Monthly Archives: January 2014

17 January 2014 Headlines ALDE NewsProfiles of MEPs in the News European Commission News ALDE News The Greek tragedy holds lessons for the whole of the EU Addressing Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, during the January Strasbourg plenary at the opening debate on the Greek Presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader, underlined that Greece’s own tough experiences of the financial crisis were brought on both by failure of the former dominant Greek political class and the collective inability of the EU to act decisively in 2009. Read More Immediate suspension of Safe Harbour arrangement EU-US Sophie in ‘t Veld, ALDE Vice-chair of the Civil Liberties committee is calling for the immediate suspension of the controversial Safe Harbour arrangement during the January 15 debate in the European Parliament with Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding. Read More EU Citizenship must remain priceless Malta’s recent decision to start selling citizenship to third country nationals for €650,000 has been strongly criticised during the January plenary session in the European Parliament both for the risk it poses for all Member States but also for the apparent discriminatory and purely commercial nature of the eligibility criteria without any requirement for residence. Read More MIFiD: Stronger investors’ protection and competition as preconditions for a robust financial market After months of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council on 14 January reached an agreement on the revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID II). This revision was proposed in 2011 by the Commission to respond to the speed of the market and technological developments and to overcome the weaknesses in the regulation of financial instruments exposed by the financial crisis. Read More European public procurement opens up for SMEs EU legislation on public procurement is being overhauled, in order to ensure a level playing field for contracts tendered by public bodies across the EU. Comprising almost 1/5 of total GDP in the Union, and covering sensitive sectors, services and public utilities, the package adopted on January 15 by the European Parliament, aims to ensure the application of simpler, more transparent and consistent rules, and to prevent discriminatory behaviour whilst preserving the basic freedom to provide services across borders. Read More Serbia from regional maverick into integration leader During a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 16 , ALDE MEP Jelko Kacin (LDS, Slovenia) and EP rapporteur on Serbia welcomed progress over the past year and said Serbia is taking up a transformative role: “turning from a regional maverick into an integration leader.” Read More Broad support for EU Action Plan to fight Wildlife Crime The EU Action plan to fight Wildlife Crime, an initiative launched by Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (D66, Netherlands) received broad support of the European Parliament during the January plenary session. The plan (see link below) calls for the complete destruction of seized illegal ivory, higher penalties for criminals, the creation of a special investigative unit at Europol and the review of EU legislation. Read More European consumer policy improved Ensuring a high level of consumer protection and empowering consumers to make informed choices is the essence of a programme to improve the policy framework for European consumers from 2014 to 2020 and the subject of report adopted by a large majority during the January plenary session. Read More Lower CO2 emissions in vans The European Parliament has endorsed a deal to reduce CO2 emissions from new light commercial vehicles (Vans). The report by ALDE MEP Holger Krahmer (FDP, Germany) also aims to make vans more fuel-efficient. Read More Kickstart carbon capture, say MEPs The European Parliament on January 14th called for measures to kickstart the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to reduce CO2 emissions from industry and power generation. With CO2 capture plants under construction in the USA, Canada and China, MEPs say that Europe could not only fail to achieve CO2 reductions at least possible cost but also risks losing out on export orders. Read More We must strengthen the EU mechanisms to ensure respect for fundamental rights The Committee on Civil Liberties and Justice of the European Parliament adopted on 14 January the report by Louis Michel (MR , Belgium) on Fundamental Rights in the EU for 2012. According to Michel. “In recent years the European Union has experienced severe institutional and constitutional crises in certain Member States. The European values as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, were in some cases abused and even violated.” Read More ALDE welcomes woman appointee to ECB Board Olle Schmidt MEP, (Folkpartiet, Sweden) welcomed the outcome of the vote in the Economic and Monetary Affairs approving Sabine Lautenschläger as a member of the ECB Executive Board in place of Jörg Asmussen, outgoing German member. However he believes more needs to be done to promote gender balance within the EU institutions and in particular in the ECB. Read More Employee financial participation can power inclusive growth According to the report drafted by Phil Bennion (LibDems, UK) and debated on 13 January in the European Parliament, Employee financial participation (EFP) should be encouraged to involve employees directly in the performance or ownership of the enterprises they work for. The concept of EFP can be an important tool to give employees a real sense of ownership and allow them to share in the value of the organization. Read More European Council fails to convince on Banking Union Some may claim that progress has been made over the past week towards delivering an EU wide Banking Union, but the reality is very different. Despite a week of intensive negotiations and diplomacy amongst finance ministers the outcome is less than was hoped for to convince markets that Europe has understood both the severity of the economic and financial crisis and the urgency of putting in place a comprehensive solution. Read More Plastic waste: MEPs move on pollution During the January plenary session MEPs backed a Commission Green paper for dealing with the huge amounts of plastic waste generated each year in the EU which pollute the environment. Parliament calls for the review of EU waste targets which means that future EU legislation should include inter alia the promotion or restriction of certain kinds of plastic materials, new rules on the disposal of plastic waste, measures to help phasing out landfilling of recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020, common criteria for recyclability, the promotion of waste prevention, recycling, recovery and reuse of products as well as measures to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment through sustainable solutions for product design and for the life-cycle of plastics. Read More Syrian humanitarian disaster: greater solidarity needed ALDE Leader Guy Verhofstadt has called on EU Member States to act in a more coordinated and responsible way to ease the growing Syrian humanitarian crisis. “Time is passing and we seem to have put Syria to the back of our minds yet the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding both inside Syria’s borders and beyond is without precedent and needs to be tackled urgently”. Read More Khodorkovsky pardon is welcome but it does not yet mean that Rule of Law is respected Commenting on December 19th on news that President Putin has granted an amnesty to a number of political prisoners including jailed businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group President, said:“If news of the pending release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is confirmed, then I can only welcome it, though it is not before time. His harsh treatment at the hands of the Russian justice system, along with that of other political prisoners who have suffered over the years, has only served to bring shame and international opprobrium on Russia as a country.” Read More 4th rail package will improve efficiency and interconnectedness of Europe’s rail network Currently more than 8 billion journeys a year are made by rail in Europe, and 10 % of goods are transported by rail freight whilst the sector is responsible for a turnover of EUR 73 billion, generating EUR 13 billion of revenue and supporting 800 000 jobs. Read More Banking union: taxpayers out of the line of fire In parallel to Council’s December discussions finalising agreement on the banking union, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved on December 17 a report on its vision for the structuring of the remaining building blocks of Europe’s banking union, namely the Single Resolution Mechanism and the Single Bank Resolution Fund, due to complement the agreed Single Supervisory Mechanism. Read More Consumer rights: IMCO pressures Member States In adopting a report on 17 December on the implementation of an EU directive on unfair commercial practices, Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Affairs committee approved a new legislative tool to regulate misleading advertising and other unfair practices in business-to-consumer transactions. Read More Air passenger rights: legal certainty on responsibility and rights for all stakeholders The European Parliament’s Transport Committee on December 17th signed off on the new rules on airline passenger rights. This reform sets common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of cancellation or delay of a flight and air carrier liability in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage. This revision also includes more clarity on what constitutes “extraordinary circumstances” in which compensation is not paid to passengers. Read More Tobacco: Legal doubts surround e-cigs In a final round of negotiations lasting late into the night on Monday 16th, the framework for a revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was agreed, laying down new standards for packaging, labelling, flavourings and tobacco-related products like the rise in use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs). Read More LGTBI discrimination – EU roadmap The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) adopted on December 17th a report calling for a multiannual policy to protect the fundamental rights of LGBTI people, through a concrete roadmap (comprising a strategy and action plan containing themes and objectives). The proposal for a roadmap was first launched by Sophie In’t Veld on behalf of the ALDE group. Read More European Commission News Free movement: Commission publishes guide on application of ‘Habitual Residence Test’ for social securityA practical guide on the ‘Habitual Residence Test’ to help Member States apply EU rules on the coordination of social security for EU citizens that have moved to another Member State has just been published by the European Commission. The new guide gives more clarity about the EU ‘Habitual Residence Test’ and will facilitate its application in practice by Member States’ authorities.László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “There are clear safeguards in EU law to prevent people from abusing social welfare systems of other EU countries. This guide will make it easier for Member States authorities to apply the ‘Habitual Residence’ safeguards in practice. The handbook is part of the Commission’s ongoing actions to facilitate the free movement of people throughout the EU.”The guide, drafted in cooperation with Member States, clarifies the separate concepts of ‘habitual residence’ and ‘temporary residence’ or ‘stay’. These definitions, laid down in EU law (Regulation EC/883/2004 as last amended by Regulation EU/465/2012), are necessary to establish which Member State is responsible for the provision of social security benefits to EU citizens moving between Member States. Under EU law there can be only one habitual place of residence and so only one Member State responsible for paying residence-based social security benefits.Employees and the self-employed qualify for social security in the country where they work and non-active people (e.g. pensioners, students) qualify in the Member State where they are “habitually resident”. Determining a person’s Member State of “habitual residence” is also important for workers that work in more than one Member State.Read More Without free movement there is no EU As a follow up to the abolition of the transitional arrangements on the free movement of workers from Romania and Bulgaria on 1st January 2014, lifting all potential restrictions in access to labour market in the EU, the freedom of movement of EU citizens has been subject to a rather passionate debate in several Member States. Eurosceptic politicians in Europe, including a head of government, have not missed the