EP News, June 30th, 2006 (No. 267)

 

The Week Ahead in the European Parliament

 

European Parliament session 3-6 July 2006

Plenary session

Committee meetings

Hearings

Diary Dates

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MEPs meet in Strasbourg next week for the next European Parliament plenary session. Highlights of the agenda include:

• Batteries Directive (3rd reading - Monday debate);
• ESF/ERDF - Structural Funds 2007-2013 (2nd reading - Tuesday)
• Equitable Life inquiry cttee (Interim Report - Monday debate);
• CIA flights temporary cttee (Interim Report - Wednesday);
• Finnish Presidency (Presentation and debate - Wednesday).

 

Batteries Directive - (debate Mon; vote Tues/Weds)  

New rules on recycling batteries are set to receive their 3rd reading in the European Parliament, with a debate on Tuesday and vote on Wednesday. Only six of the 25 EU Member States already have collection and recycling schemes for used batteries. One of them, Belgium, had achieved a 59% collection rate by 2002; in the UK it stands at less than 2%.

Among the main points of the new directive, set for implementation by end of 2008:

• Easily accessible collection points to be made available to consumers;
• Recycling targets of 65% by average weight for lead-acid batteries; 75% for nickel-cadmium; 50% for others;
• Ban on sale of batteries with more than 0.0005% mercury and 0.002% cadmium except emergency medical equipment and cordless power tools;
• Manufacturers will have to design appliances in such a way that spent batteries can be easily removed.

Dagmar Roth-Behrendt, the German MEP who led the conciliation negotiations said: "This new directive will help consumers to consume more intelligently and producers to reduce pollution, such as mercury, cadmium and lead, from the products they sell".

[ Link to more details on the outcome of conciliation - click here ]

ESF/ERDF - Structural Funds 2007-2013 debate Tuesday

The various Regulations setting up the Structural Funds for the next seven years are set to be approved by MEPs. Together they provide €308bn - over a third of the total EU budget - for the years 2007-2013.

The general rules on the European Social Fund (ESF), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund can only be formally adopted or rejected by the European Parliament, but MEPs have successfully negotiated for an increased focus on sustainable development and access for people with disabilities.

On the specific ERDF regulation, the Council of Ministers took on board MEP concerns on the eligibility of housing for ERDF funds, and on non-recoverable VAT. On the ESF regulation, which lays down criteria for the types of activity that may be financed, Council also took on board many of the European Parliament's suggestions from 1st reading.

What happens next? Before the money can finally be allocated to the Member States, the European Commission will draw up, most likely in late July, Community Strategic Guidelines, on which Parliament will vote (under the assent procedure) in September.  These are the starting point for the national reference frameworks and operational plans to be negotiated between the Commission and individual Member States in the autumn.

 

Equitable Life - debate Monday

Diana Wallis MEP (Lib Dem, Yorkshire & Humber) will be presenting her interim report from the Committee of Inquiry into the collapse of Equitable Life. The report outlines the work of the committee so far - evidence has been taken from policy-holders as well as UK officials from the Treasury, Financial Services Authority and Government Actuary's Department and the Equitable Life management. The interim report asks for an extension of the committee's remit to the end of March 2007 to allow it to respond to the forthcoming report of the UK Parliamentary Ombudsman Ann Abrahams. For a link to the interim report please click here.

 

CIA flights - debate Wednesday

MEPs are set to discuss the interim report from Parliament's temporary committee looking into allegations that the CIA used European countries for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners. The report adopted in the committee (by 25 votes to 14, with 7 abstentions) was critical of European states for their inactivity and/or complicity in response to CIA 'rendition' flights. [ Link to background article on europarl.europa.eu ].

Unlike the recent report from the Council of Europe, MEPs have made no explicit mention of alleged detention centres in Poland and Romania. However committee chair Carlos Coelho (Portugal) has said that "this will be the priority of our committee for the next semester". The Secretary General of NATO will be among those invited to give evidence to the committee in the next six months.

 

Finnish Presidency - Wednesday

Finland takes on the Presidency of the EU from Saturday 1 July for six months (next in line will be Germany from 1 January 2007). On Wednesday morning the Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen will present his priorities for the Presidency with a focus on the future of the EU; competitiveness and global competition; and support for the decision to open up Council of Ministers meetings to television where legislation is being decided by codecision with the European Parliament.

