The leaders of the EPP agreed today that the European Union (EU) should continue the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.
During a Summit held in Brussels, they also underlined the necessity of avoiding any blockage of the EU by the current situation. In particular, they expressed support for the process of accession of Croatia.
The EPP leaders, along with the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Parliament and chairmen of the EPP member parties, debated the economic situation, especially rising food and oil prices.
At a recent meeting of International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in South Africa attention was drawn to the intricate relationship between forest practices, food production pressures, liquid biofuel production and land-use choices. The members of ICFPA underlined the critical role of sustainable forest management in addressing these issues.
The European Council would be well warned not to allow itself any form of arrogance against the Irish people, who only exercised a democratic right guaranteed by their Constitution. Instead of calling for the continuation of the process of ratification in an attempt to isolate the latest "black sheep", it would be better off getting down to the task of making a clear diagnosis of the situation.
"It is surprising that Europe has no common safety standards for road infrastructure and that there are such significant differences in the various Member States," said GUE/NGL MEP Helmuth Markov (Germany), during the debate on his report on road infrastructure safety management in the European Parliament last night. "Since when do roads end at national borders and shouldn't EU drivers be sure that they can drive safely on all European roads?" he asked.
Penalties for counterfeiting medicines are inadequate,
says Jean-François Dehecq, EFPIA’s anti-counterfeits champion
Paris, 19 June 2008 – Leaders of the research-based pharmaceutical industry meeting in Paris today have called for strong EU measures to tackle the growing threat of counterfeit medicines, including a ban on medicine repackaging, a harmonised EU- system of identification of medicines, and heavier penalties for trafficking in counterfeit medicines.
The Confederation of European Paper Industries, CEPI, welcomes the adoption of the new directive on waste management and processing adopted yesterday by the European Parliament as it underlines the importance of recycling and will increase the efficiency of recycling in Europe.
The leading European associations in the energy efficiency sector today called on EU Heads of State and Government to strengthen the energy efficiency agenda in Brussels and adopt a mandatory energy efficiency target for Europe in order to limit the impact of high energy prices.
The European Parliament has endorsed the compromise deal reached with the Council concerning the draft Waste Directive. “Throughout the process Orgalime has been sensitive about the proposal that member states might be able, at a national level, to take measures to encourage the design of products with respect to waste: this just risked undermining the coherent approach adopted in the Eco Design of Energy Using Products Directive which cover all environmental aspects including energy use and not just waste.
Campaigners from across Europe will be travelling to Brussels on 1 July to demonstrate in support of an unconditional EU-wide ban on the trade in all seal
products. Organised by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Humane Society International (HSI), GAIA and Eurogroup for Animals, the demonstration will take place outside the offices of the European Commission, to urge them to impose a strong ban now.
Brussels/Ljubljana, 17 June 2008: CompTIA – the Computing Technology Industry Association – held its European Innovation Forum in Ljubljana on 16 June 2008. National government officials responsible for innovation policy and IT industry leaders addressed issues of intellectual property, technology standards and e-skills as drivers of economic growth in Europe, with a special emphasis on the crucial role of SMEs.
