Ebulletin: July 2010

The Right Advances Across Europe

The consequences of the Tory-Lib Dem alliance in Britain are rapidly becoming clear for our public services and jobs.  However, regretfully, this is not a phenomenon that is restricted to these shores.  Recent elections have seen the centre-left lose out across the continent.  We now have conservative-led governments in each of the big four economies in Europe - the UK, France, Germany and Italy - and 22 countries in the EU have a right or centre-right government.
With right-leaning governments in power across Europe, we are certainly in for some challenging times in the European Parliament.  This means that our Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group in Parliament has an increasingly important role in ensuring socially progressive policies continue to be developed, and that any attempts at a large-scale roll-back of the rights that have been put in place for citizens and consumers is resisted.

In the Labour Party, the next few months will be important as we select our new Party Leader and begin our fight back to power.   I have given my supporting nomination to Ed Miliband who, I believe, has the experience and ideas to forge a new, progressive political platform for Labour in the years ahead.  I saw how he made a real difference on climate change and showed real international leadership in the Copenhagen talks.   Labour was in power 13 years and made solid achievements of which we can all be proud.  But we also need some time for reflection to rebuild trust with the electorate and win back those voters who deserted us in May.  

MEPs Vote for Bankers' Bonus Cap

MEPs have voted through tough new laws to cap how much bankers can receive in cash bonuses.  The law will be in place in time for the 2011 bonus season and means that for all bonuses the maximum amount of upfront cash will be 30%, while for large bonuses the maximum will be 20%. In place of upfront cash, a large part of any bonus must be deferred and can be clawed back if investments do not perform as expected.
 
Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy steered this legislation through Parliament and stood up to Ministers from the 27 countries who originally wanted a softer line. It is part of a package of laws to regulate the financial sector in the aftermath of the banking crisis which has triggered the global economic downturn. MEPs have delayed the vote on the rest of the package until after the summer recess because they could not accept the watering down of controls by EU governments.  The idea of the new law is to bring an end to the short-term, high-risk culture that was the cause of the financial crisis and make banks prioritise support for our economic recovery, not their own pay and perks. Bank bonuses have actually gone up since the government bailouts. The rules will also regulate the way exceptional pension payments are used to reward bankers. This will stop bank chiefs walking away from the ruins of their firm with huge bonus pots, while taxpayers pick up the bill.

Better Food Labelling Moves to Final Hurdle

MEPs brought more honest food labels a step closer when they voted for a package of improvements to existing laws: front of pack labels of key nutrients on all food products with companies no longer being able to pick and choose what to highlight – ending, for example, the “low fat” labels that disguise the high sugar content of many products.   The country of origin of all meat products would have to be clearly stated – ending the current misleading practice where, for example, chickens reared abroad can be prepared and packaged here and sold as “British”.  Tory MEPs were split over the country of origin – some backing the cause of big business which opposed these plans, but losing them friends among farmers who have mounted a strong NFU campaign for proper labelling.  Ministers from the 27 countries will now look at the Parliament’s proposals and both MEPs and Ministers must reach agreement before the new law takes effect.

MEPs Block Moves to Water-Down Road Transport Workers’ Directive  

Recent attempts by the European Commission to abandon a planned extension of rules governing road transport workers were defeated in the European Parliament recently with the support of Labour MEPs.  The Road Transport Workers’ Directive was introduced in 2005 and stipulated that drivers of heavy goods vehicles could not work more than 60 hours in any one week.  Full implementation of the Directive for self-employed drivers, delayed to give them more time to comply with the Directive, was due to be implemented soon.  However, the European Commission put forward proposals to Parliament to keep the exemption for self-employed drivers - moves which failed when MEPs voted against the proposal.   

Unions had been concerned that the Commission’s plans ignored the fact that many companies have been able to exploit self-employed workers, pressuring them to work longer hours, thereby bypassing the law.  They were also concerned about the implications of continuing to have exhausted lorry drivers on our roads.  Lorry drivers not covered by the legal restrictions have been found to work up to 86 hours per week, inevitably leading to fatigue.  Half of all lorry drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel, thus presenting a serious risk of accident to all road users.

EU Moves Towards Agreeing Safer Drugs System Across Europe 

The European Parliament will vote in September on a package of legislative proposals being led by Linda to create a new system across Europe to improve the monitoring of drugs side effects and information for patients.  The new rules will give patients new rights to report their side effects and more access to information about side effects picked up across Europe.  In the past, people who have suffered a serious side effect have struggled to find out whether theirs was a rare reaction - or one which drug companies already knew about and could have tried to prevent.  A new database and better information on medicines will help plug the information gap.   Indications on leaflets that accompany medicines will also provide contact details for patients to report side effects directly to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which will record any adverse reactions and share them with other European countries via a common database. 

EU Law on Mobile Roaming in Force  

June saw the full implementation of new laws to regulate the charges for mobile roaming - the use of mobile phones to browse the internet whilst abroad.  Previously, many people have been caught out by not being aware of the charges.  Some extreme examples have lead people to rack up unexpected bills of many thousands of pounds.  From now on, operators will have to update roamers on the costs they incur.

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