EPP (European People's Party (Christian Democrats))

12-01-2012 Preference erosion in ACP countries questioned by MEPs

In order to promote and facilitate socioeconomic development in developing countries through sustainable economic growth, the European Union grants tariff preferences to trading partners in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Generalised System of Preference (GSP) allows such preferential treatment of developing countries as an exemption of WTO rules that aim for equal treatment of imports from all WTO member countries. Read more »

11-01-2012 MEP Kaczmarek addresses medical brain drain

In a written question to the European Commission, MEP Filip Kaczmarek (EPP) addresses the exodus of medical staff from developing countries. Qualified doctors can earn more money in the EU and the US than in their own countries, which leads them to leave their own countries. Not only do developing countries lose two billion dollar a year which they invested in training these doctors, but also they lose out on the availability of already too little medical staff. The need for qualified doctors is extremely high, particularly in sub-Saharan countries, due to infectious diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Read more »

11-01-2012 DEVE committee content with fisheries agreement EU Guinea-Bissau

In a recently adopted opinion, drafted by MEP Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA), the DEVE committee has expressed its content with the new Protocol agreed between he European Union and the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, setting out fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for in the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the two parties currently in force. Read more »

28-11-2011 INTA adopts report on Trade and Investment Barriers

The committee on international trade (INTA) of the European Parliament has adopted a report on Trade and Investment Barriers, drafted by rapporteur Robert Sturdy (EPP). The main point made in the report is that removing or reducing non tariff barriers (NTBs) should be one of the key regulatory priorities of the new EU trade policy under the Europe 2020 strategy. Although in the draft report there is not much attention paid to development, several amendments have been written that take development into account. Read more »

28-11-2011 EUs policy on biofuels questioned by MEPs

On behalf of the DEVE committee, Michèle Striffler (EPP) posed a question to the Commission on the EU biomass policy and its impact on development. Referring to the targets for renewable energy that the EU has set to have by 2020 a 20% share of energy from renewable sources in the EU final consumption of energy and a 10 % share of energy from renewable sources in each Member States transport energy consumption, she expresses her concerns on the possible negative environmental impacts of these targets, like deforestation. She therefore asks the Commissions what measures will be taken to ensure sustainable biomass production, to protect forests and to prevent negative climate, environmental and social impacts from the use and production of biomass for energy. Read more »

10-10-2011 MEPs ask questions on the humanitarian emergency in the Mediterranean Sea

In the aftermath of the unrest in North-Africa, thousands of people have tried to flee to Europe by boats. Hundreds of them got shipwrecked in the Mediterranean Sea and are now dead or missing. Read more »

10-10-2011 DEVE report: Assisting developing countries in addressing food security

On behalf of the DEVE committee, Gabriele Zimmer (GUE/NL), wrote the report: EU policy framework to assist developing countries in addressing food security. The achievements towards the MDG hunger target have shown to be insufficient. The number of hungry people, estimated by the FAO, has decreased after 2009, but is still greater than in 2008; food prices have been indicated as a factor leading to food insecurity. In this report some important calls are made, some of which are listed here: Read more »

19-09-2011 DEVE opinion on PECH report: Combating illegal fishing at the global level the role of the EU

On behalf of the DEVE committee Maurice Ponga (EPP) wrote an opinion on the report Combating illegal fishing at the global level the role of the EU by the committee on fisheries. In this opinion he stresses that responsible and sustainable fishing favours economic growth and job creation both within the EU and in developing countries, whereas illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) inhibits this and thus impedes the achievement of the MDGs. Next to this, he stresses the Commission to ensure coherence among its policies so that the development policy, which combats poverty, is an integral part of the banning of IUU fishing, which in its turn improves governance in the fisheries sector. Read more »

28-06-2011 Raw Materials discussed thoroughly in the European Parliament!

