European Parliament session 4-7 September 2006

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

• Funding to deal with pollution from ships (1st reading - Monday);
• Passenger information on EU-US flights (Thursday);
• Middle East (Wednesday debate);
• Mental Health - report by John Bowis MEP (Cons, London)

 

Funding to deal with pollution caused by ships - (debate Mon; vote Tues/Weds)

The Western approaches to the English Channel and the North Atlantic are two of the priority areas for future European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) action, in a proposal set for debate by MEPs on Monday.

MEPs will be voting on the financial package for 2007-2013 to provide funding for the EMSA to help deal with pollution caused by ships. The aim is not that the Agency should replace the activities of national authorities, but that it would be involved in large-scale incidents like the Erika and Prestige disasters, where additional assistance might have reduced pollution.

The idea is that the Agency should have stand-by contracts with commercial ships capable of assisting where accidental or deliberate pollution is taking place in Community waters. It would also set up a satellite imagery service centre to detect discharges and spills of oil and other hazardous substances.

The total funding for the 7 years would be €154m. This is the 1st reading in the codecision procedure, but it is hoped that agreement can be reached between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers based on next week's vote.

 

Passenger information on EU-US flights

Following the 10 August security alerts at airports across the UK, the Home Secretary John Reid met his counterparts from Germany, France, Finland and Portugal to discuss possible EU action with the Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini. They agreed to present proposals in September which might include expanding data-sharing on airline passengers to include biometric identifiers such as fingerprints or iris scans. The issue is made especially urgent given that 30 September is the deadline set by the European Court of Justice for the EU to end the current scheme of passenger data transfers to the US.

On Thursday morning MEPs will be debating a report and resolution on passenger data transfers. The report adopted in the Civil Liberties Committee highlights the need for adequate safeguards of passenger data. It seeks a reduction in the range of data to be handed over to the US and wants US officials to request data on a case-by-case basis rather than having open access to the whole database. The committee's report was adopted in July and it will be interesting to see whether the tone and direction of the final resolution is changed in the light of August's security alerts.

 

Middle East - debate Wednesday

Wednesday's debate gives MEPs their first opportunity to discuss this summer's events in the Middle East.

On 24 August, European Parliament President Josep Borrell adopted a joint statement with the speakers of the Greek, Egyptian and Tunisian Parliaments. This calls for the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly to send a delegation to Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Territories. (Link to joint statement)

 

Mental Health - debate Tuesday

John Bowis MEP (Conservative, London) will be leading Tuesday's debate on mental health in the EU. This is the Parliament's response to the European Commission Green Paper on Mental Health. The Bowis Report focuses on how to tackle mental health problems in our societies and how poor mental health can have an impact on other policy areas. It assesses what can be done at EU level and proposes a new EU Directive on Mental Health, along with an EU monitoring group to be set up to collect data and exchange best practice.

 

Other UK MEPs

Diana Wallis MEP - Yorkshire & Humber, Lib. Dems - Hague Conference on Private International Law - debate Wednesday

Yorkshire & Humber MEP Diana Wallis will present her report recommending that the European Community accedes to the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The ultimate goal of the Hague Conference is to work for a world in which, despite the differences between legal systems, persons - individuals as well as companies - can enjoy a high degree of legal certainty.

Since the Treaty of Amsterdam, the EC has greater powers where judicial co-operation is necessary to maintain the single market, and that is why separate EC accession to the Hague Conference is proposed. MEPs will also be asking the Council how the European Parliament will be involved once accession is agreed.

 

Other legislation and EU funding programmes

Car taxes

Monday evening sees a debate on passenger vehicle taxes which fits exactly with the current UK debate around the future of road taxes and how to tackle vehicle pollution.

The European Commission is proposing the abolition of national passenger vehicle taxes within 5-10 years, replacing them with taxes based on levels of pollution produced by each vehicle. Part of the reasoning is to avoid situations whereby people moving to another EU Member State are obliged to pay a registration tax in two countries even though they only reside in one; at the same time, the proposal has environmental aims linked to cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The report tabled by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee suggests that the UK is at the forefront of moves to see pollution levels linked to vehicle taxation.

Taxation rules require unanimous support within the Council of Ministers. The European Parliament is only consulted on these proposals. However, it is an opportunity for MEPs to put forward amendments tightening up the environmental aspects of the proposed directive. A lively debate is expected.

 

DAPHNE Programme - violence against women and children - debate Tuesday

MEPs are set to approve renewed funding for the EU's programme to support action against violence to women and children - the so-called DAPHNE Programme. DAPHNE has been up and running since 1997 and has funded over 350 projects, with recipients from the UK including the Metropolitan Police, the University of Surrey in Guildford and a Leeds community group.

MEPs at committee stage opposed the European Commission's proposal to merge the DAPHNE Programme with EU funding to combat drug abuse. The Women's Rights Committee also voted to support the idea of a 'European Year against Violence to Women'. This is the 1st reading in the codecision procedure where the European Parliament has equal power with the Council of Ministers - unless the Council accepts all amendments adopted at 1st reading, the programme will return for a 2nd reading later this year. The next funding stream is intended to last from 2007-2013.

 

OTHER ISSUES

• Interpretation costs : On Tuesday MEPs will be voting on a resolution reacting to the Court of Auditors report on the costs of interpretation to the EU's institutions. The principle of multi-lingualism, whereby any MEP has the right to speak in his/her own language and only to vote when documents are available in that language, is becoming increasingly costly as the number of official working languages grows (20 now, 21 from January with the addition of Gaelic). The report adopted in the Budgetary Control Committee highlights some of the particular problems for the European Parliament, with its travel between Brussels and Strasbourg and a relatively high level of interpreters on stand-by duty.

• Fisheries : MEPs will be adopting three reports on fisheries policy on Wednesday. First up is formal adoption of new EU fisheries agreements with the Seychelles and Comoros Islands. A resolution on simplifying and improving the Common Fisheries Policy is next: the focus of the Fisheries Committee report is achieving harmonised inspection and monitoring systems and clarifying the role of the Community Fisheries Monitoring Agency. Finally, Wednesday evening sees a debate on eco-labelling schemes for fish products where the focus is on trying to avoid confusion for consumers and producers.

• Emissions trading: The European Commission and the Finnish Presidency will make statements on carbon emissions trading on Tuesday afternoon in the light of recent developments on the next phase of national quotas and action plans.

• Congo elections : The European Commission will make a statement to MEPs on Monday evening on developments in Congo following elections earlier this summer. Three UK MEPs took part in the EU's election observer mission in the Congo: Robert Evans (Labour, South East); Fiona Hall (Lib Dem, North East); Richard Howitt (Labour, Eastern Region).

• China : MEPs will debate a report on EU relations with China (Wednesday). Discussion is likely to focus on trade and human rights issues, with the liveliest debate being on the extent to which human rights issues feature in the final resolution.

• Albania : MEPs are expected to give their formal agreement (Assent) to a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Albania, setting EU-Albania relations on the same footing as those with Macedonia (FYROM) and Croatia - Wednesday.

• President of Finland: On Tuesday at 11am ( UK time), the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, will make a formal address to MEPs. Mrs Halonen is Finland's first female head of state and has been in office since 2000.

Full information can be found in "The Briefing" at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/tous_les_briefing/default/default_en.htm