community ( p. 7) Editor & coordinator Jean Pirlot !!lu.L"UJ.UJ. Wll .1,V ,){ ( f - ..Le ot..e ..1.7 f C - t'• I ++ POVERTY : AN OPEN WOUND Poverty is not incurable. But the symptoms and side-effects have to be fully understood before a cure can be found. The European Commission has promoted a number of projects in this direction. The ultimate aim is to create a community of equal Europeans. See ANNEX 1. ++ EUROPE THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS PUBLIC An average of seven out of ten people (69 %) are in favour of direct elections to the European Parliament. Only 14 % are against. The silent majority emerges in Euro-barometer No 6 of Novembe 1976. The 9000 people interviewed had other interesting verdicts on the Europe of today as well as tomorrow. See ANNEX 2. ++ THE NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSION Annex 1 of Euroforum No 2 dated 11 January 1977 contained a typing error in the list of the Members of the new European Commission. Euroforum reproduces this list in ANNEX 3. ++ PRIORITIES FUR '!HE EUROPEAN COMMISSION The fight against unemployment, the protection of consumers, and the struggle towards economic convergence in the Community countries are the prior concerns of the European Commission during the next few months. This was agreed at one of the Jenkins Commission's first meetings held at the Chateau de Val Duchesse just outside Brussels. Does the location hold any significance ? More than twenty years ago the same building saw some of the most important discussions take place within its walls in the drafting of the Treaty of Rome. ++ OLD SOLDIERS BA TI'LE FOR EUROPE A symbolic ceremony recently took place within the walls of the European Commission in Brussels. A former soldier of the German Wehrmacht was decorated with the French 'Chevalier of the Legion of Honour' cross by Officer of the Legion of Honour, Mr. Raymond Triboulet, who was first Under Prefect of Free France (at Bayeux) and a former minister under General de Gaulle, and is also an Officer of the Legion of Honour and a Commandeur du Merite of the Federal Republic of Germany. He presented the award to Mr H. Greffrath, assistant Secretary • General of the European Confederation of ex-Servicemen and Secretary • General of the German section for his work towards improving Franco­ German relations and the unity of Europe • • The ceremony took place at the invitation of the European Commission's Inforrna tion services during a visit of the E~ecuti ve committee of the ~uropean Confederation of ex-servicemen to Brussels. .A.J ....................... Wll .uv I' ( ( - .J..{ ,, J.(f ( ( - P· "'t ++ THE ECONOMIC SITUATION AS SEEN BY INDUSTRY '!he volume of orders on the books of Community industry is still insufficient, according to a survey carried out last December. Expected demand has deteriorated since May 1976, when it reached the high point during this period of economic recovery. Pessimism is most noticeable in the consumer goods industry and seems to be directed at the home market, since foreign demand has stayed at roughly the same level. The survey shows a certain amount of swelling in stocks of finished goods, again mostly consumer goods. Finally, the pressure on prices seems to be getting greater : in the consumer goods and investment goods sectors, industry bosses expect a more rapid rise in sales prices. ++ UPS AND DOWNS OF COMMUNITY CAR PRODUCTION During the period 1963-1975 the annual production of private cars in the Community of the Nine has risen from 6.6 million in 1963 to 8.7 million in 1975, steadily increasing until 1973 (10.7 million) and falling off during the periods 1973/74 and 1974/75· Export trends and registrations of private and commercial cars have followed a parallel development. In 196J, 2.8 million cars were exported from the Community and 4.8 million in 1975, the highest point being reached in 1973 with 5.7 million. During the same period, registrations have risen from 4.8 to 6.8 million, with a record of 7.9 million in 1973. The most recent information for the year 1976 indicates that the production of private and commercial vehicles in the Community has grown by about 17% compared with 1975, with an increase of 6 - 8% for the United Kingdom and Italy, 15- 17% for France, and 20 - 22% for Germany. Production for 1976 should be about the same level as 1971 (10.1 million). Forecasts of exports of private and commercial cars for 1976 gives an estimated overall increase of 13% compared with 1975, with a fall for the United Kingdom and rises of 3 - 5 % for Italy, 8 - 10 % for France and 28 - 30 % for Germany. This data is taken from a statistical study of the world and Community car industry, recently published in the Quarterly Bulletin of Industrial Production (No 3/1976) of the Statistical Office of the . European Communities. • ++ AGRICULTURE 1976 IN THE COMMUNITY • The development of agriculture and agricultural markets during 1976 has been presented in an unique 450-page document only recently published. It includes a written commentary and searching statistical data on Community agriculture. The small format (16 em x 23 em) is very handy and makes a precious companion for anyone connected with or interested in agricultural problems. The report is available in the six official Community languages from the Office for Official .t!JUL"Ol.UL"Wil l~U 2f (( - ...L.e~e...L.Zf...L. - !J• J Publications of the European Communities, PO Box 1003, Luxembourg. ++ MORE INFORMATION ON MULTINATIONALS (cont.) A Member of the European Parliament has asked whether the European Commission is prepared to forward a survey on mul.tina tional companies to the Parliament. ~~ Van der Hek asks what are the conclusion drawn from the document, 'the first phase of an attempt to compile the first­ ever world inventory of large, medium-sized and small multinationals'. (see Euroforum No 22/76, lJ July 1976) In its replay to Mr Vander Hek, the Commission says that it will be forwarding the document to Parliament "at an early date". The conclusions drawn by the Commission are ~!at the main lesson it learned from this initial study was the difficulty involved in reaching "an objective and realistic"assessment of the world-wide phenomenon of the "multinationalisation of firms" due to the lack of comparable and regular information on the subject. On closer examination, the nature, size and activities of multinationals turn out to be much more diverse than would normally have been expected. The number and variety of multinational concerns, particularly those based in Europe, should not be underestimated. The Commission adds that the approach it adopted in compiling the list, by way of experiment, gave rise to "both technical and psychological problems" when it came down to details. The Commission is therefore currently looking for new ways and methods of finding out more about the problems associated with multinationals, either through its own effort or by participating in the work carried out by other international organisations in this field such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris and the United Nations. ++ COMMUNITY AID 'lD INCREASE AGRICULTURAL EFFICIENCY More than 190 million units of account (1 ua = approx US¢ 1.1) have been granted by the European Commission through the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) for more than 600 projects designed to increase the efficiency of European Agriculture. The aid will benefit projects as diverse as the building of machinery for grading and stocking potatoes in County Donegal (Ireland), reafforestation in Lower Saxony, the construction of a vegetable packing centre in the province of Antwerp, the rationalisation of a Norresundby slaughter­ house in Denmark, planning a system of loading ships through harboux silos in Rouen (France), the construction of fishing boats in Catane (Italy), and the construction of a factory for making mushroom • compost in Ottersum (the Netherlands) • ++ ASBESTOS AND YOUR HEALTH Too much asbestos in the air and in beverages such as wine is causing great concern throughout Europe.