British Conservatives will continue to advocate the most liberalising approach possible to the Services Directive, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, the Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, said in Strasbourg this week. Mr Kirkhope's comments came as the European Commission published its draft of the Services Directive following the European Parliament's first reading vote in February.
Mr Kirkhope said:
"Protectionism is undermining Europe's economic performance and we want to see the European Commission take the most liberalising approach possible. We will continue to champion the cause of free markets and a strong Services Directive would be one way of creating opportunities for jobs and growth across the EU.
"Conservative MEPs voted for the Services package in February with the expectation that Tony Blair and the Council of Ministers would reinforce the directive. Unfortunately, Mr Blair did not seize the opportunity and the recent Brussels summit avoided making a positive decision. The Parliament's vote on Services should be seen as a minimum base on which to build - a platform, not a ceiling.
"I had hoped the European Commission would take the lead in pushing for a more liberalising Services Directive. It seems they have joined the Council of Ministers in leaving this matter to be dealt with by MEPs. If Europe's economy is to be fit for the future, we need European leaders to show some conviction in the drive to complete the single market."
EU Budget Deal
A pledge from the EU's Council of Ministers that it will reinforce the responsibility of member states to improve controls on EU spending within their borders is welcome but the European Commission and Ministers themselves must now make it happen, Conservative budgets spokesman in the European Parliament, Richard Ashworth MEP, said in Strasbourg this week.
The pledge will be discussed as national EU ambassadors meet to discuss the deal brokered with MEPs for the EU's 2007-13 budget. In the negotiations, the Parliament secured an additional four billion euros - mostly to be committed to furthering youth and education projects.
The European Parliament, European Commission and Council of Ministers reached an agreement on the seven-year €860 billion budget on Wednesday night. MEPs were able to secure assurances that they would have an influential role in the budget review process to be carried out in 2008/9 as well as a drive for more financial responsibility from member states, who are directly responsible for around 80 percent of total EU spending.
The European Court of Auditors has been unable to give the EU's accounts a positive statement of assurance for eleven years running - mainly because the Court is unable to account for many of the EU-financed projects executed by national governments. The assurances that the Council will attempt to make its spending more accountable have been welcomed by Mr Ashworth but he says Ministers must now take urgent action if the EU is to get its accounts signed off in the near future.
Mr Ashworth said:
"As a result of this deal, the Council of Ministers is obliged to take steps to make the European Union's spending more accountable. That's welcome news. The EU's accounts have not been signed off for eleven years because national governments are not taking full responsibility for the money that is funnelled through their departments and agencies.
It is also encouraging to see the European Commission and Council of Ministers are pledging to give elected Euro-MPs more say in the budgetary review process in 2009. Conservatives will be at the forefront of this process to ensure we can get a better deal out of the EU budget for British taxpayers.
The devil will now be in the delivery of these pledges. It seems clear the only way the EU might come close to getting its accounts signed off is if national governments take responsibility to the EU monies they spend. They know what they must do and I hope they will honour their pledge to us and make it happen."
Avian Flu Urgent Procedure
The European Parliament has cleared the way for the UK to adopt special measures to assist the poultry sector amid falling consumption and prices because of fears over avian influenza.
Speaking after the vote in Strasbourg, Conservative spokesman on agriculture, Neil Parish said:
"The poultry sector has taken quite a battering recently and I am extremely pleased that the Commission has proposed measures that will allow the Member States to take action to help see the poultry industry through these difficult times.
"With the sad news that a case of a H5N1 has been discovered in a swan in Fife, we must ensure that the disease does not spread to domestic poultry, as it has in France and Germany.
"The proposal, which we have adopted, allows the Member States flexibility in determining the exceptional market measures they adopt. With around 300,000 tonnes of poultry meat already having to be stored in the EU, my view is that we should use the new rules to limit production. The poultry industry has very short production cycles, therefore, a temporary limitation, with compensation for producers, should be given serious consideration. We must also ensure that the UK is not flooded by cheap imports.
Equally, we really now need to see a major drive to highlight the safety and quality of our locally produced poultry. Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel has told me that a new European proposal is on the way and I have stressed the need to have this adopted without delay".
Diabetes Declaration
The European Parliament wants diabetes - which affects more than 25 million people in the EU - to become a priority in the EU's new health strategy. MEPs made the demand in a 'written declaration' (the equivalent of a Westminster 'Early Day Motion') which received the rare support of more than half the Parliament this week. The declaration now becomes a formal resolution of the House and the Parliament's staff will forward the wishes of Parliamentarians to the Council of Ministers and the European Commission.
Conservative spokesman on health, John Bowis MEP, authored the declaration which also encourages EU member states to establish national diabetes plans and develop a strategy to encourage consumption and production of healthy food. Diabetes can lead to other costly and painful ailments such as kidney failure, amputations and blindness and the number of people affected by diabetes is set to rise by 16 percent by 2025.
Mr Bowis said:
"This resolution will mean diabetes is placed high up on Europe's health agenda. We need immediate and concrete steps to address the growing diabetes epidemic which can lead to serious and costly health implications such as heart disease, stroke and blindness.
"Improved prevention, diagnosis and control of diabetes is key to limiting the alarming increase of the condition and improving the lives of those who have already been diagnosed.
"The Austrian Presidency of the EU has given diabetes a great deal of attention since January but with the support of MEPs, I hope this resolution will make all European Ministers and European Commissioners understand the seriousness of the epidemic."