Finnish Presidency Website: - http://www.eu2006.fi/

 

 

UK MEPs

 

Caroline Lucas MEP - South East, Greens - Climate change - aviation - debate Monday  

Caroline Lucas MEP will present her report on the impact of aviation on climate change. Among the issues raised in her report: inclusion of aviation in an EU emissions trading scheme; such a scheme not to punish already efficient aircraft; opposition to free allocation of carbon permits; introduction of kerosene taxes for all domestic and intra-EU flights. Also at issue is how to maintain even competition between different means of transport given that railways, for example, are already subject to fuel tax and emissions trading. To view the report adopted in the Environment Committee, please follow this link.

 

Stephen Hughes MEP - North East, Labour - Needlestick injuries - vote Thursday

MEPs will be voting on Thursday on the report by North East Labour MEP Stephen Hughes on needlestick injuries - this was held over from the last parliament session.

The report calls on the European Commission to table within 3 months a proposal to amend existing health and safety directives which have not had the desired effect of protecting health care workers from needlestick injuries – the idea is to increase use of safer needles and to improve workplace training.

Under the little-used Rule 39 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, such a resolution requires the support of 367 MEPs (half the Parliament + 1) for it to take effect. To view the report adopted in the Employment Committee, please follow this link.

 

Richard Corbett MEP - Yorkshire & Humber, Labour

Richard Corbett MEP (Labour, Yorks & Humber) will lead Wednesday evening's debate on the new agreement covering the powers of the European Parliament to block European Commission decisions on implementing measures for legislation. At the moment, a committee of national experts oversees and can block Commission decisions on how to implement rules decided by codecision. The new agreement gives MEPs new powers. Richard Corbett, speaking during a debate on 21 June in the Legal Affairs Committee, called the compromise "a significant step forward for the European Parliament… if the EP objects, the Commission cannot enact its measures - though there are limits: it applies only to codecision matters."

 

 

Other legislation and EU funding programmes

 

Commercial aviation - flight duty periods

Flight duty periods for air crew are the main issue of this proposed Regulation receiving its 2nd reading (debate Tuesday). The Regulation also covers maintenance of navigation equipment, transport of dangerous goods and a number of other matters designed to enhance the safety of civil and commercial aircraft.

At Parliament's 1st reading, over five years ago, the then rapporteur, former Labour MEP Brian Simpson, concentrated on the flight time issue. This again is the priority for amendments passed in committee at 2nd reading.

A major victory for the European Parliament at 1st reading was the introduction of a maximum basic daily Flight Duty Period of 13 hours which can be extended by up to one hour. MEPs also introduced a clause stipulating that under no circumstances could the regulation be used to water down existing safety standards in the Member States. National agreements providing for better conditions on flight and duty periods can thus be retained. 2nd reading amendments adopted in committee re-emphasise this point. To view all amendments adopted in the Transport Committee, please follow this link.

Amendments at 2nd reading require the support of at least 367 MEPs (ie half + 1). Unless the Council accepts all amendments passed by Parliament at 2nd reading, the Regulation will go to conciliation between Parliament and Council to reach agreement on the final text.

 

Radioactive waste transport

Cross-border shipments of radioactive waste and spent fuel are the subject of Tuesday's debate on a proposed new Directive. The proposal does not significantly alter existing systems but clarifies how a Member State, for example, should consent to or refuse to allow shipments of waste or fuel on their territory.

Amendments adopted in the Industry Committee tackle the issue of liability for costs when a shipment cannot be completed. One amendment seeks to make it absolutely clear that any country has the right to ban imports of radioactive waste for final treatment or spent fuel for final disposal. The European Parliament is only consulted on this proposal, the final say remaining with the Council of Ministers.

 

Transferring money abroad - fighting money laundering

The aim of the proposed directive set for its 1st reading (debate Monday) is to assist the authorities responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. MEPs in the Civil Liberties Committee adopted over 100 amendments defining more clearly what information must accompany cross-border transfers of funds and how to ensure that the data is properly protected and not misused.