opportunity to ask for limiting free movement of workers to avoid, as they claim, a massive inflow of EU citizens from certain Member States. The European Parliament is due to vote a resolution tomorrow deploring this demand to restrict one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms.ALDE Group President Guy Verhofstadt said: “Without this right, there is no Europe. Capping the number of migrants of EU citizens does not only mean undermining one of the greatest achievements of EU integration and one of the main EU fundamental values, but it also means blocking European growth and wealth creation”.ALDE spokesperson in the Civil Liberties Committee Renate Weber (PNL, Romania) said: “It’s unacceptable that this fundamental right is challenged over and over. Certain politicians don’t seem to understand that by attacking certain EU core values they simply fuel intolerance, stigmatisation and xenophobia”.”As always, the closer we get to the European elections, the bigger the lies, scapegoating Europe, we hear. Let’s stick to allowing facts and figures to speak the truth. The inconvenient truth for the Eurosceptics is that mobile workers are net contributors to the budget and the economies of their host country”. Nadja Hirsch (FDP, Germany) vice-president of the committee on employment and social affairs: “The liberals stressed the value of free movement as the motor of economic growth and an effective means to fight against the shortage of skilled labour. Especially in the areas of healthcare, services, agriculture and construction we benefit enormously from the mobility of European workers.” Read More Profiles of MEPs in the News Michael Theurer (FDP, Germany) Michael Theurer was born in Tübingen, Germany in 1967 and grew up in Horb a. N. where he started his active political career by joining the liberal youth organisation “Junge Liberale” and the liberal party FDP in 1983. Even before completing his studies in economics at Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen, he was elected Lord Mayor of his hometown Horb am Neckar in February 1995, thus becoming the youngest mayor in Germany at that time, managing a public administration with almost 400 employees and a yearly budget of 50 million Euros. From 2001 to 2009, Michael was Member of Parliament of the Land Baden-Württemberg in Germany, sitting on the committees for budget and for European affairs. In 2009 Michael was elected to the European Parliament and became Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee in 2012. Initially a member, now a substitute of the Committee on Regional Development, Michael is also Substitute Member of the Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China and for Relations with India. Michael is also Vice-Chair of the FDP delegation in the European Parliament and is spokesperson for regional policy. He is also Member of the ALDE Bureau.As Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee, Michael is strongly in favour of budget consolidation and a more efficient use of financial resources by means of more transparency and performance checks. In particular, Michael was able to reveal mismanagement of EU-subsidies which paved the way for the European Commission’s legislative proposal to establish a European Public Prosecutor’s Office. This proposal was discussed by experts from the OECD and European Commissioner Šemeta at an ALDE seminar in the European Parliament upon Michael’s invitation in July 2013. In addition to the importance of budgetary control at the European level, Michael has been pointing to the crucial role of transparent and simple fiscal systems at a national level for effective EU spending. In line with this, Michael’s report and Troika opinion on “the evaluation of the Union’s finances based on the results achieved: a new tool for the European Commission’s improved discharge procedure” will be voted this month. Likewise, his opinion on the “Enquiry report on the role and operations of the Troika (ECB, Commission and IMF) with regard to the euro area programme countries” will also be voted this month in committee.As one of the initiators of the ALDE group’s “Boost SMEs” campaign, Michael sees considerable potential in strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises across the EU as a means of overcoming the economic crisis, and has been advocating means to provide SMEs with improved access to international markets. In January 2014, he organised an ALDE seminar on SMEs in the Stuttgart Parliament as part of the campaign. As rapporteur on the absorption of Structural and Cohesion Funds, Michael also drew important lessons for the future EU cohesion policy and pointed to the difficulties for some recipient countries in obtaining funds. With his background and long-standing political experience as Lord Mayor of Horb am Neckar, Michael stands for strong, independent, and self-governed local and regional bodies. While there is always room for improvement and constructive criticism, Michael is a keen advocate of European integration: “Had the EU not been founded, we would have to create it now.” Coming from Baden-Württemberg, one of the regions that is closely involved in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Michael has been actively supporting the strategy since 2010 as co-founder and Vice-Chair of the MEP Danube Forum. This network of MEPs from different political groups brings together stakeholders and civil society organisations which regularly convene in Brussels with each meeting being dedicated to one of the priority areas under the Danube Strategy. Together with colleagues from the MEP Danube Forum, Michael initiated the first Danube Parliamentarian Floating Conference in May 2013 which resulted in the founding of a Danube Parliamentarian Network Initiative. This network is the first of its kind in Europe bringing together parliamentarians from the local, regional, state and European levels with the aim of enhancing parliamentary cooperation in the Danube region. In addition, Michael initiated an ALDE ad-hoc delegation to Regensburg in June 2013 where he met with local politicians and stakeholders shortly after the severe flooding and discussed the state of play of riverbed development and cross-border cooperation.On top of his many commitments as MEP, Member of the FDP Presidency and leader of FDP Baden-Württemberg, Michael is also actively involved in his region as Chair of the “Friends of former synagogue Rexlingen” association. Until 2013, he was also Member of the Presidency of Europa Union Deutschland. When he is not busy travelling and working in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and his constituency, Michael enjoys listening to classical music to unwind – a great source of inspiration – together with a glass of Riesling wine from his region. Born and bred in the Black Forest, Michael particularly enjoys skiing in his holidays and if time permits, playing tennis and going for a short run almost daily. Read More 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 TwitterEventsCorruption in Russia 2014-01-29 ALDE SME Campaign – Stuttgart2014-01-16 Videos Alexander LAMBSDORFF January plenary speech on Programme of activities of the Greek Presidency Chris DAVIES January plenary speech on Carbon capture and storage technology Phil BENNION 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on Respect for the fundamental right of free movement Jürgen CREUTZMANN January plenary speech on Public procurement Renate WEBER 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on EU citizenship for sale Sophia IN ‘T VELD January plenary speech on Future of the Safe Harbour Agreement in the light of the NSA affairLinksAlliance 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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17 January 2014 Headlines ALDE NewsProfiles of MEPs in the News European Commission News ALDE News The Greek tragedy holds lessons for the whole of the EU Addressing Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, during the January Strasbourg plenary at the opening debate on the Greek Presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader, underlined that Greece’s own tough experiences of the financial crisis were brought on both by failure of the former dominant Greek political class and the collective inability of the EU to act decisively in 2009. Read More Immediate suspension of Safe Harbour arrangement EU-US Sophie in ‘t Veld, ALDE Vice-chair of the Civil Liberties committee is calling for the immediate suspension of the controversial Safe Harbour arrangement during the January 15 debate in the European Parliament with Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding. Read More EU Citizenship must remain priceless Malta’s recent decision to start selling citizenship to third country nationals for €650,000 has been strongly criticised during the January plenary session in the European Parliament both for the risk it poses for all Member States but also for the apparent discriminatory and purely commercial nature of the eligibility criteria without any requirement for residence. Read More MIFiD: Stronger investors’ protection and competition as preconditions for a robust financial market After months of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council on 14 January reached an agreement on the revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID II). This revision was proposed in 2011 by the Commission to respond to the speed of the market and technological developments and to overcome the weaknesses in the regulation of financial instruments exposed by the financial crisis. Read More European public procurement opens up for SMEs EU legislation on public procurement is being overhauled, in order to ensure a level playing field for contracts tendered by public bodies across the EU. Comprising almost 1/5 of total GDP in the Union, and covering sensitive sectors, services and public utilities, the package adopted on January 15 by the European Parliament, aims to ensure the application of simpler, more transparent and consistent rules, and to prevent discriminatory behaviour whilst preserving the basic freedom to provide services across borders. Read More Serbia from regional maverick into integration leader During a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 16 , ALDE MEP Jelko Kacin (LDS, Slovenia) and EP rapporteur on Serbia welcomed progress over the past year and said Serbia is taking up a transformative role: “turning from a regional maverick into an integration leader.” Read More Broad support for EU Action Plan to fight Wildlife Crime The EU Action plan to fight Wildlife Crime, an initiative launched by Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (D66, Netherlands) received broad support of the European Parliament during the January plenary session. The plan (see link below) calls for the complete destruction of seized illegal ivory, higher penalties for criminals, the creation of a special investigative unit at Europol and the review of EU legislation. Read More European consumer policy improved Ensuring a high level of consumer protection and empowering consumers to make informed choices is the essence of a programme to improve the policy framework for European consumers from 2014 to 2020 and the subject of report adopted by a large majority during the January plenary session. Read More Lower CO2 emissions in vans The European Parliament has endorsed a deal to reduce CO2 emissions from new light commercial vehicles (Vans). The report by ALDE MEP Holger Krahmer (FDP, Germany) also aims to make vans more fuel-efficient. Read More Kickstart carbon capture, say MEPs The European Parliament on January 14th called for measures to kickstart the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to reduce CO2 emissions from industry and power generation. With CO2 capture plants under construction in the USA, Canada and China, MEPs say that Europe could not only fail to achieve CO2 reductions at least possible cost but also risks losing out on export orders. Read More We must strengthen the EU mechanisms to ensure respect for fundamental rights The Committee on Civil Liberties and Justice of the European Parliament adopted on 14 January the report by Louis Michel (MR , Belgium) on Fundamental Rights in the EU for 2012. According to Michel. “In recent years the European Union has experienced severe institutional and constitutional crises in certain Member States. The European values as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, were in some cases abused and even violated.” Read More ALDE welcomes woman appointee to ECB Board Olle Schmidt MEP, (Folkpartiet, Sweden) welcomed the outcome of the vote in the Economic and Monetary Affairs approving Sabine Lautenschläger as a member of the ECB Executive Board in place of Jörg Asmussen, outgoing German member. However he believes more needs to be done to promote gender balance within the EU institutions and in