David Martin, MEP

Strasbourg Round-up September (2) 2010

Welcome to my second Strasbourg Roundup for September. This is a very brief update to let you know what happens at the plenary sessions of the European Parliament.

Security of gas supplies
The Parliament approved rules which would give greater security to household gas supplies during any future gas crisis. By improving coordination and the management of our energy policy and gas supply, the Parliament reiterated its commitment to ensuring European households do not go without vital fuel, particularly in extremely cold circumstances. Member states must ensure that their gas network is capable of meeting demand even when part of it fails, and are required to draw up emergency response plans in case of severe disruption. Given the severe winters we have seen recently throughout Europe and gas crises which have occurred when European supplies have been cut off, I hope these important measures will go a long way to keeping European gas supplies steady.

Air accident investigations
A package of rights was passed this week which will give passengers and their families greater access to information in the event of an air accident. In an attempt to tackle the chaos which can follow an air accident, the Parliament has outlined plans for passengers to provide 'in case of emergency' contact details, from which airlines should draw up a list of contacts for their passengers. It is hoped that in future the families of victims of air accidents will be informed of the accident quickly by trained professionals, and it will end the current tragedy of relatives finding out about the death of a family member from the media. The new rules will also enhance the cooperation between Member States in sharing information on air traffic accidents, which we hope will help identify the reasons for the accident and hopefully prevent similar accidents in the future.

Financial supervision package
A hugely important financial supervision package, which was negotiated by my Labour colleague Peter Skinner, was approved by the Parliament this week. The new rules are designed to regulate banks and other financial services across Europe, which means wherever a company has its headquarters, it will not be able to exploit grey areas in national policy. The actions of financial services providers will be monitored by the heads of European central banks, and action will be taken against excessive risk-taking. This is one of a range of new pieces of legislation, along with recent votes on capping bankers' bonuses, which Labour MEPs are pushing forward in the Parliament.

Biocidal products and pest control
Biocidal products are products which contain any active substance which can kill or damage living organisms. This covers everything from disinfectants to poisons. Given the danger such products have when misused, careful regulations are in place to monitor where substitutes can be found for poisons. This week the Parliament updated the directive on biocides to make the authorisation system more effective, and to update the list with current biocidal products which should be listed for substitution. I was very disappointed that the Conservatives and much of the UK media used this vote for scaremongering, claiming rodenticides (pest control) would be banned, resulting in an explosion of the rat population in the UK. This is simply untrue - before we even voted on this issue, the Environment committee of the European Parliament had ensured that rat poison would be given a derogation, meaning it can continue to be used while there is no suitable alternative.

Medicine safety and patients' rights
My Labour colleague Linda McAvan was responsible for getting this report through Parliament, which will help set up an effective European system for monitoring potential dangers in new medicines. By coordinating our efforts, it is hoped that unexpected side effects of medicines are picked up quickly and analysed, and all Europeans become aware of any potential dangers in new products. Patients will have clear information on medicines if they are taking a new drug which is subject to additional monitoring, and an EU wide database of adverse reactions will ensure national medicinal agencies will be aware of potential problems as quickly as possible. Given the recent scares in the UK, I am pleased about the benefits this new directive will bring.