Blog Archive
Revamp of environmental impact assessment directive long overdue
Posted on July 13, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
A thorough revamp of the 25 year-old Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive which has been announced by the European Commission is long overdue, Leinster MEP Nessa Childers has said.
The purpose of the EIA Directive applies to a wide range of clearly defined public and private projects, such as power stations, roads, railway lines, waste facilities, industrial projects and energy infrastructure. The Directive was designed to ensure that the environmental implications of major planning decisions are properly examined before decisions on developments are made.
CAP reform must support Irish farmers to tackle climate change
Posted on July 08, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on the future of CAP after 2013, Nessa Childers MEP said:
“It is crucial for the future of Irish and European agriculture that the reformed Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) “fully recognises and supports the role of farmers as key agents in the fight against climate change.
“European budgets and CAP in particular are under severe pressure due to the global financial crisis. However today the Parliament has expressed wide political support for a new deal that will aim to secure European food supply, promote sustainability and encourage rural development.
Over 40s need to get healthy this summer to ward off alzheimer's
Posted on July 02, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
Irish Labour MEP Nessa Childers today launched a consultation period with patient groups and industry as part of a new EU initiative on tacking Alzheimer’s.
She said: “Irish people of all ages, but particularly those over 40, should get fit and healthy this summer to reduce the risk of developing dementia.
Childers welcomes new EU organic logo
Posted on July 02, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
Irish Labour MEP Nessa Childers welcomed the new EU logo certifying organic food which comes into effect today. "I hope that these changes will give a boost to the Irish organic farming and food production sector and that the new logo can develop into the widely recognised symbol of organic food production across Europe, providing shoppers with confidence that the goods are produced to the highest organic quality.
EU Parliament backs Childers initiative on labelling of vegetable oils in food
Posted on June 21, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
Irish Labour MEP Nessa Childers has today welcomed the European Parliament's decision to support her initiative to introduce mandatory labelling for specific vegetable oils used in food products across Europe.
This new law will mean that major European food manufacturers will now be obliged to move away from the practice of using the generic ‘vegetable oil’ label on foodstuffs to a system where consumers will be clearly informed as to the exact type of oil a specific product contains – i.e. palm, sunflower or soybean oil, for example.
She said: "The massive harvesting of palm trees for palm oil is having a huge impact on climate change, deforestation. The practice is also endangering important animal habitats.
"One serious affect is the alarming rate of destruction of the Orangutan's habitat in places such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The UN has warned that Orangutans could be extinct within 10 years if we don't act now. Conversion of tropical forests to make way for palm trees also leads to a more than 80% reduction in biodiversity. Areas of forest are often deliberately and illegally burned. This loss of forest also results in significant carbon emissions.
“There is low public awareness of the enormous environmental damage caused by the way in which certain vegetable oils such as palm oil are sourced for global markets.
“Until now, no mandatory requirement existed for manufacturers to label the specific vegetable oils in their products, such as palm, sunflower or soybean oil.
“I campaigned for this legislation because I strongly believe that consumers are entitled to complete information on the make-up of the food products they choose to consume. Equally, Irish and European consumers should be reasonably entitled to make a judgment as to what type of vegetable oil they consume based on a number of criteria, including the impact on the environment and habitats from which the oil has been sourced.
“As it stands, palm oil in particular, which is generally labelled using the generic term ‘vegetable oil’ can be described as a hidden ingredient in up to 40% of food products on Irish supermarket shelves.
"Europeans are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of their consumer choices on the environment, both in Europe and elsewhere. Providing clear information to consumers to enable them to make informed choices is a key role of the EU.
"I worked closely with my Labour colleagues and the The European Association of Zoos on this initiative, which represents over 300 zoos and aquaria in 36 countries.
“They will launch a conservation campaign this September, highlighting the role of unsustainable palm oil production in driving the Orangutan and many other Southeast Asian species to extinction.
“The direct link to European consumer behaviour will also be highlighted as part of this campaign. The success of this amendment will contribute greatly to allowing consumers to adjust their behaviour so as to improve the situation for these threatened species.
"This public awareness campaign is crucial to preventing a repeat of the type of environmental damage the harvesting of palm oil has done.”
Big business lobbying defeats 'Traffic Light' labelling for food
Posted on June 16, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
Irish Labour MEP Nessa Childers has today condemned the massive €1b industry lobbying campaign against a new food labelling initiative, which was voted down today in Strasbourg.
Ms Childers said: "The 'traffic light' system, which is backed by health and consumer groups, is a simple, universally understood and transparent system that would help us tackle Europe's severe obesity, diabetes, stroke and heart disease problems. I am also disappointed that alcohol still escapes calorie labelling.
"In what must be one of the biggest lobbying efforts ever seen in Brussels, we have been bombarded with thousands of emails, letters and phone calls and sponsored reports, lectures and conferences on this single issue.
EU commission has questions to answer over McCreevy's new job with Ryanair
Posted on June 15, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
Nessa Childers MEP has today told the European Commission that it has serious questions to answer over the appointment of former EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy to the Board of Ryanair.
