News Releases
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Here you can find an archive of all the news items that have been on this website as well as any comments, polls or surveys.
Julie Girling welcomes research on honeybee deaths
Posted,5/16/2012 4:00:00 PM
Julie Girling MEP today welcomed the announcement of a new and comprehensive programme of research into the mysterious collapse of honeybee numbers across Europe.
Conservative Trade Spokesman welcomes news of EU action against Argentina
Posted,5/15/2012 12:00:00 PM
European Union sources have revealed that the EU is on the verge of announcing that it is to file a suit against Argentina in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the coming days. If the EU wins, Argentina will face 'very serious trade sanctions'.
We fight watering-down of new banking regulations
Posted,5/14/2012 7:00:00 PM
The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee today voted on legislation to implement the so-called Basel III agreement on banking reform drawn up in the wake of the Lehman Brothers crash in 2009.
MEPs call time on EU waste and mis-spending
Posted,5/10/2012 4:00:00 PM
Conservative MEPs have refused to approve the EU's accounts for 2010 as a mark of their continuing campaign against waste and mis-spending. In a series of votes in Brussels today, MEPs were asked to grant a discharge to elements of the EU budget including spending by the European Commission, the costly Committee of the Regions, the Parliament itself and Quangos such as the European Food Safety Authority. The votes followed a report by the European Court of Auditors in November which for the 17th year in succession failed to grant the EU's 2010 accounts a clean bill of health. The auditor criticised "error rates" or mis-spending of 7.7 per cent in the Commission's Community Cohesion Fund and 2.3 per cent on agriculture. British Conservatives, alongside colleagues in the European Conservatives and Reformists group, voted to deny each of the budget headings a discharge because of the absence on any positive statement of assurance for auditors over the budget as a whole. British delegation leader Richard Ashworth said: "There is an ongoing scandal of mis-spending and lack of financial discipline in the EU which despite our warnings and protests is growing worse instead of better. "Much of the laxity actually occurs when grant and investment money is administered back in member states - including the UK, it has to be said. However, it remains the EU's responsibility to root out this bad practice, to make sure the rules are followed and to keep track of where our money goes. "We take the view that so long as the auditors are unable to give a clean bill of health to the accounts a whole, we will not approve any part of them. That is to send a strong message that things have to change." Conservative pressure in the Parliament's Budget Discharge Committee from West Midlands MEP Philip Bradbourn has led to a series of demands being put forward to improve accountability and cut waste. In a ground-breaking development, a Conservative-led initiative was approved by the Parliament calling for the creation of a dedicated Commissioner for Budgetary Control to take charge of the issue. Key Conservative amendments were also approved, one calling for an end to the costly system of holding Parliamentary sittings in two separate cities and one for the EP specifically to abandon Strasbourg. Tory MEPs argued unsuccessfully for amendments criticising burdensome elements in the Parliament's own budget. These included the escalating cost of annual awards such as the LUX film prize and the journalism prize, the Parliament's expanding bureau in Washington DC and the the European House of History - a planned museum to showcase the achievements of the European Union which Conservatives condemn as EU propaganda at the taxpayers' expense. A Conservatives call for the Parliament's communications budget to be overhauled was narrowly defeated. Also defeated were proposals for the LUX prize to be dropped and for the House of History project, if cannot be abandoned entirely, to be made self-financing. Three EU Quangos, the Environment Agency, Food Safety Agency and Medicines Agency have been heavily criticised recently for failings relating to public procurement, poor management and potential conflicts of interest. Conservatives helped swing a vote to postpone a decision granting discharge to these accounts - the most severe sanction which can be taken at this stage. A discharge was also denied by Parliament to the accounts of the Council of the EU, which has refused to take part in the discharge process, with Conservatives arguing it must not be given special treatment. At a further vote in the autumn, the Parliament will decide whether to refuse altogether a discharge of these four sets of accounts. The accounts for other parts of the EU were approved today when Conservative MEPs were outvoted. Mr Ashworth said: "Every step of the way Conservative MEPs are challenging waste, mis-spending and abuse. The EU extracts money from the taxpayers on a grand scale and needs to take as much care about how the money gets spent. The Commission pays lip service to tackling these problems but things just keep getting worse. We will refuse to allow them off the hook until that changes."
Ford scents a satisfactory outcome to bank-regulation wrangles
Posted,5/10/2012 3:00:00 PM
Vicky Ford MEP, Conservative negotiator on a package of banking reforms being drawn up by the EU, believes considerable progress has been made towards a satisfactory deal. She now expects that a series of key amendments which she has tabled will be accepted when proposals are voted upon in Brussels on Monday. Mrs Ford, Conservative MEP for the east of England, has taken part in a string of late-night talks on the package. The complex legislation will finally bring into European law the agreements on bank reform which were made globally at the G20 after the Lehman's crisis in 2009. An earlier draft of the proposals was rejected by UK Chancellor George Osborne in meetings between Europe's 27 finance ministers last week. The latest proposals and amendments will be put before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Monday. Mrs Ford said: "The Chancellor refused to accept last week´s proposals because they would have allowed European and UK banks to dumb down global standards. The UK wants to bring in even stronger rules for banks than Europe, including ring-fencing parts of retail banking from trading activities. "I tabled nearly 200 amendments to the initial drafts of these laws. The negotiations this week have moved forward. It is looking as if there will be a majority of the Parliament who also want to stand by our global agreements for strong bank law, with the flexibility for the UK to add its additional reforms. "While bank-reform is vital, we also need to make sure that banks keep lending, especially to small and medium-sized businesses and for infrastructure investment. I believe my amendments in this area are likely to be passed on Monday."
Mobile-roaming boost in time for summer holidays
Posted,5/10/2012 3:00:00 PM
The European Parliament today voted through new legislation to make mobile phone calls and roaming data-downloads much cheaper for holidaymakers and business travellers - and the new rules will be in place in time for the summer getaway.
Conservative airport campaign takes off
Posted,5/10/2012 1:00:00 PM
Conservative MEP Philip Bradbourn's campaign to boost the profile and fortunes of Britain's regional airports took a major step forward today when his key report was adopted by the European Parliament.
Convictions after hate attack against MEP's family
Posted,5/10/2012 12:00:00 AM
A British MEP told the European Parliament of his relief at the conviction of 12 people who took part in a hate attack on his Lancashire home while his wife and child were inside.
Callanan: Roll back the frontiers of the EU’s ‘Big government’
Posted,5/9/2012 6:00:00 PM
The European Parliament’s political group leaders today held a debate on the ‘Future of Europe’ to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Schuman declaration proposing a supranational community.
New EU rules could drive trusted health supplements off the shelves
Posted,5/9/2012 2:00:00 PM
Some of Britain's most popular health foods and dietary supplements could be forced off the market because of over-zealous new EU labelling regulations, a senior Conservative MEP has warned.