Europe's biodiversity must be our generation's priority

The report “Our life insurance, our natural capital: a Biodiversity Strategy to 2020", drafted by Dutch Liberal Democrat MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (D66, Netherlands), defines concrete steps towards protecting biodiversity in the European Union and globally. The final report was voted in the April plenary session of the European Parliament.

Liberals and Democrats urge EU membership to the European Convention on Human Rights

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While the competence and legitimacy of the European Court of Human Rights is disputed, including by some of its founding members, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe on the contrary considers it necessary to affirm this institution through membership of the EU to the European Convention on human Rights. This evolution, explicitly provided by the Lisbon Treaty would give more legal weapons to the European Commission to act in cases of fundamental rights violations, as those recurrent in the sad case of Hungary.

PNR Agreement falls short of EU standards on data privacy

On April 19th the main political groups in the European Parliament gave the green light to the EU-US agreement on the transfer of Passenger Name Records (PNR), despite the rapporteur Sophie in 't Veld (D66, Netherlands) recommending to withhold consent.

Improving the fight against tax fraud and evasion as an extra tool to tackle the current crisis

On April 18th the European Parliament debated with the Council and the Commission concrete ways to combat tax fraud and tax evasion.

Verhofstadt: EU needs a structural approach to overcome the ongoing euro crisis

Following a request from the ALDE group, the European Parliament debated during the April Strasbourg plenary with President Barroso the means to combat the ongoing economic crisis.

EU needs open, dynamic and inclusive labour markets

One of the main challenges in tackling unemployment in the EU is the issue of persisting geographical and skills mismatches on the labour markets, leading to 4 million jobs still vacant across the EU.

Guy Verhofstadt: "Mubarak still rules in Egypt"

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The Presidential Electoral Committee in Egypt decided on April 17th that ten presidential candidates couldn't run, despite the fact they appealed against an earlier decision. Without wanting to judge about all individual cases, two candidates have been disqualified for a very strange reason. Khairat Al-Shater and Ayman Nour can't run for president because of fake trials during the Mubarak regime. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) did pardon both persons but appartently not on every charge.

ALDE calls for EU wide visa ban on Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case

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The ALDE Group in the European Parliament has launched on April 11th a procedure inside the European Parliament seeking to establish a common EU list of officials responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, for the subsequent judicial cover-up and for the on-going and continuing harassment of his mother and widow.

An efficient slot allocation between airlines will improve airports' capacity

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On April 11th the ALDE Group held a public hearing on "Reforming airport slot allocation in Europe" after the European Commission presented a draft regulation - as part of the "Better Airports" package launched in December 2011 - aiming at increasing the capacity and efficiency of European airports through a better allocation of airports slots.

ALDE calls for humanitarian action with military protection in Syria

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Amid reports that the Syrian regime is failing to pull back troops in compliance with the UN brokered peace plan, Guy Verhofstadt on behalf of ALDE MEPs has issued the following statement.

Verhofstadt questions €29 million pre-election fund for established Greek parties

ALDE Leader Guy Verhofstadt sent a April 10th letter to President Barroso criticising the decision of the Greek parliament yesterday to grant substantial cash payments to the established political parties in advance of the election expected on 6 May.

A new political force for a new economic deal

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April 2nd in Athens, Guy Verhofstadt, President of the ALDE Group together with Dora Bakoyannis, leader of the Democratic Alliance, launched plan to help Greece exit the crisis.

Verhofstadt on Arab spring one year on: "We must reboot EU-Mediterranean cooperation".

On March 29-30th a major liberal conference took place in Barcelona on "Arab spring one year on". The Conference which gathered together European and Arab leaders, such as Mahmud Jibril from Libya, Ahmad Hariri from Lebanon, Yassin Brahim from Tunisia and Fawaz Tello from Syria, focused on the state of play in several Arab states and the role the EU should play.

Verhofstadt: "Ecofin fools itself - decision to merge the EFSF and ESM is still just another stop-gap remedy to the crisis"

"The March 30th decision of Ecofin of to merge the EFSF and ESM will not provide long-term stability to bond markets if the crisis sucks in larger Eurozone economies" said ALDE Group Leader Guy Verhofstadt following the consensus announced at today's informal ECOFIN meeting in Copenhagen.