To view the report and amendments adopted in committee, please follow this link. This is the 1st reading in the codecision procedure. Unless the Council of Ministers accepts all amendments adopted by the European Parliament, the proposal will return for a 2nd reading at a later stage.

 

Funding EU neighbourhood policy

On 17 May in Strasbourg, MEPs debated the framework for funding of the EU's Neighbourhood Policy for relations with adjoining countries in the east and south. The vote on the 1st reading of the proposed Regulation will take place on Thursday in Strasbourg. The following UK MEPs spoke in May's debate: David Martin MEP (Labour, Scotland); Charles Tannock MEP (Conservative, London); Derek Clark MEP (UKIP, East Midlands); Nirj Deva MEP (Conservative, South East).

 

Policing international events

Cross-border police co-operation at international events such as the World Cup and the Olympics is the subject for one of Wednesday's debates. MEPs will be giving their views on a proposal from the Netherlands to move beyond the existing bilateral agreements (to allow, for example, uniformed British police in Germany to monitor English football supporters). The proposal is that the country in the Presidency (ie Finland for July-December 2006) should draw up in advance a plan of which events might require such co-operation over the following 12 months. The final decision on this proposal lies with the Council of Ministers.

 

Information on the environment - Arhus Convention (debate Monday)

MEPs are set to adopt at 3rd reading the text of a Regulation designed to improve public access to information on the environment and bring the EU under the terms of the Arhus Convention.

Finnish MEP Eija Riitta Korhola led the conciliation negotiations for the European Parliament. She said: "In these negotiations the EP has strongly supported the rights of citizens and made it easier for them to obtain better information and to do so more quickly. For example, we have introduced longer time-limits for citizens to take action and tougher requirements on the institutions to open their files."

Following pressure from the European Parliament, all EU institutions will have to adapt their internal rules to comply with the new Regulation by mid-2007. For a link to the full text of the Regulation, please visit the Conciliation website.

 

Shipping 'conferences'

So-called shipping 'conferences', which fix freight charges and manage vessel capacity are under the spotlight in a debate on Tuesday. The European Commission is proposing to repeal legislation allowing shipping companies to operate 'conferences'. MEPs are likely to give their backing to this but have asked for guidelines to be published first on what sorts of co-operation will be allowed between shipping operators so that there can be legal certainty for all. This being a proposal in the field of competition policy, the European Parliament is only consulted, the final say being with the Council of Ministers.

 

Inland waterways

Updated rules on technical requirements for inland waterways will receive their 2nd reading (debate Tuesday). These are designed to align all Community waterways with the high standards governing navigation on the Rhine. They will affect UK waterways such as the Humber, Clyde and Severn, but they have raised little controversy thus far.

 

OTHER ISSUES

• Immigration : Immigration is the main subject for debate on Wednesday afternoon. Oral questions on illegal immigration and integration of migrants will be joined with debates on the overall strategy for immigration in the EU and on a proposal for mutual exchange of information between Member States.
  
• European Stock Exchanges : On Monday evening MEPs will table an oral question to the European Commission on recent developments around mergers between Stock Exchanges in the EU. The debate will no doubt focus partly on the London Stock Exchange, given recent bids for the LSE.
  
• AIDS : The European Commission will make a statement on Thursday morning on AIDS - time to deliver. The ensuing debate is expected to cover both health issues within Europe and development/demographic issues outside the EU.
  
• Franco - 70 years on : Tuesday morning's session will open with statements from Josep Borrell, the President of the European Parliament, and other political group leaders, to mark the 70th anniversary of the coup d'état which brought Franco to power in Spain.
  
• Palestine : MEPs will discuss the situation in Palestine (Wednesday) after hearing statements from the European Commission and the Finnish Presidency.

 

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Hearings, Seminars, Workshops

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Budgetary Control
12 July - Workshop: Tolerable risk of error in underlying transactions - Tolerable for whom?

Foreign Affairs / Subcommittee on Security and Defence
13 July - Public Hearing: The European security strategy and the future of the European Security and Defence Policy

Agriculture
12 July - Public Hearing: Sustainability of the Wine Industry

 

 

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Further information

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Simon Duffin, simon.duffin@europarl.europa.eu, European Parliament UK Office, tel 020 7227 4300