|
|
|
|
Bill Newton Dunn is the Liberal Democrat MEP for the East Midlands To view his website and contact details please click on the link below.
The EU, and its parliament, continue working as normal - even though there
are General Elections underway in both
Hungary and in the UK.
Volcano
The unsatisfactory dithering over whether to close and whether to re-pen the
skies above the UK and the Continent
is, for me, yet another example of the failures of "inter-governmentalism". Each EU member state controls its own air-space. So, it took a video-conference between 27 national Transport ministers to get any agreements. The EU has been given no powers over airspace in any of the treaties.
Biden in Brussels
On 6th May, Joe Biden, the USA vice-president, will make a formal speech to
the parliament in our chamber in
Brussels, starting at 12 Brussels time. It will be web-streamed from the parliament's website, should you wish to watch.
Finally, the "photo" with this report expresses MEPs' feelings. It is hard
to travel to Strasbourg in normal times -
there being no flights between Strasbourg and the UK. But travelling to and from Strasbourg this week has been extra difficult, and many distant MEPs have not been able to come at all.
**************************************************************************************************
Stronger Together, Poorer Apart: The Liberal Democrat Manifesto for Europe -
http://libdemeuro.com/news/146.html
The EU has a
new Executive body in place - the Commission - which was voted into office
in February by the parliament.
Initiatives
are starting to emerge.
On Climate
Change, the new Commissioner (who was the Danish Minister for the
Environment and chaired the UN Copenhagen summit last December) has proposed
how
to reinvigorate world talks to deal with Climate Change. She proposes - rightly in my view - to raise the EU's own goals to cut back our emissions from 20% to 30% by 2020.
On the
Economic financial crisis - mainly but not only in Greece - the creation
of a European Monetary Fund is being discussed. The underlying problem is
that the
countries wehich chose to join the Euro-currency zone thus agreed to run their economies with German discipline and to give up the right to devalue their currencies. Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal promised to do that, did not, and are now suffering. The UK stayed out - both Conservative and Labour preferring to continue devaluing our currency.
General
Election ?
In Brussels, EU
business will continue - because there is always an election somewhere among
the EU's 27 member states
UKIP
disgrace continues
Nigel Farage MEP
has been fined about 3000 euros (the maximum possible under the rules) by
the parliament's President for the insults he made to Belgium in the
chamber last month and which he refused to withdraw. Yesterday another UKIP MEP, the Earl of Dartmouth, was ejected from the chamber for his language. In the previous parliament (2004-09) two UKIP MEPs were sent to prison in the UK.
All the best,
Bill ND
*************************************************************************************************** February 2010 Update:
The new Commission was voted into office by MEPs on Tuesday. They will serve until October 2014 as the leaders of Europe's executive body. Liberals have 8 out of the 27 portfolios, a very strong share for us.
Tory disarray grows in Brussels : now Tory councillors also isolated Last year, Cameron pulled his MEPs out of the big centre-right alliance in the European Parliament - a stupid move which damages Britain's ability to win votes. Now Cameron has made matters worse - by forcing his Tory councillors to pull out of their alliance in the Committee of the Regions against their wishes.
The Committee of the Regions is a part of the Council of Ministers, totally powerless but noisy. Here are details of what happened : - Unlike the European Parliament, where Tory MEPs knew that they would have to leave the EPP, it was anticipated that the Tory councillors could remain within the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions (where the four political groups were, until last week, the EPP, the Socialists, ALDE and the UEN) - Last week however Cameron ordered the Tories to leave the EPP in the CoR. - Under CoR rules, the requirement to establish a Group is 6 parties, with 9 full members and 9 alternate members - The Tories have been unable to do this as several of their ECR partners in the Parliament are not represented in the CoR and the Polish Law and Justice Party had committed to stay within what was the UEN. - The UEN held its constitutive meeting last Thursday, where it changed its name to the European Alliance and chose the Polish Law and Justice Party representative as its Leader. - This Group has many protectionists in it and for that and other reasons the Tories, while having had discussions with them, have not applied to join it. - The EPP then held its constitutive meeting and confirmed in a press release that the Tories had left. - This means that the Conservatives are currently unaligned within the CoR; they do not belong to any Group. - It is not impossible that they will join the European Alliance or seek to create another splinter group later (if they are able to find the numbers which they have until now been unable to do) - Other non-aligneds in the CoR include the Greek Marxists and the Spanish Mayor of Cordoba (who comes from the United Left party which brings together communists, anti- capitalists, republicans and radical greens)
Liberal MEPs are the most successful in the European Parliament If you wished to follow voting patterns in the parliament, Votewatch.eu is an excellent website. In the first six months since the European elections in June 2009, you would see that the Liberal MEP group wins more votes than any other !
