+600 Members Worldwide Branches in 40 Countries

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
 

More jobs for EU citizens
The heads of both the European Council and Commission travelled to Strasbourg this month, ahead of the annual Spring Summit. They told MEPs that the summit would focus on three key policy areas - progress being made with the Lisbon agenda for jobs and growth; energy and climate change; and the current turbulence on the financial markets.

The Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, spoke about the success of the Lisbon Strategy in bringing unemployment down and pushing productivity up. But he also stressed that there was no room for complacency and warned against the dangers of protectionism. Instead, he said, the emphasis needed to be on higher standards of education and training, more research and innovation and the completion of the internal market.

Speaking on behalf of Labour MEPs, Gary Titley agreed that more work still needed to be done, especially when it came to the implementation of European social policies. “Economic progress must not come at the cost of neglecting social responsibility,” he warned.

50 years – too long to wait for one seat

The European Parliament celebrated its 50th anniversary this month in Strasbourg. Founded in March 1958 to add a more democratic input to decision-making, it was then called the European Assembly and had only 142 members with limited consultation powers. Since then successive reforms have transformed it into a key player in the EU law-making process. Today its 785 members, including 78 from Britain, exercise democratic control of EU policy and activities on behalf of EU citizens. The new Lisbon Treaty is set to further enhance the Parliament’s powers and input, when it is finally ratified.

Gary said: “The development of the European Parliament – a diverse multilingual body representing the people of 27 member states – is a unique and unprecedented achievement in international cooperation. However, the best way to celebrate the Parliament’s 50th anniversary is to get rid of the monthly trip to Strasbourg, which wastes not only huge amounts of time and money but also creates an extra unnecessary carbon footprint, equivalent to 13,000 return flights from London to New York each year.”

New funding to improve independent living for elderly

“None of us are getting any younger.” This is a phrase commonly heard across Europe these days, as the baby-boomer generation moves towards retirement. However, help is at hand for Europe’s ageing population, as MEPs voted for €150 million to be used for research to find ways to improve independent living for the elderly.

The aim is to enable people to stay active longer in the workplace, remain socially connected and live independently well into old age. EU countries will pool funds and share knowledge of new technologies to improve the lives of thousands of elderly people. Take new technologies to aid independent living. They can be as simple as an alarm button reminder to take medication or as sophisticated as a system that can predict when an older person is at risk of falling or a heart attack.

Gary welcomed the report from his fellow Labour MEP, Neena Gill on the issue, particularly as it recognised that these technologies and services must respect the privacy and dignity of the elderly. He said that it also offered solutions for those who become increasingly isolated as they find it difficult to leave their homes or communicate with friends and family on a regular basis.

CAP health check: controversial move in the right direction

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), accounts for a large proportion of the EU’s budget and therefore it is important that it gets closely monitored on a regular basis. This year, it has been undergoing a “health check”, designed to make the system fairer and more efficient. Labour MEPs strongly support the European Commission’s current plan to reduce direct payments to farmers. Explained Gary: “We have made the decision to back the Commission’s position because these subsidies and restrictions on access to the European market have had a negative impact on some of the poorest countries in the world for quite a while now”.

Commenting on the move, North West MEP and Labour spokesperson on agriculture, Brian Simpson, said: “The EU’s agricultural policy has to move away from protectionism and market-distorting subsidies. Instead, more money should go towards rural development and environmental protection. They EU must respond to the needs of the consumer and support farmers who produce safe and high quality food.”

Another EU plan to fight climate change… and time wasting in traffic

Getting stuck in a traffic jam is not only annoying, it is also bad for the environment. Congestion alone causes 40% of all CO2 emissions from vehicles. This month in Strasbourg, MEPs agreed on a plan to help reduce both congestion and carbon emissions. They said that the EU needs a coordinated policy to tackle pollution from vehicles stuck in traffic. This would involve using existing transport networks better and even introducing congestion charges and road pricing schemes where appropriate.

And Finally…

Once more in Strasbourg this month, UKIP demonstrated their contempt for the British people. They abstained on a vote which gave the final seal of approval to a €160 million EU package to help the victims of last summer’s devastating floods in the UK. Speaking after the vote, Gary said: “UKIP has failed yet again to stand up for British interests in Europe”. It can’t be a bad thing, then, that this month some UKIP MEPs got their comeuppance for bad behaviour. Those who acted like hooligans during the signing of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights last December got fined up to three days’ worth of their daily subsistence allowance. Maybe the money could be used towards helping the flood victims they weren’t so keen on supporting.


Gary Titley MEP
March 2008