On behalf of the ITRE committee, Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens/EFA) wrote 'an effective raw materials strategy for Europe' as the European industry is facing an increasingly difficult situation with regards to the supply of raw materials. This is particularly the case for the 14 critical raw materials, which the European Commission identified. Increasing global demand coupled with a lack of supplies due to long lead-times in the mining industry and the increased use of export restrictions by resource-rich countries, are not only pushing prices to record heights, as is the case with copper, but are also leading to potential supply shortages. Read more »

31-05-2011 A new trade strategy, report by INTA committee with an opinion by DEVE.

On behalf of the INTA committee, MEP Daniel Caspary (EPP) wrote the report: a new trade strategy for Europe under the EUROPE2020 Strategy. In this report he states that this modern trade policy should take account of other policy areas among which the EUs development policy. In the  report it is stated that, the European Parliament supports the Commission in its goal to promote sustainable development, international labour standards and decent work, for example by negotiating EPAs, which are to combine European and ACP interests. According to MEP Caspary, the Commission should withdraw GSP benefits in the event of a GSP beneficiary country making use of unfair trade practices, as this would undermine other policies such as environment, development, research and foreign affairs. Read more »

12-05-2011 Will the CAP towards 2020: meet the food, natural resources and territorial challenges of the future?!

On behalf of the DEVE committee, MEP Arsenis (S&D) wrote an opinion in which he points out the concerns on the negative impact of CAP on developing countries. They regret that the Commissions communication on the CAP towards 2020 does not mention such impacts and calls for the new CAP to include the principle of do no harm to developing countries as a core objective. They call for the post-2013 CAP to eliminate all export subsidies and to decouple direct payments from production, so as to create a level playing field between EU and developing countries agricultural products. Read more »

12-05-2011 AFET report on migration flows

On behalf of the AFET committee in the EP, MEP Fiorello Provera (EFD) wrote a report on migration flows arising from instability. The main causes for these migration flows are wars, armed conflicts, ethnic tension, natural disasters, the lack of proper economic and democratic structures; which are a challenge for the European Union. The tension that these migrations cause are not only in the country of origin, but also between the countries of origin and the countries of transit. In order to meet this challenge effectively, the EU must implement a policy of prevention, employing the most appropriate foreign policy instruments in order to address the causes of instability directly so that emigration becomes an opportunity and not a necessity. Read more »

27-04-2011 Schnieber-Jastram addresses possible violation of PCD in Zambian coper mine

In 2005 the European Investment Bank (EIB) granted a 48 million euro loan to the Mopani Copper Mine (MCM) in Zambia. In 2008 an international tax audit team assisted in a pilot audit of selected mining companies in Zambia. On 13 February some results leaked and indicated that the MCM used tax avoidance practices. It was concluded that the mining sector in Zambia has been marginalised due to unfavourable terms agreed upon in the privatization of the Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM). Read more »

24-02-2011 MEP Patriciello concerned about waste disposal and raw materials

Fair Politics follows the EUs Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) and the incoherence between this initiative and the  EUs development policy (see our case study on the RMI). In its new communication which was published at the beginning of February, the Commission is taking some steps in the right direction as it points to the sustainable exploitation of natural resources, combined with the creation of a sound investment climate as one of the main drivers of growth in Africa. Nevertheless the good suggestions made like for instance the possibility of introducing Country by Country reporting, and investigating the policy goals of export resrictions, will still need to be put into practice The European Union, as Africas most important trading partner and donor of development aid, should help lift developing countries out of poverty by investing in the sustainable management of their natural resources, in good governance and in promoting sound financial management. Read more »

24-02-2011 MEP Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou asks questions on Tax Havens

The focus of development cooperation is usually on the amount of money transferred as aid from the North to the South. However, a tremendous amount of money is leaving developing countries in the form of illegal financial flows corresponding to 10 times the amount of injected development aid from developing countries. Thus, on one hand the EU is supporting developing countries by its development policy and aid programmes, but on the other hand the EU and in particular its Member States are enabling corporations to escape their tax responsibilities in developing countries. This is a flagrant case of incoherent policy as you can also read in our case on Fair Taxes. Read more »

