CONCERN OVER ALCOHOL, ALCOPOS AND BINGE DRINKING
Over the last few months I have been working with colleagues in the Environment Committee on a report designed to aid Member States in their efforts to reduce alcohol related harm.Two particular
areas of concern that I looked at in the report were underage drinking and drink driving.It is a worrying trend that in recent years alcohol manufacturers have been targeting under age drinkers
with products such as ëalcopopsí.Binge drinking is also increasing amongst young people and it is important that we tackle this development effectively. I believe that a good way to do this is to
encourage supermarkets and shops to clearly separate alcopops from soft drinks.Alcopops, along with other alcohol drinks, should also carry adequate health warnings.I am pleased that my amendments
along these lines were incorporated into the report.Of course to tackle under age and binge drinking effectively national governments must also focus on the consumer through changing attitudes
towards alcohol.I am therefore pleased that more focus will be placed on awareness-raising campaigns such as through school based educational programmes.Drink driving is an additional strand of
this report.I support the recommendations that the limit on the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) should be as close to 0.00% as possible, especially for new drivers (although I realise that a strict
0.00% limit is impractical).I believe that the widespread availability of breath analysers, suggested in the report, can help to deter potential drink drivers.The report also calls on Member States
to introduce obligatory health warnings for alcoholic beverages.Front labels should include the warning that alcohol can cause serious physical and mental health problems, that alcohol is addictive
and that alcohol consumption during pregnancy may be harmful to the foetus.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES NATURAL DIDASTERS
This month in Strasbourg we debated the widespread natural disasters occurring across Europe.For many in Europe the reality of climate change is already with us, the summer of 2007 has been one of
extremes in terms of weather with floods in the UK and drought and forest fires across southern Europe.These events are a reminder that wind and rain are no respecters of borders. Further climate
change will heavily effect Europeís natural environment and nearly all sections of the economy including agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism ñ all especially important to Scotland.Climate
change will lead to more frequent storms and floods, which could particularly affect coastal zones, low-lying deltas and densely populated river plains.Climate change is now one of the biggest
challenges facing all of us and demands global solutions.The EU must become a world leader and make progress on a unilateral bilateral and multilateral level.In order to guarantee peace and
prosperity for our citizens the European Union must become an Environmental Union.The European Parliament will be making its contribution towards this goal through its work in the Temporary
Committee on Climate Change
SINGLE EUROPEAN SKY PROPOSAL WOULD CUT CARBON EMISSIONS
Labour Euro MPs are calling on the European Commission to move faster in creating a Single European Sky.Airlines in Europe are currently flying around countries which charge higher fees for the use
of their air traffic control services.A Single European Sky would result in efficiency gains, reductions in delays and more effective routings, and would lead to a 12 million tonne annual reduction
in the CO2 produced by airlines flying in Europeís skies.A Single European Sky is a vital step towards protecting the environment in a time of ever increasing air travel. Getting airlines into the
Emissions Trading Scheme is also vital but we must seek policy coherence, and attack this crisis from all angels.Climate change is happening now and we canít afford to wait to make a change that
can quickly result in a sizable reduction in carbon emissions at no recognisable cost.†
EUROPEAN ELEMENT IN REMPLOY CRUSADE
Last month I took part in the Remploy Crusade, organised by the Remploy Trade Unions Consortium, at the factory in Wishaw to highlight the important European element in the campaign against the
proposed factory closures.The European angle in saving Remploy factories and jobs could come through securing high quality contracts through Public Procurement.After a joint campaign between the
Trades Unions, European Parliamentary Labour Party and the Socialist Group in the European Parliament the EU Directive on Public Procurement was amended to include Article 19. This allows public
authorities to award orders to supported workshops without going through the competitive tendering process.The new Article 19 also provides legal certainty for public authorities that wish to
promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities in supported employment.Public authorities spend £136 billion a year on goods and services, if just 5p in every £100 of that public
procurement spending went in contracts to Remploy this would be enough to save all the factories and jobs.What is needed is a Remploy management with the drive and initiative to go for these
contracts and public authorities with a commitment to corporate social responsibility to award them
DUTY FREE TRANSIT EASED THROUGH EUROPEAN AIRPORTS
New measures have been introduced to allow passengers from outside the EU to transit through European airports with their duty free goods intact.Strict new regulations for liquids have meant that
up until now passengers arriving from outside the EU and travelling on have lost their duty free liquids such as perfume or alcohol.I have been involved in tackling this problem over the last 9
months and whilst I fully support security measures designed to protect against terrorist activity, feel that these should be appropriate and not such that they unfairly penalise passengers. The
new measures, which the Commission has negotiated with non-EU countries such as Australia and the US, allow the extension of the current EU system of ëtamper evidentí bags and will protect
passengers against confiscation of their duty free whilst they are on their way to Scotland or elsewhere.
MOBILE PHONE CHARGES COME DOWN IN EUROPE
Thanks to legislation voted through the European Parliament, mobile phone roaming charges have been drastically cut for those travelling or on holiday in Europe. From August 1st mobile phone
companies have had to cut by 70% the amount they charge for making and receiving calls in Europe. A two-year campaign by the European Parliament led to the deal on roaming charges. The new
ëEuropean Consumer Tariffí automatically caps the cost of making a call to around 34p per minute and receiving at 16p a minute. These will fall further over the next two years. Travellers should
automatically get a text message alerting them to the new tariff.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT BACKS END TO PRIMATE RESEARCH
The European Parliament has backed a Written Declaration urging the EU to end the use of apes and wild-caught monkeys in scientific experiments. The Parliament also wants a timetable established
for replacing the use of all primates in scientific experiments with alternatives.More than a quarter of primate species are in danger of extinction, yet wild-caught primates continue to be
captured and taken from their natural habitat and used for research in EU laboratories.Alternative practices are increasingly being developed and applied which means that the number of primates
being used in experiments can be reduced with the eventual aim of a complete phasing out of testing on primates.
EUROPEAN FORUMS
Over the coming months there will be a series of four European Forums in which Catherine Stihler MEP and I will report on European Parliament matters: the first will be the Glasgow Forum on
Saturday 29 September, followed by the Aberdeen Forum on Thursday 18 October, then the Edinburgh Forum on Thursday 08 November, and finally the Ayrshire Forum on Saturday 10 November 2007.
RETURN TO EUROPEAN REPORT ARCHIVE
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