Headlines

Verhofstadt: Eurozone crisis has shown absence of unity and solidarity

On December 15 Guy Verhofstadt, Leader of the Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament launched an appeal to EU leaders, ahead of their summit this week, to replace the discord and dispute that has characterised much of 2010 and respond to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis with unity and solidarity.

Citizen's Initiative: Towards a European Participatory Democracy

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is pleased that during the December 15 European Parliament's Strasbourg plenary session, the rules of procedures creating the Citizen's Initiative were adopted.

EP strengthens fight against human trafficking

"We welcome the outcome of the vote that confirms our determination to fight human trafficking. This modern form of slavery still takes place in Europe and we need to take tougher measures to combat this phenomenon. Now it is up to the Member States to act and show determination to stamp it out. We need more prevention measures and information campaigns at national level but also adequate training for judges, lawyers, social workers and all other professions which are directly in contact with victims." said ALDE co-spokesperson Nadja Hirsch (FDP, Germany) of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, commenting on the December 14 European Parliament vote on a draft directive for combating trafficking in human beings.

Guy Verhofstadt: How to save the euro

In a major article published on December 1st on the ALDE website, Guy Verhofstadt, Liberal and Democrat group leader in the European Parliament outlines a comprehensive strategy for addressing the fundamental weaknesses of the eurozone which are inhibiting a decisive end to current nervousness in the market place that is spreading across a number of peripheral eurozone economies and undermining the stability and viability of the Single Currency in the longer term

Cleaning up Cohesion Policy

Members of the European Parliament are stepping up the pressure on Commission and Council to clean up the EU's cohesion policy, voting overwhelmingly in favour of a report demanding better control mechanisms, simpler financial instruments and easier access to funds for small and medium sized businesses.

Liberals support legal migrant workers but insist on a single residence permit

In a vote today in the European Parliament a draft first reading deal with Council was rejected because it did not match our expectations of a genuine simplified arrangement for third country nationals seeking residence or work on the territory of the European Union.

Towards a sustainable strategy for the Danube region

On December 9th the European Commission released a communication on the EU Action plan for the Danube region. The plan aims to promote cooperation around the Danube region, developing a long-term strategy of EU neighbourhood policy based on environmentally-friendly transport connections and energy infrastructures and stimulating economic and social growth among the countries in Central and South-East Europe.

Ivory Coast: Liberal International defends Ouattara election victory

On December 7th leaders of Liberal International meeting in Brussels condemned attempts by incumbent President of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, to hold on to power after the independent electoral commission had announced a victory in the November 28th presidential poll for Alassane Ouattara, of the 'Rassemblement des Républicains' (RDR), a full member of Liberal International (LI), the international Liberal network.

Lisbon - One Year On

The Lisbon Treaty's one year anniversary comes at a difficult time for the European Union and highlights the need for strong economic governance at a European level, according to the political leader of the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats in Europe (ALDE) group in the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt.

Roma: integration is a two way street

The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is holding a 2 day Hearing on "The EU strategy on Roma inclusion" to prepare an initiative report to respond to the Commission communication (COM(2010)133) setting a mid-term programme for Roma inclusion, involving all the main actors, from EU institutions, national parliaments and civil society.

Verhofstadt congratulates Catalan party on election victory

On November 29th Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament wrote to Convergencia i Unió Party leader, Artur Mas, to congratulate him on a stunning electoral victory in the Catalan national polls in which CiU took 38.5% of the vote which translates into 62 of the 135 seats in the parliamentary chamber.

ALDE and ALDEPAC at the 20th SESSION December 2nd-4th 2010 in KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo

The ALDE delegation was very active during this Session the 20th ACP-UE Joint Parliamentary Assembly. At the opening MEP Louis Michel (ALDE, BE) called for an EU law ensuring traceability of imported minerals as a tool to fight the illegal exploitation of conflict minerals in African countries.

Co-President Louis Michel said: "I urge the European Union to develop a law similar to the American bill which will help to heal the international market. It is still incomprehensible that the countries with the richest resources are those whose populations are the poorest". On the elections in Ivory Coast Michel underlined his concern about the possible deterioration of the situation. The ACP-EU Assembly refused to recognise Gbagbo's victory. The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly considered the results by the Constitutional Court to be "contrary to the will expressed by the Ivorian people through the ballot box" and refused to recognise them.
 

