573 Most Recent Stories From Liberal Democrat Members of the European Parliament

Wed 19th Nov 2008:

EU Member States must sign UN Cluster Bombs Convention.

Liz Lynne MEP, Liberal Democrat member of the European Parliament’s Sub-Committee on Human Rights, will today be taking part in a debate in the European Parliament that will seek to ask the European Council what steps have been taken to encourage Member States to sign the UN Convention on Cluster Munitions when the documents opens for signatures in December. Liz has been a long time campaigner for an end to the use of cluster bombs and in October 2007 co- authored a resolution before the Parliament calling on Member States to sign the UN Convention. The text of the Convention was agreed by over 100 countries at a summit in Dublin in May this year, but since then some countries have backtracked on their support for the text, which seeks to outlaw the use of all cluster munitions. The UK had previously been one of those countries seeking to water down the Convention, but the Government has recently confirmed its intention to sign and begin destroying its cluster bomb supplies. Today’s debate will ask what the European Council has done to ensure that EU countries sign up to the Convention and pledge their support for outlawing the use of these horrific weapons. Speaking before the debate Liz said: “It is absolutely essential that we ban the use of cluster bombs. They cause untold suffering for thousands of men, women and children across the world and kill indiscriminately. Ninety percent of all cluster bombs casualties are civilians and we simply cannot allow the use of these weapons to continue. “I am very pleased that the UK have said they will be signing the Convention, I hope that the Government will also set about ensuring that the UK ratifies the Convention as quickly as possible. “It is also very important that we continue to encourage other countries to sign so that the Convention has real impact. If all EU Member States were to sign then it would send a clear signal to the rest of the world that the countries of the Europe Union are totally in favour of this initiative. “I very much hope that come 3rd December, when the Convention officially opens for signatures we will see EU countries be the very first to pledge their support for the ban.”   var addthis_pub = "Bruxelles Congrès";

Tue 18th Nov 2008:

Lib Dems call on Brown to re-launch single currency debate.

In a speech in the European Parliament today regarding the outcome of the g-20 summit, Andrew Duff MEP, Leader of the Liberal Democrat European Parliamentary Party, said: "The financial crisis will have a dramatic effect on the eurozone. Denmark and Sweden should join sooner than anyone expected. But in the UK, too, it is high time that the debate on the single currency is revived. "In 1997 Mr Brown set five so-called economic tests to judge sterling's accession to the eurozone. Suddenly, all these criteria are met. The pound has fallen to a competitive exchange rate level. The City risks being pushed aside as supervision and regulation is strengthened inside the eurozone. And the economic cycles of Britain and the eurozone are now completely in sync as they both plunge into recession together. "Mr Brown's cleverly disguised appearance at the eurogroup summit in Paris was a notable achievement of the French presidency. But unless he now changes the terms of the British debate about EMU, the pound will be the ping pong ball bouncing beyond control between the giant footballs of the dollar and the euro."    addthis_pub = 'Bruxelles Congrès';

Women's pay and pensions must be equal to men's.

A key European Parliament report on women's pay has been amended by UK Liberal Democrat Graham Watson MEP, Leader of the Liberal group in the European Parliament, so that it calls for women's pensions to be equal to men's. Graham was acting on the initiative of the Plymouth Senior Citizens Forum who had brought a petition to the Parliament pointing out the inequalities between the basic pensions for women in Great Britain (£49.15) and those for men (£82.05). They seek redress with the Parliament, underlining that women pensioners should not be at risk of poverty, should enjoy a decent standard of living and share in the well being of the country. Commenting, Graham said: "It is sad that my constituents from Plymouth had to come looking for help in Europe because they could not get it at home. The British government should be ashamed. "Having said that, I am glad that my Liberal colleagues and I could be of assistance. It is now up to the European Commission to bring about measures that will help us close this inexcusable gap."    addthis_pub = 'Bruxelles Congrès';

Duty free shopping conditions improved.

The European Parliament has today updated rules that would improve and facilitate the current duty free shopping at regional and national airports. Sea and air travellers having an intermediate stop to destinations outside the EU will be able to buy goods in any duty free shops during their journey. For instance, if you fly from London via Madrid to Buenos Aires, you will be able to buy duty free whisky in London and take it with you instead of having to wait to buy it in Madrid. Travellers to destinations within the EU who are buying tobacco and alcohol with duty paid in one Member State, can now transport it to another Member State without having to pay further duty there as long as the quantity can be considered for personal use. Moreover, in a separate point, shops at external land borders, for instance in Greece, which were threatened with closure, may now remain open and hence save numerous jobs for the local people. Bill Newton Dunn MEP, Liberal Democrat Internal Market Spokesperson, said: "I am delighted that today we voted in favour of preserving the essential ability for regional airports, whether it be East Midlands airport or Bristol, to sell duty free goods. This will generate needed revenue and help local communities. Otherwise, selling duty free would have been a prerequisite of major airports only and thus increase unfair competition for smaller airports." The Parliament's position will now be forwarded to the European Council which, because it is a tax matter, will have the final say on the issue.    addthis_pub = 'Bruxelles Congrès';

We need to stand by CAP reform.

Liz Lynne MEP has today said that her European parliamentary colleagues need to stand firm on the notion of real reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The Lib Dem European Agricultural Spokesperson for England and Wales made her comments in the run up to a crucial vote on the CAP Health Check in the Parliament that will see some MEPs attempt to draw back the reform agenda and constraint efforts to change those CAP rules that distort competition Proposals by the European Commission would see an increase in decoupling measures that seek to break the link between production and subsidy which in the past has lead to ‘food mountains’ as farmers are paid to produce unneeded food. The proposals would also see a transferral of money between the three pillars of the CAP, with more payments going towards rural development than towards production. However, amendments voted on in the Agricultural Committee in the Parliament have sought to curtail the Commission’s plans, with a scaling back of decoupling measures as well as a far smaller increase in milk quotas than the Commission proposed as a way of gradually phasing out the scheme by 2015. Members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats Group, of which the Lib Dems are part, on the Committee opposed the amendments but were outvoted due to a coalition between the Socialist Group and the European People's Party, of which the Labour and Conservative MEPs are part of, respectively. Speaking today Liz said that it was vital that the Parliament does not retreat from the goal of trade liberalisation, but instead allows for a proper health check that will seek to create a fairer, more free-market CAP: “The Commission’s proposals are, in general, very good ones, as they seek to uphold the free trade values that form the bedrock of why the EU was founded. It is deeply unfortunate that many of those MEPs on the Agricultural Committee have sought to undermine this stance in favour of short-sited panic legislation.  “Measures such as decoupling will, in general, help farmers, both in the UK and the rest of Europe, as it breeds greater diversity of products and an end to over production. We do of course have to be careful to ensure that smaller areas, such as the hill farming sector, are given a smooth transition towards a free agricultural market, but the principle of decoupling should be at the fore front of the CAP health check. “We cannot afford more years of government-led trade distortion, which undermines the liberalisation agenda and will ultimately be bad for farmer’s right across Europe. Acting now to curtail wasteful production, complicated payment schemes and pointless quotas will mean a more productive, more profitable farming industry in future.”     addthis_pub = 'Bruxelles Congrès';

Fri 14th Nov 2008:

Federalists call for a new international monetary system.

In the light of this weekend's G20 summit, Andrew Duff MEP, President of the Union of European Federalists, calls for the creation of a new international monetary system on the basis of a world standard. In a statement today (Thursday), Duff says: "The full scale of the financial and economic crisis has now become apparent. While European governments have done well to act jointly in the last weeks to re-capitalise Europe's banks, concerted action must now be taken on a global scale and on a genuinely multilateral basis. "The summit should lay the foundations of a new international monetary system that would manage the relationships between the world's major currencies. The powers of a reformed IMF should be boosted to enable it to scrutinise and supervise the macro-economic policies of the industrialised world. The eurogroup should have single unified representation at the IMF. "External supervision of the EU's economic and monetary policies would put useful extra pressure on EU governments to control their deficits more strictly. World leaders must be bold and clear-sighted in addressing issues of global economic and financial governance. The EU, led by President Sarkozy, should take the lead. "At home, supervision of credit institutions should be reinforced at the EU level, and made much more transparent. Risk management cannot be left to market forces. "The eurozone should be readied to expand more rapidly than expected. Over the medium term it will be essential once again to respect the disciplines of the Stability and Growth Pact -- but from now on there must be real political measures to reform the structure of the least competitive European economies."     addthis_pub = 'Bruxelles Congrès';

Mon 10th Nov 2008:

Czechs raise the stakes on Lisbon.