Votewatch.eu uses the European Parliament's own attendance, voting and activity data - available through the Parliament's official documents - to give a full overview of MEP activities, broken down by nationality, national political party and European party grouping. The following link shows how MEPs voted for the inauguration of the new Commissioners http://www.votewatch.eu/cx_vote_details.php?id_act=320&lang=en
The Economic crisis in Greece
Greece is paying the price for not living up to its promises. When it abandoned the drachma currency and joined the euro, it undertook to have German-style discipline in the running of its economy (instead of bribery, lying, laxity etc). But successive governments did no such thing. So now, Greece will be obliged by the EU to accept discipline. It will be painful but in the long-run it will benefit the Greek people.
Britain, by staying out of the euro, refused to run its economy in a disciplined way : and now we have huge government debts and our international credit rating is on the verge of being downgraded.
Yes, it is a crisis for Europe. The good news is that "Europe" normally advances during a crisis - because, when there is no problem, national leaders take no action.
Out of this will come a stronger more cohesive Europe, a little better equipped to deal with world-scale problems together.
All the best, Bill
***************************************************************************************************
January 2010 update:
The European Parliament is getting into its stride, following the coming into effect of the Lisbon Treaty last month.
There is no EU legislation in the pipeline because a new set of Commissioners has to be appointed first.
This week MEPs re-elected the EU's Ombudsman, Diamondoros, for another five years. He has already served seven years and has been a valiant fighter for more Transparency in EU matters.
The principle controversy in Strasbourg this week were the final Hearings for the candidate Commissioners.
Already, I notice an interesting difference from last time that happened, in 2004. The process is becoming more political - which is part of the continuing development of the European Parliament.
The Bulgarian candidate, Mrs Jeleva, was rejected - or, technically, withdrawn by Sofia before we voted her down. I sat through every minute of her three-hour live hearing and she was, in my opinion, very unsuitable for the job. She failed to convince the committee about the many allegations of corruption swirling around her - her flashy outfit of gold jewellery was perhaps unwise - she was bossy trying to get the committee away from that topic rather than being seen to listen to MEPs (who are ultimately her bosses), and she did not answer the questions about her portfolio, Humanitarian Aid, adequately.
Jeleva comes from the right-wing in Bulgarian politics. Here comes the political aspect. The Christian-Democrat MEP group threatened that if Jeleva was not confirmed in the job, then a Liberal Dutch Commissioner would not get her job either. Yet Mrs Kroes, from the Netherlands, was a big success as the Commissioner for Competition in the last five years (perhaps you remember her facing down of Microsoft and the huge fine she imposed on them ?). If that happened, it would unpick whole the political deal - whereby last month the Christian-Democrats got the presidency of the Council (Van Rompuy), the Socialists got the new EU Foreign Minster (Ashton) and the Liberals got more than their share of the 27 Commissioners.
This political wrestling between right, centre, and left is the normal political process, and is a symptom of the continuing development of the EU and its parliament - which is to be welcomed. Possibly, in five more years, the election of the executive head of the EU Commission (equivalent to Obama) may be more openly political than ever before, and could involve the public.
In the event, Jeleva was withdrawn and also resigned from her post as Bulgaria's Foreign Minister. Instead, Sofia nominated a new candidate for Commissioner - and there has to be a Hearing for her. The whole Commission may now be voted into office by MEPs on 9th February.
As one of the parliament's five Quaestors, I have also been dealing with internal problems - including revising the rules about access for the public with children, the holding of exhibitions inside the premises, back-claims for expenses from MEPs defeated in last summer's elections (one allowed on medical grounds), a one-legged member wanting fulltime care to be financed by the parliament (we are seeking medical advice), members wanting to move furniture out of their offices (refused) and one wanting an office wall to be demolished (refused).
