High Peak Liberal Democrats
This is my final report from the 2009-2014 European Parliament. At the end of this week, MEPs disperse to their homes and some will fight the European elections, with voting between 22 and 25 May.The election issues are different in each EU member state. In Ireland, our neighbour, immigration is not an issue at all. There are more Poles in Ireland, per head, than in the UK, but nobody complains or campaigns against immigrants. Everybody in Ireland is pro-European. An Irish colleague described the European election as "dull", being based instead on contests between personalities. But, in most EU countries, there are anti-immigrant parties.
The parliament has therefore been finishing its business this week. Here are the main points:
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The most important measure economically was a package to ensure that banks themselves shoulder the risks of failure rather than relying on taxpayers to bail them out. The measures, two dealing with troubled banks and one updating the scheme guaranteeing deposits under €100,000, complement the single bank supervision system, which is already in place. Together they take the EU far down the road to banking union.
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Food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health, plant reproductive material and plant protection products. I received many emails expressing concern about the potential burden of official costs of inspection affecting small businesses. The parliament decided, amid many different views, to leave the choice of whether to exempt small businesses from the costs or not, to the national government in each member state separately.
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Over 100 billion carrier bags are used every year within the EU, an average of 200 per person. 8 billion end up as litter, many in Europe's seas including the Channel and North Sea. EU countries have flexibility on how a reach a binding target of 50% reduction in plastic bag use within three years and an 80% reduction within five years of the legislation coming into force. Liberal Democrats in the Coalition government have announced a 5p charge per plastic bag to be introduced across the whole of the UK in 2015. In Wales supermarkets have reported reductions of up to 96% in the use of single-use plastic bags following the introduction of a 5p charge in October 2011, meaning the UK is already set to meet the EU targets. However, Conservative MEPs opposed the bag reduction targets, and tabled an amendment to exempt restaurants and cafeterias.
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EU workers who move to a different EU country will be able to take their full pension rights with them thanks to a draft EU law. It still needs to be formally approved by the other legislative chamber, the Council of Ministers.
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The design of lorry cabs would be changed to reduce the number of blind spots under the front windscreen and the side of the vehicle. The new designs would also include safer cab fronts to reduce damage caused by impacts with cyclists and pedestrians. The proposals were agreed by the parliament and could help prevent dozens of fatal accidents each year. After the elections, there will be negotiations with the other chamber, the Council of Ministers, to try to agree the text of a law.
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To continue to reduce emissions, MEPs had wanted to include airplanes. But fierce objections by China and the USA against taxing their aircraft emissions led to a back-down.
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Measures to stop invasive alien species of plants animals or insects getting into the EU, or limit the ecological and economic damage caused by those that do. The legislation bans species declared to be of "Union concern" and requires more and better-coordinated action by member states to tackle the threat. For example, the tiger mosquito which entered Europe via the used tyre trade.
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Draft rules to simplify re-registering of a car or motorbike when the owner moves to a new EU country were referred back to the next parliament, because the Council of Ministers was not yet ready to agree the rules. This topic included a Dutch MEP's proposal to have a single number-plate across the EU - which got the Daily Mail very excited.
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Negotiations between the EU and the US for a free trade agreement known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) commenced in July 2013 and continue. In my opinion, a comprehensive agreement between the world's two largest economies would bring huge economic benefits to both sides of the Atlantic, increasing trade and investment, creating thousands of jobs, reducing prices and increasing choice for consumers. The US is our largest national trade and investment partner, and TTIP is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring significant economic benefits, jobs and growth to the UK. Independent analysis shows that an ambitious agreement could add as much as £10 billion annually to the UK economy in the long-term.
One area of the negotiations that has been regularly questioned is the investment protection and investor-to-state dispute settlement procedure (ISDS).
The EU Commission is holding an online public consultation. See http://trade.ec.europa.eu/consultations/index.cfm?consul_id=179
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EU countries are to expand their Russian and Ukrainen blacklists and will send a small team of security experts to Kiev.
The parliament held a debate this morning, but the amended text has not reached me in time for this report to you.
See http://euobserver.com/foreign/123859
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See http://www.europarl.europa.eu/pdf/elections_results/review.pdf
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The principle themes of the election will be, I hope, whether the UK should remain in the EU: my party, the Lib Dems, insist strongly that we must remain in the EU, not least to keep Jobs in the UK and to retain Britain's influence when international rules are agreed. And, the election should also be about the biggest problem facing our planet, which is how to reduce emissions into the atmosphere and how to reduce the future effects of Climate Change.
All good wishes
Bill
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