Monthly Archives: May 2013

ALDE backs call to end roaming charges

Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament are delighted by the strong proposal of Commissioner Neelie Kroes to abandon mobile roaming by Easter 2014. By then, Kroes said, the EU could deliver a full, final legislative package to e…

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Fisheries reform a big step forward

The European Parliament has reached a political agreement with the Irish Presidency on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. The agreement was brokered at 3.30am (CET) this morning in the European Parliament in Brussels.

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Fisheries reform not a perfect deal but a huge step in the right direction

The European Parliament has reached a political agreement with the Irish Presidency on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. The agreement was brokered at 3.30am (CET) this morning in the European Parliament in Brussels.

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Commission must not delay 2014 budget

Whilst acknowledging the presence today of Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski in the Budget Committee at a delicate time between the execution of the 2013 budget and the negotiation of the next multiannual financial framework, European Liber…

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The European Commission must no longer postpone the presentation of the 2014 Budget

Whilst acknowledging the presence today of Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski in the Budget Committee at a delicate time between the execution of the 2013 budget and the negotiation of the next multiannual financial framework, European Liber…

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ALDE Newsletter May 2013


24 May 2013 Headlines ALDE NewsProfiles of MEPs in the News Networking ALDE News ALDE supports an ambitious and global trade agreement with the United States of America The European Parliament on May 23 gave its full support for the rapid commencement of negotiations in view of a trade and investment agreement with the United States. The resolution gives the European Commission a negotiating mandate to negotiate an ambitious and comprehensive trade and investment partnership between the world’s two largest markets. ALDE is committed to ensuring that negotiations take place in a transparent manner and request that Parliament be informed at every stage. Read More No Single Supervisory Mechanism until an agreement is reached with the ECB During the May Strasbourg plenary session the European Parliament voted on the deal reached with Council last March on a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), the first building block of the Banking union. The Parliament though decided to hold the final vote adopting this proposal until an agreement is reached with the ECB ensuring due democratic accountability of the ECB’s supervisory arm. The ALDE group decided to further keep pressure on the ECB also by abstaining to the report as amended. Read More EU action plan urgently needed to ease catastrophic Syrian refugee crisis For the last two years, the international community has stood by as Syrians are increasingly being crushed between the brutal actions of the Assad regime and extremist groups. There are now seven million Syrians that rely on aid. 4,5 million Syrians are internally displaced and the amount of refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan is expected to rise to 3,5 million in the coming months. The European Parliament, on the initiative of Marietje Schaake (D66, Netherlands), adopted on May 23 a resolution on the urgent humanitarian crisis and how to deal with Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries. Read More ALDE continue to strongly support EU membership for Iceland Reacting to statements made by a spokesperson for the new coalition government in Iceland announcing that no further negotiation will be held with the European Union and Iceland on future EU membership without a prior referendum, Hans Van Baalen (VVD, NL), spokesperson on Iceland for the ALDE Group in the European parliament, made the following statement: “The Liberal Democrat Group in the European Parliament strongly supports EU membership for Iceland. With its strong and old democracy it will be an asset to the EU…”Read More European Parliament rejects Czech ‘opt-out’ on charter of fundamental rights On the proposal of Andrew DUFF (Lib Dem, UK), ALDE coordinator in the Constitutional Affairs Committee, the European Parliament called on the European Council to reject a request to amend the Treaty of Lisbon which would weaken the force and limit the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the Czech Republic. With a vote of 574 to 82 and 24 abstentions, MEPs for the first time used their right not to support an amendment of the EU treaties. Read More Free movement for pets across Europe Ferrets, dogs and cats have gained on May 23 greater opportunities to travel across EU borders. MEPs have given their support to changes in the law providing for the movement of non-commercial pet animals. The new arrangements are built on the success of ‘pets passports’ legislation approved a decade ago. Read More Member States must endorse an EU strategy against tax fraud, evasion and tax havens Ahead of the May EU Summit, due to focus on tax fraud and tax evasion, the European Parliament adopted its own recommendations that all Member States should endorse a common European strategy against tax fraud, evasion and havens. ALDE spokesperson on the subject Theodoros Skylakakis (Greece) said: “Reality must take precedence over mere lip-service. Evaders exploit the respective Member States’ national tax legislation loopholes. If they don’t start taking concrete action, they will just serve as accomplice”. Read More Media freedom and pluralism: