Headlines

2011 Budget: "The ball is in the European Council's court", declared Guy Verhofstadt

On the initiative of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the European Parliament meeting in the Strasbourg plenary session solemnly called for an active inter-institutional cooperation in view of getting an ambitious and rapid agreement on the 2011 budget. This agreement should be based on reciprocal commitments made by the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament, to prepare the groundwork together for the revision of the next round of the multi-annual financial framework and the provision of the post-2013 EU budget by new own resources.

Budget 2011: ALDE welcomes Commission announcement on own resources initiative

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament is very concerned by the persistent blockage in the Council concerning the 2011 budget. All elements are now on the table for an agreement with the Parliament which is taking its responsibilities seriously. All political groups agree on restricting payment appropriations to that requested by Member States as long as they commit to collaborate with the Commission and Parliament on the stable financing of the EU and its common policies beyond 2011.

Verhofstadt: Europe is addressing the symptoms instead of the causes of the crisis in the eurozone

"The eurozone is going through turbulent times but Ireland is not the problem. Nor is Greece or Portugal. Of course these countries have a problem of credibility affecting their banks, their budget, or their trade balance. But elsewhere in the world there are also similar problems such as Japan (200%), the US or the UK but they have a credible economic governance and an image of unity," said Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament during a debate in the November Strasbourg plenary.

Subsidising the coal industry: Parliament's two big groups pander to vested interests

"We regret the result of today's vote, which calls for the continuation of subsidies to a non-competitive sector, like coal, which has been unable to reform for decades." said (D66, Netherlands) ALDE spokesperson criticising the result of the plenary November 23rd vote on state aid to facilitate the closure of uncompetitive coal mines, which modified the Commission proposal for a phase out by 1 October 2014 to 2018.

EP calls for more action ahead of Cancún climate talks

On November 25 the European Parliament  adopted a resolution which calls for more concerted action in climate aid commitments in the upcoming international talks in Cancun, Mexico (29 November - 10 December).

The Resolution stresses some of the key topics of the climate change policy as a focus of real progress in efforts related to UN climate talks.

Information on prescription drugs : More rights for patients

Patients must have better access to high quality information on prescription drugs in the future, MEPs  decided. The European Parliament strives for more freedom for patients who want to be informed about prescription-only drugs. 

The basic pillar of the legislation is to ensure the availability of objective, reliable and non-promotional information on medicines to protect patients' health care.

Liberals and Democrats call on the Lithuanian authorities to respect LGBT Rights

The ALDE group is calling on the Lithuanian authorities to respect freedom of expression and of assembly and to reject proposals introducing a fine for "public promotion of homosexual relations", i.e. equality marches for LGBT rights or any public information in favour of LGBT rights.

EP insists on proof of proportionality of data transfer

In a November 11th vote the European Parliament confirmed the line it took last May to back a global approach to the transfer of airline passenger name records (PNR) to third countries. The resolution has been tabled jointly by six political groups, which shows that the Parliament is sending a very strong and unified political signal. 

MEPS PUSH FOR SUSTAINABLE EUROPEAN ENERGY STRATEGY

On Thursday November 25th MEPs voted in favour of a comprehensive 10-year energy strategy for the European Union which highlights the importance of renewables and energy efficiency while maintaining a strong focus on competition and market issues.

Guy Verhofstadt: today Aung San Suu Kyi, tomorrow Liu Xiaobo

"On November 13th Aung San Suu Kyi was finally released by the Burmese regime. After the fake elections, this gives at least new hope for a democratic Burma. Suu Kyi has represented in her country the spirit of Gandi of our century, making a nonviolent campaign for democracy and a pacific outspoken opposition to the almost fifty year old ruling military junta." said Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament, reacting to today's news that the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was released, after two decades under house arrest.

EU Parliament sounds alarm over UK Sovereignty Bill

Andrew DUFF (UK, Lib Dem), spokesman for the European Liberal Democrats on constitutional affairs, has reacted to the November 11th publication by the UK government of a draft law which would change the way the UK deals with the European Union. The new EU Bill contains a 'sovereignty clause' and would entrench the holding of referenda on EU treaty changes as well as the use of the passerelle clauses of the Treaty of Lisbon.

4th CALD-ALDE Meeting - November 12-15 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The 4th CALD-ALDE Meeting took place on November 12-15, 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and brought together delegates from Asian and European countries in order to discuss the current state and prospects of the world economy.  Hosted by the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (PGRM), and with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF), the gathering carried the theme “Reinvigorating the Global Economy: Successes and Lessons from Asia and Europe.”

Further information including documents, presentations and photos can be found at www.cald.org or www.alde.eu.

European Commission Report on CAP Reform

On Thursday November 18th the European Commission published proposals for a reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) for the 2014-2020 period without detailing how the CAP will be financed. Dacian Ciolos Agriculture Commissioner claims that the reform will make the CAP greener, fairer and more efficient.

