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European Elections | Libertas vs GreensThe big debateO The decision by David Cameron to sever the link between the Tories and the EPP group is a risky enterprise, writes Martin Banks. While the move allowed Cameron to curry favour with the eurosceptic wing of the party, the “isolationist” move has not been welcomed by all, with two sitting MEPs breaking ranks to condemn the decision. Christopher Beazely said, “I cannot watch my country head for the rocks” while Caroline Jackson said she was considering quitting the party in disgust. However, as one Tory MEP pointed out, “I don’t think you will find many Conservatives who are seeking re-election in June whatever reservations they may have in private about the decision to withdraw from the EPPvoicing such criticism.”Veteran MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Libertas supremo Declan Ganley went head-to-head in a lively debate in Brussels. Martin Banks reports n the face of it, there are quite a few things that Declan Ganley and Daniel Cohn-Bendit have in common. Both are candidates in the upcoming European elections, both are seen as being outside the political mainstream, and both are known for their outspoken views. But, after the pair went head-to-head in a heated debate at a hotel in Brussels on 1 April, one is quickly reminded of the many differences that also separate these two high-profile figures. The debate, organised by The Centre, a Brussels-based think-tank, drew a 500-strong audience, TV camera crews and several MEPs. And the two star guests did not disappoint, producing a lively, and occasionally controversial, discussion on everything from the elections, the stalled Lisbon treaty and the upcoming Irish referendum on the document. Ganley in particular was subject to a barrage of questions from both Cohn-Bendit, and the audience, on his party’s links to political groups in former Eastern bloc communist countries and his personal business links in the US. He was asked why, with June’s EU-wide elections looming, his anti-Lisbon treaty Libertas group, is yet to publish its manifesto. He was also put on the spot over how the party is funded. The multi-millionaire businessman was, as usual, slick and robust in his defence. He said, “I do not see why I should apologise for going to the US – or anywhere else – in order to create commercial opportunities. Whatever I have achieved in my life has had to be done the hard way and I am proud of that.” He said details of Libertas’ programme was alreadyavailable on its website and that the party’s funding complied with the rules. Turning to the Lisbon treaty – which Libertas successfully campaigned against in last year’s Irish referendum – Ganley repeated his assertion that it would be “disastrous” for Europe. On this there was, predictably, little agreement with CohnBendit, dubbed “Danny the Red” by the media and the hero of the 1968 Paris barricades. The German deputy, who is joint leader of the Greens in parliament, said, “I agree that the text produced by the European convention is wrong but, even so, the treaty does represent progress in the way the EU functions.” Responding to constant questioning about his business links from his French-born rival, Ganley turned the tables by putting Cohn-Bendit on the spot about a book he wrote in 1975 about his experience at the time as an assistant teacher in a German kindergarten. Ganley read an extract from Cohn-Bendit’s book, saying, “It happened to me several times that certain kids opened my fly and started to tickle me.” Cohn-Bendit told the audience that although he had written the book, there had never been a complaint from children or their parents. Afterwards, he said he hadn’t objected to Ganley raising the issue. “To be honest, I expected it,” he said. “It is all part of politics.” Reaction from those in the audience was mixed, with Jacques Vonthron, head of unit at the commission’s budget DG, describing the debate as “balanced and very interesting”. “There were some personal attacks but they didn’t go too far,” he added. Former Danish MEP Jens-Peter Bonde, an adviser to Libertas, said, “Judging from his comments, I doubt very much if Danny has ever read the Lisbon treaty.”22 PARLIAMENT MAGAZINE 13 April 2009 Issue 286 13 April 2009Bridging the gap Parliament president Hans-Gert Pöttering on the upcoming elections, the issues that really matter and why the EU is worth defending at the ballot boxThe question is “How to bridge the gap and convince eu citizens that what the parliament does, frequently has a IF THIS MAKES YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, IMAGINE HOW IT MAKES HER FEEL World Malaria Day. A day we’d all like to eradicate. Every 30 seconds malaria kills an African child. In just one year malaria takes more than one million lives in Africa, the world’s most afflicted region, and leaves poverty and devastation in its wake. Babies and young children are particularly su Issue 286 13 April 2009newsanalysis 6 Blue skies thinking The commission’s aviation package will help create safer and greener skies, argues Antonio Tajani21 Banging on about EuropeUKIP will come into their own during this year’s elections, claims Nigel Farage22 The big debate8 Talking telecomsConci catherinestihlerEditorial team Managing editor Brian Johnson Martin Banks Martha Moss Francesca Ross Louise Tait International Press Centre Boulevard Charlemagne 1 Box 2 Brussels 1041 Tel +32 (0)2 285 0828 newsdesk@theparliament. www.theparliament.com