Commission must take all EP recommendations on board Member States and the Commission should take appropriate measures to ensure better monitoring and enforcement of media freedom and pluralism across the EU, given that this right has become legally binding with the entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 11 (2)), according to a report by ALDE MEP Renate Weber on standard settings for media freedom across the EU, adopted during the Strasbourg May plenary session of the European Parliament. Read More EU leaders must address growing euroscepticism caused by crisis “EU leaders tomorrow need to produce actions not more words and address the issues that are giving rise to increased euroscepticism across the EU,” said Guy Verhofstadt in a debate in the May Strasbourg plenary session ahead of the EU summit on tax havens and energy policy. Read More Freed Chinese dissident launches Transatlantic Human Rights Link The blind Chinese activist who escaped house arrest and whose freedom in the USA was organised by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has marked the anniversary by launching a transatlantic project for parliamentarians to adopt individual human rights defenders worldwide. Read More Recovery and Resolution Directive (RRD): Protection of small depositors guaranteed On May 20th the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs committee adopted its report on an EU framework for bank recovery and resolution, which aims to provide Member States’ relevant authorities with common and effective tools to address the banking crisis and eventually the orderly winding up of insolvent institutions, to safeguard financial stability and to minimise taxpayers’ exposure to losses. Read More Europe needs a future proof Audio Visual Media Services Directive ALDE, the group of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament during the May Strasbourg plenary session voted against the Borys report on the implementation of media regulation in the EU. We denounce the lack of an innovative, future-oriented approach to tackle the important challenges that technological changes impose. In today’s rapidly changing media landscape, legislation needs to adapt to internet-driven changes such as Connected TV, bringing together internet and broadcasting. Read More Mali: International donor support only effective if elections deliver stable government Leading ALDE MEP Louis Michel (MR, Belgium), who has been recently nominated as Head of the EU’s observer mission for the presidential elections in Mali says that the forthcoming elections are a vital opportunity to start rebuilding this broken State. Following yesterday’s donor conference in Brussels- co-hosted by the EU and France, which saw pledges of over 3.25 billion euros to rebuild Mali, M. Michel said: “The funds pledged yesterday to rebuild Mali are vital but only as long as there is good and stable government. The presidential and legislative elections scheduled for 28 July next are the first step towards the return to stable democracy….”Read More Combatting Homophobia: time for concrete actions long overdue May 17th is the International Day against Homophobia and also marks the 23rd year since the World Health Organization (WHO) deleted homosexuality from the international list of classified diseases. Unfortunately though lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people worldwide still suffer from discrimination, persecution and violence. The ALDE group reiterates its commitment to combat this persistent hatred both in Europe and in the wider world Read More Rethinking education to address the skills gap Even amid the economic crisis, Europe is facing acute shortage of skilled labour. Parallel with the unemployment queues, an estimated 2 million unfilled jobs are available across Europe. While the problem has traditionally been linked to low-skilled jobs, filling jobs in high-skill sectors, such as engineering and IT, is also becoming increasingly challenging. Europe can only end the crisis and resume growth if it delivers the right skills for the future. But European education and training systems need investment, updating and reform if the right skills for employability are to be delivered. Read More Window of opportunity opens up for Ukraine On the same day the European Commission has given the green light to the Council for the signature of the Association Agreement with Ukraine, ALDE hosted a “Ukraine day” to discuss the current situation in the country. Leonidas Donskis who organized this event said “Today’s decision of the European Commission, despite it being technical in nature, sends a strong political message to the Ukraine authorities that the Association Agreement is not an association with corrupt officials or dysfunctional judiciary , it is an association with and for the Ukrainian people.”Read More Road transport: smart tachographs for greater competition and safety On May 14th the European Parliament, Council and Commission reached a second reading agreement on the new technical standards for digital tachographs used to record and monitor driving times, breaks, and rest periods of professional drivers for both goods and passenger transport. The idea behind the introduction of ‘smart’ tachographs which are integrated with the GNSS and other Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applications within Europe is to ensure a level playing field and proper working conditions for drivers. Read More The future of the Common Fisheries Policy hangs in the balance Following a marathon Fisheries Council meeting to establish a mandate for further negotiations with the European Parliament on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, the Council is moving towards Parliament’s position but the deal is still not done according to ALDE MEPs. Pat the Cope Gallagher (FF, Ireland), ALDE shadow on the basic regulation of the CFP commented during the meeting: “I