Financial Times All being well with Europe, the Treaty of Lisbon would now have been ready to come into force on 1 January. All is not well. Sweden has been lazy, and will only complete its parliamentary ratification process next week. The Polish president refuses to sign the ratification instrument despite the fact that his parliament has ratified the treaty. The German president is constrained from signing until a challenge in his constitutional court has been seen off. The people of Ireland saw fit to reject the treaty last June in what has come to be seen as their first of two referendums on the matter. And ratification by the Czech Republic has stalled irritatingly. The Czech problem matters because its government takes over the presidency of the European Union for six months on 1 January. One of the main jobs of the Czech presidency will be to help Ireland implement the plan, supposedly to be agreed by the European Council in December, to salvage the treaty. So instead of being part of the solution, the Czechs have become part of the problem. The Czech presidency will lack all credibility and authority unless and until its government secures the ratification of Lisbon. In good times, a weak EU presidency may not matter very much. These are bad times, and we are fortunate to have had France’s superman President Nicolas Sarkozy in charge since July. The contrast with Mr Sarkozy’s successor, Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek, could not be greater. It is a contrast sharpened by the entirely coincidental arrival on the scene of America’s own superman, Barack Obama, with an agenda of change. To many, Europe’s leadership will seem to be going in just the wrong direction at a time of acute global crisis - mumbling ’sorry, no, we can’t’ as it leaves the stage. It is not that middling sized countries such as the Czech Republic cannot run good EU presidencies: many have. And there is a good crop of energetic Czech ministers entirely capable in normal circumstances of managing the routine business of the EU Council and of properly being held to account in the European Parliament. The issue is, rather, whether the Czech Republic has yet come to terms with its membership of the EU. As the first of nine ex-Warsaw Pact countries to take the helm of the Union, the question has rather wide ramifications. Last week in Prague I heard one leading Czech senator liken Mr Sarkozy’s mini-summit, at the height of the financial meltdown last month, to a ’gathering of the four Powers of Munich’ - that is, Messrs Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler and Mussolini in 1938. The author of this slander against the current crop of Europe’s top leaders was a senior member of the governing Civic Democrats (ODS). The remark produced no reaction at all from other Czech senators, most of whom seemed to be labouring from deep illusions about the Lisbon treaty heard otherwise only on the wilder shores of rightwing europhobia. One has come to expect the parliaments of former communist states to be assertive. Slender majorities and febrile political parties make governing difficult in Central Europe. The Czech senate has raised a petition in the constitutional court against the Lisbon treaty, requesting a judgment on whether the EU treaty conforms with the constitutional character of the Czech Republic ’as a sovereign, unitary and democratic, law-abiding state’. The notoriously eurosceptic Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, founder of the ODS, has joined the case against the ’dead document’ of the treaty and the ’useless document’ of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (which Lisbon makes mandatory). In a somewhat erratic submission to the court, Mr Klaus inveighs against the creation of a European federal state, which, he asserts, will be advanced by Lisbon. He attacks some general principles of European integration, including that of European citizenship. For Mr Klaus and his fearful senators, it appears that democracy can only be national and sovereignty is not to be shared. They reject the concept of deepening interdependence between EU member states. The President of the Republic has mounted a veritable attack on Czech membership of an EU governed by the Treaty of Lisbon. Mr Topolanek’s government has made a full and fluent response to the constitutional court which should be able to convince any fair-minded judge that the Czech national interest is best served by strengthening rather than weakening the EU. The court’s judgment is, alas, postponed until 25 November while President Klaus goes on a state visit to Ireland. In Dublin Mr Klaus intends to raise the stakes by (outrageously) meeting the anti-European demagogue Declan Ganley, who led the ‘No’ campaign in the first Irish referendum. Mr Ganley is trying to woo the ODS into joining a parliamentary group of rightwing nationalist MEPs after next June’s European elections. Mirek Topolanek, meanwhile, needs to work hard on his party and parliament. A critical Congress of the ODS is to be held on 6 December, at which the party will decide on whether to link the deployment of the US anti-missile radar system with the Lisbon treaty. In the parliament, where the radar issue divides government and opposition, a three-fifths majority is needed for the treaty ratification in both Houses. The government should focus on how the Treaty of Lisbon improves on the present Treaty of Nice. It can promise always to ask parliament’s permission before agreeing in the European Council to the deployment of the treaty’s flexibility clauses which allow for more qualified majority voting. It must explain and defend the principle whereby the Union only enjoys competencies expressly conferred on it by treaty. It should keep the ODS party firmly within the ranks of the mainstream centre right in the European Parliament. Above all, the Czech government must shatter the widespread delusion that if Lisbon is sunk there will be something better around the corner. There won’t. Lisbon is as good as it gets for Czechs and us fellow Europeans. If Mr Topolanek does all this he will rescue his term as EU president. If he does not, the four Powers of Munich may be back with a vengeance. Andrew Duff MEP is President of the Union of European Federalists. www.andrewduff.eu Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008     addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Liz Lynne launches European Parliament Group on Sikhs despite Sikhs being barred from Parliament.

Lib Dem MEP Liz Lynne has today launched the All- Party Sikh Interest Group in the European Parliament, despite many of the Sikh delegates being denied access to the main Parliament building due to wearing Kirpan daggers. Liz Lynne, whose initiative it was to launch the new interest group, and who is now one of the Co- Chairs, said that they had hoped to hold their first meeting in one of the Parliaments main rooms, but that the Parliamentary Authorities had ruled the Kirpan dagger to be a security threat and denied the Sikh members entry. This is the third time that leading Sikhs have been denied entry to the Parliament due to wearing the ceremonial Kirpan dagger. The Kirpan is seen as an article of faith by the Sikh religion and not as a weapon. Speaking today Liz Lynne, who is also a member of the European Parliament’s Sub- Committee on Human Rights and has campaigned on a variety of Sikh issues, said that it was outrageous that the European Parliament was discriminating against the Sikh community in this way: “This new Parliamentary group is intended to look in particular at how Sikhs are treated within Europe. Unfortunately it would seem that we do not have to go very far to find examples of the discrimination that many Sikh’s face everyday. “I am deeply disappointed that the European Parliamentary authorities refuse to recognise the right of Sikh people to wear the Kirpan. The Kirpan is not a weapon, it is a religious symbol. This is not a question of security but one of religious freedom. “In the UK the right to wear the Kirpan is enshrined in law. This includes allowing Sikh’s wearing the Kirpan to enter the Palace of Westminster. Therefore I do not see why the rules should be different in the European Parliament. "I very much hope that now we have this all party interest group on Sikh issues that a number of problems facing this community across the EU can be addressed" To see more pictures, click here   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Another disappointing annual report from the Court of Auditors, but national Governments to blame.

In its Annual Report the European Court of Auditors will today (Tuesday), for the 14th consecutive year since new procedures were introduced, refuse to deliver a positive Declaration of Assurance concerning the legality and regularity of EU financial transactions. Chris Davies MEP, a Liberal Democrat member of the European Parliament’s Budget Control Committee, commented: "This report is very disappointing for the European Union, but we shouldn't forget that national governments are responsible for 80% of EU spending. "The finger of blame should be pointed towards EU finance ministers, Alastair Darling included, who have refused to accept responsibility for the money spent by their own administrations. "The public will again assume that fraud is widespread and the Brussels bureaucracy incompetent but in fact the EU administration is now subjected to greater scrutiny than that of any government in Europe."     addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Wed 5th Nov 2008:

UK's opt out of the EU 48 hour week scrapped by Socialist MEPs.

Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne, shadow rapporteur on the Working Time Directive for the Liberal and Democrat group in the European Parliament, has today criticised UK Labour MEPs who voted today with Socialist MEPs from other EU Member States to axe the UK's opt out from the Working Time Directive, in the first stage of the Parliament's review of the latest agreement reached by EU Member States. The UK reached an agreement in June with other Member States whereby Britain would support an agency workers directive, which is due to give temporary workers the same pay as permanent staff after only 12 weeks in a job, in return for being allowed to keep its opt-out from the 48 hour week. But Socialist MEPs have now overturned this deal in the European Parliament. Liz believes that the end of the opt would harm those who rely on overtime pay to boost their earnings as well as UK businesses and has been a vocal supporter of the UK’s opt- out, so long as it is truly voluntary. Commenting after the vote on Wednesday morning Liz said; "Today's vote plays politics with people's pockets and runs the risk of sinking the Government's hard won deal to retain the opt out. "Scrapping the opt out would be a bitter pill to swallow for businesses and many hard working people who are tightening their belts and who want to boost their earnings in difficult economic times. "Gordon Brown now faces a huge test of his leadership in securing the support of his own Labour MEPs, who have consistently voted to remove the UK's opt out of the 48 hour week. "The retention of the UK's opt out with more stringent conditions on its use is vital, anyone whose work does not have a direct consequence on life and death decisions should have a free choice as to what hours they work, so long as this is truly voluntary. Workers are already covered by existing health and safety legislation, including the one covering working with dangerous machinery."   addthis_pub = 'Bruxelles Congrès';

Tue 4th Nov 2008:

UK's opt out of the EU 48 hour week under threat.

Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne, shadow rapporteur on the Working Time Directive for the Liberal and Democrat group in the European Parliament, has today warned the UK's opt out from the Working Time Directive is likely to be scrapped in a vote tomorrow by Socialist MEP's, including by British Labour MEPs, in the first stage of the Parliament's review of the latest agreement reached by EU Member States on the Working Time Directive. The UK reached an agreement in June with other Member States whereby Britain would support an agency workers directive, which is due to give temporary workers the same pay as permanent staff after only 12 weeks in a job, in return for being allowed to keep its opt-out from the 48 hour week. But Socialist MEPs now want this deal overturned and have tabled amendments to delete the UK's opt out of the 48 hour week. Liz has been a vocal supporter of the UK’s opt- out, so long as it is truly voluntary, and believes that ending the deal would seriously damage UK businesses as well as harming those who rely on over-time pay to boost their earnings. Commenting ahead of the vote on Wednesday morning Liz said: "The Government's hard won deal to retain the opt out now runs the danger of being ripped apart by Socialist MEPs who have for years been waiting for this controversial dossier to return to the European Parliament. "The retention of the UK's opt out with more stringent conditions on its use is vital, anyone whose work does not have a direct consequence on life and death decisions should have a free choice as to what hours they work, so long as this is truly voluntary. Workers are already covered by existing health and safety legislation, including the one covering working with dangerous machinery. "Scrapping the opt out would be a bitter pill to swallow for businesses and many hard working people who want to boost their earnings in difficult economic times. "Gordon Brown now faces a huge test of his leadership in securing the support of his own Labour MEPs, who have consistently voted to remove the UK's opt out of the 48 hour week."    addthis_pub = 'Bruxelles Congrès';

Mon 27th Oct 2008:

EU Commissioners' Code of Conduct must be tightened up.

