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| | Strasbourg Roundup - March 2008 |  |
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Welcome to my Strasbourg Roundup. This is a very brief update to let you know what happens at the plenary meetings of the European Parliament.
This month's Strasbourg session was a busy one, dealing with several important issues. MEPs debated and / or voted on the following:
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CAP Health Check - Myself and colleagues debated and voted on a report on the future of the Common Agricultural
Policy. The Labour Party would like to see Europe move away from its harmful policy of subsidising domestic produce. This policy has had a negative impact on some of the poorest
countries in the world. Developing countries need fair access to the European markets and we should be prepared to open up our agricultural trade with developing countries. Instead of
subsidising our agricultural sector, we should increase CAP funding for protection and enhancement of the rural environment. Increased funding in this area could allow more support
for organic produce or for protecting rare birds. The direction of the EU's agricultural policy should be geared towards meeting the social and environmental challenges facing rural
communities.
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Asylum and Human Rights - My colleague, Michael Cashman, called for the cooperation of the British government in a
Parliamentary Motion on the case of Mehdi Kezemi, the gay teenager who is facing possible deportation to Iran. The teenager, who after having his asylum claim in Holland rejected, will
this week return to the UK in an attempt to win an asylum appeal, stands to face execution if deported to Iran (Sodomy is considered a criminal act in Iran). Myself and colleagues have
called on the British government to accept fully the recommendations of the European Parliament to grant Medhi Kazemi asylum.
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50th Anniversary of the European Parliament - This Wednesday 12 March was the 50th anniversary of the European
Parliament. In 1958, the European Parliament, then called the European Assembly, had 142 members. Today it has 785, of which 78 represent the interests of the British people. Treaty reforms,
such as those of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1991, have significantly increased the legislative and budgetary powers of the European Parliament. The Lisbon Treaty, which is due to come into
force next year, proposes several changes such as a greater role for national parliaments and a collective voice in Foreign Affairs, to make the Parliament more democratic and
efficient.
Other matters that came up in Parliamentary business this week included:
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As a member of the International Trade Committee, I met this week with the Commissioner for International Trade, Peter Mandelson, to
discuss some of the issues relating to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), the World Trade Organisation led multilateral trade negotiating round launched in the
Qatar city of Doha in 2001. This round of trade negotiations could provide real opportunities for developing countries to deepen trade links and significantly boost their economic
potential. Before the DDA can be concluded, WTO Members must reach an agreement on some difficult areas such as reduction of agricultural subsidies. The EU and other WTO
members must be prepared to compromise if we are to achieve our goal of an end of year conclusion of the DDA round.
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During Question Time, the Commissioner for International Trade, Peter Mandelson, gave an update on the Economic Partnership Agreements
(EPAs) that the Commission is currently negotiating with former European colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Following on from the Commission's statement, I had the
opportunity to ask the Commission about its promise to provide €1 billion in Aid for Trade to developing countries with the aim of encouraging increased
South-South trade. Better regional integration, which I believe is essential for balanced economic development, is dependent on trade facilitation. In my report for the International Trade
committee last year, I showed how Aid for Trade could achieve this through providing the funding for measures such as infrastructure projects.
The next Strasbourg Roundup will be published shortly after the next plenary session which takes place 21-24 April 2008.
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