particular in the ECB. Read More Employee financial participation can power inclusive growth According to the report drafted by Phil Bennion (LibDems, UK) and debated on 13 January in the European Parliament, Employee financial participation (EFP) should be encouraged to involve employees directly in the performance or ownership of the enterprises they work for. The concept of EFP can be an important tool to give employees a real sense of ownership and allow them to share in the value of the organization. Read More European Council fails to convince on Banking Union Some may claim that progress has been made over the past week towards delivering an EU wide Banking Union, but the reality is very different. Despite a week of intensive negotiations and diplomacy amongst finance ministers the outcome is less than was hoped for to convince markets that Europe has understood both the severity of the economic and financial crisis and the urgency of putting in place a comprehensive solution. Read More Plastic waste: MEPs move on pollution During the January plenary session MEPs backed a Commission Green paper for dealing with the huge amounts of plastic waste generated each year in the EU which pollute the environment. Parliament calls for the review of EU waste targets which means that future EU legislation should include inter alia the promotion or restriction of certain kinds of plastic materials, new rules on the disposal of plastic waste, measures to help phasing out landfilling of recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020, common criteria for recyclability, the promotion of waste prevention, recycling, recovery and reuse of products as well as measures to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment through sustainable solutions for product design and for the life-cycle of plastics. Read More Syrian humanitarian disaster: greater solidarity needed ALDE Leader Guy Verhofstadt has called on EU Member States to act in a more coordinated and responsible way to ease the growing Syrian humanitarian crisis. “Time is passing and we seem to have put Syria to the back of our minds yet the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding both inside Syria’s borders and beyond is without precedent and needs to be tackled urgently”. Read More Khodorkovsky pardon is welcome but it does not yet mean that Rule of Law is respected Commenting on December 19th on news that President Putin has granted an amnesty to a number of political prisoners including jailed businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group President, said:“If news of the pending release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is confirmed, then I can only welcome it, though it is not before time. His harsh treatment at the hands of the Russian justice system, along with that of other political prisoners who have suffered over the years, has only served to bring shame and international opprobrium on Russia as a country.” Read More 4th rail package will improve efficiency and interconnectedness of Europe’s rail network Currently more than 8 billion journeys a year are made by rail in Europe, and 10 % of goods are transported by rail freight whilst the sector is responsible for a turnover of EUR 73 billion, generating EUR 13 billion of revenue and supporting 800 000 jobs. Read More Banking union: taxpayers out of the line of fire In parallel to Council’s December discussions finalising agreement on the banking union, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved on December 17 a report on its vision for the structuring of the remaining building blocks of Europe’s banking union, namely the Single Resolution Mechanism and the Single Bank Resolution Fund, due to complement the agreed Single Supervisory Mechanism. Read More Consumer rights: IMCO pressures Member States In adopting a report on 17 December on the implementation of an EU directive on unfair commercial practices, Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Affairs committee approved a new legislative tool to regulate misleading advertising and other unfair practices in business-to-consumer transactions. Read More Air passenger rights: legal certainty on responsibility and rights for all stakeholders The European Parliament’s Transport Committee on December 17th signed off on the new rules on airline passenger rights. This reform sets common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of cancellation or delay of a flight and air carrier liability in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage. This revision also includes more clarity on what constitutes “extraordinary circumstances” in which compensation is not paid to passengers. Read More Tobacco: Legal doubts surround e-cigs In a final round of negotiations lasting late into the night on Monday 16th, the framework for a revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was agreed, laying down new standards for packaging, labelling, flavourings and tobacco-related products like the rise in use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs). Read More LGTBI discrimination – EU roadmap The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) adopted on December 17th a report calling for a multiannual policy to protect the fundamental rights of LGBTI people, through a concrete roadmap (comprising a strategy and action plan containing themes and objectives). The proposal for a roadmap was first launched by Sophie In’t Veld on behalf of the ALDE group. Read More European Commission News Free movement: Commission publishes guide on application of ‘Habitual Residence Test’ for social securityA practical guide on the ‘Habitual Residence Test’ to help Member States apply EU rules on the coordination of social security for EU citizens that have moved to another Member State has just been published by the European Commission. The new guide gives more clarity about the EU ‘Habitual Residence Test’ and will facilitate its application in practice by Member States’ authorities.László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “There are clear safeguards in EU law to prevent people from abusing social welfare systems of other EU countries. This guide will make it easier for Member States authorities to apply the ‘Habitual Residence’ safeguards in practice. The handbook is part of the Commission’s ongoing actions to facilitate the free movement of people throughout the EU.”The guide, drafted in cooperation with Member States, clarifies the separate concepts of ‘habitual residence’ and ‘temporary residence’ or ‘stay’. These definitions, laid down in EU law (Regulation EC/883/2004 as last amended by Regulation EU/465/2012), are necessary to establish which Member State is responsible for the provision of social security benefits to EU citizens moving between Member States. Under EU law there can be only one habitual place of residence and so only one Member State responsible for paying residence-based social security benefits.Employees and the self-employed qualify for social security in the country where they work and non-active people (e.g. pensioners, students) qualify in the Member State where they are “habitually resident”. Determining a person’s Member State of “habitual residence” is also important for workers that work in more than one Member State.Read More Without free movement there is no EU As a follow up to the abolition of the transitional arrangements on the free movement of workers from Romania and Bulgaria on 1st January 2014, lifting all potential restrictions in access to labour market in the EU, the freedom of movement of EU citizens has been subject to a rather passionate debate in several Member States. Eurosceptic politicians in Europe, including a head of government, have not missed the opportunity to ask for limiting free movement of workers to avoid, as they claim, a massive inflow of EU citizens from certain Member States. The European Parliament is due to vote a resolution tomorrow deploring this demand to restrict one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms.ALDE Group President Guy Verhofstadt said: “Without this right, there is no Europe. Capping the number of migrants of EU citizens does not only mean undermining one of the greatest achievements of EU integration and one of the main EU fundamental values, but it also means blocking European growth and wealth creation”.ALDE spokesperson in the Civil Liberties Committee Renate Weber (PNL, Romania) said: “It’s unacceptable that this fundamental right is challenged over and over. Certain politicians don’t seem to understand that by attacking certain EU core values they simply fuel intolerance, stigmatisation and xenophobia”.”As always, the closer we get to the European elections, the bigger the lies, scapegoating Europe, we hear. Let’s stick to allowing facts and figures to speak the truth. The inconvenient truth for the Eurosceptics is that mobile workers are net contributors to the budget and the economies of their host country”. Nadja Hirsch (FDP, Germany) vice-president of the committee on employment and social affairs: “The liberals stressed the value of free movement as the motor of economic growth and an effective means to fight against the shortage of skilled labour. Especially in the areas of healthcare, services, agriculture and construction we benefit enormously from the mobility of European workers.” Read More Profiles of MEPs in the News Michael Theurer (FDP, Germany) Michael Theurer was born in Tübingen, Germany in 1967 and grew up in Horb a. N. where he started his active political career by joining the liberal youth organisation “Junge Liberale” and the liberal party FDP in 1983. Even before completing his studies in economics at Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen, he was elected Lord Mayor of his hometown Horb am Neckar in February 1995, thus becoming the youngest mayor in Germany at that time, managing a public administration with almost 400 employees and a yearly budget of 50 million Euros. From 2001 to 2009, Michael was Member of Parliament of the Land Baden-Württemberg in Germany, sitting on the committees for budget and for European affairs. In 2009 Michael was elected to the European Parliament and became Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee in 2012. Initially a member, now a substitute of the Committee on Regional Development, Michael is also Substitute Member of the Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China and for Relations with India. Michael is also Vice-Chair of the FDP delegation in the European Parliament and is spokesperson for regional policy. He is also Member of the ALDE Bureau.As Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee, Michael is strongly in favour of budget consolidation and a more efficient use of financial resources by means of more transparency and performance checks. In particular, Michael was able to reveal mismanagement of EU-subsidies which paved the way for the European Commission’s legislative proposal to establish a European Public Prosecutor’s Office. This proposal was discussed by experts from the OECD and European Commissioner Šemeta at an ALDE seminar in the European Parliament upon Michael’s invitation in July 2013. In addition to the importance of budgetary control at the European level, Michael has been pointing to the crucial role of transparent and simple fiscal systems at a national level for effective EU spending. In line with this, Michael’s report and Troika opinion on “the evaluation of the Union’s finances based on the results achieved: a new tool for the European Commission’s improved discharge procedure” will be voted this month. Likewise, his opinion on the “Enquiry report on the role and operations of the Troika (ECB, Commission and IMF) with regard to the euro area programme countries” will also be voted this month in committee.As one of the initiators of the ALDE group’s “Boost SMEs” campaign, Michael sees considerable potential in strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises across the EU as a means of overcoming the economic crisis, and has been advocating means to provide SMEs with improved access to international markets. In January 2014, he organised an ALDE seminar on SMEs in the Stuttgart Parliament as part of the campaign. As rapporteur on the absorption of Structural and Cohesion Funds, Michael also drew important lessons for the future EU cohesion policy and pointed to the difficulties for some recipient countries in obtaining funds. With his background and long-standing political experience as Lord Mayor of Horb am Neckar, Michael stands for strong, independent, and self-governed local and regional bodies. While there is always room for improvement and constructive criticism, Michael is a keen advocate of European integration: “Had the EU not been founded, we would have to create it now.” Coming from Baden-Württemberg, one of the regions that is closely involved in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Michael