The Leader of the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe, Graham Watson MEP, is pressing for the EU Commissioner's Code of Conduct to be tightened up in light of allegations regarding the relationship between former EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Commenting, Graham said: "Nobody is alleging that Peter Mandelson has been unduly influenced in his decision making by Mr Deripaska. "However, the rules suggest that any hospitality received by a Commissioner in his or her private life should be declared in the same way as in his or her public life. Peter Mandelson cannot hide behind an excuse of it being a holiday. "It was Liberal Democrat pressure, in light of the Edith Cresson affair, that resulted in the Code of Conduct being established. We will press to have them tightened to clear up any future grey areas in this regard:"     addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Wed 22nd Oct 2008:

Body scanner 'virtual strip search' use requires privacy debate.

MEPs are expected to secure a resolution tomorrow demanding that body scanners which reveal passengers’ naked bodies at security check points must not get an EU go-ahead without a full public debate on the implications for privacy and human rights. Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Liberal Democrat Justice and Human Rights Spokeswoman, said: "Travellers need to know exactly what the images display, their right to opt for an alternative search, and how they can have confidence that intrusive and sensitive images will not be misused. Although claims are made that the images are not of photographic quality, they seem to be quite explicit about portrayal of genitalia and intimate medical details like breast implants and colostomy bags. I'm sure Commissioner Tajani would not like it if pictures of his body scan were circling the internet. “So the introduction of 'virtual strip search' cannot be treated as a purely technical matter as these body scanners pose serious issues of civil liberties and personal dignity. Fears arise about the images finding their way into the press and onto the internet, maybe through payment to employees, unless bans on storage are strictly policed. "The fact that the European Commission proposes to authorise their use without advice from data protection watchdogs on necessary safeguards is a disgrace. The European Parliament would be neglecting its duty if it failed to insist on a transparent and open debate on an issue affecting the fundamental rights of millions of citizens. "Furthermore, the attempt by the Conservatives to put off a vote on this matter shows up the hollowness of their claim to care about privacy threats."   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Temporary Workers Directive not ideal but could have been much worse.

Liz Lynne MEP, the Vice- President of the European Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee has said that the vote today by the European Parliament adopting a report regulating rules on temporary agency workers is not ideal, but could have been much worse. The report, which approves the deal made on temporary workers by EU Member States, is intended to give workers from temp agencies the same rights as permanent staff from day one, though the UK have secured a derogation so that this only applies after 12 weeks in a job. Liz Lynne has long argued against one size fits all temporary worker legislation at EU level as there are many different traditions between the EU Member States. For instance, Greece only made temporary worker agencies legal a few years ago, where as the UK has a strong tradition of temporary agencies. However, Liz has said that the current deal is the best deal available to the UK. Speaking after the vote Liz, who is shadow rapporteur of the Liberals and Democrats Group in the European Parliament on the issue, said: "The UK Government agreed to back the temporary agency workers directive, but only in return for being allowed to retain it's opt out of the working time directive. It is vital this link is retained and that attempts by Labour MEPs and others to separate the two directives and end the UK's opt out of the European 48 hour week are fought tooth and nail by Gordon Brown." Most temporary agencies and businesses say that the temp agency directive is just about liveable with but the problem of the opt out in the Working Time Directive is crucial. Liz added: “Therefore, while I do not think that the measures within the report are by any means perfect, I do regard it as the least-worst deal for UK businesses and employees. "We must now put pressure on the Government to ensure this directive is implemented in a way that recognises the concerns of employers and recruitment agencies and avoids adding unnecessary bureaucracy and cost to the provision of agency workers."   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

No more rip off time shares and holiday club bandits.

Diana Wallis MEP, Liberal Democrat Member of the Internal Market Committee, has warmly welcomed a key European Parliament legislative report that will greatly benefit those who use time shares and holiday clubs. The UK has more time share users that any other country in Europe and more than 75% of complaints are from UK consumers. Commenting, Diana said: "With this legislation, the nightmare stories we used to see on Watchdog about British holiday makers and the cries for help that have filled MEPs' post bags should be a thing of the past. No longer will consumers be forced to pay exorbitant amounts of money up front to companies that then disappear off the face of the earth. Customers will have 2 weeks to withdraw after signing any agreement and companies will not be able to take deposits during that period. With a compulsory fax back form to now be included with all contracts, it will be very easy for customers to get out of any agreement should they change their minds. "Many time share holders and holiday club members who go abroad to the Mediterranean for their summer holidays will now have the right to choose which language their agreement is presented in, meaning an end to dodgy contracts in foreign languages that British holiday makers could never understand. Companies who offer these products will also be forced to provide pre-contractual information so holiday makers know exactly what they're getting into before anything is signed."   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Mon 20th Oct 2008:

Solid start from Ashton.

Commenting on this evening's confirmation hearing of Commissioner designate Baroness Ashton in the European Parliament's International Trade Committee, Graham Watson MEP, Liberal and Democrat group Leader, said:    "It is refreshing that we have someone who isn't afraid to ask questions rather than someone who already assumes they know the answers. No one can be expected to master every detail of trade policy, but Baroness Ashton has shown an ability to think, learn and a capacity to take on a complex brief. "It is disappointing that some would wish to play politics with this confirmation. UKIP would rather try to score cheap political points and derail the Commissioner's confirmation than moving forward with the crucial Doha trade talks." Andrew Duff MEP, Leader of the Liberal Democrat European Parliamentary Party, added: "I hope that Commissioner Ashton will play a prominent part in Britain's domestic debates about the country's European future. The Commission should campaign for the UK's fuller involvement in all aspects of the European Union, and for the British to realise their full potential in Europe."   addthis_pub = 'Bruxelles Congrès';

Mon 13th Oct 2008:

ALDE congratulates Andrew Duff, newly elected President of the Union of European Federalists.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe are proud to count among their ranks, the President of the Union of European Federalists, Andrew DUFF (LibDem, United Kingdom), elected during the XXII Congress of the UEF, held on 10-12 October in Paris. Duff has been rewarded for his years of work, notably in the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, where he is ALDE coordinator and for his tireless efforts toward lasting political integration. This election is a show of support for this tireless advocate for Europe in the the United Kingdom, a true mission ground for the proponents of federalism. Mr Duff outlined the Federalists' response to the current events: "Above all, the European federalists are truly engaged to combat the rise of nationalism. At a time when Europe is facing security challenges at home and abroad, when the financial system's stability is at risk, and when the consequences of climate change are becoming real, the need for European unity is greater than ever. 'Sauve qui peut' policies will be ruinous. Only a united response as advocated by federalists' makes sense. The UEF is well placed to articulate solutions and to campaign for their urgent adoption and effective implementation." In this context, Mr Duff emphasized the key priority for the federalists in 2009 remains to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon".   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

MEP: 'Radical' electoral reform 'badly needed' for 2014.

EuroActiv :13 october 2008 A radical overhaul of European Parliament elections was proposed last week by the MEP Andrew Duff, the Parliament's rapporteur on electoral reform. The Duff report recommends the creation of "semi-open" transnational lists, where voters choose between candidates on party lists, not simply candidates of different parties. "Semi-open" lists already exist in the electoral systems of Belgium and Finland, for example. In effect, this would mean that any given candidate in any country could be elected by all European voters.  Duff acknowledged that the proposal was "quite federalist" and would be "controversial". But he argued that "in the context of quite a profound democratic crisis, we badly need such bold proposals to connect the citizen to the post-national parliamentary democracy we are trying to construct here".  As well as creating transnational elections, the Duff report would set the minimum voter age at 16 and the minimum candidate age at 18. It would also strengthen the Parliament's powers in assessing the eligibility and credentials of candidates.  "At present, we are obliged to accept member-state decisions on the candidates eligible for European elections," said Duff, "but the Parliament is of sufficient authority and experience that it should have its own autonomy to decide who should and shouldn't be here".  Duff accepted that in order to be adopted, the system would require unanimity in the European Council as well as treaty changes. Member states have previously blocked similar initiatives, and it remains to be seen what sort of reception the Duff report will receive in European capitals.  Meanwhile, the report received a mixed reception from Professor Cees Van der Eijk, an expert on European Electoral Research. Van der Eijk praised the boldness of the reforms, but was less enthusiastic about Duff's idea of making the elections more "candidate-based", saying that such systems tended to become "beauty contests" where voters are less knowledgeable about relevant policy issues.  Duff hopes the report will be approved by the Parliament before the 2009 elections, drawing the Council's attention during the Swedish EU Presidency from July next year. He hopes to have the new system in place for the 2014 elections. addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Sun 12th Oct 2008:

Scrapping cars now a problem.