Editorial board Editor Catherine Stihler MEP Edi AviationBlue skies thinking afer flights, shorter routes, less emissions per flight, less cost for airspace users: these are the ambitious objectives of the aviation package which the European parliament and council adopted in late March 2009. Above all it is a strong signal to European citizens tha newsanalysisair traffic management should reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation by up to 10 per cent per flight, which amounts to 16 million tonnes of CO2 savings per year and annual cost savings for airspace users of €2.4bn. The second pillar concerns safety. The pillar provides for increas Telecoms packageTalking telecoms Conciliation discussions between the parliament and the council have thrashed out a deal on the much-discussed draft telecoms directive. Francesca Ross reports hard-won second reading agreement in the internal market committee should pave the way for stronger consume newsanalysisDamage limitation n the plenary session in March, sound majorities in the European parliament backed proposals to enhance the legislation on industrial pollution prevention and control (IPPC), strengthening the rather inconsistent proposal from the European commission. The core compromis European business summitGender agenda Martin Banks reports on the recent Parliament Magazine debate on tackling gender inequality in business and politicsThe statistics speak for themselves: women represent 52 per cent of the population but, at best, a mere six per cent of decision makers. Why is th newsanalysisMum’s the word Europe needs more harmonised maternity legislation to promote equal opportunities, writes Edite EstrelaThe commission’s proposal amending the 92/85/ EEC directive aims to improve health and safety protection of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or European Elections | European parliament presidentHans-Gert Pöttering with the 10 surviving former presidents of the parliamentBridging the gap Key events and dates • The ELDR campaign launch takes place on 15 April • European People’s Party (EPP) holds its convention in Warsaw, Poland: 29-30 April specialreportor tackling climate change with emission targets, in the end boil down to solving problems on the local level related to job security and a better environment. While politicians have a major responsibility, the role of the media is also crucial, as is the role played by various informat European Elections | EPPStrong for the people A few months ago, it seemed a done deal. The assumption was that parliament’s top job, the presidency, would as usual be split between the two biggest political groups. But the EPP and PES groups currently look far less certain to have their candidates – specialreportA united front People are at the heart of Europe, and the EPP party’s policies reflect this, argues parliament group leader Joseph Daul social model. We believe in the primacy and the dignity of the individual. We believe that Europe needs to create jobs and growth so that people can fi European Elections | PESFactfile • The elections take place on 4-7 June in each member state • More than 375 million EU citizens are eligible to vote • The first direct elections were in 1979 • From 1958 to 1979, MEPs were appointed by their national governments and all had dual mandates • Since 195 specialreportChoices for the future The Socialists have the policies to tackle the economic crisis facing the world and the environmental challenges facing the planet, argues Martin SchulzThe European elections this year are arguably the most important that have ever been held. At a time of crisis, European Elections | PESReasons to be cheerful? EPP -ED The threat of the UK conservatives leaving the EPP-ED group makes it difficult to predict its future makeup. The Tories are mooting a “European conservative” group with members from the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, Sweden and Denmark ALDE Fre specialreportBig thinking, bold ideas European voters are looking to the liberals to promote freedoms, says Graham WatsonThe campaign for this June’s European elections contains a paradox: never has the EU been needed more, and never before has the eurosceptic vote been chased so fervently. EU oppon European Elections | ELDRParliamentary reform The need to better define the competences of certain committees has become more urgent as the number of inter-committee conflicts have increased. LIBE, IMCO, ECON and JURI are the committees with the highest number of conflicts. On 12 and 19 March, the c specialreport“This is our election because of the proportional representation form of voting in the European elections... It means that a vote for us is going to make a difference” UKIP will come into their own during this year’s elections, claims Nigel Farage uropean elections are, for a party whos European Elections | Libertas vs GreensThe big debateO The decision by David Cameron to sever the link between the Tories and the EPP group is a risky enterprise, writes Martin Banks. While the move allowed Cameron to curry favour with the eurosceptic wing of the party, the “isolationist” move has n specialreportPutting the E into MEP Intergroups play a vital role in parliamentary work, and Richard Howitt is concerned over new rules to restrict them hat is best about the culture of the European parliament? Surely it is the chance to meet, share ideas and forge alliances with colleagues from our European Elections | IntergroupsRichard Howitt is president of