has been actively supporting the strategy since 2010 as co-founder and Vice-Chair of the MEP Danube Forum. This network of MEPs from different political groups brings together stakeholders and civil society organisations which regularly convene in Brussels with each meeting being dedicated to one of the priority areas under the Danube Strategy. Together with colleagues from the MEP Danube Forum, Michael initiated the first Danube Parliamentarian Floating Conference in May 2013 which resulted in the founding of a Danube Parliamentarian Network Initiative. This network is the first of its kind in Europe bringing together parliamentarians from the local, regional, state and European levels with the aim of enhancing parliamentary cooperation in the Danube region. In addition, Michael initiated an ALDE ad-hoc delegation to Regensburg in June 2013 where he met with local politicians and stakeholders shortly after the severe flooding and discussed the state of play of riverbed development and cross-border cooperation.On top of his many commitments as MEP, Member of the FDP Presidency and leader of FDP Baden-Württemberg, Michael is also actively involved in his region as Chair of the “Friends of former synagogue Rexlingen” association. Until 2013, he was also Member of the Presidency of Europa Union Deutschland. When he is not busy travelling and working in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and his constituency, Michael enjoys listening to classical music to unwind – a great source of inspiration – together with a glass of Riesling wine from his region. Born and bred in the Black Forest, Michael particularly enjoys skiing in his holidays and if time permits, playing tennis and going for a short run almost daily. Read More 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 TwitterEventsCorruption in Russia 2014-01-29 ALDE SME Campaign – Stuttgart2014-01-16 Videos Alexander LAMBSDORFF January plenary speech on Programme of activities of the Greek Presidency Chris DAVIES January plenary speech on Carbon capture and storage technology Phil BENNION 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on Respect for the fundamental right of free movement Jürgen CREUTZMANN January plenary speech on Public procurement Renate WEBER 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on EU citizenship for sale Sophia IN ‘T VELD January plenary speech on Future of the Safe Harbour Agreement in the light of the NSA affairLinksAlliance 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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17 January 2014 Headlines ALDE NewsProfiles of MEPs in the News European Commission News ALDE News The Greek tragedy holds lessons for the whole of the EU Addressing Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, during the January Strasbourg plenary at the opening debate on the Greek Presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader, underlined that Greece’s own tough experiences of the financial crisis were brought on both by failure of the former dominant Greek political class and the collective inability of the EU to act decisively in 2009. Read More Immediate suspension of Safe Harbour arrangement EU-US Sophie in ‘t Veld, ALDE Vice-chair of the Civil Liberties committee is calling for the immediate suspension of the controversial Safe Harbour arrangement during the January 15 debate in the European Parliament with Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding. Read More EU Citizenship must remain priceless Malta’s recent decision to start selling citizenship to third country nationals for €650,000 has been strongly criticised during the January plenary session in the European Parliament both for the risk it poses for all Member States but also for the apparent discriminatory and purely commercial nature of the eligibility criteria without any requirement for residence. Read More MIFiD: Stronger investors’ protection and competition as preconditions for a robust financial market After months of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council on 14 January reached an agreement on the revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID II). This revision was proposed in 2011 by the Commission to respond to the speed of the market and technological developments and to overcome the weaknesses in the regulation of financial instruments exposed by the financial crisis. Read More European public procurement opens up for SMEs EU legislation on public procurement is being overhauled, in order to ensure a level playing field for contracts tendered by public bodies across the EU. Comprising almost 1/5 of total GDP in the Union, and covering sensitive sectors, services and public utilities, the package adopted on January 15 by the European Parliament, aims to ensure the application of simpler, more transparent and consistent rules, and to prevent discriminatory behaviour whilst preserving the basic freedom to provide services across borders. Read More Serbia from regional maverick into integration leader During a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 16 , ALDE MEP Jelko Kacin (LDS, Slovenia) and EP rapporteur on Serbia welcomed progress over the past year and said Serbia is taking up a transformative role: “turning from a regional maverick into an integration leader.” Read More Broad support for EU Action Plan to fight Wildlife Crime The EU Action plan to fight Wildlife Crime, an initiative launched by Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (D66, Netherlands) received broad support of the European Parliament during the January plenary session. The plan (see link below) calls for the complete destruction of seized illegal ivory, higher penalties for criminals, the creation of a special investigative unit at Europol and the review of EU legislation. Read More European consumer policy improved Ensuring a high level of consumer protection and empowering consumers to make informed choices is the essence of a programme to improve the policy framework for European consumers from 2014 to 2020 and the subject of report adopted by a large majority during the January plenary session. Read More Lower CO2 emissions in vans The European Parliament has endorsed a deal to reduce CO2 emissions from new light commercial vehicles (Vans). The report by ALDE MEP Holger Krahmer (FDP, Germany) also aims to make vans more fuel-efficient. Read More Kickstart carbon capture, say MEPs The European Parliament on January 14th called for measures to kickstart the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to reduce CO2 emissions from industry and power generation. With CO2 capture plants under construction in the USA, Canada and China, MEPs say that Europe could not only fail to achieve CO2 reductions at least possible cost but also risks losing out on export orders. Read More We must strengthen the EU mechanisms to ensure respect for fundamental rights The Committee on Civil Liberties and Justice of the European Parliament adopted on 14 January the report by Louis Michel (MR , Belgium) on Fundamental Rights in the EU for 2012. According to Michel. “In recent years the European Union has experienced severe institutional and constitutional crises in certain Member States. The European values as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, were in some cases abused and even violated.” Read More ALDE welcomes woman appointee to ECB Board Olle Schmidt MEP, (Folkpartiet, Sweden) welcomed the outcome of the vote in the Economic and Monetary Affairs approving Sabine Lautenschläger as a member of the ECB Executive Board in place of Jörg Asmussen, outgoing German member. However he believes more needs to be done to promote gender balance within the EU institutions and in particular in the ECB. Read More Employee financial participation can power inclusive growth According to the report drafted by Phil Bennion (LibDems, UK) and debated on 13 January in the European Parliament, Employee financial participation (EFP) should be encouraged to involve employees directly in the performance or ownership of the enterprises they work for. The concept of EFP can be an important tool to give employees a real sense of ownership and allow them to share in the value of the organization. Read More European Council fails to convince on Banking Union Some may claim that progress has been made over the past week towards delivering an EU wide Banking Union, but the reality is very different. Despite a week of intensive negotiations and diplomacy amongst finance ministers the outcome is less than was hoped for to convince markets that Europe has understood both the severity of the economic and financial crisis and the urgency of putting in place a comprehensive solution. Read More Plastic waste: MEPs move on pollution During the January plenary session MEPs backed a Commission Green paper for dealing with the huge amounts of plastic waste generated each year in the EU which pollute the environment. Parliament calls for the review of EU waste targets which means that future EU legislation should include inter alia the promotion or restriction of certain kinds of plastic materials, new rules on the disposal of plastic waste, measures to help phasing out landfilling of recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020, common criteria for recyclability, the promotion of waste prevention, recycling, recovery and reuse of products as well as measures to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment through sustainable solutions for product design and for the life-cycle of plastics. Read More Syrian humanitarian disaster: greater solidarity needed ALDE Leader Guy Verhofstadt has called on EU Member States to act in a more coordinated and responsible way to ease the growing Syrian humanitarian crisis. “Time is passing and we seem to have put Syria to the back of our minds yet the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding both inside Syria’s borders and beyond is without precedent and needs to be tackled urgently”. Read More Khodorkovsky pardon is welcome but it does not yet mean that Rule of Law is respected Commenting on December 19th on news that President Putin has granted an amnesty to a number of political prisoners including jailed businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group President, said:“If news of the pending release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is confirmed, then I can only welcome it, though it is not before time. His harsh treatment at the hands of the Russian justice system, along with that of other political prisoners who have suffered over the years, has only served to bring shame and international opprobrium on Russia as a country.” Read More 4th rail package will improve efficiency and interconnectedness of Europe’s rail network Currently more than 8 billion journeys a year are made by rail in Europe, and 10 % of goods are transported by rail freight whilst the sector is responsible for a turnover of EUR 73 billion, generating EUR 13 billion of revenue and supporting 800 000 jobs. Read More Banking union: taxpayers out of the line of fire In parallel to Council’s December discussions finalising agreement on the banking union, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved on December 17 a report on its vision for the structuring of the remaining building blocks of Europe’s banking union, namely the Single Resolution Mechanism and the Single Bank Resolution Fund, due to complement the agreed Single Supervisory Mechanism. Read More Consumer rights: IMCO pressures Member States In adopting a report on 17 December on the implementation of an EU directive on unfair commercial practices, Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Affairs committee approved a new legislative tool to regulate misleading advertising and other unfair practices in business-to-consumer transactions. Read More Air passenger rights: legal certainty on responsibility and rights for all stakeholders The European Parliament’s Transport Committee on December 17th signed off on the new rules on airline passenger rights. This reform sets common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of cancellation or delay of a flight and air carrier liability in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage. This revision also includes more clarity on what constitutes “extraordinary circumstances” in which compensation is not paid to passengers. Read More Tobacco: Legal doubts surround e-cigs In a final round of negotiations lasting late into the night on Monday 16th, the framework for a revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was agreed, laying down new standards for packaging, labelling, flavourings and tobacco-related products like the rise in use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs). Read More LGTBI discrimination – EU roadmap The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) adopted on December 17th a report calling