The President of the European Commission Jose Barroso (below, right) today addressed MEPs in Strasbourg in his inaugural ‘State of 
the Union’ address on the Commission’s vision for the future of the European Union.
While no Obama in terms of oratory skills, I have heard worse speeches than the one he delivered today. A high point was the re-statement of the Commission’s commitment to continuing work on developing the Single Market, including the creation of a single EU patent and reducing red-tape for SMEs looking to conduct business cross-border in the EU. This is critical. The Single Market is surely the EU’s greatest tangible achievement, and the Commission is right to target it as a crucial area where the EU can really add value to the lives of European citizens.
I also liked the proposal of a ‘European Vacancy Monitor’ to show EU citizens where job opportunities exist for them beyond their home market. Lack of job mobility has been a key hindrance in developing the Single Market. This could be a good step in helping to address that.
I did not like however the President’s words on the sustainability or otherwise of national budgets. Mr Barroso has clearly come along way from his early leftish political leanings. He now claims that “debt and deficit lead to boom and bust”. My fear is that in following the mantra of rightwing governments across Europe the President is now committing the Commission to a similar mindset. This is despite the very strong arguments – which I support – that the recovery is not yet secure and that cuts, if they are necessary, should be well targeted and gradually introduced, rather than ’slash and burn’. The previous Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer believed that the UK could only afford to cut its deficit by half over four years without damaging economic prospects.
The Commission does not have direct power over national budgets, but it will still influence how European finance ministers adopt the various proposals around economic governance under consideration. It is of concern that Mr Barroso has joined the apostles of austerity – Osborne, Merkel et al – just when the Commission should be devising strategies for growth in Europe.
Last week the European Parliament reached agreement with national governments and the European Commiss
ion on the creation of a new European supervisory architecture for financial services.
I was one of the five MEPs on the Parliament’s negotating team (see photo, right, of trialogue negotiations), my chief responsibility being for the creation of the new European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. It was a hard slog. In the end we had around 25 trialogues, which is the technical term for the negotiations. I believe that must be quite near a record!
The reason why the negotiations were so ardeous was that the legislation is so important and far-reaching. The purpose is to prevent another breakdown of communications between national supervisory authorities, as occurred between the UK, Iceland and the Netherlands over Icesave, or between the Belgian and Dutch authorities over Fortis.
I won’t go into all the details on the powers of the new authorities here, interested readers can find out more at – http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/042-80951-245-09-36-907-20100902IPR80950-02-09-2010-2010-false/default_en.htm
Suffice to say that all parties came out of the negotiations fairly happy with the outcome. The powers of the new supervisory authorities are concorrent with the roles bestowed upon them. National governments retain ultimate responsibility, as should be the case given that they are the ones responsible to tax-payers for bail-outs. However, the new bodies have enough teeth to help overcome some of the problems witnessed during the last crisis. I am very pleased with the result.
The office of Peter Skinner is recruiting a Research & Constituency Assistant for the South East office.
Applicants should send their applications to Peter Skinner MEP, 99 Kent Road, Dartford DA1 2AJ or via email southeast {at} peterskinnermep(.)eu by 5pm on Friday, 10 September 2010.
Research & Constituency Assistant
Position: Research & Constituency Assistant
Incumbent: vacant
Location: UK, 99 Kent Road, Dartford DA1 2AJ (subject to review)
Salary Range: to be advised
Full time: 42 hours per week including occasional work in evenings and at weekends
Benefits: to be advised
Responsible to: Regional Office Director
Accountable to: Member of the European Parliament
Description:
Requirements:
Dear South East resident
If you’re travelling to another European Union country this summer, there are dozens of consume
r rights and legal protections designed to keep you safe. Here are just a few things to think about:
Stay healthy – plan ahead:
Make sure you have a European Health Insurance Card. It can help cover the cost of emergency medical care if you fall ill while away. It isn’t a replacement for normal travel insurance, so you should still ensure you have adequate cover, but many insurers will waive the excess on a claim if you hold the card and sometimes the small print on policies actually requires you to have one. Make sure you apply in time. Go to: www.ehic.org.uk
Don’t be left feeling stranded:
If your flight is cancelled or delayed by more than a few hours then you must be given immediate assistance by your airline. This includes arranging alternative travel – whether the problem is within the airline’s control or not.
Depending on the delay, airlines must also provide food, refreshments, communication facilities and, if the delay is overnight, accommodation. In certain cases airlines must also pay compensation. Get more information about your transport rights at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passenger-rights/en/
Special rules also apply for package holidays http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/citizen/my_holidays/index_en.htm
Stay in touch – take control of your mobile bill:
Labour MEPs pushed through rules that have significantly cut the cost of using your mobile when in another EU country. The cost of sending a text message is capped at around 10p and texts are free to receive. The prices for making and receiving calls are also limited by EU rules and your operator should send you a free text message to let you know how much it costs to use your phone while abroad.
Are you planning on using a smartphone while you’re away? Using the internet or email on a mobile device can be expensive and it’s not always clear how much it’s costing you. Under EU rules, your phone company must allow you to set a limit on how much you’re willing to spend on internet fees while abroad. Contact your operator before you leave to set the limit.
Time shares – take time to cool off:
When sitting back in the sunshine, the idea of having great holidays time and again will always be tempting. But be careful of getting carried away by the holiday feel-good factor. Some disreputable companies and individuals use the holiday season as an opportunity to put people under pressure to buy into dubious timeshare schemes.
Thousands of people get fantastic holidays and huge enjoyment out of their timeshares, but it is an area notorious for conmen and tricksters, so you need to be sure about exactly what you’re committing to. A reputable company won’t put you under pressure to commit to a contract, so stop to think before you sign.
If you do make a commitment that you then regret, EU law guaranties you a cooling off period. You can get more information from the Timeshare Consumers Association [http://www.timeshare.org.uk/buy_web.html] or your local Citizens Advice Bureau [http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/winnn6/index/getadvice].
Rights not respected? Let me know
You can be confident that these EU rules apply to all European Union member states. You can see exactly which countries are members of the EU on this map [http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/index_en.htm]
If you’re concerned that your rights haven’t been respected while you were on holiday, or if you need help with a problem that arose while in another EU country, please get in touch. Email me at southeast {at} peterskinnermep(.)eu
Checklist and useful links:
• Take your free EU Health Insurance Card, apply here [http://www.ehic.uk.com/apply.html]
• Check the Foreign Office’s Know Before You Go website [http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad], there may be public holidays or domestic situations you should know about.
• Read up on your passenger rights [http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passenger-rights/en/index.html ], so you know how you should be treated if there are delays.
• If you’ll be using the internet on your mobile or smartphone, tell your mobile phone company you’re going away. They’ll arrange a limit so you don’t break the bank in data charges.
• If you have any dispute or complaint regarding any purchases you’ve made on holiday, contact the consumer centre [http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/redress_cons/docs/ecc_network_centers.pdf] for the country you are visiting who can help resolve the issue. If they can’t help try the EU-wide Solvit service [http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/site/index_en.htm ]
• Call your bank to tell them which country you’re visiting so they don’t block your card while you’re away. Check their charges for withdrawing money from an EU ATM – some banks don’t charge a fee at all.
•Check your car hire company’s policy on refuelling. Many of my constituents have been stung by companies who have expected them to return vehicles fully filled or they face a heavy fine, penalising them for using less fuel.
• In an emergency you can call 112 anywhere in Europe, from any phone, free of charge. It is the equivalent of calling 999.
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