Ebulletin: Issue 58, November 2008

Recession haunts Europe: time for rethink

Official figures last week suggest that the Eurozone is now in recession.  Only the French economy is showing modest growth of 0.1%, but the economy of the Eurozone as a whole shrank by 0.2% and Germany, Europe´s economic powerhouse,  by 0.5%. Since September, Gordon Brown has been pushing for a coordinated European and international response to prevent the downturn from worsening. He is right. Labour and its sister parties in the Party of European Socialists met in Brussels the day after the US Presidential election and called for an action plan for growth, jobs and social policies to counteract recession and reform of the financial markets. Obama´s election offers a new opportunity for international cooperation on a more progressive agenda. We must seize that opportunity.

EU Rules on cucumber curves... it´s goodbye to all that

But while the unwelcome spectre of recession returned, the EU did begin to lay to rest another familiar - albeit less threatening - ghost. Last week, the European Commissioner for agriculture announced that she wants to put an end to some of the EU quality standards on misshapen fruit and veg. These are the much ridiculed EU rules which define what a standard cucumber, courgette, carrot or leek should look like. Farmers have long complained that these rules mean that perfectly good fruit and veg is thrown away. I welcome this move. It is commonsense. So are major retailers. However, we should not forget that more often than not, it has been these same retailers who pushed for the EU standards in the first place. As one technical adviser to the Cucumber Growers Association told the Yorkshire Post; “Nobody bothers about the EU standards anyway, because it is the supermarket standards which govern what everybody does.”

Linda

New trade Commissioner urged to make fair trade a priority

As Chair of the European Parliament’s all-party group on fair trade, Linda has written to the new European Trade Commissioner, Catherine Ashton, to seek a meeting to discuss the Commission’s response to calls in the European Parliament for support for fair trade. 
Baroness Ashton was appointed as the new British Commissioner last month following Peter Mandelson’s return to government.

All change as Mandelson leaves European Commission

Proposals published by the European Commission earlier this year to tighten up the safety standards applied to pesticides had met with fierce criticism from farming representatives concerned about the number of pesticides that might be withdrawn from sale, and the resulting damage this could cause to crop yields and food prices.
MEPs on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee were therefore tasked with striking a balance between health concerns and possible impact on food production. Two weeks ago in Brussels, they recommended reforming the law to phase out particularly pesticides containing cancer-causing compounds where safe alternatives exist. However, where safe alternatives cannot be found, vital pesticides will be allowed to remain on the market under strict controls.
The proposals still need to be agreed by both national governments and the full parliament.

Tory MEP expelled and order to repay £500,000 after expenses scam

North West region Tory MEP Den Dover has been expelled from the Conservative Party after it was revealed that he was guilty of paying €900,000 of his parliamentary expenses to a company owned by his wife and daughter. The European Parliament has asked him to repay £500,000 of the money.

Backing for Linda’s VAT campaign

The National Housing Federation, who represent 1,300 not-for-profit housing associations in the UK, are the latest organisation to sign up to back Linda’s Written Declaration calling on the European Commission and national governments to cut the rate of VAT charged on energy efficient household products.

MEPs back civil partnership rights

Linda has joined forces with MEP and gay rights campaigner Michael Cashman in backing a new campaign to encourage European governments to recognise the arrangements of other countries for same-sex partnerships. Legal same-sex unions have become increasingly common in EU countries in recent years, however at present there is no legal framework to recognise a union from one country to another.

You will need Adobe Reader in order to open Linda's Ebulletin from an e-mail. Click the icon below to download this software.