Press Releases - European Members of Parliament for Wales

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• LATEST NEWS - 15/02/05 - EU bows to pressure from Plaid Cymru MEP

• 05/10/04 - Plaid Cymru want Eurostat answers

• 28/09/04 - Plaid Cymru calls for official EU status for Welsh

• 03/03/04 - MEP raises concerns with Boutros-Ghali

• 11/02/04 - Time to call time on opt out?

• 22/11/03 - Welsh woman of the year 10th anniversary.

• 18/07/03 - Plaid Cymru launch “Keep Wales GM-Free” petition at Royal Welsh.

• 07/07/03 - Welsh workers playing catch-up on EU workers rights.

• 26/06/03 - Welsh MEP welcomes final political agreement on CAP reform.

• 23/06/03 - Wales may receive Objective 1B funds

Ms Evans immediately took up the matter with Europe's Education Commissioner Jan Figel. Mr Figel has since apologised to the Plaid MEP for the snub and the omission has been corrected.

JILL EVANS MEP

"The Europass scheme has the potential to stimulate jobs and help growth by making it easier for people to look for work in other EU countries. As such it was absolutely vital that the snub to Welsh should have been put right and I'm very pleased that the EU Commission acted so quickly on this occasion."

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Note

The 'Europass' scheme was launched by EU Education Commissioner Jan Figel at a ceremony in Luxembourg at the beginning of the month. The scheme, designed to make it easier for job seekers in Europe, draws together five existing  elements, namely the Europass CV, Language Passport, Europass Mobility (record of experience abroad), Diploma Supplement and a Certificate Supplement. 

More information can be found on the Europass website at http://europass.cedefop.eu.int/europass/preview.action
The Europass Language passport can be viewed at http://europass.cedefop.eu.int/instruments/lp/step0.do

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Jill Evans is writing to Eurostat bosses in Luxembourg to find out how this happened and to make sure lessons are learnt so it doesn't happen again.

Jill Evans MEP said: 

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Speaking from Llandudno, Jill Evans MEP said: 

"It is a matter of principle for us that Welsh should be treated equally with the languages of other European countries. The European Union is funded through public money and should be there to serve all of the people - it should have a duty to provide services to Welsh speakers in their language of choice.

"We are calling for Welsh to be given the status of one of the EU's official working languages. This would mean that people could write to the European institutions and get a reply in Welsh. It would also mean that Welsh speaking politicians could use the Welsh language in European negotiations with simultaneous translation provided into other languages.

"We're now seeing similar moves for Irish, Catalan and Basque to get this status. If it's good enough for them then why not Welsh? And let's not forget that Maltese already has this status even though fewer people speak the language than speak Welsh.

"Not only is giving Welsh official EU status right in principle, it would also be good news for the Welsh economy and for tourism, raising our profile on the international stage.  

"It now needs the UK Government to argue the case at the European level. We'll be doing all we can to make this happen and I personally look forward to the day when I can address the European Parliament in one or other of both the major languages of the country I am privileged to represent."  

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MEP RAISES CONCERNS WITH BOUTROS-GHALI - 03/03/04   back   return to top of page 

Labour Euro-MP, Eluned Morgan, this week raised concerns with former UN General Secretary Boutros Boutros-Ghali about human rights issues in Egypt during a European Parliamentary mission to the country. 

Boutros-Ghali, in the news today, after going on record to say that he was not surprised by recent allegations of intelligence gathering in the UN, conceded that Egypt still requires democratic development in a meeting with the Welsh MEP. 

Speaking after the meeting, Eluned Morgan said,   

"During the Parliament's visit to Egypt, it was made clear that the veneer of respectable democracy in Egypt, is just that.  My colleagues and I were deeply concerned about various reports of human rights abuse which continue to occur unchecked.     

Photo: Eluned Morgan MEP with former UN General Secretary Boutros Boutros-Ghali

"I will be pressurising colleagues in Brussels to ensure that continued support is given to Egypt and other countries within the region to ensure that democracy becomes much more than a touchstone and develops real strong and lasting roots." 

Speaking on the allegations made by Clare Short, Eluned Morgan added, 

"I know that Boutros Boutros-Ghali said he took it for granted that intelligence gathering of all types was happening inside the United Nations when he was General Secretary, but I am, like most people, very surprised when I hear this kind of allegation.  I do find it somewhat odd however, that Clare Short is now trying to turn this statement, which she rather blurted out unthinkingly and with no deliberate intention, into a supposed moral crusade."

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TIME TO CALL TIME ON OPT-OUT? - 11/02/04   back   return to top of page 

Labour MEPs for Wales, Glenys Kinnock and Eluned Morgan, will give their backing today to a report calling for an end to Britain's opt-out of the 48 hour week.