Strasbourg Sessions
The European Parliament on Wednesday voted for another twelve sessions to be held in Strasbourg in 2007, at a profligate cost of £150 million to the taxpayer. Conservative MEPs had attempted to put forward amendments that would have limited the number of days MEPs spend in Strasbourg but they were unable to muster the required 37 supporting signatures from Euro-MPs - because many of them were suffering the usual delays that come with the territory when travelling to the poorly-connected city.
Timothy Kirkhope, Leader of Conservative MEPs, has written to Tony Blair calling on him to put the item on the table at the next meeting of European leaders. Many MEPs lament having to maintain the two-seat operation which sees parliamentarians, staff and lorries full of paperwork shuttled to and fro between Brussels and Strasbourg. Unfortunately, they are in no position to alter the arrangement as it is cast in the treaties of the EU which only European heads of government can change. The ill-fated Conservative amendment would have lessened the blow to the taxpayer by reducing the number of days in each Strasbourg session.
Mr Kirkhope said:
"Every year the European Parliament is forced to pour millions of pounds of taxpayer's money down the plughole. A small community is uprooted each month and relocated 250 miles away for a four day session that can easily be accommodated in Brussels. It's farcical.
"There is nothing in the Strasbourg parliament that we do not have in Brussels.
"Getting to Strasbourg is nowhere near as easy as Brussels so taxpayers lose thousands of man hours of productivity from MEPs and staff.
"Unfortunately, the only people who can change this ludicrous situation are Tony Blair and his EU counterparts. I doubt there are many European leaders who think the Strasbourg situation is not farcical but nobody has taken the lead in trying to change it.
"I am writing to the Prime Minister asking him to strive for a single seat Parliament so that taxpayer's money can be put to far better purposes than propping up the Alsacien economy. If the PM could finally scrap Strasbourg sittings, he would go some way towards redeeming himself after the disastrous British EU Presidency."
RESULTS OF THE VOTES:
Resolution: Request for Consultation of the Committee of the Regions - Natural disasters (fires, drought and floods) - regional development aspects
Spokesman: Den Dover MEP
Adopted - Conservatives against
Wallis - Request to defend the parliamentary immunity of Witold Tomczak
Spokesman: Malcolm Harbour MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Laperrouze - Guidelines for trans-European energy networks
Spokesman: Giles Chichester MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Kósáné Kovács - Guidelines for Member States' employment policies
Spokesman: Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Lipietz - Commission competition policy 2004
Spokesman: Jonathan Evans MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Hammerstein Mintz - Openness of meetings of the Council when acting in its legislative capacity
Spokesman: Timothy Kirkhope MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Cashman - Access to the institutions' texts
Spokesman: Timothy Kirkhope MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Papastamkos - WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong
Spokesman: Robert Sturdy MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
García-Margallo y Marfil - Broad economic policy guidelines for 2006
Spokesman: Giles Chichester MEP
Adopted - Conservatives abstained
Roure - The common use of liaison officers posted abroad by the law enforcement agencies of the Member States
Spokesman: Timothy Kirkhope MEP
Adopted- Conservatives in favour
Takkula - Citizens for Europe programme (2007-2013)
Spokesman: Christopher Beazley MEP
Adopted - Conservatives against
Prets - European Capital of Culture (2007-2019)
Spokesman: Christopher Beazley MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Ory - Transitional arrangements restricting the free movement of workers on EU labour markets
Spokesman: Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Cashman - Simplified regime for the control of persons at external borders (Switzerland and Liechtenstein)
Spokesman: Timothy Kirkhope MEP
Adopted - Conservatives abstained
Cashman - Simplified regime for the control of persons at external borders following enlargement
Spokesman: Timothy Kirkhope MEP
Adopted - Conservatives abstained
Doyle - Fluorinated greenhouse gases
Spokesman: Caroline Jackson MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Doyle - Emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles
Spokesman: Caroline Jackson MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Proposal for a regulation: Exceptional market support measures (avian sector)
Spokesman: Neil ParishMEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
De Rossa - Special report by the European Ombudsman following a complaint against the European Schools
Spokesman: Sir Robert Atkins MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Resolution - Situation with refugee camps in Malta
Spokesman: Timothy Kirkhope MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Resolution - Elections in Belarus
Spokesman: Charles Tannock MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Resolution - Elections in Ukraine
Spokesman: Charles Tannock MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Resolution - World Health Day
Spokesman: John Bowis MEP
Adopted-Conservatives in favour
Cornillet - Work of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in 2005
Spokesman: Nirj Deva MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Van den Berg - Aid effectiveness and corruption in developing countries
Spokesman: Nirj Deva MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Resolution - Egypt: the Ayman Nour affair
Spokesman: Charles Tannock MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Resolution - Darfur
Spokesman: Charles Tannock MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
Resolution - Iraq: Assryian community, situation in Iraqi prisons
Spokesman: Charles Tannock MEP
Adopted - Conservatives in favour
PARTY WATCH - where different from Conservatives in recorded final votes:
LABOUR
(+) Takkula - Citizens for Europe programme (2007-2019) (A6-0076/2006)
(+) Cashman - Simplified regime for the control of persons at external borders (A6-0022/2006)
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
(+) Takkula - Citizens for Europe programme (2007-2019) (A6-0076/2006)
(+) Cashman - Simplified regime for the control of persons at external borders (A6-0022/2006)
UKIP
(-) Papastamkos - WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong (A6-0051/2006)
(-) Prets - European Capital of Culture (2007-2019) (A6-0061/2006)