The most difficult problem is how to get the No Smoking rule enforced inside the parliament's buildings. It is the law for public buildings in France and in Belgium, so it has to be the rule inside the parliament buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg. But the rule is not being respected by all MEPs when they are in the bars, and the bar staff are complaining that they should not have to work under such circumstances. The ushers have instructions to request offending MEPs to stop smoking but also they are instructed not to use any physical force. So if an MEP ignores them, they are powerless. If the usher then summons a Quaestor to help, we can plead but we are also powerless. We are therefore sending out a new notice to all staff and all MEPs to remind them of the law - and are searching for appropriate penalties short of calling in the local police. Unlike Westminster and the Capitol in Washington DC we do not have our own in-house police.
All good wishes Bill Newton Dunn
*************************************************************************************************** October 2009 update:
Dear Lib Dems in the
East Midlands,
We have just completed
a relatively quiet plenary week in Strasbourg.
Normally, at this
stage of a newly elected parliament, the major task is to hold individual
hearings of the 27 candidate Commissioners who would have been proposed,
one by each national parliament (or government, in truth). But this cannot
happen because the Lisbon Treaty is still not in effect. If the President of
the Czech Republic signs it soon, then the planning is that the Treaty will
come into force from 1st January. Meanwhile the new candidate Commissioners
will be interrogated probably next month - and then MEPs will vote them into
office for five years, or reject them.
Also in
preparation for the Lisbon Treaty coming into effect, the other legislative
chamber, the Council, will be debating who they want as their first
"president" to serve for two and a half years. Blair is touted for the job
by the British newspapers who love to create controversery in order to sell
their papers. But I doubt very much that he will get the job : he talked
nicely about Europe but did very little to move the UK to the centre and he
attacked Iraq with George Bush. Whoever is appointed, they will NOT be
President of Europe (as the UK press also loves to proclaim). He or she will
simply be the president of that chamber. The Parliament has its own
president, Jerzy Busek from Poland, and the Commission has its president,
Jose Manuel Barroso from Portugal.
The first reading of
the EU's 2010 Budget has gone smoothly. Now the draft passes to the Council
of Ministers for their second reading - and finally back to us for our
second reading in December.
I hope to see you at
our regional party conference at Leicester University on 7th November. Full
details from Phil Smith at
phil@aldmail.co.uk
All the best
Bill
*************************************************************************************************** Animal testing regulations to be tightened up - http://libdemeuro.com/news/145.html
*************************************************************************************************** A report-back from the parliament (September 2009).
Two important votes are approaching
1. the General Election in Germany on 27th September
2. the referendum in Ireland on 2nd October about the Lisbon Treaty One of our Irish Liberal MEPs emailed : "Many people have been asking me whether they can help in any way in the Irish referendum campaign, and the answer is that a national referendum is, by definition, an internal national matter, even where, as in this case, the repercussions have an effect across Europe. That being said, Irish people resident in Belgium and indeed all over Europe have set up a "Europe for Ireland" group to promote a Yes vote to the Lisbon Treaty and which is helping in whatever way it can within the rules. Anyone interested in contributing should visit their website at: http://www.europeforireland.eu/ As they say on their website : "Whether you are Irish or not, we need YOUR help... You can send us an e-mail of support, sign up for updates, donate, join us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Linked In , contact your family or friends in Ireland, tell us your ideas/suggestions as to what we should do."
The big event in the parliament this week in Strasbourg was the vote to install a President of the Commission in office for the next five years. The Commission is the EU's executive body. For the past five years its President has been Jose Manuel Barroso, a former prime minister of Portugal. In the opinion of many in the parliament, he has been "re-active" rather than forward-looking and has not given the lead that Europe needs. The right to propose a new candidate, according to the EU treaties, lies exclusively with the 27 heads of national governments. Earlier this year they nominated Barroso for another five years but the leaders did not set out any targets for him or any programme of work, preferring him to remain their obedient servant as events unfold. Many in the parliament were deeply dissatisfied with such a conditionless proposal. So, instead of immediately confirming the national nomination, each political party put Barroso through a hearing. The Christian-Democrats supported Barroso, being one of their own. The Socialists and Greens did not want to vote until after the fate of the Lisbon treaty is known. The Conservatives, on their own, were irrelevant. So Barroso needed Liberal support. We liberals gave him two hours of live questions. During our hearing, Barroso put on a virtuoso performance, saying that in a second term a president is much stronger and he would fight for a strong united Europe like never before. We extracted a promise that there will be, for the first time, a Commissioner specifically responsible for Fundamental Rights and Civil Liberties (which of course is a priority area for liberals). He was warned that, over the five years, his leadership will be carefully monitored - with the threat that the parliament can dismiss him. Afterwards, our Latin liberal MEPs commented "He is Mediterranean too so he knows how to put on a seductive performance. But we are not taken in and remain sceptical." The full parliament voted on Barroso's appointment on Wednesday morning. With our support he won a majority with 382 out of 736 votes. He won because the centre-right won most MEP seats in June European elections, and because the other parties did not put up alternative candidates. A year ago we Liberals discussed putting up a candidate for President of the Commission, but concluded that we could not find a candidate who was willing to spend a year seeking votes in the 27 countries, with no expenses refunded, and no likelihood of winning. But the idea of alternative candidates will be stronger in 2014, and it is possible to foresee that the first directly-elected European President is already alive and now at school somewhere.
