Sarah King, TUC Brussels officer, on why MEPs should support proposals for a European Union-level Financial Transactions Tax when it’s voted on in the European Parliament next week.
We now have the three candidates for the leadership of the Conservative-dominated European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament.
Prime minister David Cameron faces criticism from within his own party over claims he has prevented Britain contributing to a potential European Union bailout.
After months of confusion and mixed messages the government today opted out of new European Union rules to crack down on human trafficking, reports Shamik Das.
United Kingdom Independence Party MEP Godfrey Bloom has unleashed yet another stream of coarse, xenophobic abuse – this time in the European Parliament. Whilst listening to a speech by German Social Democrat MEP Martin Schulz, Bloom shouted “Ein volk, ein reich, ein fuhrer” – one people, one empire, one leader. Bloom was ordered to leave the chamber and went on to describe Mr Schultz as “a national socialist”.
The Tory right were on the march in Brussels today, voting in hardline Eurosceptic Martin Callanan as the leader of the party’s MEPs. Callanan was the unanimous victor in the poll of the Conservative’s 24 Members of the European Parliament, winning over 50 per cent of the vote – including the support of Daniel Hannan, who had told Callanan’s rival Charles Tannock he would vote for him, only to double-cross him.
If the sad truth is that Cameron simply doesn’t care about Britain taking a lead in developing a more multilateral economic approach then so be it. But by doing so he’s shutting the UK out of the game – with the US, the G20 and the EU.
Labour MEPs voted against the overall call for a budget increase and against a host of outrageous calls to increase spending. But it gets far more interesting than that. For all their bluster Conservative MEPs failed to table a single amendment to the final budget package that would have resulted in a reduction in spending against 2010 levels. It was left to Labour members to propose cuts of more than €1bn to wasteful agricultural subsidies.
The prime minister today insisted the Government was uncompromising in its position on cracking down on human trafficking.
The refusal of the Coalition to endorse a European Union directive to combat the trade in sex slaves and child trafficking shows the weakness of the Liberal Democrat arm of the Government.
