PPB_sept2

-Monthly post-plenary briefings

POST PLENARY BRIEFING

SEPTEMBER II 2006

Main Events of the Week:

Cooperation not harmonisation needed to tackle terrorism

and illegal immigration

The Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, this week

urged the EU to abandon attempts to harmonise Member States' law in the face of

threats from terrorism and illegal immigration. He called for governments not to pass the buck

to the EU to disguise their own policy failures.

Timothy Kirkhope MEP said:

"Conservatives oppose a single model of justice for countries whose different legal systems

have evolved in their own ways over centuries.

"Mutual recognition of our differing legal traditions, not harmonisation is the way forward in an EU

of 25 member states.

"We must recognise, not replace, the many legal systems of the EU.

"What is needed is what will bring practical results, not idealised theoretical structures. For

this reason the dream of a Euro-Home Office is a sideshow that is not just self-defeating, but is

ultimately harmful if it stifles effective cooperation between the Member States for the benefit of our

citizens."

Shark finning laws: Conservatives bite back

Europe's feeble shark finning regulations are now more likely to be tightened, despite attempts

by the Spanish MEPs and the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee to relax them, thanks

to the Conservative fisheries team in Strasbourg.

Shark finning is the practice where fishermen cut the fins of a shark and throw the rest of the shark

back in the water - often while still alive. The practice has officially been illegal since 2003 but the

high value of shark fins and the poor enforcement of the ban make the rewards of finning far greater

than the risks.

Current EU regulations state that fins must not exceed five percent of the total shark landed. In

theory, this should avoid sharks being thrown back finless by requiring all of the corresponding

carcasses to be landed.

Spanish MEPs and the Parliament's Fisheries Committee had proposed raising this ratio to 6.5

percent, which would have allowed fishermen to throw back two in three sharks without fins and

face little or no penalty. Conservative MEPs submitted a cross-party amendment to bring this ratio

right down to two percent - the average weight of a shark fin. This would be far more effective at

ensuring that every shark caught would have to be landed.

Conservative Fisheries Spokesman in the European Parliament Struan Stevenson MEP said:"At a

time when the leading experts in the world are telling us that species like the Blue shark are

vulnerable, the Spanish fleet is trying to find ways to kill more of them. This trade is lucrative and the rewards far outweigh the risks fishermen take by breaking the law.

"Around a third of the 130 shark species in Europe are threatened and another 20 percent are in

immediate danger of joining them. Sharks are vulnerable to fishing because they reproduce much

later in life, and they have few young. The loss of shark species in our oceans would upset the whole ecosystem."

Conservative deputy Fisheries Spokesman in the European Parliament Neil Parish MEP said:

"The practice of shark finning is cruel and wasteful. Often sharks are thrown back alive and left to a miserable death. Unfortunately, sharks have an image Problem that means they have few

sympathisers outside the conservationist community.

"When debating this issue with the European Commissioner, he suggested he would look favourably

on tightening up the loopholes in the finning regulations. It is up to the Commission to bring forward

a strict legislative proposal that will give our shark populations a chance to recover. Fishermen should

be able to fish sharks, but we must do so in a way that puts conservation above profit."

Conservatives champion better air quality

Conservative MEPs on Tuesday led the campaign to save lives by improving the air quality in the UK's

major cities by supporting a new initiative in the European Parliament.

Air pollution has a major health and environmental impact. It kills 1,000 people in London each year

and shortens lives by an average of eight months. Respiratory and cardiovascular side-effects lead to increased hospital admissions, extra medication, millions of lost working days each year and

hundreds of thousands of premature deaths.Conservative Health Spokesman in the European

Parliament John Bowis said:"Walk down Oxford Street if you want to know why we need stronger measures to improve air quality. In many UK towns and cities our health is suffering and those with respiratory problems are really at risk. I welcome the new provision for an exposure reduction target

for fine particles which are the most dangerous to human health.

"Conservatives are working to ensure there will be a robust directive in the interests of health and the environment."

Conservatives call for EU-India free trade pact

Following David Cameron's call for a new 'special relationship' with India, Conservatives have

now challenged the EU to create a free trade zone enhancing trade and regional security. Charles

Tannock MEP, Conservative Foreign Affairs Spokesman in the European Parliament, this week

spoke about David Cameron's vision on relations with India and called for a free trade pact between the

two biggest democracies in the world.

Charles Tannock MEP said:

"Our strategic partnership with India continues to be of vital importance for both the EU and India and I welcome the fact that they have committed themselves to strengthening dialogue and engagement,

including human rights, as strategic partners at the sixth India-EU Summit on 7 September 2005.

"However, given the continuing growth of India's economy and its political dominance, the current

strategic relationship must deepen.

"That is why an India-EU Free Trade pact is a vital step forward. It would have mutually beneficial

results as our economies are complementary. India needs our high tech finished products and the EU needs their services and basic machinery.

"We are already India's biggest trading partner at some Euros 40 billion annually. Conservatives

want better, closer and more prosperous relations with this great country."

Conservative International Trade Spokesman in the European Parliament, Robert Sturdy MEP added:

We strongly support freer trade globally and believe in India's economic dynamism. As traditionally Britain's foremost economic partner in the EU, India will rapidly advance the cause of trade

liberalisation if an EU-India FTA is agreed."

RESULTS OF THE VOTES:

Request for consultation of the ESC: Housing and regional policy

Spokesman: Den Dover MEP

Adopted - Conservatives against

Request for consultation of the CoR: Housing and regional policy

Spokesman: Den Dover MEP

Adopted - Conservatives against

Lehne - Request for defence of Jannis Sakellariou's immunity

Spokesman: Malcolm Harbour MEP