The influenza pandemic The first case of H1N1 inside the parliament was confirmed on Monday. The medical centre is planning for a peak of cases in the second half of October when 20% are expected to be absent from work. I attended a briefing by a Dutch expert. He complained that "It is the same virus everywhere, but there are 27 separate uncoordinated national plans for dealing with it." There should be a single European centre, as there is the CDC in the USA. (see http://www.cdc.gov/) but Europe's national capitals are unwilling to share their powers, as usual. The best counter-measure, he said, is to be vaccinated. There are two to have :1. against seasonal flu, 2. against H1N1 not yet available but coming soon. The mortality rate of H1N1 is very low : the risk is not of dying but if you have to go to hospital the danger is that the hospitals may already be full. In August, the UK was sending ill patients to Sweden. Looking further ahead, he said that nobody knows how it will develop. Spanish flu in 1918 was very mild but suddenly turned nasty in 1919 and killed forty million people, the most being in the under-fifty age group perhaps because they had not experienced a previous strain unlike their elders. The danger in 2009-2010 is that H1N1 (mild but very infectious) might meet Avian flu (with 60% mortality rate among humans who catch it but bad at transmitting itself between humans) and mutate into a vicious strain which combines high-mortality with high-infectiousness : if that happens, he said, we shall all be in very big trouble.
Forest Fires There was emergency debate about the violent fires along the Mediterranean this summer. Points made that over 400,000 hectares of forest have disappeared in the past decade, the severity of fires has been increasing over recent years, many have been started by arsonists, and with higher temperatures expected in the future due to global warming, worse can be expected.
All the best, Bill
*************************************************************************************************** News from the European Parliament -
This is my last report from the European Parliament - until after the European elections on 4th June.
It was an important final session - in which several different votes improved the lot of living animals and the freedom of the internet was protected against the desire of governments to unilaterally curb it.
New and very tight controls over Seal products on the EU market A new EU law effectively bans imports of products from live seals. They will only be permitted where the seal products result from hunts traditionally conducted by Inuit and other indigenous communities. Otherwise the import is permitted where it is of an occasional nature and consists exclusively of goods for the personal use of the travellers. This is an example of an EU law which was initiated by the European Parliament, following strong pressure from the public.
Testing in Laboratories on Live Animals Parliament voted strongly for tighter controls on the use of live creatures in laboratory experiments. But, due to end-of-legislature calendar constraints, it has not been possible to conduct talks with the Council of Ministers with a view to reaching a first-reading agreement before the European elections in June. The newly-elected Parliament will have to to confirm or amend the outgoing Parliament's position and then negotiate with Member State representatives in order to conclude work on this EU law.
Welfare of Animals at moment of slaughter An EU law which will provide high standards in slaughter-houses right across the EU. Although knowing it would and should pass, I opposed it in the final vote - because I do not believe that there should be an exemption for pain to be inflicted on animals which are being killed for religious purposes without their being pre-stunned first. This will not the final version of the EU law, which will be decided unilaterally by the 27 national agriculture ministers. Under current EU Treaty rules, it is considered an "agricultural question" - over which Parliament does not have equal powers with the Council - until the Lisbon Treaty is in force.
protecting the freedom of the internet from interference by governments EU legislation governing activities of Telecoms has to be brought up to date. In our Second Reading vote this week, we reinstated (407 in favour, 57 votes against, 171 abstentions) our first-reading amendment which requires that "no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities (...) save when public security is threatened". The Council had removed this safeguard in their First Reading, wishing to be able to block use of the internet when they so decide. Now there has to be a negotiation between the two chambers, and if there is agreement, another vote by the new parliament in September.
proposed revision of the Working Time Directive - but deadlock between the two EU chambers, so the revision lapses. Despite protracted negotiations between the two EU chambers (Parliament and Council), there is no agreement on a final text to the new law. Therefore the current 1990s directive remains in force. The Commission can draft a new proposal from scratch but new legislation would need to take account the rulings of the European Court of Justice about doctors' on-call time.