Burytimes.co.uk The number of cars reported abandoned in Bury has dropped by 83 per cent. However, it is being linked with an increase in illegal dismantlers, profiteering from the rising price of metal. The figures of abandoned cars were revealed by the Local Government Association and North West MEP Chris Davies believes the illegal scrapping of cars for their valuable metals has become a serious environmental problem. Under the end-of-life vehicles directive, 2003, owners are required to obtain a certificate of destruction from an authorised treatment facility to show that the vehicle has had all potential contaminants removed. Although residents may welcome fewer abandoned cars on the streets, the long-term consequences of the activity, according to Mr Davies, are extremely damaging: “Ministers are allowing illegal operators to run rings around them at the expense of the environment and allowing legitimate businesses to go to the wall,” he said. addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Fri 10th Oct 2008:

Sri Lanka slams EU report on country.

DailyMirror Sri Lanka has slammed an EU report on the country saying it contains unsubstantiated allegations, deliberate distortions and blatant falsehoods.The draft report, prepared by an EU delegation which visited Sri Lanka recently, was discussed at the Session of the South Asia Delegation of the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday. The meeting co-chaired by Robert Evans, Chair of the South Asia Delegation and Baroness Sarah Ludford, Vice Chair of the Sub Committee on Human Rights, was attended by members of the South Asia Delegation, including those who visited Sri Lanka recently, diplomatic representatives from South Asian countries, Dr. Peter Schalk and Dr. John Neelsen, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian, Padmini Sithamparanathan, and a large number of members of the British Tamil Forum. Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the EU, Ravinatha Aryasinha said the report underlines the patent bias of its authors against Sri Lanka and seeks to merely highlight negatives, ignore positives, and disregard the context of a country fighting one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world - the LTTE. Ambassador Aryasinha has said that contradictory messages communicated to different audiences by Robert Evans, Chairman of a visiting European Parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka in July 2008, were “an attempt to sully the good name of Sri Lanka in the European eye, while at the same time scoring brownie points with a constituency due to vote in the upcoming European Parliamentary election”. The Ambassador said that while at a Colombo press conference, Mr. Evans had claimed that “despite repeated assurances, endless complications resulted in the party being turned back from Ratmalana Airport”, at a pro-LTTE rally in Harrow, he took credit for having prevented the visit because “I (Evans) refused to give only a photo opportunity of shaking hands with Pillayan, the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province”. Observing that “it would seems obvious that by avoiding the visit to the East, members of the delegation were deprived of experiencing first-hand, one of the proudest achievements of Sri Lanka in recent times”, Ambassador Aryasinha referring to the dramatic developments in the Eastern Province, said “the draft report makes no effort to contribute to the winds of change; instead it prefers to stand against the tide of history”. He also noted that on “GSP+ issues”, in comparison to the strident  statements made by MEP Evans in Colombo “that if he had the choice, Sri Lanka would not be given GSP+” and, at the pro-LTTE rally in Harrow where he stated that “Sri Lanka would lose its GSP+ concessions”, the observations made in the draft report are more measured. Referring to the draft report’s questioning of the applicability of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Sri Lanka, he said it was clear that they were “ill-informed”, in March 2008, upon President Mahinda Rajapaksa seeking its opinion, the Supreme Court expressed the view that adequate recognition was available in Sri Lanka to the civil and political rights contained in the ICCPR and that the rights recognized in the ICCPR are justiciable through the medium of legal and constitutional processes prevailing in Sri Lanka. addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

'Sovereignty threat' after European parliament adopts flag and anthem.

Telegraph.co.uk The European parliament has officially adopted an anthem and flag which were left out of the Lisbon treaty for fears they appeared federalist. Beethoven's Ode to Joy, the final movement of his choral ninth symphony, will be used to open the parliament after each election and for formal sittings where heads of state are present. The blue flag with 12 gold stars will be flown on all parliament buildings and displayed in parliament meeting rooms and official events. While the symbols were agreed on in 1985 by EU heads of state, they have not been formally enshrined lest the union appear too like a sovereign state. Timothy Kirkhope, a Conservative member of the European parliament, said he would refuse to stand for the anthem at sessions. "Ode to Joy may be a very nice tune, but so is Jingle Bells and like Jingle Bells it heralds a fantasy - the fantasy that the EU is good for you," he said. "But unlike Jingle Bells, it will damage your national sovereignty and the right to control your own destiny." Supporters of the symbols said they would send "a political message to our citizens". The Liberal Democrat MEP Andrew Duff, a European federalist, said opposition to the move was nothing but "petty nationalism". The Labour MEP Richard Corbett said Conservative MEPs who voted against the symbols were going against the wishes of Baroness Thatcher, who helped choose them in 1985. addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Thu 9th Oct 2008:

Rescuing the Lisbon treaty.

By Andrew Duff, MEP - Published: October 9 2008 15:13 Much to French President Sarkozy’s evident frustration, the Irish are stalling for time. By the time the European Council meets in Brussels next week four months will have passed since Ireland’s referendum blocked the ratification of the Lisbon treaty. Those four months have been almost entirely wasted.   Ireland’s beleaguered government made great play of mounting yet another survey of public opinion to find out why the naysayers won. In fact this poll, conducted by Millward Brown IMS, added very little to what close observers of the referendum campaign, supplemented by Eurobarometer polls, already knew. IMS began their survey in July, by which time a certain sobering up had taken place. The most interesting feature of the IMS inquiry is that as many as 20 per cent of the 862,415 people who voted No were ready to concede that the result had weakened Ireland’s position. Much now rests on the political evolution of that chastened 20 per cent. A considerable factor determining the outcome of the referendum was the constant bickering during the campaign among the five pro-European political parties. That bickering has since descended into open warfare, with spokesmen from the opposition Fine Gael and Labour parties calling on the government to demand substantive changes to the Treaty before a second referendum is held. Only now has agreement been reached to set up a new cross-party parliamentary committee to consider Ireland’s treaty options in a more considered way. Recriminations have also taken place within the government itself, putting more pressure on Taoiseach Brian Cowen to save his own skin first and the Lisbon treaty only second. Mr Cowen and his finance minister, Brian Lenihan, missed a good opportunity in September to appeal to their EU counterparts for urgent help in shoring up Ireland’s fragile banking system. On the assumption that such an appeal would have been met with a quick, coordinated and constructive response from Brussels and Frankfurt, the Irish people would have been given an impressive demonstration of the EU’s mission and value. Instead the Dublin government opted for panicky unilateral measures, ignoring EU state aid constraints, by offering full state guarantees for the total liabilities of Irish banks, estimated at €400 bn. Thus Ireland established a new EU low for beggar-thy-neighbour policies. In addition to sending the wrong signals back home, this performance hardly instils confidence elsewhere in the EU about the capability of the Irish government to do the right thing by Europe. Nicolas Sarkozy is determined to have a collective decision by the European Council in December about the fate of the Lisbon treaty. The special committee of the Oireachtas (the Irish houses of parliament) will try to build a new consensus between the parties by the end of November. Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin promises MEPs a definitive roadmap at that stage. Mr Cowen will have to build on that pledge next week when he meets his fellow heads of government, and should also include a commitment to running a more professional pro-treaty campaign than last time. So far at least, the coalition of the 26 member states which have ratified or intend to ratify remains intact, rendered even more solid in the teeth of the financial maelstrom. One supposes that the banking crisis will lead directly to more harmonised supervision and a toughened regulatory framework at the federal EU level. Peter Mandelson’s astonishing reincarnation as a member of the British cabinet should also kick-start the debate about sterling’s eventual membership of the euro. Things could even get better, on the European front at least, for Gordon Brown. Yet all hangs on whether the attempt to rescue the Lisbon treaty is successful or not. As a first step, Ireland’s partners should make it crystal clear that there can be no renegotiation of the treaty. They can even spell out unofficially the elements of the concessions they are preparing themselves to make at their next meeting in December in a bid to win the Irish electorate around. The main elements in that package are already fairly clear: interpretative declarations galore – but no protocols that would need ratification by other member states, Irish withdrawal from the European Defence Agency, and, most difficult to swallow, an agreement to postpone the eventual reduction of the size of the Commission sine die (or at least until 2019). On their side, the European Council, Commission and Parliament should ready themselves to make an emotional appeal to the Irish people’s legendary good nature. European solidarity matters in these uncertain times. But the EU institutions should also begin to dramatise the seriousness of the consequences for Ireland and for the rest of Europe if the Irish fail to change their mind. Certainly, the Irish are unlikely to change their mind unless they understand that the consequences of not doing so are indeed serious. Yet here lies a risk. One possible scenario, in the event of a second No, consists of a multiple opt-out, semi-detached but still viable EU membership for Ireland. The danger is that such semi-detachment might be just the thing that appeals to the Irish, who would then again vote No to the Lisbon treaty. If, on the other hand, an alternative scenario threatens a more complete exclusion of Ireland from the EU, Ireland’s voters will be likely to react very badly not only by refusing to leave the Union but also by rejecting Lisbon again – leaving them, and everyone else, stuck with the present discredited Treaty of Nice. The Nice option is preferred by the British Conservative party. At its annual conference last month, David Cameron, the leader, and William Hague, shadow foreign secretary, made their position crystal clear. They expect to get back into government in spring 2010. If Lisbon is not in place by then – in other words, if Ireland has failed to change its mind – the Tories will hold a referendum in the UK which will, without much doubt, bury the treaty for ever. If Lisbon is in force by then, the Tories will insist on a renegotiation of the UK’s terms of EU membership, pitched at multiple opt-out semi-detachment. There is a most unfortunate precedent for a British renegotiation. In 1976, the then Labour government sought to overthrow the original terms of membership which had been negotiated by a Conservative government and confirmed, just one year beforehand, by a referendum. Labour’s renegotiation was ill-conceived and badly handled by foreign secretary David Owen. Nationalistic sentiment was fired up by the tabloid press at home, and many enemies were made abroad. Then, in 1979, came Mrs Thatcher - and the rest (more or less) is history. Back to the future, and what in 2010 would be acceptable to a europhobic Britain could also be irresistible for a nationalistic Ireland. The puzzle for Mr Cowen and his party, therefore, is how to avoid being forced into a post-colonial, mid-Atlanticist pact with the British Tories. We have not got long before we find out what his answer is.   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

EU countries to recognise same-sex partnerships.