for a multiannual policy to protect the fundamental rights of LGBTI people, through a concrete roadmap (comprising a strategy and action plan containing themes and objectives). The proposal for a roadmap was first launched by Sophie In’t Veld on behalf of the ALDE group. Read More European Commission News Free movement: Commission publishes guide on application of ‘Habitual Residence Test’ for social securityA practical guide on the ‘Habitual Residence Test’ to help Member States apply EU rules on the coordination of social security for EU citizens that have moved to another Member State has just been published by the European Commission. The new guide gives more clarity about the EU ‘Habitual Residence Test’ and will facilitate its application in practice by Member States’ authorities.László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “There are clear safeguards in EU law to prevent people from abusing social welfare systems of other EU countries. This guide will make it easier for Member States authorities to apply the ‘Habitual Residence’ safeguards in practice. The handbook is part of the Commission’s ongoing actions to facilitate the free movement of people throughout the EU.”The guide, drafted in cooperation with Member States, clarifies the separate concepts of ‘habitual residence’ and ‘temporary residence’ or ‘stay’. These definitions, laid down in EU law (Regulation EC/883/2004 as last amended by Regulation EU/465/2012), are necessary to establish which Member State is responsible for the provision of social security benefits to EU citizens moving between Member States. Under EU law there can be only one habitual place of residence and so only one Member State responsible for paying residence-based social security benefits.Employees and the self-employed qualify for social security in the country where they work and non-active people (e.g. pensioners, students) qualify in the Member State where they are “habitually resident”. Determining a person’s Member State of “habitual residence” is also important for workers that work in more than one Member State.Read More Without free movement there is no EU As a follow up to the abolition of the transitional arrangements on the free movement of workers from Romania and Bulgaria on 1st January 2014, lifting all potential restrictions in access to labour market in the EU, the freedom of movement of EU citizens has been subject to a rather passionate debate in several Member States. Eurosceptic politicians in Europe, including a head of government, have not missed the opportunity to ask for limiting free movement of workers to avoid, as they claim, a massive inflow of EU citizens from certain Member States. The European Parliament is due to vote a resolution tomorrow deploring this demand to restrict one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms.ALDE Group President Guy Verhofstadt said: “Without this right, there is no Europe. Capping the number of migrants of EU citizens does not only mean undermining one of the greatest achievements of EU integration and one of the main EU fundamental values, but it also means blocking European growth and wealth creation”.ALDE spokesperson in the Civil Liberties Committee Renate Weber (PNL, Romania) said: “It’s unacceptable that this fundamental right is challenged over and over. Certain politicians don’t seem to understand that by attacking certain EU core values they simply fuel intolerance, stigmatisation and xenophobia”.”As always, the closer we get to the European elections, the bigger the lies, scapegoating Europe, we hear. Let’s stick to allowing facts and figures to speak the truth. The inconvenient truth for the Eurosceptics is that mobile workers are net contributors to the budget and the economies of their host country”. Nadja Hirsch (FDP, Germany) vice-president of the committee on employment and social affairs: “The liberals stressed the value of free movement as the motor of economic growth and an effective means to fight against the shortage of skilled labour. Especially in the areas of healthcare, services, agriculture and construction we benefit enormously from the mobility of European workers.” Read More Profiles of MEPs in the News Michael Theurer (FDP, Germany) Michael Theurer was born in Tübingen, Germany in 1967 and grew up in Horb a. N. where he started his active political career by joining the liberal youth organisation “Junge Liberale” and the liberal party FDP in 1983. Even before completing his studies in economics at Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen, he was elected Lord Mayor of his hometown Horb am Neckar in February 1995, thus becoming the youngest mayor in Germany at that time, managing a public administration with almost 400 employees and a yearly budget of 50 million Euros. From 2001 to 2009, Michael was Member of Parliament of the Land Baden-Württemberg in Germany, sitting on the committees for budget and for European affairs. In 2009 Michael was elected to the European Parliament and became Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee in 2012. Initially a member, now a substitute of the Committee on Regional Development, Michael is also Substitute Member of the Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China and for Relations with India. Michael is also Vice-Chair of the FDP delegation in the European Parliament and is spokesperson for regional policy. He is also Member of the ALDE Bureau.As Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee, Michael is strongly in favour of budget consolidation and a more efficient use of financial resources by means of more transparency and performance checks. In particular, Michael was able to reveal mismanagement of EU-subsidies which paved the way for the European Commission’s legislative proposal to establish a European Public Prosecutor’s Office. This proposal was discussed by experts from the OECD and European Commissioner Šemeta at an ALDE seminar in the European Parliament upon Michael’s invitation in July 2013. In addition to the importance of budgetary control at the European level, Michael has been pointing to the crucial role of transparent and simple fiscal systems at a national level for effective EU spending. In line with this, Michael’s report and Troika opinion on “the evaluation of the Union’s finances based on the results achieved: a new tool for the European Commission’s improved discharge procedure” will be voted this month. Likewise, his opinion on the “Enquiry report on the role and operations of the Troika (ECB, Commission and IMF) with regard to the euro area programme countries” will also be voted this month in committee.As one of the initiators of the ALDE group’s “Boost SMEs” campaign, Michael sees considerable potential in strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises across the EU as a means of overcoming the economic crisis, and has been advocating means to provide SMEs with improved access to international markets. In January 2014, he organised an ALDE seminar on SMEs in the Stuttgart Parliament as part of the campaign. As rapporteur on the absorption of Structural and Cohesion Funds, Michael also drew important lessons for the future EU cohesion policy and pointed to the difficulties for some recipient countries in obtaining funds. With his background and long-standing political experience as Lord Mayor of Horb am Neckar, Michael stands for strong, independent, and self-governed local and regional bodies. While there is always room for improvement and constructive criticism, Michael is a keen advocate of European integration: “Had the EU not been founded, we would have to create it now.” Coming from Baden-Württemberg, one of the regions that is closely involved in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Michael has been actively supporting the strategy since 2010 as co-founder and Vice-Chair of the MEP Danube Forum. This network of MEPs from different political groups brings together stakeholders and civil society organisations which regularly convene in Brussels with each meeting being dedicated to one of the priority areas under the Danube Strategy. Together with colleagues from the MEP Danube Forum, Michael initiated the first Danube Parliamentarian Floating Conference in May 2013 which resulted in the founding of a Danube Parliamentarian Network Initiative. This network is the first of its kind in Europe bringing together parliamentarians from the local, regional, state and European levels with the aim of enhancing parliamentary cooperation in the Danube region. In addition, Michael initiated an ALDE ad-hoc delegation to Regensburg in June 2013 where he met with local politicians and stakeholders shortly after the severe flooding and discussed the state of play of riverbed development and cross-border cooperation.On top of his many commitments as MEP, Member of the FDP Presidency and leader of FDP Baden-Württemberg, Michael is also actively involved in his region as Chair of the “Friends of former synagogue Rexlingen” association. Until 2013, he was also Member of the Presidency of Europa Union Deutschland. When he is not busy travelling and working in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and his constituency, Michael enjoys listening to classical music to unwind – a great source of inspiration – together with a glass of Riesling wine from his region. Born and bred in the Black Forest, Michael particularly enjoys skiing in his holidays and if time permits, playing tennis and going for a short run almost daily. Read More 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 TwitterEventsCorruption in Russia 2014-01-29 ALDE SME Campaign – Stuttgart2014-01-16 Videos Alexander LAMBSDORFF January plenary speech on Programme of activities of the Greek Presidency Chris DAVIES January plenary speech on Carbon capture and storage technology Phil BENNION 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on Respect for the fundamental right of free movement Jürgen CREUTZMANN January plenary speech on Public procurement Renate WEBER 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on EU citizenship for sale Sophia IN ‘T VELD January plenary speech on Future of the Safe Harbour Agreement in the light of the NSA affairLinksAlliance 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

more …

17 January 2014 Headlines ALDE NewsProfiles of MEPs in the News European Commission News ALDE News The Greek tragedy holds lessons for the whole of the EU Addressing Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, during the January Strasbourg plenary at the opening debate on the Greek Presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader, underlined that Greece’s own tough experiences of the financial crisis were brought on both by failure of the former dominant Greek political class and the collective inability of the EU to act decisively in 2009. Read More Immediate suspension of Safe Harbour arrangement EU-US Sophie in ‘t Veld, ALDE Vice-chair of the Civil Liberties committee is calling for the immediate suspension of the controversial Safe Harbour arrangement during the January 15 debate in the European Parliament with Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding. Read More EU Citizenship must remain priceless Malta’s recent decision to start selling citizenship to third country nationals for €650,000 has been strongly criticised during the January plenary session in the European Parliament both for the risk it poses for all Member States but also for the apparent discriminatory and purely commercial nature of the eligibility criteria without any requirement for residence. Read More MIFiD: Stronger investors’ protection and competition as preconditions for a robust financial market After months of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council on 14 January reached an agreement on the revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID II). This revision was proposed in 2011 by the Commission to respond to the speed of the market and technological developments and to overcome the weaknesses in the regulation of financial instruments exposed by the financial crisis. Read More European public procurement opens up for SMEs EU legislation on public procurement is being overhauled, in order to ensure a level playing field for contracts tendered by public bodies across the EU. Comprising almost 1/5 of total GDP in the Union, and covering sensitive sectors, services and public utilities, the package adopted on January 15 by the European Parliament, aims to ensure the application of simpler, more transparent and consistent rules, and to prevent discriminatory behaviour whilst preserving the basic freedom to provide services across borders. Read More Serbia from regional maverick into integration leader During a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 16 , ALDE MEP Jelko Kacin (LDS, Slovenia) and EP rapporteur on Serbia welcomed progress over the past year and said Serbia is taking up a