The fight against the illegal exploitation of "blood minerals" in Africa and the worsening situation of media freedom were also among the topics dominating this 20th ACP-EU Assembly in Kinshasa

Olle Schmidt (ALDE Sweden) negotiated the resolution on terrorism, human trafficking and drug dealing in the Sahel-Saharan region urging the international community to react with the necessary military, intelligence and technical support in the affected countries.

Catherine Bearder represented ALDE in the very difficult negotiations on Food Security launching an international plea to tackle the financial speculation in grain and food. The right to food is "an inalienable and universal right" she said.

The 20th plenary session also included debates on the current political situation in D.R. Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Haiti. All ALDE members intervened in Plenary on these topics.

As always ALDEPAC, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Pacific, Africa and Caribbean, gathered in a working lunch attended by more than hundred EP and ACP parliamentarians and policy advisors discussing the items of the Assembly but also the upcoming annual ALDEPAC Conference in Djibouti on Peace, Security and Progress in the Horn of Africa

Patents: Commission opens the way for some Member States to move forward on a unitary patent

On December 14th the European Commission presented a proposal opening the way for "enhanced cooperation" to create unitary patent protection in the EU. Such unitary patent protection would allow those Member States that so desired to agree to establish a patent, valid in all participating countries that could be obtained with a single application.

"Filing for patents in Europe is a costly and complicated affair, making it available only to those companies who have deep pockets," said Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services. "The unacceptable reality is that on average innovators validate and protect their patents in only 5 of the EU's 27 Member States because of the high costs.

European inventors can afford no further delay. This is why the Commission proposes that some Member States should be able to move ahead for a unitary patent protection, and I hope that over time all Member States will join this new system. In any case, companies will not be discriminated against and will be able to apply for an EU Patent under equal conditions, no matter what their countries of origin."

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ALDE Reaction to Commission Statement on Patent Proposal

EU patent stalemate must end

On December 14th the European Commission presented a proposal using the facility of enhanced cooperation foreseen in the Lisbon Treaty, to unblock the stalemate that has bedevilled EU competitiveness for almost three decades.

Guy Verhofstadt, Liberal and Democrat group leader in the European Parliament condemned the delays and urged the Council to agree the measure as soon as possible:

"The world will not stand still whilst Member States delay a key element for enhanced competitiveness over a linguistic dispute. Europe's economy is flagging in comparison to the new, dynamic regions from Brazil to South Korea. We have no choice now but to support a proposal from the Commission to pursue a common EU patent on the basis of enhanced cooperation as unanimity seems impossible."

"The arguments have been well rehearsed for many years now but the debate keeps going round in circles. A single EU patent regime will enable faster and cheaper patent applications for companies with innovative ideas and facilitate dispute settlement."

"Only with a simpler, streamlined patent regime can Europe really compete in the global market place."

"I hope that those countries who disagree with the approach will soon come on board and that rapid technological progress in automatic translation can address their concerns. Indeed, we may even witness an EU-patented machine translation service emerge as a result of progress on this subject."

Anne E. Jensen MEP (Venstre, Denmark)

Since being elected in 1999 Mrs. Jensen has devoted her time on the European budgets and financial challenges. Being the ALDE budget coordinator for a substantial period of time Mrs. Jensen works to promote liberal economic politics in the EU.

As a token of her skills in 2010 Mrs. Jensen was appointed vice-chair of the SURE committee; the Special committee on the policy challenges and budgetary resources for a sustainable European Union after 2013. 

Working to solve a solution to the social, financial and economic problems after the financial crisis, Mrs. Jensen is also a substitute member of the CRIS committee.

The transport sector is another important topic for Mrs. Jensen, who is a substitute member of the Transport Committee. Here she has worked on intelligent transport, safer parking for truck drivers and integrating and improving the European roads and rails. 

Before entering into politics Mrs. Jensen held the positions of Director of the Danish Employers´ Confederation, Chef Editor at the newspaper Berlingske Tidende and Chief economist at the Danish Bank Privatbanken/Unibank. During her time in the financial sector she was heavily involved in finding solutions to the Scandinavian banking crisis in the early 1990s. Her experiences from the period gave her valuable knowledge on crisis management which has been invaluable to her work in the European Parliament.

Mrs. Jensen´s hobbies include studying Danish, American, and world history, and knitting.  Classical music is also another of her passions.

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

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