+600 Members Worldwide Branches in 40 Countries

Curbing aviation emissions

The EU upped its efforts to combat climate change this month when MEPs voted to cap carbon emissions produced by aircraft. Under the EU’s ‘Emissions Trading Scheme’ (ETS), permits are issued to big companies and organisations, allowing them to emit certain amounts of carbon dioxide. If a firm wants to exceed those limits, it has to buy a carbon allowance from another company willing to sell.

Welcoming the move, Labour’s Leader in Europe Gary Titley said: "Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face today. The EU is leading the way in setting emission targets and getting other countries to do the same. We also want the money made from the auctioning of carbon allowances to be used to develop clean technologies and help the world's poorest deal with the effects of climate change.”


Europe and globalisation

The European Parliament staged a high profile debate this month on how Europe can succeed in the age of globalisation. Speaking on behalf of the Labour side, Gary warned MEPs that climate change is one of the greatest challenges now facing us and combating it is about security for both current and future generations.

“An EU fit to deal with 21st century globalisation also requires modern social policies that combine flexibility with fairness,” he said. “Our social values must remain central to economic prosperity. New measures must be forged to address new insecurities, to fight terrorism and to tackle organised crime. This goes hand in hand with building an inclusive society, respectful of the rights and freedoms of all our citizens."

Gary added it was also important to recognise that the EU's role was not just confined to the twenty seven member states. "Beyond our borders we must strive for a more stable Middle East, ensure the Millennium Development Goals become a reality and break the current impasse in the Doha round of world trade talks," he said.


More passport-free travel round Europe

The days of producing passports each time you cross the borders of many of the countries that joined the EU in 2004 will soon be over, after MEPs voted this month in favour of expanding border-free travel under the Schengen agreement. What this means in practice is that if you are a Czech citizen working in Finland or a Latvian working in Belgium, you will be able to drive home for Christmas without ever having to show your passport.

The new system will also allow people from non-EU countries to enter the EU and travel throughout the zone on a single visa. It will also lead to an increase in cooperation between national police and customs authorities – a further boost to the ongoing fight against crime and terrorism. Although the UK is not a signatory to Schengen, British citizens will enjoy the same benefits from the new arrangements when travelling through the zone. But all those coming to the UK will still have to show their passports when entering this country.



EU accounts are up to scratch
Every year, the European Court of Auditors goes through EU accounts with a fine tooth comb to check for financial irregularities. For the past 13 years, the Court has been unable to sign the books off, not due to fraud but because its highly fastidious auditing methods have been unable to account for every last penny spent in each of the 27 EU member countries. And this year, MEPs heard, has been no exception.
The essential difficulty is that 80% of the EU money is not spent by the European Commission but by member states to finance a wide range of projects. It is the failure of those member states to account for every penny that is the main source of the problem. The head of the UK National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn, has even gone on record in the past as saying that he would be unable to give a positive statement of assurance on spending of UK public money, if the UK operated a similar system to the EU. That is why Gary is calling on member states to take on more responsibility for monitoring EU spending in their own countries and to make sure it can all be fully accounted for.
Zero% VAT on condoms
The fight against AIDS received a boost this month when Socialist MEPs launched a campaign to reduce VAT on condoms. World Health Organisation figures show that 26,894 new AIDS cases were reported in the EU in 2005, 12% of which were people under the age of 24. The campaign follows a similar initiative launched in the UK by Gordon Brown last year, when he was still Chancellor. It has also won praise from the European Commission who agreed to look into slashing the price of condoms. Just five days after being launched, the Socialist Group online petition had attracted thousands of signatures, It is due be presented to EU government ministers ahead of World AIDS Day on 1st December.

Labour North West Regional Conference

Shortly before Labour’s three North West MEPs headed off to Strasbourg for the November plenary, they were all in Southport for the party’s Regional Conference. Their busy schedule included a lively Question and Answer session, chaired by one of the region’s well-known European campaigners, Theresa Griffin. Gary addressed the conference in his capacity as EPLP leader with a speech on the impact of climate change. He also led a very well-attended Policy Forum on the new EU Reform Treaty, the conclusions of which will be fed into the National Policy Forum process.

And Finally…

The far-right ‘Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty’ (ITS) group in the European Parliament is no more. It collapsed acrimoniously this month when five of its Romanian members walked out in protest, after a fellow member of the group and the grand-daughter of former Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, said that "all Romanians are criminals". This left ITS short of the 20 member minimum required by the rules of the parliament for a political group to be officially recognized and to qualify for funding. Commenting on the collapse, Gary said: “Members of this neo-fascist group have been fighting amongst themselves like ferrets in a sack for months. It shows just how unstable the right really are. They can't even agree on what day of the week it is."


Gary Titley MEP
November 2007