transformative role: “turning from a regional maverick into an integration leader.” Read More Broad support for EU Action Plan to fight Wildlife Crime The EU Action plan to fight Wildlife Crime, an initiative launched by Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (D66, Netherlands) received broad support of the European Parliament during the January plenary session. The plan (see link below) calls for the complete destruction of seized illegal ivory, higher penalties for criminals, the creation of a special investigative unit at Europol and the review of EU legislation. Read More European consumer policy improved Ensuring a high level of consumer protection and empowering consumers to make informed choices is the essence of a programme to improve the policy framework for European consumers from 2014 to 2020 and the subject of report adopted by a large majority during the January plenary session. Read More Lower CO2 emissions in vans The European Parliament has endorsed a deal to reduce CO2 emissions from new light commercial vehicles (Vans). The report by ALDE MEP Holger Krahmer (FDP, Germany) also aims to make vans more fuel-efficient. Read More Kickstart carbon capture, say MEPs The European Parliament on January 14th called for measures to kickstart the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to reduce CO2 emissions from industry and power generation. With CO2 capture plants under construction in the USA, Canada and China, MEPs say that Europe could not only fail to achieve CO2 reductions at least possible cost but also risks losing out on export orders. Read More We must strengthen the EU mechanisms to ensure respect for fundamental rights The Committee on Civil Liberties and Justice of the European Parliament adopted on 14 January the report by Louis Michel (MR , Belgium) on Fundamental Rights in the EU for 2012. According to Michel. “In recent years the European Union has experienced severe institutional and constitutional crises in certain Member States. The European values as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, were in some cases abused and even violated.” Read More ALDE welcomes woman appointee to ECB Board Olle Schmidt MEP, (Folkpartiet, Sweden) welcomed the outcome of the vote in the Economic and Monetary Affairs approving Sabine Lautenschläger as a member of the ECB Executive Board in place of Jörg Asmussen, outgoing German member. However he believes more needs to be done to promote gender balance within the EU institutions and in particular in the ECB. Read More Employee financial participation can power inclusive growth According to the report drafted by Phil Bennion (LibDems, UK) and debated on 13 January in the European Parliament, Employee financial participation (EFP) should be encouraged to involve employees directly in the performance or ownership of the enterprises they work for. The concept of EFP can be an important tool to give employees a real sense of ownership and allow them to share in the value of the organization. Read More European Council fails to convince on Banking Union Some may claim that progress has been made over the past week towards delivering an EU wide Banking Union, but the reality is very different. Despite a week of intensive negotiations and diplomacy amongst finance ministers the outcome is less than was hoped for to convince markets that Europe has understood both the severity of the economic and financial crisis and the urgency of putting in place a comprehensive solution. Read More Plastic waste: MEPs move on pollution During the January plenary session MEPs backed a Commission Green paper for dealing with the huge amounts of plastic waste generated each year in the EU which pollute the environment. Parliament calls for the review of EU waste targets which means that future EU legislation should include inter alia the promotion or restriction of certain kinds of plastic materials, new rules on the disposal of plastic waste, measures to help phasing out landfilling of recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020, common criteria for recyclability, the promotion of waste prevention, recycling, recovery and reuse of products as well as measures to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment through sustainable solutions for product design and for the life-cycle of plastics. Read More Syrian humanitarian disaster: greater solidarity needed ALDE Leader Guy Verhofstadt has called on EU Member States to act in a more coordinated and responsible way to ease the growing Syrian humanitarian crisis. “Time is passing and we seem to have put Syria to the back of our minds yet the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding both inside Syria’s borders and beyond is without precedent and needs to be tackled urgently”. Read More Khodorkovsky pardon is welcome but it does not yet mean that Rule of Law is respected Commenting on December 19th on news that President Putin has granted an amnesty to a number of political prisoners including jailed businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group President, said:“If news of the pending release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is confirmed, then I can only welcome it, though it is not before time. His harsh treatment at the hands of the Russian justice system, along with that of other political prisoners who have suffered over the years, has only served to bring shame and international opprobrium on Russia as a country.” Read More 4th rail package will improve efficiency and interconnectedness of Europe’s rail network Currently more than 8 billion journeys a year are made by rail in Europe, and 10 % of goods are transported by rail freight whilst the sector is responsible for a turnover of EUR 73 billion, generating EUR 13 billion of revenue and supporting 800 000 jobs. Read More Banking union: taxpayers out of the line of fire In parallel to Council’s December discussions finalising agreement on the banking union, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved on December 17 a report on its vision for the structuring of the remaining building blocks of Europe’s banking union, namely the Single Resolution Mechanism and the Single Bank Resolution Fund, due to complement the agreed Single Supervisory Mechanism. Read More Consumer rights: IMCO pressures Member States In adopting a report on 17 December on the implementation of an EU directive on unfair commercial practices, Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Affairs committee approved a new legislative tool to regulate misleading advertising and other unfair practices in business-to-consumer transactions. Read More Air passenger rights: legal certainty on responsibility and rights for all stakeholders The European Parliament’s Transport Committee on December 17th signed off on the new rules on airline passenger rights. This reform sets common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of cancellation or delay of a flight and air carrier liability in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage. This revision also includes more clarity on what constitutes “extraordinary circumstances” in which compensation is not paid to passengers. Read More Tobacco: Legal doubts surround e-cigs In a final round of negotiations lasting late into the night on Monday 16th, the framework for a revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was agreed, laying down new standards for packaging, labelling, flavourings and tobacco-related products like the rise in use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs). Read More LGTBI discrimination – EU roadmap The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) adopted on December 17th a report calling for a multiannual policy to protect the fundamental rights of LGBTI people, through a concrete roadmap (comprising a strategy and action plan containing themes and objectives). The proposal for a roadmap was first launched by Sophie In’t Veld on behalf of the ALDE group. Read More European Commission News Free movement: Commission publishes guide on application of ‘Habitual Residence Test’ for social securityA practical guide on the ‘Habitual Residence Test’ to help Member States apply EU rules on the coordination of social security for EU citizens that have moved to another Member State has just been published by the European Commission. The new guide gives more clarity about the EU ‘Habitual Residence Test’ and will facilitate its application in practice by Member States’ authorities.László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “There are clear safeguards in EU law to prevent people from abusing social welfare systems of other EU countries. This guide will make it easier for Member States authorities to apply the ‘Habitual Residence’ safeguards in practice. The handbook is part of the Commission’s ongoing actions to facilitate the free movement of people throughout the EU.”The guide, drafted in cooperation with Member States, clarifies the separate concepts of ‘habitual residence’ and ‘temporary residence’ or ‘stay’. These definitions, laid down in EU law (Regulation EC/883/2004 as last amended by Regulation EU/465/2012), are necessary to establish which Member State is responsible for the provision of social security benefits to EU citizens moving between Member States. Under EU law there can be only one habitual place of residence and so only one Member State responsible for paying residence-based social security benefits.Employees and the self-employed qualify for social security in the country where they work and non-active people (e.g. pensioners, students) qualify in the Member State where they are “habitually resident”. Determining a person’s Member State of “habitual residence” is also important for workers that work in more than one Member State.Read More Without free movement there is no EU As a follow up to the abolition of the transitional arrangements on the free movement of workers from Romania and Bulgaria on 1st January 2014, lifting all potential restrictions in access to labour market in the EU, the freedom of movement of EU citizens has been subject to a rather passionate debate in several Member States. Eurosceptic politicians in Europe, including a head of government, have not missed the opportunity to ask for limiting free movement of workers to avoid, as they claim, a massive inflow of EU citizens from certain Member States. The European Parliament is due to vote a resolution tomorrow deploring this demand to restrict one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms.ALDE Group President Guy Verhofstadt said: “Without this right, there is no Europe. Capping the number of migrants of EU citizens does not only mean undermining one of the greatest achievements of EU integration and one of the main EU fundamental values, but it also means blocking European growth and wealth creation”.ALDE spokesperson in the Civil Liberties Committee Renate Weber (PNL, Romania) said: “It’s unacceptable that this fundamental right is challenged over and over. Certain politicians don’t seem to understand that by attacking certain EU core values they simply fuel intolerance, stigmatisation and xenophobia”.”As always, the closer we get to the European elections, the bigger the lies, scapegoating Europe, we hear. Let’s stick to allowing facts and figures to speak the truth. The inconvenient truth for the Eurosceptics is that mobile workers are net contributors to the budget and the economies of their host country”. Nadja Hirsch (FDP, Germany) vice-president of the committee on employment and social affairs: “The liberals stressed the value of free movement as the motor of economic growth and an effective means to fight against the shortage of skilled labour. Especially in the areas of healthcare, services, agriculture and construction we benefit enormously from the mobility of European workers.” Read More Profiles of MEPs in the News Michael Theurer (FDP, Germany) Michael Theurer was born in Tübingen, Germany in 1967 and grew up in Horb a. N. where he started his active political career by joining the liberal youth organisation “Junge Liberale” and the liberal party FDP in 1983. Even before completing his studies in economics at Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen, he was elected Lord Mayor of his hometown Horb am Neckar in February 1995, thus becoming the youngest mayor in Germany at that time, managing a public administration with almost 400 employees and a yearly budget of 50 million Euros. From 2001 to 2009, Michael was Member of Parliament of the Land Baden-Württemberg in Germany, sitting on the committees for budget and for European affairs. In 2009 Michael was elected to the European Parliament and became Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee in 2012. Initially a member, now a substitute of the Committee on Regional Development, Michael is also Substitute Member of the Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China and for