Two potentially-interesting new websites 1. On Monday 11th, a new website is to be launched which "is a new online monitoring tool of EU politics. It provides detailed information about EU parliamentarians’ voting records and other activities in the European Parliament. VoteWatch.eu makes it possible for citizens, the media, and other stakeholders, to track the performance of their elected representatives and the political groups which they collectively form." See www.votewatch.eu 2. Your rights as a Consumer The Commission have just launched a new website - intended to give everybody a way to check their rights as consumers. See http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eyouguide/index_en.htm
Lisbon Treaty ratification continues... The Czech Senate approved the Lisbon Treaty ratification on 6th May by 54 votes to 20 against. The Treaty will now be sent to President Klaus for signature in order to complete the ratification process. Klaus is their vehemently anti-Lisbon but a powerless head-of-state, so it will be interesting to see what he does about it.
****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
It is a bit like "end of school term" at the European Parliament. Our five-year term ends in two weeks' time. MEPs not returning are care-free. MEPs standing for re-election are fraught. The most fraught are those whose parties have not even chosen who will be candidates next time, notably Italians and Spanish. Parliamentary committees have finished their work, and the full parliament is debating and voting on their recommendations in order to try to tie up all loose ends. Election day will be Thursday 4th June in Protestant countries, and Sunday 7th June in Catholic ones.
Working-Time directive Representatives of the two legislative chambers, Parliament and Council, continue to meet in order to try to agree on the revision of the existing EU law. The negotiating teams were due to reconvene on 23 April to try and find enough common ground for a final formal conciliation meeting on 27 and 28 April. The sole point of discussion was the "opt-out", which has so far been the most contentious issue.
Presidency of the Council - chaos The government occupying the six-month presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Czechs, have not done well. Their government lost a vote of confidence in Prague and, from 10th May to finish their presidency, is to be replaced by a "government of technocrats" (i.e of Sir Humphreys). This chaos is a strong argument in favour of the Lisbon Treaty which would introduce a chair for the Council to serve for 30 months at a time (who will not be Tony Blair who is unacceptable to many Europeans after siding with Bush to invade Iraq).
Cross-border data transmission charges by mobile phone companies are capped from July Last year we capped the prices for mobile phone calls across borders, known to the phone-companies as "roaming". The companies then switched their charges to data transmission (i.e. non spoken messages such as "texting"). So, this week the parliament capped those too. See http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/052-54063-111-04-17-909-20090421IPR54062-21-04-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm
Copyright in the EU on music extended to 70 years See the details at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/058-54192-111-04-17-909-20090422IPR54191-21-04-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm
Health Care : rights to be opened up across the EU Opposed by Labour MEPs. Now has to be accepted by the 27 EU Health ministers in the Council of Ministers. See the details at
Trade in Seal products Parliament and Council have agreed the terms of a ban - to the fury no doubt of the Canadians - on imports of seal products into the EU, in order to reduce the savage killing of baby seals on the Canadian ice. The final text must be approved by the full parliament in two weeks' time.
Parliamentary records of all MEPs. A website, compiled by an ex-assistant of an Italian Radical MEP, has just appeared, apparently giving the parliamentary records of all MEPs. Be careful about using it ! It has created lots of controversy within the parliament, with accusations that it is not totally accurate (which is true because it gives Chris Huhne a low rating - failing to understand that he stopped being an MEP in 2005). It is a relief to see that I am given the maximum 5 stars and the maximum 5/5 for activity and 5/5 for presence. The other MEPs in our region achieve : Roger Helmer gets 2 stars, Derek Clark (UKIP) gets no stars and 3 thumbs-down, Kilroy (ex-UKIP) gets no stars and 3 thumbs-down, Chris Heaton-Harris gets 2 stars, and Glenis Wilmott gets 3 stars. See it at http://www.parlorama.eu/en/Despite its deficiencies, it may have one good result. The parliament's party leaders have been resisting the publishing of the official records of attendance etc. This botched attempt may force their hand.