Speaking from Strasbourg, the Euro-MPs said it was time to give Welsh workers the opportunity to develop a fair work-life balance, enjoyed by their colleagues in the EU. 

Glenys Kinnock said, 

"We have to ask ourselves some fundamental questions on the subject of our opt-out." 

"Do we really believe that all those who work a 60 hour week are doing it for the sheer joy of working, or is it because of their need to earn a decent living?  Are we happy that a third of our workforce does not have an option to opt out? How is it that despite our long hours culture, the UK is merely 12^th in the European productivity table?" 

GLENYS KINNOCK MEP

"The claim that thousands of jobs may be lost with the end of the opt-out is familiar.  It is the same claim we heard before the introduction of the minimum wage, and yet since 1999 unemployment has continued to fall in Wales." 

"It is important to recognise that any decision to end the opt-out will not be a bolt out of the blue.  The vote today is a recommendation on whether to extend the opt-out or not. Whatever the recommendation is, it will have no legal force.  To suggest that a vote in favour of ending the opt-out will result in immediate job losses in the public sector, is wilful mis-information being peddled by Jonathan Evans and his Tory group." 

Eluned Morgan added,

"Changes simply will not be immediate.  Businesses and employees alike will have time to re-organise and adapt.  Every other country in the EU can manage to create a sensible work-life balance, why can't we? 

We would clearly need to look at re-rostering options and Trade Unions would need to be consulted regarding other options, such as changing shift patterns." 

"A 48 hour limit would encourage employers to organise workers more productively.  Whilst we work the longest hours in Europe, and are the only country that allows an opt-out for everyone in work, other European countries where people work fewer hours manage to be more productive and have less low pay." 

ELUNED MORGAN MEP

On flexibility and the freedom to choose, Glenys Kinnock said,  

"We should not be taken in by the mis-information from the likes of Jonathan Evans.  New rules would be flexible.  A 48-hour week would be an average, not an absolute.  In some cases this can be averaged over a full year." 

"The number of women working over 60 hours has more than doubled since 2000.  Stress, sick leave and early retirement are all on the up, these are key issues related to our long hours culture, dragging down our productivity and competitiveness."

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Further to above press release... 

MEPs voted in favour (with a substantial majority) of the report recommending an end to the British opt-out to the 48 hour working week.  

The main findings on long hours were that:

• Nearly 4 million people in the UK work more than 48 hours per week (17% of employees), 1.5 million work more than 55 hours per week and 0.6 million work more than 60 hours per week;
• The numbers working long hours had grown by over 20% between 1992 and 1998. The growth in the number of people working long hours was halted by the transposition of the directive into UK law, but was not reversed;
• 80% of long hours workers are male/ 20% female;
• 2.25 million long hours workers are in managerial or professional occupations
• 1.07 million long hours workers are in the skilled trades or are 'operatives'
• When asked why they work extra hours, 46% said that they needed to generate overtime pay, whilst a further 34% said that they needed extra time to cope with unmanageable workloads.

Wales (WTUC, October 2003)

Over 16,000 workers in Wales are forced to sign the opt-out.

Employees in Wales do not know their rights, only 33% know there is a 48 hour limit to the working week and 23% think there is no limit to working time.

A guide, available at the TUC’s working life website www.workSMART.org.uk and the TUC TimeLine (0870 8500 500), contains an easy to understand explanation of working time rights and a model letter individuals can give to employers informing them that they no longer want to work more than 48 hours a week.

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WELSH WOMAN OF THE YEAR 10^TH ANNIVERSARY! - 22/11/03   back   return to top of page

Welsh Labour Euro-MP Glenys Kinnock will tomorrow (Friday) present the 10^th Welsh Woman of the Year award. 

The award ceremony will take place at the prestigious Welsh Woman of the Year Gala Dinner and Ball at Cardiff International Arena. 

Glenys Kinnock MEP, who is Patron of Welsh Woman of the Year, will also be giving the key-note speech, and will highlight the achievements of women across Wales.  This year's winner will become the tenth recipient of the coveted title Welsh Woman of the Year. 

Speaking from Strasbourg ahead of the event, Glenys Kinnock said, 

"I find it amazing that ten years have already passed by.  It seems like yesterday that we gathered for the first, quite small celebration in City Hall.  Its only when I look back over the list of winners that it dawns on me how far we have come, both as an event, and in terms of women's rights in Wales."  

"There are no grounds for complacency – the success of Welsh Woman of the Year is testament to the fact that there is a great deal to celebrate.  However, let’s not ever lose sight of the need to continue to understand the challenges women still face in terms of the sheer lack of opportunity in their communities and in the work place." 

