Ebulletin: Issue 61, April 2009

The direction of the EU is a matter of political choice

Two events over the last week have brought home what, in tangible terms, the direction of the European Union can mean.
The first one came on Wednesday, which was the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage. On the same day, new rules came into affect to increase the amount of paid leave working people are entitled to in law, up to 28 days. It’s a small gain, perhaps, but it means that anyone in full time work is entitled to a full four weeks paid holiday, plus bank holidays. The change is underpinned by an EU agreement - the European Social Chapter.
The second incident came on Thursday, when the European Parliament voted to back new anti-discrimination, intended to combat discrimination on grounds of disability, religion or belief, age, or sexual orientation. It will apply to social protection and health care, social benefits, education and access to goods and services including housing. Again it seems like a common sense step forward, intended to enshrine in law a ban on behaviour which frankly became unacceptable years ago.
And yet, just like they opposed the Minimum Wage, the Conservative Party remains committed to scrapping the European Social Chapter. David Cameron described it as a “top priority”. And when we came to vote on the anti-discrimination legislation, four Tory MEPs voted against and the rest abstained. There, in a nutshell, are the political differences that can determine the priorities of the EU, and the decisions that will touch on the lives of millions of people.

Linda

Tories to quit EPP after Euro election

One thing that Conservative Party members knew for certain before they elected David Cameron to be their leader was that he wanted Tory MEPs to leave the mainstream European People’s Party. Last month Cameron confirmed that they would be going ahead with the plan after June’s European elections.
Partners for the new Tory group are still in short supply, however. So far only a right-wing Czech party whose leader who described global warming as “a false myth”, and the Polish Law and Justice Party, one of whose MPs described the election of Barack Obama as a “catastrophe” and “the end of the white man’s civilisation”. It has also been reported that William Hague has formally approached a Latvian Party whose members include "hardline nationalists who attend ceremonies to commemorate a Latvian unit of Waffen SS troops".

Gordon Brown at the European Parliament

On March 24th, the Prime Minister spoke to the European Parliament as part of the series of speeches he gave ahead of the G20 summit in London. In a wide ranging speech, he praised Europe as “a beacon of hope for the whole world” and spoke of Britain “not in Europe’s slip-stream but in Europe’s mainstream”.
You can read the full text of his speech at http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page18718.

Le Pen to open new Parliamentary session?

MEPs in the Socialist Group have objected after if emerged that it is likely that the French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen will be oldest MEP in the new parliament after June. As “the father of the house”, Le Pen would be expected to preside over opening of the new parliamentary session, giving him an unprecedented platform.
Le Pen, a convicted holocaust denier, recently caused outcry by repeating his view that “the gas chambers were a detail of history”.
MEPs, however, have been split in their response. UK Lib Dem and Leader of the Parliament’s Liberal Group, Graham Watson has opposed changes to prevent Mr Le Pen from presiding over the opening, saying that “there is no reason we should treat Mr Le Pen differently from others.”

Labour critical of cross-border health proposal

Linda has criticised proposals before the European Parliament’s Public Health committee intended to clarify the right of EU citizens to access healthcare in other EU countries. A small number of people currently travel abroad for medical treatment, but in some cases people have needed to go to court in order to access their rights, which can be a long and costly process. It is hoped that new guidelines will help to make clear people’s rights without them needing to resort to legal action. However Labour MEPs are concerned that the rules as drafted are not clear enough.
The proposals will be subject to further debate amongst MEPs and governments before any agreement is reached.

Renewed European City Guide warning

Linda is reminding local business to be on their guard against the European City Guide scam after her constituency office was targeted for a second time in six months. The European City Guide (or ECG) is just one of many scams that operate by mailing out to thousands of small businesses, urging them to correct their details on a form - and in so doing sign a deceptive contract to be included in the "guide", in this case incurring an annual bill €997 (approximately £900). Richard Corbett has been leading moves in the European Parliament to change the law to help to stop such scams from operating.

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