European Election day is Thursday 4th June. and you can register for a postal vote in advance. Every Lib Dem vote will matter !!!
Which party should you vote for ? The Lib Dems, of course. But this website is quite entertaining http://www.euprofiler.eu/ for people who really do not know.
Finally, a joke ? Sometimes, at the end of these reports, I insert a light piece of humour. For this, in future, you will need to visit my website www.newton-dunn.com where (to try to attract regular visitors) I am posting a new joke each day.
All the best, Bill
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
1. how to watch President Obama "live" in April 2. current controversies - Angling, Lindsey Oil, Incandescent Light-bulbs, copyrights for musicians, online gaming, killing of baby seals in Canada, the UK opt-out from the Working Time directive.
1. Watch the parliament "live" (and free of charge) - in plenary, or in committees - at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/wps-europarl-internet/faces/live/live-video.jsp The chances are growing that President Obama will speak in the European Parliament during his visit to Europe for the G20 and NATO Summits during1-4 April, perhaps on Friday 3rd April. This would be the link to his live speech. Of course, things can still go wrong. George Bush accepted an invitation to speak in March 2004, but his visit fell through because of one single detail - his insistence that he must receive a standing ovation otherwise he would look bad on American television. In the 1980s Ronald Reagan spoke in the parliament and Labour MEPs and some Socialists walked out in the middle of his speech waving banners. Reagan patiently watched them leave then commented to those of us still there "Gee if only I could get rid of my opponents in Congress as easily as that". And received a deserved ovation.
On Wednesday, President Abbas of Palestine spoke in the parliament. He did not mention the name "Hamas" even once. To read his speech, the link is http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-48165-033-02-06-903-20090203IPR48164-02-02-2009-2009-true/default_en.htm
2. Current Controversies in the parliament Angling The EU Commission issued a proposal about Fish Conservation but worded it badly. Their proposal mentioned controls over "recreational fishing" - by which they had in mind the catching of rare tuna fish by anglers from boats in the Mediterranean and then selling them. But some of the British media are excited because, if the wording is not improved, it would include anglers sitting peacefully by river-sides who return their fishes to the pond or river. The parliament will certainly change the wording. But the proposal is scheduled for a vote in parliament in April, shortly before the European election campaign begins, so UK newspapers may make more play with it. The final decision will be made by the Council of 27 national Fishery ministers in June. Incidentally, Fisheries is one of the remaining policy areas over which the Council still has a whip hand because the parliament only has a single reading, which is not enough to force a dialogue with the ministers. The Lisbon Treaty, if passed, will give the parliament two readings and therefore equal control with ministers over Fisheries, Agriculture, and JHA policies.
Lindsey Oil trouble Europe is not the problem, it is the solution. The EU's "Posted Workers Directive" laid down rights for people working in other member states. National governments were free, it being a Directive and not a Regulation which applies directly into national law, to put it into UK law in the way they chose. Labour chose not to make collective bargaining agreements enforceable in the courts - unlike in some other member states. So, now the contractors have brought in a team of experienced Sicilians to do a job, who are being paid less than the local workers, and the locals are complaining about undercutting. If HMG had fully transposed the EU Directive into UK law the current brouhaha would not have been possible. But Blair wanted a 'light regulatory touch' (as Gordon Brown also did with regulation of the banks). An Italian colleague in the parliament tells me that a right-wing party in Italy, Lega Lombarda, issued statements expressing sympathy with the protesters in the UK and demanding that all British workers must be sent home from Italy, in order to keep all jobs in Italy for Italians.
Phasing Out of Incandescent Light Bulbs Brussels has proposed the phasing out on traditional "incandescent" light bulbs, as part of the EU's energy efficiency measures to combat Climate Change. They will be displaced by long-life low energy bulbs. The measure should save 15 million tonnes of CO2 annually and reduce every consumer's electricity bill. Apparently 19% of all electricity consumed worldwide is used to provide lighting, so the potential for helping climate change is significant. For people with health risks - such as epilepsy - halogen bulbs will still be available. The new long-life bulbs contain traces of mercury, so will have to be recycled, not thrown away in dustbins, as per the WEEE directive (such as returning the bulbs to suppliers). The measure will, say the Commission, reduce the amount of mercury going into the environment - because less coal will be mined, which involves releases of mercury. One light-bulb will contain 1/3000th amount of mercury compared to a thermometer. Twenty-four more similar regulations are on the way - to cover such things as Water Heaters and Air-Conditioning equipment.