Pinknews.co.uk European Parliamentarians are urging EU-wide recognition of same-sex partnerships or marriages created in member states.  At present some EU nations, such as Spain and Belgium allow gay marriages.   The UK has same-sex partnerships, a system that will be introduced in the Republic of Ireland. Other nations such as France have registration systems that give gay and lesbian couples some rights. The French pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) is fully recognised in Britain, but France does not recognise UK partnerships. There is also hostility to any form of legal recognition in some new EU nations such as Poland. Now the issue of cross-border recognition is to be raised in the European Parliament. A declaration has been tabled on the issue. If it is signed by more than 50% of MEPs it will be adopted as a resolution. It calls for "Member States with existing same-sex partnership legislation to recognise the arrangements of other Member States that have also made provisions for same-sex partnerships," and for "guidelines for such mutual recognition by Member States with existing same-sex partnership legislation." Resolutions are formally adopted by the European Parliament and forwarded to the Commission, Council and Member State governments for consideration. The declaration was tabled by Lim Dem MEP Sharon Bowles. Today her colleague Sarah Ludford, the party's European justice & human rights spokeswoman backed the initiative. “Legislative changes which have enabled legal partnerships for same-sex couples have greatly improved the quality of life of many in the LGBT community," she said. "But free movement rights which are supposed to belong to all EU citizens remain a fiction for gay couples if they are regarded just as two single people abroad. "The current system whereby EU states 'pick and choose' when to grant recognition is causing inexcusable havoc for gay couples trying to exercise their right to move. “The European Commission must act swiftly to end this anomaly of second-class status, and drag the member states into the modern world by proposing legislation for mutual recognition of same-sex partnership legislation.” However, marriage is a family law issue that falls outside the competence of the Commission. Any EU-wide agreement on the issue of same-sex recognition would require a consensus among member states. GIven that politicians in Latvia, Poland and Lithuania are openly homophobic, such an agreement seems unlikely. Last month PinkNews.co.uk spoke to Fernando Soares, a resident in France, who discovered that his UK civil partnership with his late partner was not recognised in that country. This meant that Mr Soares would have to pay 60% inheritance tax on their property, unlike a heterosexual married couple or civil partners in the UK, and so was forced to sell their home. Oliver Hepworth and his partner had a partnership ceremony in 2005. The couple bought a property in France ten years ago, but have since discovered that their relationship is not fully recognised in France. Mr Hepworth told PinkNews.co.uk: "Our British CP is not recognised in France at all and we have no legal rights as a couple over in France. "We thought the solution would be to have a PACS over here but we were refused from doing this because we were already in a CP in the U.K. "The registrar in France required the British embassy to issue a certificate de coutume to say that we are not in a legal civil partnership in the UK. Obviously we are. "It seems that the tribunal recognises our civil partnership but not the French tax authorities or the French legal system. "It seems really discriminating to British nationals since the French have a same sex partnership called the PACS, and they also give gay Dutch married couples full legal recognition. "Alas British gay couples are discriminated against." There has also been confusion over whether or not Spain recognises civil partnerships formed in the UK.   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';    

Wed 8th Oct 2008:

EU climate plans get the nod from MEPs.

EurActiv.com The Parliament's environment committee yesterday (7 October) voted largely in favour of three separate reports on emissions trading, greenhouse gas reduction 'effort' sharing and CO2 capture and storage in a show of support for the EU's ambitious climate change policy. On the EU ETS proposal, the environment (ENVI) committee gave its backing to all but one of the compromise amendments introduced by Parliament's rapporteur, Irish Christian Democrat MEP Avril Doyle. The main elements of the Doyle report (adopted with 44 votes in favour, 20 against with one abstention) include: The power sector should be obliged to obtain 100% of CO2 permits at auction after 2013; Energy-intensive industries should be required to obtain 15% of emissions permits at auction in 2013, with a gradual phase-in towards 100% auctioning by 2020 (a 5% decrease compared to the Commission's initial proposal for a 20% auctioning requirement); 500 million spare emissions allowances, normally reserved for new entrants into the EU ETS scheme, should be made available as an incentive/financing measure for large-scale commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration plants; The threshold for installations affected by the EU ETS should be raised from 10,000 to 25,000 tonnes of annual CO2 emissions; 100% of member states' auction revenues should be set aside or 'ring fenced' for climate-related purposes, whereby half of the money should be earmarked for developing countries; Installations should be able to achieve at least 40% of their targets through the financing of emissions reductions projects in third countries under the Kyoto Protocol's Joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanisms (JI/CDM), but stricter rules on the validity of CDM projects would need to be respected; Up to 5% of emissions reductions could be obtained through the preservation of forests in developing countries under the condition that an international climate deal is in place.   Scuffle over carbon leakage Doyle was credited for having carried the file through to completion despite infighting and an attempted 'mutiny' within her own political group, the European People's Party (EPP). An 11th hour attempt by a group of EPP MEPs, led by Christian Democrat MEPs Karl-Heinz Florenz (Germany) and Eija-Rita Korhola (Finland), to change the order of voting on amendments to the report was rejected by the president of the ENVI committee on procedural grounds. In what was widely considered a blow to several industry lobbies, the committee then voted down a set of consolidated amendments co-authored and tabled earlier by Florenz and Korhola, who had the backing of a number of EU energy-intensive industries concerned about exposure to competition from producers in third countries with less stringent CO2 reduction policies. Three quarters of MEPs from the EPP-ED group ended up voting against the Doyle report as a result. By voting in favour of Doyle's compromises, the committee endorsed the rapporteur's position that sectors eligible for 100% free emissions allowances should be identified only after the conclusion of international climate talks in Copenhagen in December 2009. Doyle's report also sets stricter criteria on the use of benchmarks for determining which sectors could receive free emissions permits. Going for 30 The committee also gave nearly unanimous backing to the Finnish Green MEP Satu Hassi's report on the Commission's 'effort sharing' proposal concerning the distribution of CO2 reduction measures between member states in non EU ETS sectors such as transport, agriculture, home heating and waste management. Hassi's report calls for an automatic increase of the EU's target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 from 20% to 30% in the event that an international climate change deal is reached in Copenhagen. Her report also paves the way for possible financial penalties on member states that fail to realise their commitments, and it limits by one third (compared to the Commission's initial proposal) the amount of external credits member states can obtain through the funding of emissions reductions projects in developing countries.  The 'Schwarzenegger amendment' In their last major vote of the day, ENVI committee MEPs signed off a report on a legal framework for CCS, authored by UK Liberal MEP Chris Davies. MEPs backed an amendment in the report that would require member states to set limits on the CO2 performance of power stations: after 2015, power plants' emissions cannot exceed 500 Kg of CO2 per kilowatt hour (Kwh).  The amendment, based on a similar measure introduced by California's governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is designed to oblige power companies to install CCS equipment in particular on their coal-fired power plants, which produced the highest amount of CO2 compared to other types of electricity-generating installations. Davies and Doyle had collaborated closely in the months leading up the vote, whereby Doyle's amendment on the use of funds from the EU ETS new entrants reserve combined with Davies's amendment for a CO2 limit on power stations are meant to drive the commercial development of CCS technology. Positions: The Commission breathed a sigh of relief after the vote. "It is important that the committee, while approving a range of amendments, has voted to keep the broad architecture of our proposals unchanged," EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a statement. Speaking to reporters after the vote, one Commission official also praised the outcome as "fantastic", saying it provided a sound basis for further negotiations with the Council. German Christian Democrat MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz was less enthusiastic. "We have missed the chance to come up with a practical solution. Europe will face a tough burden in the internal market, while America and China's industry will enjoy a light regime. This is going to cost us jobs," he said in a statement. UK Socialist MEP Linda McAvan, the group's vice-chair, congratulated her colleagues for defeating what she called a 'right wing' attempt to water down the EU's climate package. Green MEP Caroline Lucas, also from the UK, was "delighted that the environment committee saw off attempts by industry to completely derail the ETS," but criticised the committee's support for the use of ETS funds to support CCS.   The European Association of Metals (Eurometaux) was dismayed by the outcome and warned that the ETS could destroy the EU's metals industry. "Today's vote opens the door to a significant delocalisation of energy-intensive industries, like ours, to regions without restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions," Guy Thiran, the organisation's secretary general, said in a statement. Cefic, the European chemical industry association, said it was pleased that the environment committee accepted the use of benchmarking "as a concept" for distributing CO2 emissions rights. "What is needed is a fair and rewarding system for world-class industry performers who develop new low carbon processes and who receive free allocations on this basis," Cefic said in a statement. "Without such benchmarking processes, the European Union faces the risk of relocations because of a loss of competitiveness," it added, saying a balance needs to be found to "preserve European industries’ competitiveness and jobs". But the association regretted that auctioning was finally kept as the preferred option. "Increasing the costs of emissions rights through auctioning is not an effective way to tackle climate change. Without a truly international agreement with the same rules across the board, the auctioning system will place a unilateral and costly burden on the European chemical industry." Sanjeev Kumar, ETS coordinator for the WWF, congratulated Doyle on warding off "the most horrible rebellion she could possibly have within her own party," and was positive that the use of auctioning for the power sector and for energy intensive industries was maintained in the basic architecture of the climate package.  Greenpeace lamented that the committee supported the push towards CCS technology. "EU taxpayers should not be asked to pay for so called 'clean coal', diverting resources and attention away from renewable energy and energy efficiency," Joris den Blanken, the group's climate and energy policy director, said in a statement.  Oxfam  welcomed the notion of using 50% of ETS auction revenues towards climate change related efforts in developing countries.  But Irish Christian Democrat MEP and rapporteur Avril Doyle expects the amendment to get a rough ride in the Council. There will be a "battle royale" on the issue of how to spend member states' auction revenues, she said.   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Tue 7th Oct 2008:

MEPs back €10 billion fund for CCS.

