ALDE calls on EU High Representative to provide substantial assistance to Egypt

On February 17th in Strasbourg, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Egypt with broad consensus across politician lines. Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE President, gave his robust support for the masses in Egypt but also asked for action on the part of the High Representative , Baroness Ashton, on specific issues.

ALDE Senior MEP in Cairo to assess situation at first hand

Edward McMillan-Scott (LibDem, UK), Vice-President of the European Parliament responsible for democracy and founder of the European Union’s €160m democracy and human rights instrument, was recently in Egypt’s capital Cairo to assess the situation at first hand.

Verhofstadt on Egypt: a triumph for freedom and democracy

"We are witnessing a historic moment" said ALDE group Leader Guy Verhofstadt commenting on the announcement that Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down

Time to defuse the Pensions time-bomb

On February 16th the European Parliament in Strasbourg debated the European Commission's green paper on adequate, sustainable and safe European pensions systems. While the Commission Strategy does not make any specific policy proposals, it seeks a view on possible future actions at a European level.

Russia must respect her international obligations or face sanctions

Following on the initiative by ALDE, a debate on the rule of law in Russia was held this week in the European Parliament.

Changes by Hungarian Parliament to media law must be closely monitored

At a February 17th meeting the European Parliament's group leaders (with exception of EPP) backed a proposal to postpone the vote to the next part session, but not withdraw a resolution, concerning the Hungarian media law in order firstly to take account of the announcement yesterday in Strasbourg by European Commissioner, Neelie Kroes, that Hungary has agreed to modify its controversial media law in line with her four principal criticisms* and secondly to keep the pressure on the Hungarian authorities to implement the necessary modifications.

Iceland passes bill to repay Icesave losses to Britain and Netherlands

The Icelandic Parliament has approved a bill which will lead to the repayment of British and Dutch depositors who lost funds when the Icesave bank collapsed.

Europe´s fake medicine problem

More and more people are buying medicine on the internet. Faking medicines is high-profit, low risk crime and it is not sufficiently regulated at European level.

Package deal on bus passenger rights disappointing

On February 15th the European Parliament backed a compromise creating a European set of rights for bus passengers. However, whilst a step in the right direction, the regulation is limited in scope and leaves many travellers out in the cold. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) that had pushed for a truly EU-wide package of bus passenger rights withheld their support from the EPP-S&D deal.

Verhofstadt calls on Barroso to present his own Pact for Competitiveness

Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Liberal and Democrat group in the European Parliament has written to President Barroso, exactly one year since the new Commission mandate began, to urge him to seize back the initiative from the Member States on such important policy areas as economic governance and competitiveness that are vital to restoring Europe's future growth prospects.

Poor conditions in Europe's zoos are highlighted in major study

A major study of Europe's 4,000 zoos was presented on February 2nd in Brussels. It highlights that the conditions in which animals are being kept too often ranges from inadequate to very bad.

Consumer rights in Europe get a boost

Consumer rights in Europe were boosted by a February 1st vote in Parliament's Internal Market committee on Commission proposals, dating from 2008, to replace four existing directives on unfair contract terms and distance and doorstep selling based on a high level of harmonisation that will end the fragmentation of the internal market that still persists.

Europe´s growing pile of e-waste

Household appliances, such as computers, mobile phones, fridges, microwaves, irons and other consumer gadgets, constitute one of the fastest growing electric and electronic waste streams in the European Union. This type of waste poses a series of challenges such as health problems if the waste is not properly treated and a waste of raw materials if there is no recycling.

6th Conference of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the Pacific, Africa and the Caribbean (ALDEPAC) held in Djibouti

The 6th annual meeting of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Pacific, Africa and the Caribbean took place this year in the Eastern African nation of Djibouti, which hosts the EU and NATO naval missions responsible for counter piracy off the Horn of Africa.

First of its kind in the country, the 6th ALDEPAC conference ended after three days of intense discussions and presentations on peace, security and development in the Horn of Africa in Djibouti Capital .