would like to pay tribute to the Presidency for their work in progressing this extremely important policy within the Council of Ministers. The new mandate will allow the Irish Presidency to resume negotiations with the European Parliament. It appears that some of the Parliament important issues have been addressed by Council.” Read More EU needs stronger instruments to tackle cross-border organised crime After months of work since its establishment in March 2012, the European Parliament’s Special Committee on organised crime, corruption and money laundering (CRIM), chaired by ALDE MEP Sonia Alfano, adopted on May 7th its first interim report which includes preliminary recommendations on action and initiatives to be taken both at international, European and national levels. Read More MEPS back lower CO2 emission levels in vans Members of the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee approved on May 7 a report on the Commission’s legislative proposal amending the Regulation to define the modalities for reaching the 2020 target to reduce CO2 emissions from new light commercial vehicles (Vans). The report confirms the 2020 target as defined in legislation adopted in 2011 and defines the modalities for reaching this target and includes key issues such as emission limit values, phasing requirements, method of calculating a carmaker’s average emissions, long-term targets, eco-innovations and implementation. Read More EU must take bold step towards Magnitsky visa ban list The Irish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has adopted a resolution stating that the Irish Presidency will highlight their concern and that of the international community about the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky but it has backed down from sanctioning Russian officials involved in his death. Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Leader in the European Parliament made the following statement: “I strongly welcome the decision by the Irish Parliament to use its Presidency of the European Council to highlight the case of Sergei Magnitsky. I am confident that the Irish Presidency will relay these concerns to the next European Council and consequently to the EU-Russia Summit. ” Read More Potential bee killer pesticides banned by EU A chemical implicated in the recent rapid decline of bee numbers has been banned by the European Commission as Member States remained divided on the matter. Chris Davies (UK, Lib Dem), ALDE environment spokesperson has been campaigning for neonicotinoids to be banned since evidence first started being reported that the controversial pesticide could be causing bee colonies to die. Read More Mandatory rotation of audit firms is essential to ensure their independence Ahead of the April 25 vote in Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee on rules for improving the quality and independence in the auditing of major companies (especially banks), Liberals and Democrats underlinef the need to establish some time limits on the contractual relationship between auditors and their clients. Read More ALDE secures mandatory rotation for audit firms Thanks to crucial ALDE backing, the need to establish time limits on the contractual relationship between auditors and their clients was approved by MEPs on the Legal Affairs committee of the European Parliament by a majority of 15 in favour, 10 against, with no abstentions. Read More Europe needs a new narrative to counter euroscepticism Recent Eurobarometer figures show a decline in support for the European project. Sixty years after the start of this project, Europe has to regain confidence of its citizens. An updated version of the European story is necessary to reinterpret its existing ‘raison d’être’ of peace through a common market. Read More No EU PNR before Data Protection Rules are firmly in place The majority of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee voting during an April committee meeting rejected the draft Directive on the use of airline Passenger Name Record data (PNR) within the EU, proposed by the Commission in February 2011. According to the ALDE members, the EU PNR proposal, as it stands, does not incorporate all the requests made by the Parliament in 2010, raises concerns regarding its conformity to fundamental rights and disregards the current shaping of an EU Data protection directive. Read More ALDE backs better protection for home buyers After months of negotiations, on April 22nd an agreement was reached between the European Parliament, Council and Commission on the Mortgage Credit Directive which aims to create a level playing field where minimum harmonisation requirements will apply to all EU countries and, most importantly, consumers will be guaranteed due protection. Read More ALDE lead on Single Seat election pledge At a April 23rd public hearing hosted by the ALDE group and organised by the cross-party campaign for a Single Seat, participants from all major political groupings will be asked to endorse a statement committing to pursue the campaign in their election manifestos for the European Parliament next year. Read More Minimum EU standards for asylum will end current lottery between Member States The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee confirmed on April 24 the agreement reached with Council on two pieces of legislation which are part of the EU Asylum package. One text updates the rules governing the functioning of a database of asylum seeker fingerprints (also known as Eurodac) and its access by police authorities. The second text deals with the setting up of common EU procedures to process the asylum applications in order to overcome the current discrepancies in Member States (also known as Procedures Directive). ALDE welcomes the endorsement of these two important asylum instruments because it paves the way for the final adoption in plenary, normally in June, of the whole Asylum package. Read More