New Derivatives regulation: EP ensures more choice and efficient services for consumers

After months of negotiations with the Council and the Commission the European Parliament has signed off March 29th, on a first reading agreement on regulating the trading of over-the-counter (OTC) financial derivatives, partly blamed for the worsening of the financial crisis, as Lehman Brother's default has showed. Therefore - by meeting the G20 2009 commitments - this piece of legislation (European markets infrastructure regulation, EMIR) aims at introducing new rules and implementing measures to improve transparency and regulatory oversight of over-the-counter derivatives in an internationally consistent and non-discriminatory way.

Press freedom is an indispensable precondition for Turkey's EU accession

To coincide with the European Parliament's plenary session debate and vote on progress in Turkey's accession negotiations, the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats invited Turkish journalist, Ahmed Sik to discuss press freedom in Turkey. Ahmed Sik was one of several journalists imprisoned over a year ago in a move which was widely condemned as being politically motivated.

MEPS call for dismantling of remaining obstacles to EU citizens' rights

On March 29th a report on"EU Citizenship 2010" was voted on by the European Parliament highlighting the forms of active participation of European citizens and how they can affect the functioning of the European Union as well as encouraging politicians to communicate more with the public.

Serbia's EU Accession -they must sustain this positive momentum

During the March 28th plenary session the European Parliament discussed the progress of Serbia for the first time since it became a candidate country for membership of the EU. Due to the progress in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and in the implementation of agreements reached to date, the European Council granted Serbia candidate status at its meeting at the beginning of the month.

Growth for Greece: Commission points the way to unlock growth and create jobs

Brussels, 18 April 2012 - After many months of crisis, the conditions now exist to start moving from crisis to growth in Greece.  Agreement on the Second Economic Adjustment Programme and the success of the debt reduction agreement with the private sector mean that all efforts can now be concentrated on much needed growth and jobs.  The Commission has now set out the reasons why it believes Greece can transform itself – through the implementation of the agreed adjustment programme and with the ongoing support and solidarity of the EU, channelled by the Commission. In a new Communication the Commission highlights the steps that need to be taken during 2012, as part of the programme and explains the huge range of support measures that it can mobilise to help Greece begin to generate new economic dynamism, job creation and social cohesion. 

President Barroso said: "The people of Greece do not stand alone in their efforts to return the country to growth and jobs. The EU and the wider international community have shown solidarity with the people of Greece on an unprecedented scale. A package of grants, loans and debt forgiveness amounting to € 380 billion has been mobilised to help Greece.  The sacrifices being made by the Greek people will bring rewards in the near future as Greece embraces the priority actions for 2012 identified by the Commission. "

The Communication provides detail on how EU funds will be used to provide loans and guarantees for SMEs in Greece (€ 4 billion is available) and the EU has changes its own rules to make them more flexible and easier to apply in the current conditions in Greece.  It describes measures need to free Greek business to drive growth, for example by facilitating and promoting exports, modernising and simplifying the regulatory environment, preparing state owned companies for privatisation and modernising sectors like energy and transport.

ALDE reaction to the Commission proposals on Greece

In an April 18th statement the European Commission laid out a series of priority actions necessary for Greece to return to growth and to enable the creation of jobs.

ALDE Group President Guy Verhofstadt said: "The Commission's strategy paper for Greece puts flesh on the bones of the Memorandum of Understanding agreed as part of the second adjustment programme. ALDE has been stressing the need for a comprehensive plan for Greece that combines root and branch structural reform of the public sector with practical help for businesses."

"The resources that have been poured into Greece to cover its debts have been enormous but we also need a major financial commitment to support growth and investment. ALDE have called for a Growth Enhancement Fund, worth some €30bn and funded from proceeds from privatisation, EU structural funds and the EIB.  This fund will mobilise private investments by co-financing or even micro-financing private entrepreneurship in Greece and help restore confidence".

Another key element for ALDE is the reorganisation of the public administration and by referring to the Commission's proposal on this topic ALDE MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (FDP, Germany) continued: "What is proposed does not tackle the core problem of clientilism related to Greek public administration. There is a need to fundamentally depoliticise the Geek civil service and create a new mentality by setting provisions that promote and reward productivity and merit rather than party political affiliation. To achieve this goal, EU institutional assistance must include the training and development of Greek civil servants, what ALDE refers to as the Iolaos Plan". 

