do-me/EUR-LEX huggingface dataset:
Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case COMP/M.3370 — BNP Paribas/ARI) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2004-03-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, exchange of information, merger control, property development

24.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 74/5

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case COMP/M.3370 — BNP Paribas/ARI)

(2004/C 74/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 9 March 2004 the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare
it compatible with the common market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 4064/89. The full text of the decision is only available in French and will be made public after it
is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

— as a paper version through the sales offices of the Office for Official Publications of the European

Communities (see list on the last page),

— in electronic form in the ‘CFR’ version of the CELEX database, under document No 304M3370. CELEX

is the computerised documentation system of European Community law.

For more information concerning subscriptions please contact:

EUR-OP,
Information, Marketing and Public Relations,
2, rue Mercier,
L-2985 Luxembourg.
Tel. (352) 29 29 427 18, fax (352) 29 29 427 09.

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case COMP/M.3304 — GE/Amersham)

(2004/C 74/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 21 January 2004, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to
declare it compatible with the common market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89. The full text of the decision is only available in English and will be
made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

— as a paper version through the sales offices of the Office for Official Publications of the European

Communities (see list on the last page),

— in electronic form in the ‘CEN’ version of the CELEX database, under document No 304M3304. CELEX

is the computerised documentation system of European Community law.

For more information concerning subscriptions please contact:

EUR-OP,
Information, Marketing and Public Relations,
2, rue Mercier,
L-2985 Luxembourg.
Tel. (352) 29 29 427 18, fax (352) 29 29 427 09.
Euro exchange rates
Date: 2004-03-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: euro, exchange rate

24.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 74/1

I

(Information)

COMMISSION

Euro exchange rates (1)

23 March 2004

(2004/C 74/01)

1 euro =

USD

JPY

DKK

GBP

SEK

CHF

ISK

NOK

BGN

CYP

CZK

EEK

HUF

LTL

Currency

US dollar

Japanese yen

Danish krone

Pound sterling

Swedish krona

Swiss franc

Iceland króna

Norwegian krone

Bulgarian lev

Cyprus pound

Czech koruna

Estonian kroon

Hungarian forint

Lithuanian litas

Exchange
rate

1,2276

131,17

7,4473

0,6664

9,2272

1,5524

88,46

8,432

1,9463

0,5861

33,13

LVL

MTL

PLN

ROL

SIT

SKK

TRL

AUD

CAD

HKD

NZD

Currency

Latvian lats

Maltese lira

Polish zloty

Romanian leu

Slovenian tolar

Slovak koruna

Turkish lira

Australian dollar

Canadian dollar

Hong Kong dollar

New Zealand dollar

15,6466

SGD

Singapore dollar

Exchange
rate

0,6579

0,426

4,699

39 977

238,08

40,165

1 623 143

1,6355

1,6364

9,5689

1,8611

2,0738

251,90

KRW

South Korean won

1 419,29

3,4527

ZAR

South African rand

8,0215

___________
(1) Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0909/04 by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE) to the Commission. To Serve and Protect — Netherlands Railways.
Date: 2004-03-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Netherlands, award of contract, eligibility criteria, public contract, railway station, security services, size of business, turnover

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/911

(2004/C 84 E/1006)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0909/04

by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: To Serve and Protect (cid:1) Netherlands Railways

(24 March 2004)

The Dutch newspaper Het Parool reported on 11 March 2004 that, as of 1 April 2004, the security firm
To Serve and Protect is to lose its contract to a competing firm. Using unorthodox methods, To Serve and
Protect has achieved outstanding results in making Amsterdam’s railway stations safe, to the complete
satisfaction of all parties.

Netherlands Railways (NS), which has employed it hitherto, says that To Serve and Protect is no longer
eligible because it does not comply with European public procurement criteria. The firm’s excessively small
size is a particular problem according to the NS. The latter’s spokesman says that a business must have a
turnover of at least EUR 4,5 million per annum and employ at least 400 staff.

If a firm is doing a good job and is competitive but too small, surely this last point cannot be

1.
grounds for debarring it from bidding for a contract? What does the Commission think about this?

2. What is the true state of affairs?

Can the Commission appreciate that such reports give newspaper-readers a negative impression of

3.
Europe and makes them angry at Europe?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The EU rules on public procurement do not include an obligation to exclude companies from participating
in invitations to tender because of their size. However, the awarding bodies are permitted to require
participants in the procedures for the award of contracts to have the technical, economic and financial
capacity necessary for the performance of the contract in question, such as a minimum turnover and/or a
minimum number of employees. In order to avoid negative consequences for small companies, under EU
rules groups of companies are allowed to tender. In the case mentioned by the Honourable Member it was
Netherlands Railways (NS) which considered that a minimum annual turnover of EUR 4,5 million and a
staff of at least 400 people was necessary to carry out the contract in question.

The Commission is aware of the negative impact of information which does not give enough explanation
in order to be understood and correctly assessed. It therefore regrets the biased way in which information
has been given to the public on this subject.