Networking Open Door Days Brussels and Strasbourg ( May 4 and 19) The ALDE Group once again enjoyed a very successful European Open Door Day both in Brussels, 4 May and in Strasbourg, 19 May. In Brussels ALDE Staff, greatly assisted by our current interns, had the chance to meet and greet the visitors, who in turn had the opportunity to have their photographs taken and printed on personalised ‘ALDE on your side’ t-shirts. More than 2500 visitors passed by our stand and left with smile, a t-shirt and little more knowledge of who we are.In Strasbourg more than 24,000 visitors passed through the European Parliament and the ALDE Stand, a record number by all accounts. The ALDE Staff were on hand throughout the day to answer any questions the public had about our Group, and were very impressed with the interest the general public had in the affairs of the European Parliament. The 8th ALDEPAC Annual Conference “Africa and the Challenges of Urban Sustainability” Lilongwe, Malawi 25-28 April. THE NEW “BABEL” OF THE METROPOLIS The European and African Liberals and Democrats focused on Urban Sustainability through good governance and local democracy. Today about 70% of humanity lives in cities and in particular the African continent has experienced massive urban growth in recent decades. Forecasts indicate that between 2010 and 2025, some African cities will represent up to 85% of their countries population. Roughly 800 million people worldwide live in slums, many of them in Africa. The cities are exploding and becoming complex entities that face major challenges: mobility, waste, crime, work, parallel economy, corruption, taxation, zoning, medical services and schools. On a community level there are divisions between rich and poor neighbourhoods, inexistent interaction with immigrants, homeless, abandoned children – all this reflecting the new “Babel” of the Metropolis. At Lilongwe we discussed at length with African experts the challenges of urban sustainability requiring decentralization, popular participation, transparency and much optimism. More specifically we addressed: land management, public-private partnerships, investments, environmental issues and the promotion of durable eco-tourism, resilience against hardships and the key-partnership of urbanisation and culture The Conference was officially opened by the Speaker of the Malawi Parliament, Hon. Henry Chimunthu Banda and closed by H.E.K. Hastings Kachali, Vice President of the Republic of Malawi. The meeting was attended by Parliamentarians from 40 different African countries including Ministers from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Senators, Mayors, representatives from UN-HABITAT, the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Africa Regional Director of our Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Hubertus Von Welck.Meetings with EU Ambassadors and with Malawi NGOs were organised and the third ALDEPAC book “TOWARDS A PAN-AFRICAN LIBERAL MANIFESTO” was presented.Members of the ALDE Group, Niccolò Rinaldi, Marielle De Sarnez, Hans van Baalen, Nathalie Griesbeck and Catherine Bearder greatly contributed to the success of this conference. ALDE “BOOST SME” CAMPAIGN NEWSLETTER May 2013 Reporting back…The trilogue negotiations on the COSME programme, made to support SMEs across Europe (and a constant feature in our newsletter), are expected to come to an end soon. Having said that, its most important aspect is subject to tough negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework, the budget of COSME having already is reduced by 350 million Euros (15%). A week ago, SME campaign host Jürgen Creutzmann, along with his colleagues in the SME Intergroup wrote an open letter calling on the EP chief negotiator Alain Lamassoure “to ensure that COSME is properly financed.” In the Parliament….In its report assessing the ECB activities for 2011, the European Parliament endorsed an ALDE amendment at its April plenary session, calling on the Central bank to directly intervene in helping SMEs against the current and serious credit crunch they are facing in several Member States. Especially in Southern Europe, the crisis is undermining the financial foundations of many SMEs. ALDE rapporteur on the report, Ramon Tremosa who tabled the amendment said: “We don’t have a monetary union if competitive SMEs in some Member States have to shut down because credit is scarce and falling. We also don’t have a monetary union if SMEs in some Member States have to shut down because they pay between 4 and 8% more for a loan than similar SMEs in other parts of the euro zone. This difference has become structural”.The negotiations on the European Regional Development Funds in the Regions Parliamentary Committee illustrate the difficult struggle for SMEs. First, the Commission proposal envisaged that only SMEs could be eligible under ERDF investment priorities. Then the Council’s negotiating mandate said that all enterprises (large and small) should be able to access money available under the innovation/research (ERDF art. 5.1) investment priorities. ALDE’s initiative to support the extension of eligibility for large companies with the condition that the focus was kept on SMEs, was at first endorsed by almost all groups. However, during the trilogue negotiations in March, the EPP rapporteur and the S&D coordinator agreed to support the Council’s proposal. Until the committee vote in July and the plenary vote due in October, ALDE will continue the fight to persuade the other groups to return the focus back to SMEs. In the Commission…The results of DG Enterprise’s public consultation on the TOP 10 most burdensome legislative acts for SMEs were published earlier this spring. On the basis of 1000 questionnaires it shows in what ways ‘Brussels’ really gives SMEs problems. On top: problems with the REACH regulation on chemicals and with transnational VAT. This survey is a step in the right direction Commissioner