A €10 billion EU fund to support the development of a major technology to slow global warming was proposed by MEPs in Brussels today. Scientists claim that carbon capture and storage (CCS) could halve total CO2 emissions from power stations and major industrial installations by 2050. The technology requires the separation of CO2 from the fossil fuel for permanent underground storage in depleted oil and gas fields or deep saline aquifers. EU Heads of Government promised in March last year to ensure construction of up to 12 commercial demonstration projects by 2015 but none have yet been identified. Power plant manufacturers believe that CCS will be commercially viable within 15-20 years but say that a funding mechanism to promote the technology is essential during the development stage when it could double the cost of conventional power stations. The European Parliament's Environment Committee today backed a cross-party plan to use up to 500 million allowances from the emissions trading scheme to meet the additional costs of CCS installation. The value of the support mechanism will depend on the price of CO2 when the gas is eventually buried underground but could easily exceed €10 billion. MEPs will now commence direct negotiations with the EU's French Presidency with a view to securing a deal between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers before the end of the year. ALDE environment spokesperson Chris Davies (Liberal Democrat, UK) who tabled the proposals together with MEPs Avril Doyle (PPE) and Linda McAvan (PSE) said that the parliament had laid down a challenge: "EU governments must now either back this proposal to kickstart CCS development or produce a realistic alternative. At present the ideas from the Parliament are the only show in town. "CCS development has the potential to make an enormous contribution to the fight against climate change. We can afford no delay and no more construction of conventional coal-fired power stations It is time now for Ministers to back their fine words of last year with some practical action." MEPS meeting in the Environment Committee may this afternoon take a major step when they vote on framework legislation for the safe storage of CO2. It is expected that they will back proposals to prevent the construction from 2015 of any new coal-fired power station unless equipped with CCS technology.   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Pakistan vital partner for UK: Lord Malloch.

Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation Terming Pakistan as a vital partner for the United Kingdom and fundamental to its security, British Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Office Lord Malloch Brown said the recently launched Friends of Pakistan Group is a commitment by the international community to South Asian country’s long-term development and help the Government tackle the serious development, security and economic problems it faces. The minister was speaking in the House of Lords debate on Pakistan held last evening on the initiative of Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne. Among those who took part in the debate were Lord Nazir Ahmad, Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Lord Avebury, Lord Astor and the FCO Minister who responded to the various remarks of the participants. He said UK was committed and bound to Pakistan’s success and stability because of the personal ties binding one million British-Pakistanis to their land of origin. Speaking about the current situation in Pakistan, Lord Malloch said it was important to recognise the resilience that the  Pakistani people have shown over an extraordinary turbulent 12-month period.  “They have seen a state of emergency, the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a deteriorating security situation, most recently the shocking attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, the transfer to civilian rule through democratic national and provincial elections in February and the appointment of a newly elected President in September.”  The Minister also noted that President Asif Zardari has committed himself and the Government to strengthening the parliamentary democracy and to countering extremism. He assured British Government’s full support in pursuit of those aims and added engaging with the new Pakistani government for a priority for them. Speaking about the ‘Friend of Pakistan Group’, Lord Malloch said:” We are trying to put in place broad support that can both deliver more balanced international community support to Pakistan and mobilise resources to address the issues of poverty and the gaps in health and education that have been referred to.” He said the international community recognise the formidable challenges that Pakistan Government face. Pakistan’s macroeconomic situation continues to deteriorate rapidly. It has been exacerbated by elevated world fuel and food prices, together with the political uncertainty that has led to growing balance-of-payments and fiscal deficits, along with rising inflation, the depreciation of the exchange rate and the downgrading of Pakistan’s credit rating.  “ An intensive programme of economic reform supported by the IMF and other institutions is vital to avert a full economic crisis,” the Minister pointed out. On the tribal belt, too, he said the British Government applaud President Zardari’s recognition of the problems there and the recognition that the threat from extremism, reflected by the grim and tragic attack on the Marriott Hotel, needs to be tackled by a process that combines the extending of Pakistani military action into the tribal belt to deal with terrorist groups with an attention to political reconciliation and to development.  He described this as a balanced approach, which the President has supported and promoted, that allows the British Government to support him strongly in that. Lord Malloch spoke of a striking improvement in Pakistan’s development performance and said the number of people living in poverty has declined over the past five years from 35 per cent of the population to 22.5 per cent.  The UK development assistance has helped save 200,000 children’s lives, stopped 800,000 children from becoming malnourished and increased from 53 per cent to 76 per cent the percentage of children being immunised.  He called building on this democratic opening to erect a strong, accountable, legitimate Government which can steer Pakistan through the difficult months and years ahead. Lord Ahmad said in the past five years, the Pakistan Government’s initiatives to improve health, education and the economy which are the three major factors for assessing the development for progress of a nation have not worked. The British Peer further said billion of dollars given to the country over the past seven years have not really changed the lives of ordinary citizens. He called for genuine reconciliation in the country. “What is needed is a genuine truth and reconciliation commission where the Bugtis,the Mengals, the Marris, the Maulanas and the Khans can sit and where every citizen of Pakistan can feel respected and equal citizens of the country.” He criticised the action on the Red Mosque in Islamabad and claimed that this has led to further radicalisation of the society. Lord Ahmad called for steps by the international community and by the Pakistani leadership itself to ensure that the country is not destabilised further.   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

UPDATE 1-EU vote backs tough carbon caps for power plants.

REUTERS EU lawmakers voted on Tuesday for such strict carbon curbs on power plants that, if enacted, they would rule out coal power from 2015, unless fitted with untested carbon-trapping technologies. The vote was part of a series on Tuesday which laid the EU Parliament's position in climate and energy negotiations with EU leaders, for final agreement later this year or early in 2009. In a carrot and stick approach, the European Parliament's environment committee also voted on Tuesday to supply billions of euros to help test carbon capture and storage technology (CCS), which many scientists view as the nearest thing to a climate change silver bullet. The money would come from selling on the EU carbon market emissions permits originally intended for newly built factories and power plants. The surprise CCS measures will face stiff opposition from across the lobby community, including greens who reject the idea of funding a technology which aids high-carbon coal, and industry depending on cheap energy during a downturn. CCS involves trapping the heat-trapping greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal and gas-fired power plants and then piping and burying it underground, for example in depleted oil and gas fields. The lawmakers supported carbon caps on power plants so ambitious that it would prevent new-build coal-fired power without CCS fitted -- at 500 grammes CO2 per kilowatt hour. "This effectively prevents the building of new coal-fired power plants from 2015 unless equipped with CCS," said Chris Davies, the MEP responsible for guiding CCS legislation through the European Parliament. Average CO2 emissions from coal plants are nearly 1,000 g/kWh, analysts say, and no coal plants can beat about 700g. The proposed 2015 timetable is tight, both to pilot and then roll it out as standard an untested technology which analysts do not expect to be demonstrated on a commercial scale before 2012 or 2013 at the earliest. It could face stiff opposition from member states heavily dependent on coal, including much of eastern Europe. The vote backing up to 10 billion euros for CCS tests will almost certainly face opposition from greens who would prefer the money was spent on renewables like wind and solar power. "We won't put the coal age behind us if we give carbon capture and storage a blank cheque," said Joris den Blanken, Greenpeace EU climate and energy director. "This technology has a part to play, but so do many other new and exciting renewable technologies," said Green MEP Caroline Lucas. "We should not be articificially boosting CCS and prioritising coal at the expense of these - especially bearing in mind that CCS will not reach commercial stage until at least 2020, yet the science tells us that emissions must peak and begin to decline by 2015," she added. -- Additional reporting by Dan Fineren in London (Reporting by Pete Harrison; Writing by Gerard Wynn; Editing by James Jukwey)   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Lowering of voting age touted.

EuropeanVoice.com Proposals aimed at boosting turnout at European Parliament elections include an end to closed voting and a change in scheduling.  To read this article   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Mon 6th Oct 2008:

Lord Thomson of Monifieth.

Reacting to the untimely death of Lord Thomson of Monifieth, Andrew Duff MEP, Leader of the Liberal Democrat European Parliamentary Party, said: "Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament are much saddened by the death of Lord Thomson of Monifieth. George was the perfect European Commissioner: loyal, courteous and successful. The EU's regional development policy was created under his leadership, and there was a powerful synergy in his equal commitment to Scottish devolution and to European integration. He was a key ally of Roy Jenkins in abandoning the Labour party to its anti-European mood, and in creating the SDP. He remained a loyal Liberal Democrat peer, and was hugely interested in and supportive of our work in the European Parliament.   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

MEP demands funding for carbon capture technology.