(2004/C 84 E/1007)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0910/04

by Ingo Friedrich (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 March 2004)

Subject: Aid for olive production; common organisation of the market in olives

The common organisation of the market in olives provides for olive production to receive aid as a matter
of course. In what form is it provided: per tree, hectare or litre?
Withdrawal of notification pursuant to Article 95(4) and (5) of the EC Treaty (Notification No 2003/A/9171 — Request for authorisation to introduce national provisions derogating from a Community harmonisation measure) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2004-03-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Austria, derogation from EU law, environmental protection, genetic engineering, genetically modified organism, health policy

C 74/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

24.3.2004

Withdrawal of notification pursuant to Article 95(4) and (5) of the EC Treaty

(Notification No 2003/A/9171 — Request for authorisation to introduce national provisions dero-
gating from a Community harmonisation measure)

(2004/C 74/05)

(Text with EEA relevance)

By letter of 23 September 2003, the Republic of Austria notified to the Commission the regional
provisions concerning the Land of Salzburg's law on the banning of genetic engineering that it deemed
necessary to introduce by way of derogation from Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms (1).

On 19 November 2003 the Commission published a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union
informing the interested parties of the measure that Austria planned to adopt (2).

By letter of 23 January 2004, the Republic of Austria informed the Commission that it was withdrawing
its notification.

(1) OJ L 106, 17.4.2001, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 278, 19.11.2003, p. 2.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 540/2004 of 24 March 2004 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables
Date: 2004-03-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: citrus fruit, fruit vegetable, import price, pip fruit, stone fruit

25.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 87/1

I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 540/2004

of 24 March 2004

establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and
vegetables

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 of
21 December 1994 on detailed rules for the application of the
import arrangements for fruit and vegetables (1), and in particu-
lar Article 4(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 lays down, pursuant to the
outcome of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade nego-
tiations, the criteria whereby the Commission fixes the
standard values for imports from third countries,
in
respect of the products and periods stipulated in the
Annex thereto.

(2)

In compliance with the above criteria,
the standard
import values must be fixed at the levels set out in the
Annex to this Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The standard import values referred to in Article 4 of Regu-
lation (EC) No 3223/94 shall be fixed as indicated in the Annex
hereto.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on 25 March 2004.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 24 March 2004.

For the Commission

J. M. SILVA RODRÍGUEZ

Agriculture Director-General

(1) OJ L 337, 24.12.1994, p. 66. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1947/2002 (OJ L 299, 1.11.2002, p. 17).

L 87/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.3.2004

to the Commission Regulation of 24 March 2004 establishing the standard import values for determining the
entry price of certain fruit and vegetables

ANNEX

CN code

0702 00 00

0707 00 05

0709 90 70

0805 10 10, 0805 10 30, 0805 10 50

0805 50 10

0808 10 20, 0808 10 50, 0808 10 90

0808 20 50

Third country code (1)

Standard import value

(EUR/100 kg)

052
204
212
624
999

052
096
204
999

052
204
999

052
204
212
220
400
624
999

052
220
999

388
400
404
508
512
524
528
720
999

388
512
528
720
999

98,9
47,2
125,1
124,8
99,0

135,4
93,1
13,1
80,5

126,7
56,3
91,5

41,7
49,1
57,6
64,9
39,3
58,1
51,8

57,0
31,0
44,0

88,5
108,4
79,7
71,5
82,3
87,5
74,1
85,9
84,7

80,8
66,8
66,2
34,9
62,2

(1) Country nomenclature as fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2081/2003 (OJ L 313, 28.11.2003, p. 11). Code ‘999’ stands for

‘of other origin’.
Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case COMP/M.3304 — GE/Amersham) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2004-03-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, exchange of information, medical device, medical diagnosis, medicinal product, merger control

24.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 74/5

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case COMP/M.3370 — BNP Paribas/ARI)

(2004/C 74/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 9 March 2004 the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare
it compatible with the common market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 4064/89. The full text of the decision is only available in French and will be made public after it
is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

— as a paper version through the sales offices of the Office for Official Publications of the European

Communities (see list on the last page),

— in electronic form in the ‘CFR’ version of the CELEX database, under document No 304M3370. CELEX

is the computerised documentation system of European Community law.

For more information concerning subscriptions please contact:

EUR-OP,
Information, Marketing and Public Relations,
2, rue Mercier,
L-2985 Luxembourg.
Tel. (352) 29 29 427 18, fax (352) 29 29 427 09.

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case COMP/M.3304 — GE/Amersham)

(2004/C 74/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 21 January 2004, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to
declare it compatible with the common market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89. The full text of the decision is only available in English and will be
made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

— as a paper version through the sales offices of the Office for Official Publications of the European

Communities (see list on the last page),

— in electronic form in the ‘CEN’ version of the CELEX database, under document No 304M3304. CELEX

is the computerised documentation system of European Community law.