For anybody interested in procedures, the legislative procedure for this is unusual. On 8th December, the Regulatory Committee (European Commission plus experts from the member states) adopted energy efficiency performance standards for domestic lighting for the EU. Their measure was based on EU Directive 2005/32/EC in the European Parliament and on a decision of European national leaders at a summit in March 2007. Their decision is called "Comitology", meaning decisions made by non-elected officials The parliament has the right to "stop or amend" any decision made by Comitology - and therefore the parliament's Environment committee is to vote on whether or not to do so next Wednesday in Brussels.
There has been heavy lobbying in the parliament thus week about a. whether to extend copyright protection to musicians from the current 50 to 95 years (as the USA has done already), and who is to benefit (performers ? companies ?) and whether internet music downloads should be included in copyright payments which they are not currently b. whether the EU needs laws to regulate online gaming : some EU states (eg France, Denmark) have state monopolies on betting and find it hard to accept that their citizens can already bet online c. whether to ban all imports from the killing of baby seals in Canada : the Canadians say this is their business and an EU ban may be against World Trade Organisation rules. Advocates say the killing is brutal.
Working Time directive and the UK opt-out : still being negotiated Following the parliament's vote on 17th December in favour of an end the UK opt-out, teams from the two chambers, Parliament and Council, must now negotiate on the final terms of the Directive and whether the UK opt-out stays or goes. The parliament's team will be chaired by a German socialist, plus the rapporteur (a Spanish socialist) plus a Swedish Socialist and a Portuguese Christian-Democrat. so no Brit. The Council team will be chaired by a Czech but has not yet reached a negotiating position among its own members so is not ready to begin.
Finally, on a lighter note, here is the view of Calvin & Hobbes about the recession and financial crisis http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_djgssszshgM/SYXCzpR0MbI/AAAAAAAAAyY/VYle3udsueo/s1600-h/CalvinHobbs.BMP
All the best Bill
PS If you are likely to be away from home on 4th June, please ask for Postal Vote from the Electoral Registration Officer at your local council.
****************************************************************************** First 2009 report from the European Parliament.
Both the parliament, and the Commission are at a difficult moment. The parliament must finish all its work by the first week in May, before MEPs scatter to all corners of the EU to seek voters in the European elections. (Voting is on 4th and 7th June). And all 27 Commissioners finish their five-year terms of office in the early autumn, when they either stand down or, if renominated by a national government, must first be grilled and hopefully voted into office by the new MEPs. So, this is a period of finishing a lot of different pieces of work, before time runs out. Tensions and rivalries are higher than normal.
This week there were major debates on three matters -
a new EU law to limit the numbers of Pesticides British and Irish farmers lobbied vociferously against proposals from part of the parliament, saying that, in our damp climate, fewer pesticides would mean a fall in UK food production and consequently more imports of food. MEPs from elsewhere were concerned that some pesticides may be causing the worldwide disappearance of honeybees, or may cause cancers so therefore they said it was best to be over-cautious. To my mind, there was too little science and no impact assessment made in advance by the Commission, and too much hurry to get it onto the statute-books before the elections.
a new law to creating a single EU market for Defence equipment Defence procurement is still essentially a national competence, and there is too much duplication and high-cost short-run production in each member state. A new EU law seeks to create a genuine single market for defence and security equipment and services. The challenge has been to put in place a legal framework which will invigorate intra-Community trade in this field and which the Member States can apply without risking their national security interests.
the terrible situation in Gaza MEPs are divided on the question. One thing was agreed - that Bush, during his presidency, did nothing to try to solve the Middle East problem except to invade Iraq. There was a big debate yesterday and a resolution was passed unanimously. You can read the summary of the debate at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-46100-012-01-03-903-20090113IPR46099-12-01-2009-2009-true/default_en.htm
In the unanimous
resolution, MEPs call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire which should
include the halt to rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel and the end of
Israel's t military action in Gaza. A negotiated truce that should be
guaranteed by a mechanism which could include the dispatching of a
multinational presence. The Israeli authorities are asked to allow the
international press into the Gaza strip and to guarantee that there is
continuous and sufficient flow of the aid through humanitarian corridors.