ALDE MEP Theodoros Skylakakis (Democratic Alliance, Greece) said: "Unfortunately the Commission's efforts, though well-intended, do not result in anything substantially new on Greece. This Communication shows that there has not been any serious effort by the two governing parties to negotiate and improve the funding of the Greek private sector and attract investments. The Democratic Alliance will continue promoting 'Greece 2020' plan in cooperation with ALDE because Greece cannot return to growth whilst 1 million people are unemployed and the economy continues to suffer from a chronic lack of investment. Greece needs bold solutions to the grave problems it is currently experiencing".

President Verhofstadt also asked the Commission President for further explanations on the decision of the Greek parliament to grant €29 million to the established political parties in advance of the election whilst the Memorandum of Understanding for Greece's second bailout calls expressly for a reduction in election-related expenditure. "Greek political parties should start setting a good example right now and not be dipping their hands one last time into the honey pot."

The MoU lays down the "reduction in the central government's operational expenditure, and election-related spending, by at least EUR 370 million (compared to the 2012 budget), of which at least EUR 100 million in military-related operational expenditure, and at least EUR 70 million in electoral spending."

Arab Spring, one year on

On 29-30 March 2012 to mark the first year after the Arab Spring, ALDE-CDC organised a major conference in Barcelona, with the aim of analysing the current situation and agree on future common projects within the region.

Guests included prominent members from various Mediterranean countries, Mahmoud Gebril, from Libya, Ahmed El Hariri from Lebanon, Fawaz Tello from Syria and Yassine Brahim from Tunisa to name just a few.

ALDEPAC WORKING LUNCH HELD ON 22 MARCH 2012 DURING THE ACP-EU JPA COMMITTEE WEEK IN BRUSSELS

PRESENTION BY DR. Didier LEBOULLEUX (MVI PATH *)
Theme: "Development of a malaria vaccine for sub-Saharan African children"

The ALDEPAC lunch was held on 22 March in the EP, Brussels in the framework of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

In addition to our many ALDEPAC African Parliamentarians, the Ambassadors in Brussels from Benin, Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Rwanda, Togo and Uganda were present. 

Members of ALDE Group such as Louis Michel MEP, President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, ALDEPAC Co-President, Olle Schmidt MEP, and ALDE ACP coordinator, Catherine Bearder MEP participated in the lunch.

A very interesting overview on the "Development of a malaria vaccine for sub-Saharan African children" was presented by our Guest Speaker; Dr Didier LEBOULLEUX from MVI PATH (Malaria Vaccines Initiative).

* The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) is a global program of the international nonprofit organization PATH. MVI was established in 1999 through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. MVI-PATH is developing a malaria vaccine in collaboration with global vaccine developer and manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.

For more info, check http://www.malariavaccine.org/about-overview.php

ALDELAT dinner in Brussels

On 19 March 2012 an ALDELAT Dinner was organised in Brussels with MEP Graham Watson as keyspeaker for a group of visiting Latin American Liberals, to discuss the Euro Crisis, and also exchange views on the EU-LA relationship.

A forthcoming meeting is planned to take place in Bogota, June 2012 within the framework of the RELIAL congress.

Anneli Jäätteenmäki ALDE MEP (Centre Party, Finland)

Anneli Jäätteenmäki, Master of Law, first worked as a lawyer before becoming a member of the Finnish parliament in 1987. During her political career, she has been a prime minister, minister of justice, and speaker of the Finnish Parliament. She has also been elected the vice-chair of the Finnish delegation to the Council of Europe, and the chair of the Centre party, being the first female chair of a major political party in Finland.

In the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee she works to improve transparency, good governance and administration, access to EU documents and information, as well as citizens' rights. As the former vice-chair of this committee, she was rapporteur on the statute of the European Ombudsman in 2007-2008.

In the Foreign Affairs Committee, Anneli has worked to develop the EU's neighbourhood and enlargement policies, as well as its Arctic policy. She is currently the rapporteur of EU's relations with Azerbaijan, and the External Relations budget. In 2012, she was nominated the ALDE representative for European Parliament cooperation with national parliaments.

Throughout her career, Anneli has actively spoken up for gender equality and human rights.

Anneli has a home in Helsinki and in Lapua, Western Finland with her spouse. Her favourite activities during spare time are jogging, Nordic walking, reading and arts.

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

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