For more information concerning subscriptions please contact:

EUR-OP,
Information, Marketing and Public Relations,
2, rue Mercier,
L-2985 Luxembourg.
Tel. (352) 29 29 427 18, fax (352) 29 29 427 09.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0900/04 by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission. Breastfeeding in public places.
Date: 2004-03-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU policy, anti-discriminatory measure, gender equality, mother's milk, motherhood, public awareness campaign, social behaviour, social life

C 84 E/696

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(1 April 2004)

Under Article 217 of the EC Treaty, as last amended by the Nice Treaty,
‘the responsibilities incumbent
upon the Commission shall be structured and allocated among its Members by its President’. Thus it is for
the person who is appointed President of the next Commission to decide how responsibilities in the
economic and social fields will be allocated and whether, more particularly, wide-ranging coordination
responsibilities in the social field should be allocated to a Member of that Commission.

(2004/C 84 E/0782)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0900/04

by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission

(24 March 2004)

Subject: Breastfeeding in public places

Is the Commission aware that many women in a number of Member States experience difficulty when they
attempt to breastfeed in a public place?

Does the Commission consider that this is discriminatory against both mother and baby and that efforts
should be made to change attitudes to what is a perfectly normal and acceptable practice?

Answer given by Mr Dimas on behalf of the Commission

(16 April 2004)

The Community legislation in the area of equal treatment between women and men covers issues relevant
to the field of employment and occupation at this stage. The issue of breastfeeding in public places is not,
therefore, an issue of discrimination within the meaning of existing Community legislation.

As the Honourable Member has said, this is a matter of attitudes to what is considered normal and
acceptable practice in a society. The Community Framework Strategy on gender equality (2001-2005) (1) is
supported by an action programme which aims at raising awareness on gender issues in EU policies,
developing statistics and indicators and transnational networking of actors to promote gender equality.
Among the objectives of the strategy is ‘promoting gender equality in civil life’ and ‘promoting change of
gender roles and stereotypes’ which is about changing behaviour, attitudes, norms and values. This theme
is a priority theme within the gender equality programme for 2004 and 2005.

(1) OJ C 337 E, 28.11.2000.

(2004/C 84 E/0783)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0928/04

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(22 March 2004)

Subject: Equality of treatment in the written test for competition COM/A/3/02, sector 2

With regard to written test (d) for the competition COM/A/3/02 (Sustainable developoment: Environ-
mental, energy and transport sciences and technologies) can the Commission say:

(cid:1) how many candidates chose each of the five topics and what proportion of each group were admitted

to the oral test;
Commission Regulation (EC) No 545/2004 of 24 March 2004 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 32/2000 in the light of amendments to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff
Date: 2004-03-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: common customs tariff, statistical nomenclature, tariff nomenclature

L 87/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.3.2004

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 545/2004

of 24 March 2004

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 32/2000 in the light of amendments to Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Regulation (EC) No 32/2000 is amended as follows:

Article 1

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 32/2000 of 17
December 1999 opening and providing for the administration
of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT and certain other
Community tariff quotas and establishing detailed rules for
adjusting the quotas, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1808/
95 (1), and in particular Article 9(1)(a) thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1789/2003 of 11
September 2003 amending Annex I to Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical
nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (2)
has amended the combined nomenclature codes for
certain products of Annexes I and IV to Regulation (EC)
No 32/2000. These Annexes
should therefore be
amened accordingly

This Regulation should apply from the date of entry into
force of Regulation (EC) No 1789/2003.

(1)

(2)

(3)

1. In Annex I,

column, CN code
‘ex 0304 20 94’.

for serial number 09.0048,
is

‘ex 0304 20 95’

in the second
by

replaced

2. Annex IV is amended as follows:

(a) the codes for serial number 09.0104 are amended as

follows:
(i) the codes ‘4818 20’ to ‘4823 90 90’ in the column
‘CN code’ and the text concerning Chapter 48 in the
column ‘Description’ are deleted;
is

‘ex 9113 90 90’

(ii) code

replaced

by

‘ex 9113 90 80’;
(b) for serial number 09.0106,

in the column ‘CN code’,

code ‘6217 17 00’ is replaced by ‘6217 10 00’.

(c) the codes for serial number 09.0104 are amended as

follows:

(i) the codes ‘4818 20 10 10’ to ‘4823 90 90 20’ are

deleted;

(ii) in the column ‘TARIC code’,

the figure ‘10’

is

inserted for CN code ‘7117 19 99’;
‘9113 90 90 10’

is

(iii) code

replaced

by

‘9113 90 80 11’.

Article 2

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Customs Code
Committee,

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2004.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 24 March 2004.

For the Commission

Frederik BOLKESTEIN

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 5, 8.1.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission

Regulation (EC) No 384/2003 (OJ L 55, 1.3.2003, p. 15).

(2) OJ L 281, 30.10.2003, p. 1.