The House requested Israel to allow unimpeded access to humanitarian
assistance and aid to the Gaza Strip and to guarantee continuous and
sufficient flow of the aid through humanitarian corridors. MEPs agreed on
the necessity of urgently providing the re-opening of the crossing points,
the lifting of the blockade and the prevention of smuggling of illicit
trafficking in arms and ammunition. All the best for 2009 ! Bill ND
*******************************************************************************
December
Quite a lot to report to you, and most of it is depressing.
Human Rights in China The parliament's annual "Sakharov Prize" (previous annual winners included Mandela, Dubcek, and Aung San Suu Kyi) was awarded this week to a 35 year old named Hu Jia, who is currently in prison in China for campaigning for human rights. The Chinese government's reply was : "No matter what is the European Parliament's intention, China will continue the socialism with Chinese characteristics and adhere to the principle of law" said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. "Such a wrong act will not change China's resolution to go its own way. We have explained our position many times, and I believe that the European Parliament is very clear about China's stance." A delegation from the parliament was recently in Beijing. Its chair, a Belgian Liberal MEP, described the talks there about human rights as "bitter".
Working Time directive UK opt-out MEPs voted, in second reading, that there must be no exceptions to the 48 hours-maximum working time calculated over a reference period of 12 months and that the UK's opt-out should end three years after the adoption of the directive. Also that any period of on-call time (such as for junior doctors) should count as working time. MEPs adopted the amendment on the abolition of the opt-out by 421 votes for 273 against : Labour MEPs voted to end the opt-out, contrary to London's orders : Lib Dems and Tories voted to keep the opt-out. The final step in the process will now be a negotiation in a "conciliation committee" between MEPs and the Council of Ministers who takes the contrary view.
Climate Change A huge majority of MEPs gave backing to the EU's climate change package which aims to ensure that the EU will achieve its climate targets by 2020: a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% improvement in energy efficiency, and a 20% share for renewables in the EU energy mix. Ahead of Parliament's first-reading vote, MEPs had reached informal agreements with the French Presidency on the six proposals which all fall under the co-decision procedure, placing the European Parliament and Council on an equal footing as co-legislators. Latest measurements by NASA indicate that things are changing for the worse faster than anybody had forecast. The world conference at Poznan earlier this month was a successful continuation of negotiations towards the Copenhagen meeting next December - when a world plan is to be agreed. The USA under Obama will be very cooperative, the Chinese are playing a constrictive role, but the worries are the Russians and the Indians. The coming changes to our climate also present great opportunities. President Kennedy liked to point out that the Chinese word for "crisis" is "danger plus opportunity". Businesses in our region have every chance, right now, inside an EU which is accepting the changes, to lead the way with new inventions and services.
Traffic offences : effective cross-border enforcement is coming At present, drivers committing an offence in a Member State other than their own often avoid paying the penalty imposed on local drivers. MEPs have approved legislation to ensure that drivers will be able to be identified and fined for four offences they commit anywhere in the EU. Speeding, drink-driving, not wearing a seat belt and failing to stop at a red light should all be covered by the proposal. These four offences are responsible for most fatalities on European roads. The vote was not about harmonising the rules of the road or the penalties for traffic violations. Instead it puts in place an efficient system of cross-border enforcement of penalties for the four most dangerous offences. The cross-country data exchange network through which European countries will identify and notify offenders is accompanied by data protection safeguards. It will be evaluated after two years when its scope can be extended to cover other violations as well.
Stopping misleading advertising by business directory companies like the European City Guide The parliament is calling on the 27 Member States to act together to put an end to misleading advertising by business directory companies, following 400 complaints from small firms across Europe that they had been misled into committing themselves to pay for adverts costing €1,000 per year. We also call upon the Commission to introduce a blacklist of such misleading practices, and for victims to report business scams.
Fatal weakness of the pound sterling In these severe financial times, sterling is going to be increasingly vulnerable, small, isolated, and unable to maintain its own value. The UK has now lost a fifth of its wealth with the fall of sterling against the Euro, created ten years ago. The Euro has done well because it is backed by German discipline. The German finance minister’s attack on Gordon Brown means he suspects that the UK will pay for all its government's spending by high inflation and weak currency in the future. Brown, with his "five economic tests scribbled on the back of an envelope" and now huge spending plans may have debauched our currency. The UK should have joined the Euro at the start, in my opinion.
All the very best seasonal wishes to you Bill Newton Dunn
|
|
News stories posted to the site last month: Last modified: 05-06-2010 |