Relations with India. Michael is also Vice-Chair of the FDP delegation in the European Parliament and is spokesperson for regional policy. He is also Member of the ALDE Bureau.As Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee, Michael is strongly in favour of budget consolidation and a more efficient use of financial resources by means of more transparency and performance checks. In particular, Michael was able to reveal mismanagement of EU-subsidies which paved the way for the European Commission’s legislative proposal to establish a European Public Prosecutor’s Office. This proposal was discussed by experts from the OECD and European Commissioner Šemeta at an ALDE seminar in the European Parliament upon Michael’s invitation in July 2013. In addition to the importance of budgetary control at the European level, Michael has been pointing to the crucial role of transparent and simple fiscal systems at a national level for effective EU spending. In line with this, Michael’s report and Troika opinion on “the evaluation of the Union’s finances based on the results achieved: a new tool for the European Commission’s improved discharge procedure” will be voted this month. Likewise, his opinion on the “Enquiry report on the role and operations of the Troika (ECB, Commission and IMF) with regard to the euro area programme countries” will also be voted this month in committee.As one of the initiators of the ALDE group’s “Boost SMEs” campaign, Michael sees considerable potential in strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises across the EU as a means of overcoming the economic crisis, and has been advocating means to provide SMEs with improved access to international markets. In January 2014, he organised an ALDE seminar on SMEs in the Stuttgart Parliament as part of the campaign. As rapporteur on the absorption of Structural and Cohesion Funds, Michael also drew important lessons for the future EU cohesion policy and pointed to the difficulties for some recipient countries in obtaining funds. With his background and long-standing political experience as Lord Mayor of Horb am Neckar, Michael stands for strong, independent, and self-governed local and regional bodies. While there is always room for improvement and constructive criticism, Michael is a keen advocate of European integration: “Had the EU not been founded, we would have to create it now.” Coming from Baden-Württemberg, one of the regions that is closely involved in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Michael has been actively supporting the strategy since 2010 as co-founder and Vice-Chair of the MEP Danube Forum. This network of MEPs from different political groups brings together stakeholders and civil society organisations which regularly convene in Brussels with each meeting being dedicated to one of the priority areas under the Danube Strategy. Together with colleagues from the MEP Danube Forum, Michael initiated the first Danube Parliamentarian Floating Conference in May 2013 which resulted in the founding of a Danube Parliamentarian Network Initiative. This network is the first of its kind in Europe bringing together parliamentarians from the local, regional, state and European levels with the aim of enhancing parliamentary cooperation in the Danube region. In addition, Michael initiated an ALDE ad-hoc delegation to Regensburg in June 2013 where he met with local politicians and stakeholders shortly after the severe flooding and discussed the state of play of riverbed development and cross-border cooperation.On top of his many commitments as MEP, Member of the FDP Presidency and leader of FDP Baden-Württemberg, Michael is also actively involved in his region as Chair of the “Friends of former synagogue Rexlingen” association. Until 2013, he was also Member of the Presidency of Europa Union Deutschland. When he is not busy travelling and working in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and his constituency, Michael enjoys listening to classical music to unwind – a great source of inspiration – together with a glass of Riesling wine from his region. Born and bred in the Black Forest, Michael particularly enjoys skiing in his holidays and if time permits, playing tennis and going for a short run almost daily. Read More 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 TwitterEventsCorruption in Russia 2014-01-29 ALDE SME Campaign – Stuttgart2014-01-16 Videos Alexander LAMBSDORFF January plenary speech on Programme of activities of the Greek Presidency Chris DAVIES January plenary speech on Carbon capture and storage technology Phil BENNION 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on Respect for the fundamental right of free movement Jürgen CREUTZMANN January plenary speech on Public procurement Renate WEBER 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on EU citizenship for sale Sophia IN ‘T VELD January plenary speech on Future of the Safe Harbour Agreement in the light of the NSA affairLinksAlliance 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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17 January 2014 Headlines ALDE NewsProfiles of MEPs in the News European Commission News ALDE News The Greek tragedy holds lessons for the whole of the EU Addressing Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, during the January Strasbourg plenary at the opening debate on the Greek Presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader, underlined that Greece’s own tough experiences of the financial crisis were brought on both by failure of the former dominant Greek political class and the collective inability of the EU to act decisively in 2009. Read More Immediate suspension of Safe Harbour arrangement EU-US Sophie in ‘t Veld, ALDE Vice-chair of the Civil Liberties committee is calling for the immediate suspension of the controversial Safe Harbour arrangement during the January 15 debate in the European Parliament with Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding. Read More EU Citizenship must remain priceless Malta’s recent decision to start selling citizenship to third country nationals for €650,000 has been strongly criticised during the January plenary session in the European Parliament both for the risk it poses for all Member States but also for the apparent discriminatory and purely commercial nature of the eligibility criteria without any requirement for residence. Read More MIFiD: Stronger investors’ protection and competition as preconditions for a robust financial market After months of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council on 14 January reached an agreement on the revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID II). This revision was proposed in 2011 by the Commission to respond to the speed of the market and technological developments and to overcome the weaknesses in the regulation of financial instruments exposed by the financial crisis. Read More European public procurement opens up for SMEs EU legislation on public procurement is being overhauled, in order to ensure a level playing field for contracts tendered by public bodies across the EU. Comprising almost 1/5 of total GDP in the Union, and covering sensitive sectors, services and public utilities, the package adopted on January 15 by the European Parliament, aims to ensure the application of simpler, more transparent and consistent rules, and to prevent discriminatory behaviour whilst preserving the basic freedom to provide services across borders. Read More Serbia from regional maverick into integration leader During a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 16 , ALDE MEP Jelko Kacin (LDS, Slovenia) and EP rapporteur on Serbia welcomed progress over the past year and said Serbia is taking up a transformative role: “turning from a regional maverick into an integration leader.” Read More Broad support for EU Action Plan to fight Wildlife Crime The EU Action plan to fight Wildlife Crime, an initiative launched by Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (D66, Netherlands) received broad support of the European Parliament during the January plenary session. The plan (see link below) calls for the complete destruction of seized illegal ivory, higher penalties for criminals, the creation of a special investigative unit at Europol and the review of EU legislation. Read More European consumer policy improved Ensuring a high level of consumer protection and empowering consumers to make informed choices is the essence of a programme to improve the policy framework for European consumers from 2014 to 2020 and the subject of report adopted by a large majority during the January plenary session. Read More Lower CO2 emissions in vans The European Parliament has endorsed a deal to reduce CO2 emissions from new light commercial vehicles (Vans). The report by ALDE MEP Holger Krahmer (FDP, Germany) also aims to make vans more fuel-efficient. Read More Kickstart carbon capture, say MEPs The European Parliament on January 14th called for measures to kickstart the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to reduce CO2 emissions from industry and power generation. With CO2 capture plants under construction in the USA, Canada and China, MEPs say that Europe could not only fail to achieve CO2 reductions at least possible cost but also risks losing out on export orders. Read More We must strengthen the EU mechanisms to ensure respect for fundamental rights The Committee on Civil Liberties and Justice of the European Parliament adopted on 14 January the report by Louis Michel (MR , Belgium) on Fundamental Rights in the EU for 2012. According to Michel. “In recent years the European Union has experienced severe institutional and constitutional crises in certain Member States. The European values as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, were in some cases abused and even violated.” Read More ALDE welcomes woman appointee to ECB Board Olle Schmidt MEP, (Folkpartiet, Sweden) welcomed the outcome of the vote in the Economic and Monetary Affairs approving Sabine Lautenschläger as a member of the ECB Executive Board in place of Jörg Asmussen, outgoing German member. However he believes more needs to be done to promote gender balance within the EU institutions and in particular in the ECB. Read More Employee financial participation can power inclusive growth According to the report drafted by Phil Bennion (LibDems, UK) and debated on 13 January in the European Parliament, Employee financial participation (EFP) should be encouraged to involve employees directly in the performance or ownership of the enterprises they work for. The concept of EFP can be an important tool to give employees a real sense of ownership and allow them to share in the value of the organization. Read More European Council fails to convince on Banking Union Some may claim that progress has been made over the past week towards delivering an EU wide Banking Union, but the reality is very different. Despite a week of intensive negotiations and diplomacy amongst finance ministers the outcome is less than was hoped for to convince markets that Europe has understood both the severity of the economic and financial crisis and the urgency of putting in place a comprehensive solution. Read More Plastic waste: MEPs move on pollution During the January plenary session MEPs backed a Commission Green paper for dealing with the huge amounts of plastic waste generated each year in the EU which pollute the environment. Parliament calls for the review of EU waste targets which means that future EU legislation should include inter alia the promotion or restriction of certain kinds of plastic materials, new rules on the disposal of plastic waste, measures to help phasing out landfilling of recyclable and recoverable waste by 2020, common criteria for recyclability, the promotion of waste prevention, recycling, recovery and reuse of products as well as measures to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment through sustainable solutions for product design and for the life-cycle of plastics. Read More Syrian humanitarian disaster: greater solidarity needed ALDE Leader Guy Verhofstadt has called on EU Member States to act in a more coordinated and responsible way to ease the growing Syrian humanitarian crisis. “Time is passing and we seem to have put Syria to the back of our minds yet the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding both inside Syria’s borders and beyond is without precedent and needs to be tackled urgently”. Read More Khodorkovsky pardon is welcome but it does not yet mean that Rule of Law is respected Commenting on December 19th on news that President Putin has granted an amnesty to a number of political prisoners including jailed businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group President, said:“If news of the pending release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is confirmed, then I can only welcome it, though it is