Press Releases 2010

The Children's Rights Alliance, in collaboration with the Irish Second-Level Students Union (ISSU), is holding a consultation event with 100 children in the Aisling Hotel in Dublin today.  The event, entitled 'Children's View on their Engagement in European and International Levels of Decision-Making', is part of a five country project funded by the European Commission.  The Irish MEPs were asked for their views on children's engagement in decision-making, and today, video messages from five of the MEPs will be shown to the participating children.

MEPs in the European Parliament adopted new EU-wide rules today on the marketing of alternative investment funds (513 votes to 92, with 3 abstentions).  The new law will impose registration, reporting and initial capital requirements on the funds and will include chapters on asset stripping and the remuneration of managers, which were pushed through by the European Parliament.  A new EU-wide 'passport' will allow funds to market across Member State borders, but the new law will increase depositor liability and the use of leverage.  

The European Parliament Office in Ireland launched a new bookmark competition for secondary school students today, in conjunction with the Professional Development Service for Teachers.  The competition is aimed at 14-16 year old students and invites the students to design a bookmark based on one of six themes.  The winning students and 24 of his/her classmates will be invited to participate in the European Parliament's Euroscola event in Strasbourg on Friday, 10th June 2011 (partially subsidised by the European Parliament).  The winning bookmark will be printed and distributed to schools throughout the country and a selection of the best entries will be displayed as part of an exhibition at the EP offices in Dublin.

On Monday, 1 November, Independent MEP Marian Harkin joined speakers from the European Anti-Poverty Network, from the Irish Regions Office and from the European Parliament's Office in Ireland, as part of a skills seminar for community and voluntary organisations on influencing EU policy and obtaining EU funding.  

The one-day seminar took place in Castlebar and was organised as part of the Communicating Europe Initiative.  The objective of the three seminars being held this week is to increase the capacity of organisations involved in community development, education and training, or labour market activation, to help individuals and families struggling as a result of the current economic crisis.  

Similar seminars will be held in Waterford and in Dublin later in the week.

MEPs in the European Parliament's Public Health Committee voted today to clarify the rights of patients seeking healthcare in another EU Member State and to ensure that they are properly reimbursed.  Although the right to seek treatment throughout the EU has been confirmed in European Court of Justice rulings (based on the principle of freedom of movement), they have not yet been specifically enshrined in EU law.

Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas, who has conducted 23 hunger strikes to date, was announced today as the winner of the 2010 European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.  Announcing the decision, which was made by the European Parliament's Political Groups, the President of the Parliament, Jerzy Buzek MEP, said that Mr Fariñas 'was ready to sacrifice and risk his own health and life as a means of pressure to achieve change in Cuba.'  Mr Fariñas will be invited to accept the prize and a cheque for €50,000 during an award ceremony on 15 December in Strasbourg.

Last week, students at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in NUI Galway took part in an event, organised at the initiative of the European Parliament Office in Ireland, to mark the annual EP Sakharov prize for Freedom of Thought. In teams of two students per nominee, the nine nominees, including NGOs/movements and individual activists, were adopted, their cases were presented and the students argued why their chosen nominee should be presented with this year's Sakharov prize.  The audience on the night voted for Aminatou Haidar, a Sahrawi human rights defender and political activist for the independence of Western Sahara, as their chosen candidate.  During the December Plenary Session of the European Parliament, the Sakharov prize will be presented by the President of the European Parliament to this year's winning nominee.

Fianna Fáil MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher led the European Parliament's delegation for the first EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee which took place in Reykjavik in Iceland on 4 and 5 October.  In February of this year, the European Commission issued a favourable opinion on Iceland's application for EU membership and in June, the EU's Heads of State and Government gave the green light to begin accession negotiations.  The Joint Parliamentary Committee, whyich includes nine members from the EP and nine from Iceland's Althingi, discussed issues such as the Common Fisheries Policy, the economic situation in Iceland, Iceland's energy policies and  the Arctic region.

MEPs voted today on a new EU law due to come into force later this year, which will ensure the independence of inquiries into aviation accidents and require airlines to produce lists of passengers on board within two hours of an accident (604 in favour, 11 against and 26 abstentions).  The new EU law will oblige airlines to enable passengers to provide an alternative contact person, in case of an emergency, thereby ensuring that family members are contacted as soon as possible.  It will ensure that the final accident report is made public following an inquiry.  It will oblige EU Member States to establish accident emergency plans for civil aviation, and measures will be put in place to make EU-wide recommendations in the field of civil aviation security and to share best practices between Member States.

Yesterday evening, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU agreed on new rules which aim to ensure that small firms no longer have to face financial problems due to the late payment of bills by public authorities or commercial companies.  MEPs succeeded in convincing EU Member State representatives that a standard deadline of 30 days should apply for the payment of bills, that the period for verifying whether the goods or services provided comply with the initial contract should not be used as a loophole to delay payment and that delays in payments by public authorities, on the basis of special justification, should not never extend beyond 60 days.

