News

Strasbourg Roundup (Part 1)

Dear Friend, greetings once again from the Strasbourg Parliament, for the first of two sessions in March. The Parliament is obliged by the treaties to sit twelve times a year, and because we don't have a session during the summer break in August, we have to do the whole silly Strasbourg circus twice in one month!

The headlines this month: Parliament condemns shootings in Northern Ireland and marks International Women's Day; MEPs debate and vote on the financial crisis and the EU's economic recovery plans; I speak to the House on the car industry, the EU's job strategy, small businesses, and industrial pollution; MEPs vote on EU membership for Croatioa, Turkey, and Macedonia; we call for stricter safeguards on children's video games; and the EP commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of China's invasion of Tibet.

This Strasbourg session opened with a moving statement from European Parliament President, Hans-Gert Poettering, on the recent murders in Northern Ireland. The President's statement came after the shooting of soldiers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar in Antrim but before the murder of policeman Stephen Paul Carroll in Craigavon. Poettering said "This murderous attack on the security forces in Northern Ireland is an utterly despicable act which I condemn in the strongest possible terms. Our sympathies go immediately to the families and loved ones of the murdered soldiers who gave their lives in the service of their community." He added: "These murderers will not succeed in destroying the carefully constructed peace process in Northern Ireland. The people of Northern Ireland have chosen a different future, one of peace and of mutual respect for the dignity of each and every person." The House observed a brief silence in honour of the victims.

Then, on Wednesday, MEPs heard more dreadful news about the massacre of 15 people at a school in Winnenden, Germany, and held another minute's silence.

Having spoken at an event organised by Worcester Labour Women the Saturday before, I was pleased to hear President Poettering also make a statement to the House on International Women's Day. The European Parliament has always supported women's rights, but more must be done to ensure women play a greater role in decision-making processes and in politics at the national and international level.

Looking ahead to the European elections in June this year, the President stressed that the participation of women in the elections and their representation in the EP is crucial for the democracy in the EU. The Parliament also voiced solidarity with the victims of female genital mutilation and condemned the use of rape as a weapon of war, two issues that I have campaigned against in the past.

The big debate and vote this week was on the financial crisis and the EU's response to it. MEPs debated a package to address these issues before a major European Council meeting between the 19th and 20th of March. On Tuesday, members quizzed the Czech deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra and Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The majority of MEPs agreed that protectionism must be avoided. The Socialist Group was very pleased that its key amendments to the package were voted though, which called for action against tax havens in Member States such as Luxembourg and Austria, and promised solidarity with other Member States, particularly in Eastern Europe.

In a speech to the EP, I welcomed that our proposals against tax havens had been adopted, and spoke in favour of the wide-ranging remit of the report. I focused on the car industry in particular. I argued that the automotive sector is a model of how traditional industries should adapt in the years to come. On a recent visit to the Jaguar Land Rover plant in West Bromwich, I saw how the company has turned itself into a world leader in green automobile technology. But I also spoke to say that the EU must do more when it comes to jobs and skills creation.

In 2000, the EU committed at a summit in Lisbon to transform itself into the world's leading knowledge-based economy. I told the House that while the Union talks the talk when it comes to the Lisbon Strategy, it's still a long way from walking the walk. The West Midlands has the highest proportion of skill-shortage vacancies of any British region. I therefore called on the
Commission not to lose sight of the structural reforms we need, especially during this time of economic disorder and ongoing turbulence in the financial markets. Also as part of my campaign for West Midlands industry I spoke on Tuesday on the Small Business Act, which I had contributed to as a Shadow Rapporteur for the Legal Affairs Committee. I pointed out that the West Midlands has the highest proportion of small businesses of any region in the UK, with 99.2% of our businesses employing less than 50 people. I outlined how small businesses need to be helped to adapt to the modern commercial environment, arguing that we need to protect firms that do a lot of cross–border trading.

The EU has a key role to play in ensuring that small businesses have enough funding. I recently worked on European legislation to provide credit to companies that cannot get funding through traditional routes, and in April I will steer legislation through Parliament enabling companies to recover debts they are owed by foreign companies.

My fight for the environment continued this Strasbourg session. I spoke in Parliament following a vote on the greening of transport. The report made some good proposals - for example in suggesting noise charges for trains, which fit in with legislation designed to reduce noise in car tyres that I'm currently working on in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee; I am visiting Michelin's plant in Stoke on Trent on March 17th to discuss this issue. But I had to abstain on this report. I explained to the EP that this was because it simply didn't go far enough. The proposals will do little to help the transport sector fulfil its responsibilities in fighting climate change, despite the key role transport has to play; in particular, much more could have been done on the aviation sector, one of the main contributors to climate change.

A similar report this week dealt with emissions from industry, which I have long campaigned to reduce. I was worried that its proposals on the spreading of manure and slurry could be disproportionate to the environmental benefits they would bring about. But I told the EP that I had decided to vote for the report because I believe it reduces red tape.

Industrial installations make a significant contribution to polluting emissions in Europe, yet heavy industry is one of the drivers of our economy and needs to be encouraged to produce greener emissions. This is a major issue for the West Midlands, one of the most industrialised in the UK. If the administrative burdens of this legislation are proportionate to the environmental benefits, we will have a win-win situation where businesses are helped to meet their environmental commitments, and where we can improve health conditions for young and old people across the region.

In other news from this Strasbourg session, the EP adopted three resolutions on the candidate countries for accession: Croatia, Turkey and Macedonia. On Croatia, MEPs regretted that negotiations have been blocked because of a border dispute with Slovenia. They were concerned about the 'continuous slowdown of the reform process' in Turkey for the third consecutive year. MEPs asked the Council to decide on a date for the beginning of accession negotiations with Macedonia.

At the end of the session, on Thursday, we adopted a report urging a 'red button' that parents could use to disable computer games they think are inappropriate for their children. The aim of the report was not to demonise games, which can have a broadly beneficial effect on children's mental development, but to help parents choose suitable content. UKIP MEPs Godfrey Bloom and Nigel Farage were among the handful who voted against. Even when these people bother to turn up and vote, they reject sensible legislation that can only be of benefit to families in the UK.

MEPs also adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Sri Lankan conflict, so civilians can leave the combat zone. They urged both sides - the Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Ealam (LTTE) - to lay down the arms, and condemned the LTTE’s violence and intimidation which have prevented civilians from leaving. It is estimated that 170 000 civilians are trapped in the battle zone without access to the most basic aid.

Just after this vote, in a chamber decorated by the Tibetan flags that many Members had brought with them, Parliament adopted a resolution to mark the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. They urged China to resume talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives to help bring about 'positive, meaningful change in Tibet', which does not rule out autonomy for the region, a solution that MEPs believe need not compromise China's territorial integrity.

Speak to you again in less than a fortnight - if I don't see you this weekend at Steve McCabe MP's campaign day in King's Heath, Birmingham!

All the best,

Neena