New Energy Focus MEP Chris Davies has called for coal-fired power generators to invest in expensive carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, as he leads negotiations at the European Parliament to secure subsidies to help with the substantial initial costs, writes Rachel Johnson. The appeal came as Mr Davies is set to lead negotiations in favour of CCS at the European Union's "Super Tuesday" tomorrow, when several pieces of climate change legislation will go before the EU's influential environment and energy committees. Mr Davies hopes to secure a 10 year €10 billion (approximately £8 billion) Europe-wide fund from the European Union to assist with the substantial costs of developing CCS technology and retrofitting it to existing coal-fired power stations. However, he said that the coal giants must invest too, and they will "bear some pain". "That's something that they're all balking at," he told press ahead of the negotiations. "They don't want to be the first to pay that kind of money, even though they're making windfall profits." According to the MEP for the North West, the initial manoeuvres will be expensive, potentially amounting to €100 (approximately £80) per tonne of carbon dioxide produced. However, he predicted that once the power plant manufacturers built up an expertise in carbon capture, prices would "tumble" to between €30 (£24) and €40 (£32) per tonne. At that point, he said, CCS would be competitive with carbon credits, which will are predicted to cost up to €40 (£32) per tonne of carbon dioxide produced. Highlighting the need to fund this technology, Mr Davies said: "No one wants to develop CCS. It's commercially very unattractive. It's not difficult to argue for renewable energy because it's clean and green and it goes on forever and the costs will come down in time. "But there's no argument in favour of CCS, except that we have to deal with the problem of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. It is just a headache that everyone has to deal with, which is why we need to throw money at it," he explained. Regulation But if funding is granted it will carry a substantial amount of regulation. One likely amendment to the European Directive on the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide will toughen up the requirements for "capture ready" coal-fired plants. Under current law all new coal-fired power plants must be capture ready, but this only requires operators to provide space for any future equipment. But under new rules, plant operators would be required to provide more specific information, and carry out surveys, relating to the storage and transport of liquid carbon dioxide. Furthermore, a second amendment, pioneered by Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, would ban any power plant that emits more than 500g of carbon dioxide per kWh of electricity generated. According to Mr Davies, this would effectively ban coal-fired plants that don't have CCS installed. "I want to get these boardroom directors locked into the idea that retrofitting of coal-fired power plants in going to happen in a relatively short time," he said. Mr Davies also called for leadership in Government, at both national and European level, stressing that the issue is not party political. In particular he referred to the commitment made by European leaders in March last year to set up 10-12 commercial demonstration CCS projects. Although the UK Government announced a four-plant shortlist for the scheme in July, which included the controversial Kingsnorth plant proposal (see this New Energy Focus story), the Lib Dem MEP stressed the need for urgency on CCS development. The North West MEP, citing the latest report on CCS, drafted by strategy consultants McKinsey & Co, said that "any delay, even just a year or two's delay on development of the technology will have very significant consequences." But, speaking to New Energy Focus, Mr Davies said he wasn't worried that CCS would undermine the progress of renewable energy: "One way or another, CCS is going to put up the cost of coal-fired power generation for many years to come. That can only favour renewable sources because it changes the cost balance in favour of renewables."   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Rugby Union: Crossleyans send Sandal packing.

EveningCourier A fast, furious and well matched contest saw Old Crossleyans gain a well deserved North Two East victory over last year's Yorkshire One champions. Positional changes in the backs achieved the desired results in this first meeting between the two sides since 1995, with better cohesion between them and with a thundering pack who matched their bigger opponents in the loose and overpowered them in the set scrums. Fly half Chris Jones and full back Jonathan Davies were particularly outstanding, combining well in attack and interchanging middle-back positions to successfully confuse Sandal's defence. However, Crocs made a stuttering start, missing two straightforward penalties before finally converting one to take the lead, then the game began an end to end period with a great Chris Jones tackle thwarting the visitors then prop Mark Palmer being held just short as the home side struck back. Crocs eventually extended their lead when recycled ball reached centre Ryan Hammond who stretched over to score, but there was no further scoring form either side up to the break. Ian Greenhough replaced the injured Manny Riaz in the back row at the restart and the fast pace was resumed with captain Richard Wheale setting up a good chance for Crocs only for a rushed tap penalty to be knocked forward. Sandal had the advantage of the wind in the second period but struggled to make it pay, though they did get on the scoreboard with a penalty. Crocs were unlucly when the visiting flanker dived through a scrum to prevent Crocs touching down and the unsighted referee failed to award the deserved penalty try, but Davies took the three points to put his side ahead 11-3. The lead was extended 10 minutes from time when Jones took two tacklers with him and slipped a great pass to the supporting wing James Wainwright who went over under the posts, Davies converting. Both sides could have added to their total in the closing minutes and though Sandal grabbed the last score when their winger went over with the home defence stretched, it was a mere consolation.   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Brussels readies for 'Super Tuesday' climate vote.

EurActiv.com Vote on key legislation designed to slash the EU's CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020. But the vote comes amidst a worsening economic crisis, with several member states indicating that they want to put the brakes on any rapid adoption of the measures. Three reports will be subject to votes by the Parliament's Environment (ENVI) Committee. The first and most controversial for heavy industry relates to the revision of the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme (by Avril Doyle, an Irish EPP-ED group MEP). The second, prepared by Finnish Green MEP Satu Hassi, will determine how much each EU country should take on of the bloc's "burden" to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020.  The third and final report, prepared by UK Liberal MEP Chris Davies, establishes a legal framework for the geological storage of CO2 captured by coal-fired power plants during electricity generation. Growth first, climate later? Following the collapse or bail-out of several key banks in the US and in the EU, the 'usual' controversies surrounding the climate proposals have been eclipsed by concerns about grave economic recession, which overshadow Tuesday's vote and are casting doubt on whether Brussels will be able to push through its ambitious CO2 reduction programme (EurActiv 26/09/08). The climate and energy package is in "deep trouble", The Economist reported on 4 October. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a "green champion" in March 2007, "now sounds like a lobbyist for German business," the weekly commented. Merkel has indeed indicated that she may not support an "ill-advised climate policy," and Germany's foreign minister last week admitted that the economic crisis "changes priorities," the Financial Times reported. "One cannot rule out that interest in protecting the climate will change because of such a crisis," the minister said. Stern warnings Advocates of ambitious policies to reduce climate change say this logic is faulty, drawing on findings and recommendations submitted in October 2006 to former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair by Sir Nicholas Stern. The 'Stern report' argued that keeping global warming under control through massive investment today would cost the global economy far less than coping with the damage it will cause (EurActiv 31/10/06). But many of Europe's industries say paying too much for emitting CO2 means they cannot stay competitive internationally and will be forced to move production and pollution outside the EU's borders, leading to a 'leakage' of carbon that would be environmentally counter-productive. To prevent such a scenario, they say, certain industrial sectors like aluminium and cement producers should be given up to 100% free emissions allowances. The issue is the cause of an internal rift in the EP's largest political group, the Christian Democratic European People's Party (EPP-ED) party. Doyle, an EPP-ED member, is fighting to gain support in advance of the vote in the face of opposition from some MEPs, who say a stricter EU ETS would undermine European industries, according to ENDS Europe reports.     The coal equation Competitiveness concerns are also at the heart of MEP Davies's report on carbon capture and storage (CCS). While the Davies report in itself has not been the focus of extreme controversy, the issue of how to pay for CCS has.  Davies has worked closely with Doyle in recent months to link CCS financing to the ETS proposal. The two rapporteurs have drafted an amendment that, if accepted by other MEPs and by the Council, would see the transfer of massive sums from a special ETS reserve fund to select CCS demonstration projects. CCS is considered a vital tool in the fight against climate change, including by a number of environmental NGOs (with the exception of Greenpeace). It remains unclear how the expensive technology could be funded and made competitive, though a recent report by the business consulting firm McKinsey indicates that CCS could become commercially viable by 2030 (see EurActiv 24/09/08).  The votes are preliminary and need confirmation by the full plenary of the Parliament. But they will give an indication as to where the package as a whole is headed, and lay the basis for negotiations with the Council. Positions: The Commission has given mixed signals on the issue, pointing to what is widely believed to be a significant divergence in views between EU Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen and EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. Dimas has said that while the financial crisis "is here one day and it is gone another day," the "climate crisis will be there always and we must face it". Verheugen, on the other hand, has already given assurancesthat 100% free CO2 permit allocation "should be possible" for select industries and governments, and the industry commissioner's cabinet has already leaked to the press a Commission 'non-paper' that gives an indication of which sectors could be likely to receive an exemption from the EU ETS (EurActiv 22/09/08). Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, has sent a letter to MEPs in the ENVI Committee, asking them "to give the green light for a system of performance objectives (benchmarks) that will reward with free allowances the companies that invest to reach this target".  Cefic, which is against the use of full auctioning, argues that such an award scheme based on benchmarks will lead a "much more cost-efficient, reliable [ETS] without the risk of speculation".  Christian Democrat MEPs Karl-Heinz Florenz (Germany) and Eija-Rita Korhola (Finland) support the use of such benchmarks and have tables a series of amendments to this effect.  UK Green MEP Caroline Lucas, meanwhile, argues that the use of free allocations will "completely undermine what is supposed to be the EU's flagship instrument for addressing climate change". Climate Strategies, a European network of climate policy experts, argue that giving some industries free allocations in the EU ETS will be detrimental to the wider economy. "Free allowance allocation creates distortions for the carbon price signal and reduces the efforts of some sectors to reduce emissions which in turn increases the costs for the remaining economy," the network said in a 6 October statement. The view is backed by Sanjeev Kumar, ETS Coordinator at the WWF in Brussels. "The Environment Committee must not cater to the needs of the polluting few at the expense of the many citizens who wants to improve the long term health of the European economy as well as environment," he said.   The Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, a grouping of major companies including Philips, Shell, Tesco, Vodafone, Allianz, Holcim, Kingfisher and Skanska, are giving their support to a successful vote in the committee. "We recognise that issues of European competitiveness and concerns about a global economic downturn will influence the debate, but we are confident that the adoption of a strong and effective climate package will ultimately be good for European business," the group said in a 6 October open letter to MEPs.   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Wed 1st Oct 2008:

British Tories risk destroying Britain's membership of the European Union.

