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Strasbourg Round Up - Latest
March (1) 2009
Main Topics:
Greener, cheaper cars; Tories’ true eurosceptic
colours; European day for the victims
of terrorism; Green economy; Gordon Brown
Spanish property woes: Ever
closer Union; Car
industry; Food safety
Greener, cheaper cars
Months of hard work for Gary Titley, in his role as Labour’s chief negotiator on a new EU car law, finally paid off at the first of two week-long Strasbourg plenaries, scheduled for March. MEPs approved the new regulations, which will boost car safety, reduce CO2 emissions and cut costs for consumers across the EU by improving fuel consumption. In addition, they will also lead to a reduction in traffic noise, which recent studies have linked to ill-health.
All this will be achieved by setting new standards for tyres and introducing rules which will make new safety features compulsory. These include tyre pressure monitoring systems for passenger cars, as well as advanced emergency braking and lane departure warning systems for lorries.
Speaking after the measures had been voted through, Gary said: “These laws may be very technical, but that doesn’t make them any less important. The new rules will save lives and help protect the environment, but at the same time, cut costs for drivers as they see their petrol bills go down”.
Tories’ true eurosceptic colours
Gary accused the Tories of showing their true colours yet again by putting their blind euro-scepticism before promoting the interests of the people they one day hope to serve. Tory Deputy Leader, William Hague, was at the Strasbourg plenary to meet with the leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament. Hague confirmed that the Conservatives intended to abandon the centre-right EPP – and the political mainstream – by forming their own group after the June European elections.
Commenting on the announcement, Gary said that everyone in the Parliament knew this would do the Tories – and with them, the people of Britain – no favours. “If you are not part of a big political group, you are less likely to be able to speak in debates and influence the outcome of votes,” he added. “Even worse, the Tories may well end up having to associate themselves with a group of right-wing extremists. Even if they claim they don’t want to, they could easily have no other choice at the end of the day.”
European day for the victims of terrorism
The European Parliament marked the European day for victims of terrorism at this plenary session. This sombre occasion was made even more poignant because it coincided with the fifth anniversary of the Madrid bombings that left 191 dead and nearly 2000 injured. After the recent attacks in Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka, the Parliament’s President, Hans-Gert Pöttering talked of the suffering of the victims, describing terrorism as “a crime that can never be justified”.
Coming from a region that had experienced more than its share of terrorist outrages over the years, Gary said that the pain and suffering caused have untold effects for many years to come after the attacks. It is therefore entirely appropriate that Europeans show their solidarity for those who have suffered and are still suffering”, he added.
Targeting the texting trap
When you get back from holiday, the last thing you need is a huge phone bill clocked up when calling, texting or using the internet on your mobile from abroad. This month in Strasbourg, MEPs on the Industry Committee voted to update the existing EU rules which already help to keep phone call costs down. In future, texts, data roaming and per second billing will be covered by the revised regulations. That means it could cost as little as 9p to send a text from abroad. The recommendations also include measures to stop phone companies rounding up phone call charges to the nearest minute, instead of paying for exactly what you use.
Welcoming the decision as yet another “victory for consumers” in Europe, Gary said: “The EU caps on call charges may already be in place, but we do need to update our rules to make sure consumers aren’t hit by the latest wheezes from companies trying to squeeze even more money out of them. This vote is an important first step in that updating process. It’s now up to all the 27 EU member states to endorse what MEPs have decided”.
Green economy
The recession has started to bite hard across the EU. Eurozone unemployment has already reached 8.2% and is set to rise further. Against such a grim economic background, MEPs discussed how to set the EU on the road to recovery. Many favoured the creation of green jobs, including the renovation of energy inefficient houses and investing in green transport like trains. Such moves would not only help the economy but also improve the environment at the same time.
The European Economic Recovery Plan, announced late last year, will be a big step towards this with the EU itself, the 27 member states and the European Investment Bank all joining forces to provide a €200bn stimulus. The EU element of the package will focus on loans to small businesses, improving energy networks, creating wind farms and making money available for the development of innovative carbon capture and storage plants. Gary said: "The challenge now is to make sure the money is spent on time so that it has a real impact when we need it most. That time is now”.
Small businesses
As well as opening up credit lines for small and medium sized businesses, MEPs also discussed a series of further measures designed to help them survive the economic downturn. These include steps to cut unnecessary red tape and make it easier for companies to do business in different countries. Gary welcomed the measures, but complained that they did not go far enough.
"Small
businesses are vital to the economy and they are bearing the brunt of the
current difficulties”, he said. “We often talk about better regulation, but we
really need legislation that is proportional to the problems we are dealing
with. Often EU law focuses on big businesses. Now is the time to think about
the specific needs of small business too, in terms of funding, market access and
legislation".
And Finally…
Yet again UKIP showed how much they really care about their fellow human beings - by voting against EU Solidarity Fund money for Romania. Last summer, the country experienced its worst flooding in decades, causing million worth of damage. Most MEPs backed the €11million EU donation towards the repair bill. But in their usual spirit of goodwill towards no-one but themselves, UKIP MEPs voted against. Yet this time last year, they were all in favour of giving EU money to the UK after our floods. Perhaps they simply don't understand the meaning of the word ‘solidarity’!