Speaking directly to the Commission at the Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, the Labour MEP for Leinster said: “The parachuting of Charlie McCreevy in to a lucrative new job on the board of Ryanair has made a mockery of the European Commission's own rules.
“Their own Code of Conduct stipulates that former Commissioners may not assume roles related to their previous portfolios for a period of at least one year after stepping down. This decision has not only succeeded in breaking the spirit of the Code but it has undermined the whole set of principles underpinning the Code for post-office employment of former Commissioners.
"The McCreevy affair illustrates why a set of clear and enforceable new rules with tough sanctions are needed to avoid any possibility of a conflict of interest between former Commissioners, their old portfolios and their new jobs in the private sector.
"I believe that if any former Commissioner is found to have broken the rules by accepting plum jobs in international boardrooms, then sanctions must be brought in up to and including the withholding of their generous pensions paid for by the European taxpayer.
"Shortcomings on how these decisions are made were illustrated in an independent study The Code of Conduct for Commissioners - Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency published by the European Parliament in 2009. One of the weaknesses outlined in the study is the ad-hoc nature of the Committee charged with deciding if a post-office position of employment if appropriate or compatible with former Commissioner duties.
"In light of all of these developments, I am demanding
* A review of the Code of Conduct for Commissioners for post-office employment;
* The introduction of a ‘cooling-off’ or ‘quarantine’ period of at least two years from their exit from the Commission, and;
* A more transparent procedure to assess whether or not post-office employment is compatible with previous areas of responsibility and spheres of influence on the Commission."
EU should show dodgy football agents the red card
Posted on June 14, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
As the World Cup in South Africa hots up, Labour MEP Nessa Childers is demanding that the EU brings in tough new proposals to regulate the activities of sports agents, particularly those engaged in football.
This issue will be discussed at the European Parliament’s June Plenary session in Strasbourg tomorrow night (Tuesday, 15th June) where members from across Europe will ask the European Commission to introduce new laws governing the conduct of professional sports agents.
Labour MEP Nessa Childers, who sits on the Parliamentary Committee responsible for sport, said: "Investigations have shown that for every Jerry Maguire, there’s a shady agent lurking in the shadows whose stock-in-trade ranges from match-fixing to money laundering and everything else in between.
"One major study published recently highlights the links between organised crime and the activities of some agents. It throws a light on the murky underbelly of the financing of professional sport today and details the vulnerability of talented and ambitious young players in their teens, some of whom are subjected to what amounts to a form of human trafficking by unscrupulous agents and advisors out to make a fast buck.
“Given the global nature of professional sport, there is a wider recognition that national governments acting alone cannot effectively tackle the problem. That is why the EU should step in to show the red card to dodgy agents.”
"Tomorrow night, members of the European Parliament will be demanding that the European Commission;
* Brings in tough new laws to force greater transparency in agents' financial transactions;
* Sets higher standards and more demanding examinations for would-be agents;
* Outlaws cash windfalls in the form of agent’s fees in the often lucrative transfer of underage footballers;
* Legislates for standardised European contracts for agents and for a single EU-wide licensing system and register.
“FIFA, under the Players Agents Regulation of 2008 has made a genuine attempt to control access to the profession and to regulate agents. However the system is not without its flaws. In the absence of any entitlement to impose civil or criminal penalties or sanctions, the Regulation is not feared by agents who are acting outside of the laws of the game or who may be operating on the margins.
“This is why the EU must take definitive action and do so now while we celebrate the festival of football in South Africa which doubles as the world’s biggest trade fair for agents.
“The eyes of the world are watching players at the peak of their game performing to the highest standards on the pitch at the World Cup. Let us make sure that the players' agents are similarly inspired to maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism when the final whistle is blown."
Childers calls on Irish MEPs to support 'traffic light' food labelling
Posted on June 14, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
Nessa Childers MEP wants the European Parliament to adopt a new law that would force food manufacturers to carry a 'traffic light' colour-coding on the levels of calories, sugar and fats contained in their products.
The Labour MEP says the EU's proposed new food labelling initiative, which will affect 500 million Europeans and will be voted on this week in Strasbourg should not stop there. Ms Childers said: "The 'traffic light' system is a simple, universally understood and transparent system that, if adopted, will go a long way towards helping to tackle Europe's ticking obesity, diabetes, stroke and heart disease time-bomb.
Joint statement by Cllr Joe Ryan (Labour Councillor in Wexford) & Nessa Childers - Investment in rail could save Waterford Rosslare railway
Posted on June 11, 2010 by Bronwen Maher
Labour Wexford Cllr. Joe Ryan has said that the rail line between Rosslare and Waterford could still be saved at this late hour if the government was prepared to seriously examine the potential to draw down EU funding to upgrade the line.
Cllr Ryan was commenting after both he and Nessa Childers MEP this week met with officials in the EU Commission in Brussels to discuss their concerns of the plan by Irish Rail to close the line linking Rosslare Harbour and Waterford.