"The PAC not only concerns farmers, but all EU citizens as they are consumers and tax-payers.  It is therefore important to make a policy that is more comprehensible for the public, and which clearly shows the collective advantages that farmers bring to society as a whole", said M. Ciolos.  "European agriculture must be economically and environmentally competitive" he insisted.

According to the Commission, the PAC must focus on three priorities: a viable and secure food production; a sustainable management of natural resources, and action in favour of the climate; the maintenance of territorial balance and of the diversity of rural zones.

ALDE Reaction to Commission Report on CAP Reform

COMMISSION REPORT ANOTHER STEP ON ROAD TO CAP REFORM

George Lyon (Liberal Democrat, UK), ALDE Spokesman on Agriculture, has welcomed the European Commission’s report on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as another step on the long road to reform.

Mr Lyon, who wrote the European Parliament’s report on the future of the CAP that was overwhelmingly adopted in the summer, commented: “The Commission’s paper is so widely drawn that nearly everyone will find something in it that appeals to them."

“It focuses on greening the direct payments through a top up payment, a fairer distribution of funding between Member States, making activity a condition of support payments, bringing to an end to historic payments, and moving some of the LFA support into pillar one. "

“The Commissioner has taken on board many of the ideas in my report. However, while similar to the European Parliament’s position, the Commissioner’s report contains proposals that raise real concerns."
 

“We must make sure that his proposals to green part of direct payments system is based on incentives and not rules. They must be clearly targeted at sustainability and production efficiency otherwise we run the risk of making European agriculture uncompetitive."

  
“Clearly this is only the second step along a very difficult road to reform.  The task of taking this broad brush approach and focusing it on real measures that provide farmers with a viable future will not be easy."

“The real threat of big budget cuts still hang over the whole policy debate and the final decision on the budget will have a profound impact on the final outcome.”

Recalling key principles of liberal agriculture policy Britta Reimers, member of the German ALDE delegation, added:

"Reducing the bureaucratic burden on farmers, and increasing the competitiveness of European agriculture through education and the use of innovations in farming are the keys to an efficient Common Agriculture Policy post 2013. Farmers need entrepreneurial freedom to run successful businesses, which are essential to ensure food security and help to maintain prosperous rural areas."

Formal legislative proposals will be presented by the Commission in 2011.

Jelko Kacin, MEP (Slovenia, LDS)

Jelko Kacin MEP, defence studies graduate at the University of Ljubljana (1980), became Minister of Information in the first and the second Slovenian Government (1990-1992). He founded the Slovene Press Agency and led the campaign for the promotion of Slovene independence. He remained one of the most prominent figures in Slovenian politics during the transition years and during Slovenia's European accession process. He held the office of Defence Minister from 1993 to 1997, and later he became the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the National Assembly of Slovenia for two terms 1996-2000, 2000-2004. In 2004 he was elected to the European Parliament, and shortly thereafter was elected leader of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS), a function role which he held between 2005 and 2007. Mr. Kacin is also a member of the Liberal International's bureau.

Mr. Kacin has focused his parliamentary activities on foreign affairs; in particular he is concerned with European integration of the Western Balkans and other troubled regions of the world. He is currently the European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia and served as the rapporteur for the Union of Serbia and Montenegro in the previous EP term. He is also the vice chair for the Delegation for the relations with South East Europe. In 2009, he was, together with Diana Wallis MEP an initiator and co-author of the EP Resolution on the Srebrenica Genocide, and he has also been working on the Cyprus issue.

Outside his primary committee, AFET, he also sits on two other committees, TRAN and EMPL. As much as his other duties permit, he focuses on transport issues related to railways, as he regards railway network a strategic priority for Slovenia, the Balkan region and the whole EU. As an experienced aviation enthusiast he often follows legislation related to aviation and this year he was ALDE shadow rapporteur for the new directive on the Investigation of Accidents and Incidents in civil aviation. In EMPL, he follows the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund.

His activities in terms of foreign policy extend beyond the European continent and enlargement of the EU. As a member of the Delegation for the relations with the Korean Peninsula he has visited the region several times. During his last visit to South Korea in June 2010, he was allowed access to the sunken naval ship Cheonan as the first foreign politician and was consequently author of the resolution of the EP on the incident involving the sinking of South Korea's vessel. Mr Kacin also visits Iraq as a substitute member in the Delegation for the relations with Iraq at least once a year. He is also an active member of the informal group Friends of Turkey. He has recently been engaged also in the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention. 

Jelko Kacin is married and has two adult sons. He lives in the countryside near Kranj in Slovenia. His hobbies include cycling, airplane modelling, and he is a keen fisherman and diver.
 

For more information, please contact:
ALDE Press Service and Inter-institutional relations unit

neil.corlett@europarl.europa.eu
willem.vandenbroucke@europarl.europa.eu