24-01-2011 MEPs worry about implementation of FLEGT

The European Parliament has been discussing two new Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with Cameroon and the Congo Brazzaville under the Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. MEPs Yannick Jadot on behalf of Greens/EFA, Catherine Bearder on behalf of ALDE, David Martin on behalf of S&D, Joe Higgins on behalf of GUE/NGL, and Daniel Caspary on behalf of EPP have expressed concerns about the implementation of the FLEGT. Also they wonder how the Commission is going to ensure the rights of local populations and how the EU is going to finance these schemes in the upcoming year. Lastly the MEPs want to know if the Commission will create more legislation to end deforestation. Read more »

12-01-2011 ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly calls for PCD

Between November 30th and December 4th Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) met with parliamentarians form African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Resolutions on free and independent media, on technology transfer, new technologies and technical capacity building with regard to climate change, on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), on food security, and on the security problem in the Sahel-Saharan region were adopted in the 20th session. Read more »

12-01-2011 Biofuels under attack from MEPs

A decade ago, biofuels were seen as the answer to scarce and polluting fossil fuel sources. The European Union (EU) jumped on board of this idea, aiming at a 10% share of renewable energies in transport fuels by 2020. Biofuels were to provide at least half of the share, and therefore the EU provided subsidises to increase production. However it soon became clear that the benefits of biofuels were smaller than the damage it was causing. In general, biofuels are not sustainable since they do not produce less CO2 than fossil fuels. In November 2010 the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) published a report about this, called Anticipated Indirect Land Use Change Associated with Expanded Use of Biofuels and Bioliquids in the EU An Analysis of the National Renewable Energy Action Plans. Read more »

23-11-2010 Tsoukalas wonders what the EU is doing about e-waste

We are using more electrical and electronic equipment than ever, and often the devises need to be replaced after a year or two. How to recycle e-waste is an increasing world wide problem, since some components in the old equipment are made of raw materials that could be re-used. Today the raw materials reserves are decreasing, while the demand continues to grow. That is why the European Union designed policies to increase recycling of e-waste in Member States. Read more »

10-11-2010 The European Parliament on human rights and social and environmental standards in international trade agreements

Policy Coherence for Development strives for more coherence of European policies in order to have a positive impact on development. This means that while creating new policies, every Committee in the Parliament and every Directorate General within the Commission should pay attention to development. The International Trade Committee tried to achieve this goal by writing a report on human rights and social and environmental standards in international trade agreements. They attempted to point out what the most important provisions should be. It goes without saying that the Development Committee wrote an opinion about this topic. On behalf of his colleagues in this Committee, Filip Kaczmarek (EPP) pointed out what the most important standards are. Read more »

10-11-2010 European Parliament opens debate on CAP reform: round 1

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), one of the most important EU policies as it concerns about 40% of the EUs budget is due to be reformed in 2013. If there is one topic that is bound to generate emotional discussions, it is the CAP. Everybody remembers the farmers who spilt their milk in the parks of Brussels in 2009, demanding support for the dropped market prices. Read more »

10-11-2010 EP recognises tax evasion as threat to development

On behalf of the Development Committee, MEP Eva Joly (Greens/EFA) wrote an own-initiative draft report on Tax and Development Cooperation with Developing Countries on Promoting Good Governance in Tax Matters. Fair Politics is pleased to see this report, since we are planning to launch our own policy case study on Fair Taxes soon. Read more »

22-09-2010 MEP Seán Kelly asks about the expiration of the GSP in trade

To end poverty; that is Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number one. The EU has committed itself to the MDGs. Moreover the Lisbon treaty states that the goal of the European development policy is to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty world wide. One of the ways the EU is trying to do this is through the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) in trade. 176 developing countries can export their products to the EU without import tariffs being enforced by the EU, and vice versa. Although we recognize this system is not the best optimum, free trade without restrictions, is important. Otherwise we will take with one hand, what has been giving, via aid, with the other. Read more »