Tajani. Now ALDE will be on your side to tackle those problems!The link to the final report: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/files/top10report-final_en.pdf Coming up…In an earlier edition, we claimed that Munich was also the place for our next ‘Boost SME’ conference – but this will now take place 150 km north in Nürnberg! On the 9th of June, representatives of small and medium sized enterprises will discuss liberal SME politics with ALDE members. Hosted by FDP MEPs Nadja Hirsch and Jürgen Creutzmann panellists (a.o. Olle Schmidt, Philippe de Backer and the Bavarian minister for Economy Martin Zeil) will deal with the three main targets of our SME campaign (reverse side) and discuss the “Shortage of skilled workers, recognition of foreign qualifications, reconciliation of family and work, the integration of women into the labor market”. For more information, please contact Karin Sauerteig.An overall boost for SMEs is appearing on the horizon. If the negotiations with the United States on a transatlantic free trade agreement succeed, both the EU and the US economies are expected to profit widely – and with them small and medium sized enterprises. As a first step the plenary is set to adopt its mandate for the negotiations on 23rd May.Read More Profiles of MEPs in the News Hans van Baalen (VVD, the Netherlands) Hans van Baalen was born on June 17th 1960 in Rotterdam. He studied International Law and International Relations at the Leyden University. He served in the Royal Netherlands Army and currently holds the rank of Reserve Colonel.Before entering politics, Mr. Van Baalen worked as a journalist and was director of Public Affairs Consultants Deloitte, Touche Tohmatsu. He was International Secretary of VVD and served as campaign manager to Frits Bolkestein and Gerrit Zalm in the 1998 and 2002 general elections. From 1999 to 2009 Van Baalen was Member of the Netherlands Parliament. He was Member of the European Convention and of the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and of NATO.Hans became a member of the European Parliament in 2009. He is also leader of the VVD delegation and a member of the ALDE bureau. In 2009 Van Baalen was elected President of Liberal International, the world federation of liberal political parties. In the European Parliament he is a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the ALDE co-ordinator for the Sub-Committee for Security and Defence. He is also Chairman of the Japan Delegation and a Member of the Delegations for relations with the United States and Afghanistan.On behalf of the ALDE group, Van Baalen is the shadow rapporteur for the Ukraine, Iceland and Belarus. He is actively involved in free trade issues (Japan, Latin America). As President of Liberal International he actively participates in ALDEPAC, ALDELAT, ALDECALD and the Arab Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AAFD). Van Baalen will lead the VVD in the European elections in 2014.Hans van Baalen lives in the Hague with his wife Ineke Sybesma, (director of the Victim Support Fund in The Netherlands) and their young son Robert. For more information, please contact:ALDE Press Service and Inter-institutional relations unitneil.corlett@europarl.europa.euwillem.vandenbroucke@europarl.europa.euALDEJoin ALDE on FacebookFollow ALDE on TwitterEventsICT and Web Entrepreneurship: How to keep the creative class in the EU2013-06-06 EU Tax Free Zones: a tool against recession 2013-06-05 Russian Political Prisoners2013-06-05 Facing the paradox: ensuring skills and talents for European economic growth2013-06-05 ALDE SME Conference in Nürmberg2013-06-08 Videos Schaake Marietje 22 May plenary speech on EU trade and investment agreement negotiations Bowles Sharon 21 May plenary speech on Banking union single supervisory mechanism 75-7 . Harkin Marian 22 May plenary speech on Social pillar of the economic and monetary union Guy Verhofstadt May plenary speech on the the preparations for the European Council meeting Inevitable change for China – A testimony by Chen Guangcheng in the EP . Fiona Hall 20 May 2013 plenary speech on Report Herbert Reul Renewable energy in the EU ALDE Seminar: A Roadmap towards a Single Seat: Countdown to the 2014 European Parliament ElectionsLinksAlliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe – ALDE Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party – ALDE Party European Democratic Party – EDP Liberal International Friedrich Naumann Stiftung LYMEC European Parliament

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New Schnegen rules strengthen EU borders

Last night the European Parliament, Commission and Council reached an agreement on three major pieces of legislation within the framework of border management. Two of them lay down new Schengen governance rules by establishing an evaluati…

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EU internal and external borders rules strengthened

Last night the European Parliament, Commission and Council reached an agreement on three major pieces of legislation within the framework of border management. Two of them lay down new Schengen governance rules by establishing an evaluati…

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Clear vehicle registration raises safety standards

The European Parliament’s Transport committee voted today on three pieces of legislation – also known as “Roadworthiness Package” – enforcing new rules on standards on safety checks for all vehicles to improve both road safety and environ…

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Road safety: clear registration will ensure vehicles meet safety standards

The European Parliament’s Transport committee voted today on three pieces of legislation – also known as “Roadworthiness Package” – enforcing new rules on standards on safety checks for all vehicles to improve both road safety and environ…

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