Titley MEP
March (2) 2009
Gordon Brown
A week before the G20 summit in London gets underway, Gordon Brown gave his most pro-European speech yet to MEPs at the second Strasbourg plenary session of the month. “Today we enjoy a Europe of peace and unity which will truly rank among the finest of human achievements and which is today a beacon of hope for the whole world,” he declared. “Britain today is a country not in Europe’s slipstream but firmly in its mainstream”. The Prime Minister added that it was crucial, in the current testing conditions, to work together at EU level, so Europe can take the lead in finding solutions to the global economic crisis at the G20 summit.
Speaking after Gordon Brown sat down, Gary Titley said: “It means a lot to hear our Prime Minister endorse the work we do here so enthusiastically. His speech made it clear that standing on the sidelines or trying to go it alone will not do anyone any good. It’s a clear message to the eurosceptic Tories: if you say you are serious about tackling the economic crisis or climate change, then you’ve got to be serious about Europe too.
Spanish property woes
Large numbers of European citizens, including hundreds of Britons, have suffered heartache and potentially huge financial losses as a result of the Spanish land grab scandal. This month in Strasbourg they won support in their battle for justice when MEPs voted through a strongly worded report written by Margrete Auken, which was highly critical of “extensive urbanisation” practices in Spain.
Over the last decade, many people have bought properties in Spain, hoping to start a new life out there. But some have ended up with a disaster on their hands and thousands of pounds out of pocket, after their houses were not completed, or they were told their property was built illegally. The situation got so dire that some of those affected submitted a petition to the European Parliament. The petition called for strong action to be taken to sort out the legal issues, give compensation to those who have suffered and to withhold EU financial assistance, if the Spanish authorities fail to get their act in gear.
Gary was delighted with the outcome of the vote: “It’s high time action was taken. I’ve been campaigning on this for years now on behalf of scores of constituents who have approached me with some truly horrendous tales of woe. That’s why, despite some very tough opposition and against all the odds, I’m really pleased that the Auken Report got though. Now the pressure really is on the Spanish authorities to deal with this injustice as a matter of urgency.
Ever closer Union… with the U.S.
The recent arrival of Barack Obama in the White House offers the EU the opportunity to renew and strengthen its links with the U.S. Aware of the changed political climate, MEPs voted in favour of introducing a new political council and a joint transatlantic assembly, which would meet on a regular
basis to discuss mutually important issues such as disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, Russia and extraordinary rendition.
The Parliament also called on the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) to step up its activities to ensure that there is a unified transatlantic market by 2015. MEPs said that other priorities for the EU-US partnership should be a lasting peace in the Middle East, the fight against terrorism and achieving the Millennium Development Goals, especially in Africa.
Welcoming these moves, Gary said: “The new US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to the European Parliament was a clear sign that the US wants to engage more actively with the EU. I am delighted we have now set out concrete ways of making this important partnership work better”.
Car industry
New car sales have fallen dramatically across the EU in recent months as a result of the recession, putting millions of jobs at risk. To tackle this unprecedented crisis, MEPs called for a united European response to prevent the industry going to the wall. Solutions under discussion included financial support in the form of state guarantees for low interest loans and using European funds to help re-train vulnerable workers. There were also proposals to channel EU money to fund Research and Development programmes into green technologies as a means of using the economic downturn to put the industry on a firmer long term footing.
Gary said: “There are lots of ways the EU can help when things get tough. For instance, the Globalisation Adjustment and EU Social Funds can provide money to retrain and support workers who have lost jobs. Moreover, by working together at EU level, we can make sure that actions taken by some countries don’t cause problems in others.
Food safety
We all want to make sure that the food on our plates is safe to eat. With new state-of-the-art technologies like cloning and nanotechnology (see Brussels Briefing No. 37 – May 2008) being developed and brought into use all the time, it is more important than ever that we keep our food safety legislation up to date.
At this Strasbourg plenary, MEPs pressed for more detailed research into the health effects of food derived from clones or using nano materials, before these products are allowed onto supermarket shelves. Gary said: “Not enough research has been done yet and the testing methods are certainly not up to scratch. It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to people's health.
And Finally
Tory MEP
Daniel Hannan’s diatribe against Gordon Brown in Strasbourg has received over a
million hits on YouTube. Perhaps, due to this arch eurosceptic’s new found
fame, readers might be interested in the comments he made about Iceland in the
Spectator 5 years ago. He wrote: “Being outside the EU, Iceland has been able
to cut taxes and regulation, and to open up its economy… They understand that
there is a connection between living in an independent state and living
independently from the state. They have no more desire to submit to
international than to national regulation. That attitude has made them the
happiest, freest and wealthiest people on earth. Long may they remain so.”
Shame it didn’t quite work out that way!
Gary Titley MEP
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