The Conference was launched by the President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh,   MEPs, Guy Verhofstadt ALDE Group Leader, Louis Michel Co-President of the ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Niccolo Rinali, co-chair of ALDEPAC and Hans van Baelen, President of Liberal International. They were joined by MPs from 30 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The discussions were dominated by the regional security challenges, in particular Somalia, and their wider impact in Africa. The peaceful creation of the new nation - Southern Sudan was welcomed. During the opening session Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Leader, sent a clear message to the African leaders robustly criticising the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila:

“Democracy never guarantees permanent power. Democracy gives citizens the power to change. We can only but condemn that a President elected by a majority changed the rules of these elections a few months before the election count”.

The Conference adopted three declarations: - the Djibouti Declaration in which ALDEPAC reaffirms its commitment to promote respect for democracy, a resolution on the Ivory Coast and a resolution on the referendum in southern  Sudan.

ALDEPAC, the ALDE Caucus within ACP was formed in order to launch a formal network to strengthen liberal democratic values and to promote dialogue among European and African members of the liberal-democratic network. 

EU proposal for passenger data to fight serious crime and terrorism

On February 2nd the European Commission presented a proposal for an EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive to fight serious crime and terrorism. The proposal obliges air carriers to provide EU Member States with data on passengers entering or departing from the EU, whilst guaranteeing a high level of protection of privacy and personal data.

"This proposal for an EU PNR Directive is an important part of EU security policy. Common EU rules are necessary to fight serious crime such as drugs smuggling and people trafficking as well as terrorism, and to ensure that passengers' privacy is respected and their rights fully protected in all Member States. The proposal requires Member States to anonymise all PNR data that is collected", said Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs.

In this proposal, the Commission lays down common rules for EU Member States to set up national PNR systems. 

Please see link below for full text

ALDE Reaction to Commission statement on PNR

Improvement in transfer of Passenger Name Record data within the EU

Following the Commission´s adoption of a directive on the use of Passenger Name Record data within the EU (EU PNR) which aims at strengthening protection of personal data and other fundamental rights, ALDE MEP Sophie IN'T VELD (D66, Netherlands) who has led the Parliament in the examination of the various air passenger data agreements between the EU and third countries said: "The new proposals of the Commission show that it has taken the criticisms of the European Parliament to heart. We will closely scrutinise the proposals, but at first glance there is a substantial improvement compared to the previous proposals."

Indeed, the current Commission draft directive proposes, among others things, a reduced period for retaining data up to 30 days, instead of the previously proposed 10-13 years. It more stringently narrows the purpose of the proposal to fight against terrorism and serious crimes, therefore "sensitive data", like sexual or religious orientation cannot be transferred or processed. Moreover it sets the obligation to inform passengers whose PNR data might have been transferred.

"However, the need for a better justification of the necessity of collection PNR data remains. We need more evidence that the use of PNR data complies with the guiding principles of necessity and proportionality. Parliament needs the facts and figures in order to be able to take a well founded decision." she concluded.

Edward McMillan-Scott (LibDem, United Kingdom)

Edward McMillan-Scott MEP is Vice-President of the European Parliament and responsible for Democracy and Human Rights. Edward was elected to the European Parliament in 1984 forYorkshire (UK) and was Leader of the Conservative MEPs from 1997-2001. In June 2009 he objected to David Cameron's decision to leave the EPP group in the European Parliament and form an alliance with "nutters, anti-semites, homophobes and climate change deniers" - according to Nick Clegg. He was expelled from the Conservative Party and joined the Liberal Democrats. "I was a liberal Conservative, now I am a conservative Liberal" he says.

Formerly the longest-serving member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Edward founded and monitors the €150 million European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. His primary focus  is on 'difficult' countries such as China and those in the Arab world, where he is a frequent visitor, most recently to Cairo just after the people's revolution succeeded.  Another of Edward's responsibilities as Vice-President is relations with national parliaments, all the more important since the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty.

Edward founded and chairs the informal, cross-party Brussels-Strasbourg Seat Study Group. The February 2011 report 'A Tale of Two Cities' can be read at www.BrusselsStrasbourgStudy.eu.

Inspired by letters and emails received from constituents in Yorkshire and the Humber, Edward is also active in the areas of children's rights, and property rights.

He is a staunch advocate of the fishing industry and gave up eating meat because of climate change and animal welfare. In December 2009 he invited 'Meat-Free Monday' campaigner Sir Paul McCartney to Brussels. He is married to Henrietta, a lawyer, and has two daughters and two grand-daughters.

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

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