Reacting to the speech at the Conservative Party conference by shadow foreign secretary William Hague, Andrew Duff MEP, Liberal Democrat Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson, accused Mr Hague of undermining UK membership of the European Union. "Mr Hague is now openly threatening Britain's European partners with a renegotiation of the country's terms of membership if the Lisbon Treaty comes into force. "He is determined to defeat the Lisbon Treaty yet offers no positive alternative European strategy for the UK. What he does not say, in his nationalistic fulminations against Lisbon, is that Tory policy, if successful, will condemn us all to have to live with the Treaty of Nice which he himself condemned at the time of its signature in 2000 when he was Tory leader." Duff, who helped to negotiate the Treaty of Lisbon, added: "It is ridiculous to pretend that Lisbon is in any way worse then Nice. How can we rectify the present problems and weaknesses of the EU without a thorough reform of its structure and a strengthening of its democracy? "Unless the Tories can be defeated, and unless the Irish change their mind about ratifying Lisbon, we face the alarming prospect of a Tory government taking Britain to the margins of European reality. "To play with Britain's European membership at this time of global insecurity is worse than irresponsible."   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Mon 29th Sep 2008:

Rescue plan essential.

Sharon Bowles MEP, Liberal Democrat Economic Affairs Spokesperson, has welcomed the US and UK rescue packages. Commenting, she said: “This is a huge amount of money and if it were just bailing out irresponsible bankers one would be inclined to say no. However, it is bailing out people from the effects of the credit crunch which will benefit the UK as well as the US. Not taking any action would be worse. “The UK rescue plan for Bradford and Bingley was also necessary. With both Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley the taxpayer is getting something for their money and I do not expect it all to be lost. Again, the consequences of no action would be far more dangerous. “It was right to sell on the deposit business of Bradford and Bingley because having a nationalised bank taking deposits with unlimited guarantees is not fair competition, nor fair for depositors elsewhere. “The Government should move quickly to increase the general level of deposit guarantees. Those saving for retirement or for deposits for homes could easily have more than the present £35,000 on deposit with a single institution. It is ludicrous that they should have to spread it around or not be able to invest in small banks for fear they would be allowed to go bust because they do not pose a systemic risk. “We can all see now that there is even more consolidation into large and cross border banks. In time this will present us with problems of maintaining the possibility for new entrants to the market, and ensuring a grip on EU wide systemic risk and equal treatment for cross border investors.”  

Thu 25th Sep 2008:

MEPs defeat car lobby.

 "A good day for democracy", that's how ALDE´s environment spokesperson Chris Davies describes today's vote in the Environment Committee on CO2 emission standards for new passenger cars. "A good day for democracy", that's how ALDE´s environment spokesperson Chris Davies describes today's vote in the Environment Committee on CO2 emission standards for new passenger cars. Despite an enormous lobby from the car industry to relax calls for major reductions in CO2 emissions from new cars, and a deal negotiated at the highest level between the Socialist group (PSE) and the Christian Democrats (EPP), ordinary members of the Environment Committee voted to strengthen the original Commission proposal. Chris Davies (Lib Dem, UK) explains: "The lobby from the car industry lost. MEPs today stood up for tougher measures to combat global warming and sent a strong message to corporate lobbyists to back off.  "The package is weaker than the Parliament proposed last year but very much better than might have been expected given the amount of arm twisting and political threats that has taken place.  The deal struck between the EPP and PSE Groups to weaken Commission proposals was defeated. There will be no loopholes and no reduction of the fines. Today's vote is a victory for people who believe we have to fight climate change." "We now go into negotiations with the Council of Ministers with the aim of putting the legislation on the stature book before the end of the year." Car manufacturers will have to limit the emissions to 130 CO2/km by 2012. MEPs also agreed to set a long term target of reducing vehicle emissions to 95g CO2/km by 2020. The report is part of the Community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light cars and commercial vehicles. Some 13% of all Europe's carbon emissions stem from passenger cars.  Absolute volumes of CO2 continue to rise because of the growing number of cars on the roads and a shift towards the sale of larger and more powerful vehicles, including 4WDs. The call for regulation follows the failure of European car manufacturers to meet the reductions promised in a voluntary agreement made ten years ago.  Average emissions from new cars are thought at present still to be close to 160g C02/km. addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Cross border health directive must put patients first.

Public health campaigner Liz Lynne MEP (ALDE, UK) has today welcomed the proposed cross border health directive, but warned the directive must benefit all Europe's citizens. Public health campaigner Liz Lynne MEP (ALDE, UK) has today welcomed the proposed cross border health directive, but warned the directive must benefit all Europe's citizens. Her comments come as the European Parliament debated cross border healthcare proposals that would give all EU citizens a framework of rights to seek medical treatment in other EU Member States. The proposal follows a 2006 European Court of Justice ruling that the NHS could not refuse to refund costs of overseas treatment if patients waited longer than clinicians advised, even if waiting list targets were met. The proposals will allow any patient facing a delay who has the funds to pay for an operation upfront to seek treatment abroad and later reclaim the costs from the NHS. Liz Lynne, West Midlands Liberal Democrat MEP and Co-Chair of campaign group MEPs against Cancer commented today: "Why should a patient have to lose their sight waiting for a cataract operation in the UK, for instance, when it could be done in another Member State? If a clinician advises treatment and this cannot be provided at home, then we need a legal framework to ensure that they can seek it elsewhere.  "All too often it is the poorest people that face discrimination and inequality in access to healthcare. And that is why we must ensure that Member States can authorise treatment in another country prior to that treatment.We must not restrict cross border health to those who can afford it. Equally, this new directive must not compromise standards of care for those people who choose to stay in their home country.   "We must also ensure there are safeguards in place that put the rights and safety of the patient first. That is why it is vital that a mechanism is developed to share patient's records between the patient's home country and the country where they receive treatment. Apart from that, we need to develop a system of compensation for patients who suffer avoidable harm when being treated in another EU country. "With regards to sharing of best practice, all too often, whether we look at Healthcare Acquired Infections or Cancer screening guidelines, the answer is on our doorstep. It is about time that we started learning from each other more effectively and this directive has the potential to help us achieve that." addthis_pub = 'mplusw';

Tue 23rd Sep 2008:

Roaming text charges: Operators still to learn lessons.

Commenting on today's expected announcement from the European Commission that the price of roaming text and data charges will be dramatically reduced, Fiona Hall MEP, Liberal Democrat Industry Spokesperson, said: "The arrogance of the mobile phone operators is galling. As in 2006 when they were warned about the cost of roaming voice calls and failed to bring the charges down, they have once again been forced to slash the cost of using a mobile abroad, this time with text and data charges. "For UK consumers, the cost of sending a text message when abroad often is as high as 41p per text. Compared with just 4p with a Latvian mobile phone user, this is scandalous. Today's announcement means that UK operators will not be able to charge no more than 9p for a text message sent whilst aboard. When one factors in that the actual cost to the operator is less than 1p it is hard to feel any sympathy with the industry. Once again, action at EU level has greatly benefited the consumer"  

MEP disappointed by European Court ruling on mandatory retirement age.

The MEP who first helped to ensure that age discrimination in the workplace was outlawed across the EU has said that she is extremely disappointed by the initial opinion of the European Court of Justice, which supported the retention of UK 's Mandatory Retirement Age. The Advocate General of the Court, who is charged with offering preliminary opinions on cases, said that the EU directives preventing age discrimination do not prevent Member States allowing employers to dismiss staff once they reach retirement age. Following the decision today, Liz Lynne MEP, Liberal Democrat Employment Spokesperson in the European Parliament and shadow rapporteur for the Employment Directive 2000 that forced the Government to introduce anti age discrimination legislation in the UK, said: “This decision is certainly a setback on the road to ending age discrimination. However, it is important to remember that this is only the opinion of the Advocate General, and is not binding on the Judges who will make the final ruling. “The Advocate General himself said in his opinion that in a perfect world everyone would be judged individually and according to their merits. Unfortunately he shied away from moving towards this goal. I hope that the European Court itself will not make the same mistake. “I sincerely hope that the formal ruling of the Court will put an end to the sudden cliff edge of retirement that forces people to stop working at a certain age whether they want to or not. "It is also vital that this formal decision comes soon; there are now over 260 employment tribunal cases in England and Wales awaiting a final ruling, while thousands of people continue to lose their jobs unfairly every year. This cannot be allowed to continue.”   addthis_pub = 'mplusw';