parliament’s disability intergroupThe recent parliamentary review group studied parliamentary practices in member states and aboard, to recommend revisions to our own institution. Each of us knows that informal cross-party groupings play specialreporthas many mainstream politicians worried: they have no answer to our questions and are scared that we will expose the inadequacies of the current system and their part in it. As a pan-European, pro-European movement, we value the EU’s historic achievements and see its potential, while re European Elections | Former members associationLife after the mandate es, there is a life after the mandate in the European parliament, and it can be a very fulfilling and exciting one. Whatever people do with their life after parliament, a small part of them will always remain in Brussels and Stras AN ALLIANCE TO ENHANCE THE MARITIME TESTING INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE EU Hydro-Testing Alliance (HTA) is a Network of Excellence aiming to continue world leadership and to enhance integrity of the European Hydrodynamic testing facilities. HTA is funded by the EU-FP6 (Proj no: 031316) over a 5 year progr TransportOptimising mobility revolution is on the way in the transport sector. But it needs a little help to materialise. This is why parliament is supporting the commission’s suggestion for an action plan and a directive to foster the use of intelligent transport systems. In the future intelligent Demonstrator FastRCargoDRY PORT CONCEPTS HINTERLAND TERMINALS RAIL-TO-RAIL TRANSHIPMENT FACILITIES FOR CONTAINERS HIGH PERFORMANCE LINER TRAIN TERMINALS STRATEGIC TERMINALS FOR REGIONAL ACCESS AT TEN FastRCargo: The project “FastRCargo” presents a technology for fast loading and unloading of intermo TransportGet a grip New tyre labelling regulations will enable people to make more ecological choices, says Ivo BeletT Ivo Belet is a member of parliament’s culture and education committee and rapporteur on the proposal for a new directive on labelling of tyreshe parliament is set to vote on a new l NANO-MUBIOP: a FP7 funded project on the detection of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) orldwide, cervical cancer is the fifth most deadly cancer in women. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is responsible for lesions leading to cervix cancer. The use of HPV DNA testing can provide women the opportunity for early Immunisation weekThe immunisation obligation Immunisation programmes are key to reducing the burden of avoidable diseases, writes Gay MitchellT Gay Mitchell is a member of parliament’s development committeehe European Union is the world’s single largest donor of overseas aid, dwarfing the contributi insideeuClear and present danger cross the EU, the reduction of infectious disease as a result of the implementation of national vaccination programmes cannot be underestimated. Several of the more serious infectious diseases that can be prevented through vaccination have now been almost eliminated AdvertorialWyeth’s commitment to protecting health through immunisation with Prevenar Vaccination against pneumococcus saves lives Pneumococcal disease is caused by Streptococcus pneumonia, which can result in death and illnesses including pneumonia, meningitis and middle ear infection. Children and insideeuPublic protection The World Health Organisation is launching a new programme to raise public awareness about the awareness of immunisationThe principal challenges facing Europe’s immunisation programmes are changing. While national programmes still face problems delivering services to geogra Immunisation weekPrevent, protect, immuniseD Monika Kosinska is secretary general of the European Public Health AllianceVaccination health scares mean preventable diseases are claiming too many lives, says Monika Kosinskaespite the major progress in the work against vaccine-preventable diseases, gap EPAD EUROPEAN PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTORYOne of the most comprehensive guides to names and addresses in Brussels, covering all the EU institutions, diplomatic and press corps, consultancies, trade associations and corporate headquarters.” Financial Times ... indispensable to specialists of European pub MalariaCounting malaria out Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease but, as MEPs will hear at a special working lunch next week in Strasbourg, EU leadership and decisive action are needed to tackle the number one killer disease in Africa orld malaria day, on 25 April, marks a critical junctur insideeupeople a year – the large majority in the poorest sub-Saharan Africa countries.” The most vulnerable, he says, are pregnant women and children under five. “Being a major public health issue, it is our responsibility to engage actors from the north and the south to jointly scaleup efforts to European Commission European Commission Enterprise and Industry Enterprise and Industry insideeuKnockout blow Vaccine development is a cruical weapon in the fight against malaria, say Sally Ethelston and Ashley BirkettThe head of a small Indian manufacturing plant picks up the phone and calls the director of a not-forprofit product development partnership in Denmark. The head of a rese Football belongs to everyone, everywhereUEFA is building thousands of mini-pitches across Europe, creating new public spaces for young people to play. With UEFA, football means solidarity. We redistribute the revenues from our competitions to all levels of the sport, amateur and professional.