UK Office of the European Parliament

EP News, April 27th, 2005 (No. 208)

European Parliament session, Brussels, 27-28 April 2005

The European Parliament meets in Brussels this week. Highlight of the agenda is:

Groundwater pollution directive

A new directive on the protection of groundwater receives its 1st reading in the European Parliament this week. Groundwater is the largest source of our drinking water and once it has been polluted, the consequences can last longer than for surface water pollution.

Rules to protect groundwater from pollution have been in place at European level since 1980, but the existing directive expires in 2013. This new directive sets out criteria for assessing chemical levels in groundwater. In the committee discussions, MEPs backed the European Commission's proposal that national threshold values should be set rather than common European standards. However, over 80 amendments to the directive were adopted at committee stage, relating to: methods for measuring pollution; frequency of checks; threshold values and risks posed by pollutants.

For access to the text adopted at committee stage, see this link on europarl.eu.int (Word-format document).

Issues led by UK MEPs this session

• Stephen Hughes MEP (Labour, North East) will present his report on the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. The European Commission is proposing to change the agency's structure, with an enhanced role for employers' groups and trade unions in the agency's networks. One of the agency's roles is to evaluate the impact of EU health and safety legislation. Stephen Hughes' report calls for more focus on analysing emerging risks and preventative action.
  
  
• Timothy Kirkhope MEP (Conservative, Yorkshire & Humber) reports on a proposed new protocol between the EU and Switzerland. This would allow Switzerland to maintain a limit on the numbers of workers and self-employed persons seeking residence if they come from the new EU member states (with the exception of Malta and Cyprus, where no restrictions apply).
  
  
• Giles Chichester MEP (Conservative, South West) will present reports on scientific and technological co-operation between the European Community and Brazil and Mexico.

Other issues

• Vehicle car theft: MEPs will be debating a measure aimed at tackling the problem of cars being stolen in one country and then sold on in another. The Regulation now reaching its 2nd reading would allow vehicle registration authorities access to part of the Schengen Information System to check whether a car had been reported stolen in any Member State.
  
  
• Pollutants: Persistent organic pollutants are the subject of an oral question to be tabled to the European Commission in advance of next week's conference on the follow-up to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
  
  
• Human rights in the world: MEPs hold their annual debate on human rights around the world, with key themes this year including: the fight against terrorism; children's rights; women and children in situations of conflict; the death penalty; trafficking in humans and human organs.
  
  
• Financial services: MEPs will debate a resolution on legislation in the EU's financial markets. 39 out of 42 planned measures in the Financial Services Action Plan have been adopted at EU level, although many are still to be transposed into domestic law. In the Economic and Monetary Committee, a majority of MEPs called for a pause in legislation to give time for adapting to the changes required by these measures.
  
  
• Implementation of EU law: MEPs will be voting on a resolution which calls for more frequent updates on Member States' implementation of EU single market laws. The text calls for a 'name and shame list' of all Member States lagging behind in the transposition process.

Week Ahead

MEPs return to Brussels next week for meetings in their political groups to prepare the next plenary session in Strasbourg. Highlights of the plenary agenda are likely to include:

• Bathing water directive (2nd reading);
• Working Time Directive (1st reading);
• Recognition of qualifications (2nd reading);
• cross-border mergers directive (1st reading).

Please note that although Monday 2nd May is a bank holiday in the UK, for Belgium and many of the other EU Member States, Thursday 5th May is a bank holiday.

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DIARY DATES

• 1 January - 30 June 2005: Luxembourg Presidency: http://www.eu2005.lu/en/
• 1 July - 31 December 2005: British Presidency
  
  
• 27-28 April 2005, European Parliament plenary session, Brussels
• 9-12 May 2005, European Parliament plenary session, Strasbourg
• 25-26 May 2005, European Parliament plenary session, Brussels
• 6-9 June 2005, European Parliament plenary session, Strasbourg
• 22-23 June 2005, European Parliament plenary session, Brussels
• 4-7 July 2005, European Parliament plenary session, Strasbourg
  
  
• Link to the European Parliament's session calendar 2005: http://www.europarl.eu.int/plenary/cal2005_en.pdf
  
• Calendar 2006 see Latest News
  

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FURTHER INFORMATION:

• Public hearings: http://www.europarl.eu.int/hearings/default_en.htm
• Committee homepages at http://www.europarl.eu.int/committees/home_en.htm
  
  
• For further news on committee reports and votes in the plenary
  please visit the Press area on Europarl, the Parliament's main website, at this URL: http://www.europarl.eu.int/press/index_en.htm
  
  
• Simon Duffin, sduffin@europarl.eu.int, European Parliament UK Office, tel 020 7227 4300

To subscribe or unsubscribe please email André Vanderstock, avanderstock@europarl.eu.int

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