Monthly Archives: November 2012

Tonio Borg must not allow his personal views to influence the public health portfolio

Tonio Borg, Commissioner-designate for Health and Consumer Protection has obtained enough support from MEPs to be confirmed as the EU’s next Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner, despite a number of political groups rejecting his candi…

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Speech by Guy Verhofstadt – Intervention in plenary – Debate on MFF & Budget

Intervention Guy Verhofstadt

November 21 2012

Debate on MFF & Budget

Six years ago Tony Blair, President of the Council, when presenting the new multi-annual financial framework for 2006-2012 said, “Never again”.

Never again, he said…

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Failing to recognize the legitimacy of the Syrian National Coalition benefits the extremists

The announcement by jihadist groups to install a caliphate in the Syrian enclave of Aleppo, must be a signal to the international community to clarify its support for the legitimate Syrian rebellion. The aim of overthrowing the criminal B…

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The European Parliament is making substantial savings in translation costs

Today Parliament approved a report by Stanimir ILCHEV (National Movement for Stability and Progress, Bulgaria) amending the provisions of the Rules of Procedure for the recording of debates, which will make a major contribution to the bud…

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Home-made explosives: tougher rules to access high-risk chemicals

The European parliament signed off today on a regulation limiting the scourge of home-made explosives by tightening up and further regulating the sales of certain chemicals to legal public use (private users) due to their dual purposes as…

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Liberal Democrat Michael Beckett – the kind of MP Rotherham needs!

Rotherham and Barnsley Liberal Democrats have selected Michael Beckett as their candidate in the Rotherham by-election. Michael comes from North Yorkshire where as well as being a local councillor, he has worked for the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, a mental health charity, and run his own small business. 

Michael has dedicated his professional life to helping people, often the most vulnerable in society, which is very good training for the job of an MP, who should stand up for and help local people. Michael’s sometimes frustrating experience of contacting MPs on behalf of CAB clients was one thing that motivated him to stand for Parliament: “I found that some MPs did very little to help their constituents and I thought that I could do a better job” he commented. Michael’s experience running a small business also means he understands the problems business people face and the importance of supporting small businesses. 

As many people are no doubt aware, the parliamentary by-election has been called following the resignation of Rotherham’s Labour MP Denis MacShane for fraudulent parliamentary expenses. An official report into Mr MacShane’s expenses described his case as “the gravest ever investigated”. 

Police are currently considering whether to bring criminal charges against Mr MacShane for the fraudulent activities he has now admitted in letters to parliamentary authorities. 

Labour have been in control in Rotherham for decades, yet many residents feel badly let down not only by an MP with no respect for public money, but also by an ineffectual Labour run Council recently embroiled in a child abuse scandal.

It is definitely time for a change in Rotherham and replacing a Labour party expense cheat with another Labour MP would seem to reward Labour for a corrupt MP and a council that failed to protect children. 

I was out talking to voters in Rotherham on Saturday with Michael Beckett and am happy to report that he was very well received on the doorstep. Many residents, including long term Labour voters, agreed that it was time for some real change and that they would like an MP who would be dedicated to working for the people of Rotherham. 

On the doorstep Michael gave people a number of good reasons to vote for him including:

– His first priority would be to be to serve the people of Rotherham;

– His extensive experience of helping people makes himself very well qualified to be a good constituency MP for Rotherham;

– Liberal Democrats are in government getting things done and pushing for policies that help ordinary people, like increasing the tax threshold to £10k. 

Good luck to Michael on Thursday 29th November!

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Guy Verhofstadt: EU must recognize the Syrian National Coalition

Last weekend the different Syrian opposition groups agreed on uniting their forces into the “Syrian National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces. The reaction of almost all opposition people inside and outside Syria was and s…

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Budget Control Committee should have access to OLAF dossier on Dalli

Michael Theurer (FDP, Germany), chairman of the Budget Control Committee, considered “unacceptable” that the request of the European Parliament to have access, under appropriate conditions, to the OLAF file that led to the resignation of …

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Rebecca Taylor MEP says “Good Commissioner, but unsuitable for health portfolio”

The European Parliament yesterday took the opportunity to grill the proposed new European Commissioner from Malta, who will replace John Dalli, Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner, who resigned following what has been dubbed ‘Dalligate’. Dalli’s potential replacement is the conservative Foreign minister Tonio Borg. In …

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Is new legislation on medical devices sufficient to protect patients?

Today, ALDE MEPs Corinne Lepage (CAP 21, France) and Rebecca Taylor (LibDem, UK) are hosting a conference in the European Parliament on the issue of the medical devices. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is examining the n…

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