MEPs in Strasbourg have today called on the European Commission to ensure a universal postal service throughout the EU and to guarantee that EU Member States safeguard the social conditions of postal workers.  British MEP Brian Simpson presented the question to European Commissioner Michel Barnier in the European Parliament today in the context of the forthcoming implementation of the EU directive on postal services which is due come into force on 1 January 2011.  Irish MEPs Pat the Cope Gallagher and Marian Harkin participated in the debate.

Today in Strasbourg, MEPs called on the European Commission to put forward proposals for new laws to limit dominant market positions at all stages of the food supply chain - from the producers, through the food processing industry, to retailers.  They called for an improvement in price transparency and measures to be put in place to combat late payments to producers.  They urged the European Commission to ensure codes of good commercial practice, including penalties, and to put an accessible complaint mechanism in place.  The report approved today by the European Parliament, was drafted by French Green MEP José Bové on behalf of the Parliament's Agriculture Committee and in response to a European Commission Communication on the subject.  

Today in Aachen, Germany, Irishman John Holten from Ardee in Co. Louth was announced as the winner of the second prize in the 2010 Charlemagne European Youth Prize.  The project submitted by Mr Holten, entitled 'You are Here', took the form of a book, including contributions from 14 young people, born after 1980. These young people who have enjoyed freedom of movement in Europe and work in a country other than their own, have grown up without the shadow of the Berlin Wall.  Mr Holten said that the project had succeeded in creating 'greater European awareness among [the] group, including people who would normally not get a chance to meet each other or publish their work together.'  John Holten was presented with his prize of €3000 today by the former President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering MEP.

These were the words of Elaine Byrne, columnist with the Irish Times, as she addressed today's forum which asked the question 'do we need quotas to ensure women are fairly represented?'  The event, organised by the European Parliament Office in Ireland to commemorate International Women's Day, was also addressed by Labour Party MEP, Nessa Childers, by Rachel Doyle of the National Women's Council of Ireland and by Gail McElroy of Trinity College.  All members of the panel agreed that the lack of childcare provision was a significant factor in low female representation and that as Ms Childers stated, the lack of female representation in politics meant that the Irish political system 'seems to be one designed by men, for men.'

Since the beginning of this year, secondary school students throughout Ireland have been hard at work creating videos to show their 'Vision for Europe'.  The visions submitted by the participating schools, in the form of short videos (4 minutes), were presented using raps, cartoons, rock videos and documentaries.  The videos can be watched on the competition website - www.myvisionforeurope.com - together with a short video announcing the finalists.  Paula Reidy, a Transition Year Coordinator at Ardscoil Rís in Limerick, commented that this was 'the most innovative and exciting Transition Year project we have been involved in this year.'

Announcing the result of today's vote in Strasbourg, the President of the European Parliament, Mr Jerzy Buzek MEP, said that 'it is now time for action.'  Since 11 January, MEPs have heard from each of the Commissioners-designate, including the Irish nominee, Máire Geoghegan  Quinn, in the EP Committees relevant to the portfolio they had been assigned.  Today's vote is the culmination of that process.  By 488 votes to 137 (72 abstentions), MEPs approved the new European Commission.

The President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek MEP, said that 'on behalf of the European Parliament I have to express my consternation on hearing of the detention of some 100 people, including Oleg Orlov, head of the Memorial human rights Centre and laureate of the 2009 Sakharov Prize. They were arrested during a peaceful demonstration on Triumphalnaya Square in Moscow on Sunday, 31 January.' Mr Buzek pointed out that 'it is the second time since the award of the 2009 Sakharov Prize [by the European Parliament] in Strasbourg in December that one of our laureates has been arrested. On 31 December 2009, 82 year old Lyudmila Alexeyeva faced similar action merely for defending the constitutional right to demonstrate freely and peacefully.' Mr Buzek called on the Russian authorities 'to cease this heavy-handed treatment of peaceful demonstrators.'

Have you organised or participated in a project which helped to promote an understanding between people throughout Europe?  Are you aged between 16 and 30?  If so, this competition is for you.  The European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne prize in Aachen, Germany are looking for projects which promote a European and international understanding, foster the development of a shared sense of European identity and integration, serve as a role model for young people living in Europe and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community.  The projects can focus on the organisation of youth events, youth exchanges or internet projects with a European dimension.  The new deadline for application is 14 February 2010.

Red tape hindering companies from taking part in EU research programmes, the declining number of scientists in Europe and the high cost of patents were among issues raised by MEPs at the hearing of Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Commissioner-designate for Research, Innovation and Science. Ms Geoghegan-Quinn was appearing yesterday before the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee. She emphasised that 'the EU must become a true innovation union' and that her 'task will be to put research, innovation and science at the heart of EU policies.' She proposed three priorities for her term as Commissioner - completing the European Research Area, addressing major challenges such as climate change, energy efficiency and ageing, and creating an innovation research culture.

MEPs are due to decide on the candidates for the new European Commission. They will first hear from each of the candidates individually, as they appear before the relevant European Parliament Committees (11-19 January). The Committees will then forward their evaluations to the President of the European Parliament. The MEPs must vote to approve the membership of the European Commission as a whole before the new Commissioners can take office.

So, who are the candidates for the new European Commission? How will the European Parliament hearings work and when will they take place? How can you follow the hearings? What happens if the European Parliament approves the new college of European Commissioners?