not before time. His harsh treatment at the hands of the Russian justice system, along with that of other political prisoners who have suffered over the years, has only served to bring shame and international opprobrium on Russia as a country.” Read More 4th rail package will improve efficiency and interconnectedness of Europe’s rail network Currently more than 8 billion journeys a year are made by rail in Europe, and 10 % of goods are transported by rail freight whilst the sector is responsible for a turnover of EUR 73 billion, generating EUR 13 billion of revenue and supporting 800 000 jobs. Read More Banking union: taxpayers out of the line of fire In parallel to Council’s December discussions finalising agreement on the banking union, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved on December 17 a report on its vision for the structuring of the remaining building blocks of Europe’s banking union, namely the Single Resolution Mechanism and the Single Bank Resolution Fund, due to complement the agreed Single Supervisory Mechanism. Read More Consumer rights: IMCO pressures Member States In adopting a report on 17 December on the implementation of an EU directive on unfair commercial practices, Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Affairs committee approved a new legislative tool to regulate misleading advertising and other unfair practices in business-to-consumer transactions. Read More Air passenger rights: legal certainty on responsibility and rights for all stakeholders The European Parliament’s Transport Committee on December 17th signed off on the new rules on airline passenger rights. This reform sets common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of cancellation or delay of a flight and air carrier liability in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage. This revision also includes more clarity on what constitutes “extraordinary circumstances” in which compensation is not paid to passengers. Read More Tobacco: Legal doubts surround e-cigs In a final round of negotiations lasting late into the night on Monday 16th, the framework for a revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was agreed, laying down new standards for packaging, labelling, flavourings and tobacco-related products like the rise in use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs). Read More LGTBI discrimination – EU roadmap The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) adopted on December 17th a report calling for a multiannual policy to protect the fundamental rights of LGBTI people, through a concrete roadmap (comprising a strategy and action plan containing themes and objectives). The proposal for a roadmap was first launched by Sophie In’t Veld on behalf of the ALDE group. Read More European Commission News Free movement: Commission publishes guide on application of ‘Habitual Residence Test’ for social securityA practical guide on the ‘Habitual Residence Test’ to help Member States apply EU rules on the coordination of social security for EU citizens that have moved to another Member State has just been published by the European Commission. The new guide gives more clarity about the EU ‘Habitual Residence Test’ and will facilitate its application in practice by Member States’ authorities.László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “There are clear safeguards in EU law to prevent people from abusing social welfare systems of other EU countries. This guide will make it easier for Member States authorities to apply the ‘Habitual Residence’ safeguards in practice. The handbook is part of the Commission’s ongoing actions to facilitate the free movement of people throughout the EU.”The guide, drafted in cooperation with Member States, clarifies the separate concepts of ‘habitual residence’ and ‘temporary residence’ or ‘stay’. These definitions, laid down in EU law (Regulation EC/883/2004 as last amended by Regulation EU/465/2012), are necessary to establish which Member State is responsible for the provision of social security benefits to EU citizens moving between Member States. Under EU law there can be only one habitual place of residence and so only one Member State responsible for paying residence-based social security benefits.Employees and the self-employed qualify for social security in the country where they work and non-active people (e.g. pensioners, students) qualify in the Member State where they are “habitually resident”. Determining a person’s Member State of “habitual residence” is also important for workers that work in more than one Member State.Read More Without free movement there is no EU As a follow up to the abolition of the transitional arrangements on the free movement of workers from Romania and Bulgaria on 1st January 2014, lifting all potential restrictions in access to labour market in the EU, the freedom of movement of EU citizens has been subject to a rather passionate debate in several Member States. Eurosceptic politicians in Europe, including a head of government, have not missed the opportunity to ask for limiting free movement of workers to avoid, as they claim, a massive inflow of EU citizens from certain Member States. The European Parliament is due to vote a resolution tomorrow deploring this demand to restrict one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms.ALDE Group President Guy Verhofstadt said: “Without this right, there is no Europe. Capping the number of migrants of EU citizens does not only mean undermining one of the greatest achievements of EU integration and one of the main EU fundamental values, but it also means blocking European growth and wealth creation”.ALDE spokesperson in the Civil Liberties Committee Renate Weber (PNL, Romania) said: “It’s unacceptable that this fundamental right is challenged over and over. Certain politicians don’t seem to understand that by attacking certain EU core values they simply fuel intolerance, stigmatisation and xenophobia”.”As always, the closer we get to the European elections, the bigger the lies, scapegoating Europe, we hear. Let’s stick to allowing facts and figures to speak the truth. The inconvenient truth for the Eurosceptics is that mobile workers are net contributors to the budget and the economies of their host country”. Nadja Hirsch (FDP, Germany) vice-president of the committee on employment and social affairs: “The liberals stressed the value of free movement as the motor of economic growth and an effective means to fight against the shortage of skilled labour. Especially in the areas of healthcare, services, agriculture and construction we benefit enormously from the mobility of European workers.” Read More Profiles of MEPs in the News Michael Theurer (FDP, Germany) Michael Theurer was born in Tübingen, Germany in 1967 and grew up in Horb a. N. where he started his active political career by joining the liberal youth organisation “Junge Liberale” and the liberal party FDP in 1983. Even before completing his studies in economics at Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen, he was elected Lord Mayor of his hometown Horb am Neckar in February 1995, thus becoming the youngest mayor in Germany at that time, managing a public administration with almost 400 employees and a yearly budget of 50 million Euros. From 2001 to 2009, Michael was Member of Parliament of the Land Baden-Württemberg in Germany, sitting on the committees for budget and for European affairs. In 2009 Michael was elected to the European Parliament and became Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee in 2012. Initially a member, now a substitute of the Committee on Regional Development, Michael is also Substitute Member of the Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China and for Relations with India. Michael is also Vice-Chair of the FDP delegation in the European Parliament and is spokesperson for regional policy. He is also Member of the ALDE Bureau.As Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee, Michael is strongly in favour of budget consolidation and a more efficient use of financial resources by means of more transparency and performance checks. In particular, Michael was able to reveal mismanagement of EU-subsidies which paved the way for the European Commission’s legislative proposal to establish a European Public Prosecutor’s Office. This proposal was discussed by experts from the OECD and European Commissioner Šemeta at an ALDE seminar in the European Parliament upon Michael’s invitation in July 2013. In addition to the importance of budgetary control at the European level, Michael has been pointing to the crucial role of transparent and simple fiscal systems at a national level for effective EU spending. In line with this, Michael’s report and Troika opinion on “the evaluation of the Union’s finances based on the results achieved: a new tool for the European Commission’s improved discharge procedure” will be voted this month. Likewise, his opinion on the “Enquiry report on the role and operations of the Troika (ECB, Commission and IMF) with regard to the euro area programme countries” will also be voted this month in committee.As one of the initiators of the ALDE group’s “Boost SMEs” campaign, Michael sees considerable potential in strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises across the EU as a means of overcoming the economic crisis, and has been advocating means to provide SMEs with improved access to international markets. In January 2014, he organised an ALDE seminar on SMEs in the Stuttgart Parliament as part of the campaign. As rapporteur on the absorption of Structural and Cohesion Funds, Michael also drew important lessons for the future EU cohesion policy and pointed to the difficulties for some recipient countries in obtaining funds. With his background and long-standing political experience as Lord Mayor of Horb am Neckar, Michael stands for strong, independent, and self-governed local and regional bodies. While there is always room for improvement and constructive criticism, Michael is a keen advocate of European integration: “Had the EU not been founded, we would have to create it now.” Coming from Baden-Württemberg, one of the regions that is closely involved in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Michael has been actively supporting the strategy since 2010 as co-founder and Vice-Chair of the MEP Danube Forum. This network of MEPs from different political groups brings together stakeholders and civil society organisations which regularly convene in Brussels with each meeting being dedicated to one of the priority areas under the Danube Strategy. Together with colleagues from the MEP Danube Forum, Michael initiated the first Danube Parliamentarian Floating Conference in May 2013 which resulted in the founding of a Danube Parliamentarian Network Initiative. This network is the first of its kind in Europe bringing together parliamentarians from the local, regional, state and European levels with the aim of enhancing parliamentary cooperation in the Danube region. In addition, Michael initiated an ALDE ad-hoc delegation to Regensburg in June 2013 where he met with local politicians and stakeholders shortly after the severe flooding and discussed the state of play of riverbed development and cross-border cooperation.On top of his many commitments as MEP, Member of the FDP Presidency and leader of FDP Baden-Württemberg, Michael is also actively involved in his region as Chair of the “Friends of former synagogue Rexlingen” association. Until 2013, he was also Member of the Presidency of Europa Union Deutschland. When he is not busy travelling and working in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin and his constituency, Michael enjoys listening to classical music to unwind – a great source of inspiration – together with a glass of Riesling wine from his region. Born and bred in the Black Forest, Michael particularly enjoys skiing in his holidays and if time permits, playing tennis and going for a short run almost daily. Read More For more information, please contact:ALDE Press Service and Inter-institutional relations unitneil.corlett@europarl.europa.euwillem.vandenbroucke@europarl.europa.euALDEUnsubscribeJoin ALDE on FacebookFollow ALDE on TwitterEventsCorruption in Russia 2014-01-29 ALDE SME Campaign – Stuttgart2014-01-16 Videos Alexander LAMBSDORFF January plenary speech on Programme of activities of the Greek Presidency Chris DAVIES January plenary speech on Carbon capture and storage technology Phil BENNION 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on Respect for the fundamental right of free movement Jürgen CREUTZMANN January plenary speech on Public procurement Renate WEBER 15 Jan 2014 plenary speech on EU citizenship for sale Sophia IN ‘T VELD January plenary speech on Future of the Safe Harbour Agreement in the light of the NSA affairLinksAlliance 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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