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Dear colleague,

 

With best wishes
Gary Titley
.......................................
Euro Office
16 Spring Lane
Radcliffe
Manchester
M26 2TQ
Tel 0161 724 4008
Fax 0161 724 4009
www.garytitley.com
 

MEPs’ Expenses

MEPs missed a “golden opportunity” this month to “come clean” on their expenses and end years of damaging media stories on how they spend taxpayers’ money. That was Gary Titley’s message after the European Parliament ignored the pleas of Labour MEPs and voted against being completely open and transparent about the expenses regime.

Instead, the parliament voted to ban the employment of family members. But for Gary, this fails to address the real issue. “There is nothing wrong in employing family members, provided the person is qualified for the job, is paid the rate for the job and is seen to be doing the job,” he said.

“The key issue is transparency. For years and years, Labour MEPs have been calling for the expenses system to be made fully transparent, but every time our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. It is an utter disgrace that a majority of MEPs have chosen once again this month to give themselves an easy ride when it comes to accounting for the expenditure of public money. Since 2000, all Labour MEPs have been required to have their accounts audited each year to make sure that taxpayers’ money is being spent in accordance with European Parliament rules. For my part, I have had my accounts audited ever since I was first elected in 1989.”

Organ transplants

This month in Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved a series of measures to improve organ donation and transplantation across the EU. It also looked at the issue of organ trafficking and transplant tourism, which has become an increasingly serious problem as more and more people go onto organ transplant waiting lists. Numbers currently stand at 8,000 in the UK and over 40,000 across the EU as a whole.

MEPs want a European Donor Card to be introduced, which will work in tandem with existing national systems. They say this will improve the chances of a good match being found between donor and recipient and hopefully save lives in the process. They also recommended that a transplant hotline is set up, which would provide relevant information 24 hours a day.

The shortage of organs and long waiting lists is tempting some desperate people to turn to the international black market for organs like kidneys that they so desperately need. This in turn is leading to the exploitation of the poorest and most vulnerable. “These people become nothing more than a source of spare parts for criminals,” warned Gary. “But these latest measures should make a real difference in stamping out organ trafficking and tourism.”

Cross-border police co-operation

Although the threat we face from terrorism will not go away easily, there are things the EU can do to make our citizens safer. This month MEPs voted to improve co-operation between EU member countries in the fight against terrorism and cross-border crime. Under the measures agreed, it will become easier to exchange DNA data, fingerprints and other important information. The measures will be accompanied by strengthened rules on personal date protection to safeguard civil rights.

Welcoming the vote, Gary said: “Member states will now have more effective tools to prevent, investigate and detect serious crime across the EU. The Tories would have us believe that we fight cross-border crime by isolating ourselves from the rest of the world. The reality is that trafficking of people and drugs as well as other serious crime can only be tackled by working in conjunction with other countries throughout the EU and the wider world.”

Cutting red tape

There was good news for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in Strasbourg this month. MEPs voted to back the European Commission’s proposals to reduce the administrative burden on business by 25% next year. Although this should help all businesses, the move is particularly aimed at making life easier for SMEs. This is all part and parcel of fulfilling the EU’s Lisbon Agenda, which is designed to make the EU one of the most competitive economies in the world by 2010.

Polluter pays principle

The fight to tackle climate change continues with MEPs voting to back “market based initiatives” like the EU’s innovative Emission Trading Scheme, tax measures and trading and technology. Some of these schemes are already in place and the key idea behind them is to make sure that those who are polluting pay the price. This should encourage the development of green technologies by companies in order to lower their costs. Speaking on behalf of Labour MEPs, who strongly supported the measures, Gary said: “When you bring money into the equation, people start thinking more carefully about what they are doing to the environment. This can’t be a bad thing when it comes down to safeguarding the planet for future generations.”

An EU court ruling with a positive IMPACT

This month saw the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issue a ruling which will offer employees on fixed term contracts better protection under European law. Irish trades union, IMPACT, brought a test case to court on the grounds that public authorities there had denied workers on fixed term contracts the same rights to pensions and pay increases as their full-time counterparts.

The Irish authorities argued in court that the EU legislation didn’t apply because it hadn’t yet been incorporated into Irish law. However, the ECJ decided this contravened EU anti-discrimination law. Significantly, the judges made clear that missing a deadline for transposing EU directives into national law, as the Irish had done with the anti-discrimination legislation, was not an adequate defence. Welcoming the ruling, Gary said: “This sends out a clear warning to employers right across Europe not to try and get away with offering fixed term contracts rather than full-time ones, simply to cut corners on pay and pensions.”

And Finally…

Labour now has all its candidates in place to fight next year’s European Elections. The full list was officially approved at this month’s meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee. “This is the strongest team we’ve ever fielded in a European Election and they’re rarin’ to go,” said Gary. “They will be a powerful voice for Britain in Europe.”

Gary Titley MEP
April 2008