"Collective action is still necessary.  Let’s prepare for the next ten years and beyond."

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Excerpts from this year's speech will be available on Friday.  Interviews will be possible during the day, please contact the office to arrange. 

For further information please contact Matt Greenough at Labour European Office on 029 2048 5305.  matt@welshlabourmeps.org.uk

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Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales will be launching a national petition to Keep Wales GM-Free at the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd at 11.30am on Tuesday (22^nd July 2003).

Jill Evans MEP, Simon Thomas MP, Jocelyn Davies AM and Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM will launch the petition at the Plaid Cymru MEPs stall. 

The petition calls on the National Assembly for Wales to pass strict new rules on GMOs in Wales. 

It reads:

“We the undersigned, call upon the Welsh Assembly Government to use the power given by the European Directive 2001/18 on the Deliberate Release of GMOs Article 16 and new Articles 26 (a) and 28 (a) to keep Wales GM-free.”

Earlier this month Jill Evans successfully put forward amendments in the European Parliament to strengthen the new EU regulations on GMOs. These new European laws will now allow Wales to take appropriate measures to prevent GM contamination of conventional and organic crops.

Plaid Cymru environment spokesperson, Simon Thomas MP, has also led a cross-party attack on the government's proposal on GM foods in the House of Commons. He has expressed his concerns over the government's haphazard and rushed policy and public debate on the introduction of GM foods in Britain.

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Welsh workers playing catch-up on EU workers rights - 07/07/03   back   return to top of page  

Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales Euro MP Jill Evans has criticised the government for delaying the adoption of EU rules which will give workers in Wales the right be consulted on management decisions affecting their future.

The Trade and Industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, today outlined the proposed legislation, which will give workers the right to be consulted by their employers on all major changes. In response Ms Evans said:

“Today’s announcement underlines how far British workers are falling behind their European counterparts when it comes to workers rights. Last year the Labour government fought tooth and nail to delay the implementation of the EU’s Information and Consultation of Workers Directive in the UK. In the meantime other European governments forged ahead with the proposals to give their workers better protection.

“The UK has increasingly been seen as the soft touch when it comes to making workers redundant compared with the tougher rules imposed in other EU countries. Thanks to New Labour Welsh workers now have to play catch-up with the rest of Europe on workers rights.”

The EU directive obliges companies with over 50 workers to discuss any major business strategy and changes to patterns of work with elected workforce representatives. They will come into force for companies with more than 150 staff by 2005, for firms with over 100 workers by 2007, and a year later for those with 50 staff and over.

The directive was adopted by the EU last year despite efforts from the British government to block it.

Ms Evans, is leader of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in the European Parliament and she is Wales’ only representative on the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs committee.

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Welsh MEP welcomes final political agreement on CAP reform - 26/06/03   back   return to top of page

A Welsh MEP who is a member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee has welcomed the announcement that EU farm ministers have finally reached an agreement on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales Euro MP Eurig Wyn had been critical of the French government for standing in the way of reform, warning that their stalling was causing further insecurity for the already beleaguered Welsh farming industry.

Welcoming the new compromise Eurig Wyn said:

EURIG WYN (MEP 1999-2004)

“There are a number of positive elements to this reform which will help ensure a sustainable future for the smaller family farms in Wales. At least now farmers can better plan their business decisions and concentrate on producing what the consumers and the market want.

“I particularly welcome the flexibility offered by these proposals to those farming in less favoured areas which accounts for 80% of the Welsh farming landscape.”

The new legislative draft will be finalised at a later stage and is expected to be adopted at a forthcoming European Council meeting. The key elements of the agreement include:

• a single farm payment for EU farmers, independent from production; limited coupled elements may be maintained to avoid abandonment of production,
• this payment will be linked to the respect of environmental, food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare standards, as well as the requirement to keep all farmland in good agricultural and environmental condition ("cross-compliance"),
• a strengthened rural development policy with more EU money, new measures to promote the environment, quality and animal welfare and to help farmers to meet EU production standards starting in 2005,
• a reduction in direct payments ("modulation") for bigger farms to finance the new rural development policy,
• a mechanism for financial discipline to ensure that the farm budget fixed until 2013 is not overshot,
• revisions to the market policy of the CAP: asymmetric price cuts in the milk sector: The intervention price for butter will be reduced by 25% over four years, which is an additional price cut of 10% compared to Agenda 2000, for skimmed milk powder a 15% reduction over three years, as agreed in Agenda 2000, is retained; reduction of the monthly increments in the cereals sector by half, the current intervention price will be maintained; reforms in the rice, durum wheat, nuts, starch potatoes and dried fodder sectors.

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