Monthly Archives: December 2013

13 December 2013 Headlines ALDE News Profiles of MEPs in the News ALDE News Growing support for New European Narrative At a meeting in Milan December 8 and 9, the European Commission President and the Italian Prime Minister, together with artists, writers, intellectuals and many others from the creative sector, joined together to inspire and further the working group on the New Narrative on Europe which will be published next year in Berlin. Read More Verhofstadt contrasts European spirit in Kiev with growing scepticism in Member States Addressing the European Parliament’s December plenary debate in Strasbourg ahead of next week’s important EU summit, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader, pointed to the enthusiasm for the European Union that has brought tens of thousands of Ukrainians onto the streets of Kiev in support of closer association. Read More European Liberals strengthen Human Rights and Democracy Support Commenting during the December plenary session of Parliament after the adoption of his report on The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, (FDP, Germany) said: “Strengthening human rights and democracy is a priority for liberals. Human rights are at the heart of our foreign and development policy. We successfully fought for a stronger voice for the Parliament and managed to increase the instrument’s budget by about 20%. I am extremely satisfied with the outcome.” Read More EU Competition policy: Commission should act to end the bad practices of Member States “A lot still remains to be done in several sectors, such as banks, telecommunications, energy, competition authorities and transport, in order to achieve a non-discriminatory, well-functioning single market in Europe”, said EP rapporteur Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (CiU, Catalonia, Spain) following the adoption by the European Parliament of his Annual Report on EU Competition Policy during the December plenary session. Read More Liberals and Democrats welcome continuation of EU’s emergency jobless fund The future of the European Globalisation Fund (EGF), the EU’s solidarity aid fund, has now been secured: the report drafted by ALDE MEP Marian Harkin was adopted with a clear majority by the European Parliament. Read More The people of Ukraine have chosen Europe not Moscow ALDE Leader Guy Verhofstadt, speaking during a live link to Maidan square in Kyiv with one of the leaders of the protesters Mykola Katerynchuk, President of the European Party of Ukraine said “The Ukrainian people have chosen Europe and not Moscow and while Russia may have legitimate concerns about the trade agreements of its neighbours – sabotage and blackmail is not acceptable. The Russian interests end where the Ukrainian people’s sovereignty over the choice of their own future begins.” Read More ALDE condemns kidnapping of Syrian former Sakharov prize winner, Razan Zaitouneh Guy Verhofstadt commented on the news of the kidnapping of Razan Zaitouneh one of the most prominent Syrian opposition activists, and Sakharov prize winner in 2011: “It is deeply worrying and upsetting to hear of the kidnapping of Razan Zaitouneh. We stand united with her friends and family and hope for her immediate and unconditional release.” Read More ALDE: Fight for sexual and reproductive health and rights continues A majority of the European Parliament voted on December 10 against a political resolution on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR ), the Estrela report. Read More MEPs agree on delaying auction of CO2 pollution permits The European Parliament on December 10th finally approved plans to delay the auctioning of some CO2 pollution permits by a few years in order to allow the market price of carbon to recover and thus encourage companies to invest in less-polluting technologies and green investments. Read More EU rules on rescue at sea: no more time to quibble while migrants drown European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee adopted on December 9 a regulation establishing rules for improving the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operations coordinated by the Frontex Agency with the aim of avoiding another humanitarian tragedy. Read More WTO trade package deal in Bali restores credibility of WTO as forum for multilateral negotiations The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC9) has recently concluded in Bali having reached a long-awaited agreement to free up world trade through improved customs procedures that have been holding up the cross-border movement of goods. The Conference also addressed sensitive issues like food security in some of the less developed countries. But in political terms, it was seen as vital to restore credibility to an organisation that was perceived to be losing authority and legitimacy as a trade negotiating forum under the Doha ‘development’ round. Read More Verhofstadt: “My obsession is a liberal Europe, not a bureaucratic, centralised superstate.” Addressing the formal opening of the ALDE Party Congress in London’s Canary Wharf on November 29, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group President called for a fight-back against rising euro-scepticism and for Liberals to campaign for a stronger, more democratic and accountable Europe. Read More Reciprocity in trade must not undermine the EU’s trade policy The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe supports the compromise adopted on November 28th during the parliamentary International Trade Committee ( INTA ) on the proposal for regulation on the access of third-country goods and services to the Union’s internal market in public procurement Read More