Strasbourg Roundup: January 2010

Our January plenary session has been an unusual month in Strasbourg. While there were not many votes held, MEPs have been busy questioning the proposed candidates to the European Commission. The 3 hour-long hearings are a chance for the Commissioner-designates to outline their plans for the next 5 years, as well as answer more personal questions about their views on their portfolios. Last week in Brussels I asked the Commissioner-designate for Trade Karl de Gucht about access to medicines for the developing world, and I was pleased to hear he will work to ensure we can do all we can in this area to make life-saving drugs available to those who need them worldwide.

Hearings for the European Commission

This week saw the final hearings for the Commissioner-designates. As a member of the Constitutional Affairs committee in the Parliament, I am particularly interested in the role of the Commissioner for Inter-institutional Affairs and Administration. Marcoš Šefčovič from Slovakia has been nominated to be the Commissioner in this area, and his hearing was on the Monday evening in Strasbourg. Questions ranged from the new powers of the Parliament under the Treaty of Lisbon, to the newly-created Citizens' Initiative, which encourages citizens to propose new areas of legislation to the Commission. I asked the Commissioner-designate how he was going to work with local authorities and devolved parliaments such as the Scottish Parliament, and I look forward to close cooperation between the Commission and the European Parliament in working with the Scottish Parliament.

The Parliament votes on all 27 Commissioners as a whole, and this was due to take place this week. However, after the hearing last week for the Commissioner-designate for International Cooperation,  Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, MEPs were not satisfied with the candidate which the President of the Commission - President Barroso - had put forward. The Parliament demanded that another candidate be proposed, and the new hearing will take place next week, after which we will vote to accept or reject the new Commission.

Vote on the Ombudsman

On Wednesday we voted on the position of European Ombudsman. The Parliament voted to re-elect Nikiforos Diamandouros, who has held the position since 2003. The role of the Ombudsman is to receive complaints of citizens and investigate claims of wrongdoing. Mr Diamandouros has been a highly effective champion of citizens' rights, and I am very pleased that he has been re-elected to continue his dedicated work in representing the citizens of the EU.

Spanish Presidency

During the plenary session, representatives from Spain gave their opening remarks and plans for the next six months. Beginning on 1st December 2009, Spain holds the EU presidency for 6 months, and I am pleased that Spain is focusing on vital issues such as human rights and gender equality. This presidency will be the first time the rotating presidency works with the newly-appointed President of the European Council - Herman Van Rompuy - and I look forward to the dialogue and exchange they will have with the Parliament.

Delegation from South Korea

As a member of the Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula, I was pleased to be able to meet representatives from South Korea while they visited Strasbourg. I was able to discuss the strengthening of relations between South Korea and the EU, as well as the proposed EU - South Korean Free Trade Agreement and shared concerns we have over human rights in North Korea. (see Photo gallery)