22-09-2010 MEP concerned about biofuels and land grabbing

MEP Georgios Papastamkos (EPP) asked questions to the Commission about the future of the European policy on biofuels. Member states have indicated that there is a general reluctance to give strong backing to the use of biofuels. Also it is causing side effects in Africa like land grabbing issues. Food security is one of the Commissions priorities on Policy Coherence for Development (PCD), and this is being threatened in developing countries by foreign companies which are buying land to produce biofuels. European companies are the second largest investors in biofuels in Africa and European policies are encouraging this trend. Many local farmers are switching to these cashcrops as well. Article 208 of the Lisbon treaty states that the goal of development policy of the European Union is to reduce poverty world wide. Furthermore the EU has committed itself to the Millennium Development Goals. Switching from crops for human consumption to biofuels is not the way to end hunger. The EU should stop subsidizing biofuels on the African continent. Read more »

21-09-2010 MEP Michèle Striffler asks the Council about the link between the loss of biodiversity and poverty

Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Michèle Striffler (EPP) asked the Council, on behalf of the Committee on Development, what the policy responses will be to the loss of biodiversity as a new challenge to alleviate poverty in the light of the upcoming International Day for Biological Diversity. She specifically points towards Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) when it comes to poverty reduction and economic sectoral activities. Read more »

21-09-2010 MEP Georgios Papastamkos raises concerns about the impact of the GSP and EBA initiative on agricultural sectors in developing countries

MEP  Georgios Papastamkos (EPP) raised concerns in his question to the commission about the Generalized System for Preferences (GSP) and the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative to encourage trade with development countries. Papastamkos is worried about the effects of these policies on the agricultural sectors of the developing countries, since the EU is the largest importer of agricultural good. Food security is high on the political agendas, and moreover the EU should encourage the exporting countries to enforce an equal distribution of the revenue to the local producers. Read more »

01-03-2010 MEP Guerrero Salom Drafts Report on the Effects of the Financial Crisis

Developing countries are not the root or cause of the financial crisis, yet the effects of it have shown to be devastating for the poorer countries. It has become an economic, social, development and humanitarian crisis. Every field of activity has been effected. Unemployment levels have increased, there has been more migration and therefore brain drain, drop in prices of raw materials, decrease in development finance, greater debts and especially a drop in trade. The EU has increased its trade restrictions to protect its own market and has cut back on all development efforts. Within the Development Committee (DEVE) of the European Parliament, an own initiative report was taken up on this subject, with Enrique Guerrero Salom as rapporteur. Read more »

27-01-2010 CFP in Review: Parliaments reactions to Commissions Green Paper

In January the Committee on Fisheries (PECH) adopted the report on the Green Paper on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). There are serious flaws in the current CFP, many of which concern the external relations (Fisheries Partnership Agreements, FPAs) and effects on third countries. The Commission recognizes these flaws and therefore published a Green Report on which reactions were welcomed, in preparation for the necessary reform of the CFP in 2012. The PECH Committee in the Parliament therefore reported their reaction and appointed Maria do Céu Partrao Neves as rapporteur. Read more »

18-12-2009 ACP-EU JPA Question by MEP Klass on Subsidies

Christa Klass (EPP) raises her concern on the future of the EU dairy sector as well as EU subsidies for European farmers obstructing the development of agricultural structures in the poorer countries. Read more »

26-10-2009 MEP Belet warns Commission for Jatropha oil

MEP Ivo Belet (PPE) questions the sustainability of Jatropha oil that was said to be the biofuel of the future. Considering the EU plans striving for 10% use of renewable energy sources (including biofuels) in their transport sector in 2020 and the uncertainty of the effects and sustainability of these, it is important to raise awareness and knowledge on this issue. Read more »