Egypt is once again crossing the line A series of recent rulings and judicial heavy-handedness are once again jeopardising Egypt’s progress to a stable democratic future. Read More NSA scandal: US assurances not enough to dispel spying suspicions Following the November 27 publication by the European Commission of its assessment of the functioning of the Safe Harbour Agreement and on Rebuilding Trust in EU-US Data Flows in light of the recent data mining scandals, Sophie In’t Veld (D66, Netherlands), Vice President of Parliament’s Civil Liberties and Home Affairs committee was both sceptical and critical. Read More Profiles of MEPs in the News Marian Harkin MEP (Independent, Ireland) Marian Harkin was born in Sligo, Ireland in 1953 and is the oldest in her family of five brothers and two sisters. After graduating from University College Dublin Marian taught Mathematics and Science in Mercy College Sligo for 24 years and was elected as an Independent member of Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament) in 2002. In 2004 she was elected to the European Parliament and was re-elected in 2009.Marian’s interest in politics stems from her work as a volunteer in the voluntary community sector. Her interest in European Politics was triggered by a realisation that the EU, through its regional and Cohesion policy, strongly supported regional development and her work in Ireland was to try to achieve balanced regional development.Initially she was involved in community development in County Leitrim where she and her late husband lived for 16 years. This work expanded to include her role as Chairperson of the Council for the West (CFTW) (a voluntary body representing seven counties set up to achieve balanced development) and subsequently as a board member of the Western Development Commission (a statutory body set up with similar objectives to the CFTW).She served on the board of the Ulster Community Investment Trust (UCIT), an organisation which assists community organisations, charities and social enterprises to access social finance. Marian also served two terms as a Member of Ireland’s National Statistics Board.Throughout all of this time Marian came to fully appreciate the value of volunteering and community led action. Indeed she led the campaign in the European Parliament to have 2011 designated as the European Year on Volunteering and before, during and after 2011 she worked closely with ‘The Alliance’ which is a network of all the major voluntary organisations across the EU. The active involvement of the stakeholders in The Alliance in helping to support and promote volunteering alongside their very significant policy contributions ensured a very successful 2011 in volunteering terms with on-going impacts and continued stakeholder participation. In December 2013 Marian hosted the event which saw Barcelona named as the European City of Volunteering.Marian was awarded the ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award at the MEP of the Year awards in 2011 for her contribution to the field volunteering at EU level. She was again awarded the title MEP of the Year in 2012, but this time for her work on the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, and in particular on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Marian was Parliament Rapporteur for this dossier and the EGF has just been approved by a big majority at the December 2013 Plenary session.Her main committee is Employment and Social Affairs and she is also active on the Agriculture Committee and the Petitions Committee. She has also had a strong interest in Environment issues and most of this is driven by environmental concerns articulated by her constituents. Her interests also include economic matters and in particular the challenges facing the Eurozone economy. Representing a country that holds regular referenda on e.g. the ESM Treaty, the Lisbon Treaty, the Nice Treaty etc, she takes an interest in all European Treaty provisions and implications.Marian also has a keen interest in many other non-legislative issues, ranging from Mental Health to Carers and Disability, and on all of these issues, she either chairs or is a member of a Parliament interest group. She works closely with civil society and in fact all stakeholders to influence European policy. She is a strong supporter of the EU but also believes we should never cease to challenge the system and she is supportive of sunset clauses on legislation and consistent monitoring of the impact and outcomes of EU legislation.On a personal level Marian has two sons, and one grandson. She lives in Sligo Town and when she has the time, she enjoys cooking, reading and catching up with friends and family. She loves to listen to all types of music and for many years sang with her local choir. Read More For more information, please contact:ALDE Press Service and Inter-institutional relations unitneil.corlett@europarl.europa.euwillem.vandenbroucke@europarl.europa.euJoin ALDE on FacebookFollow ALDE on TwitterEventsIs the Chinese Leadership ready for dialogue? Perspectives on the Uyghur Issue2013-12-17 Corruption in Russia 2014-01-29 Videos Guy VERHOFSTADT 11 Dec plenary speech on Preparations for the European Council meeting Sylvie GOULARD 11 December plenary speech on Constitutional problems of a multitier governance in the EU Press conference – Guy Verhofstadt on the situation in Ukraine, Strasbourg 10 Dec 2013 Chris DAVIES 09 December plenary speech on North East Atlantic fisheries Speech by Guy Verhofstadt at opening ceremony, ALDE Party Congress, London, 29th November 2013 LinksAlliance 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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