http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articlearchive.php Recent Press Articles from Fiona Hall MEP en-GB Fiona Hall MEP http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2010 Fiona Hall MEP 2010-09-10T21:02+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000010/nigel_farages_insults_to_european_council_president_an_embarrassment_for_britain.html UKIP might not consider Nigel Farage's insults to European Council President Van Rompuy "unparliamentary" but they are degrading and humiliating for other British nationals and for Britain 's reputation in Europe. 2010-02-25T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000006/eu_commissioner_hearings.html For the last ten days there has only been one show in town - the grilling by MEPs of the 26 proposed new commissioners, in a process ably led by our own MEP Andrew Duff. 2010-01-19T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000009/dday_1_confusion_in_copenhagen.html What a mess. 2009-12-20T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000008/dday_in_copenhagen__part_ii_more_news__and_its_not_good.html Spirits are rather low here this evening. 2009-12-18T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000007/dday_in_copenhagen_update_from_denmark.html Well, it took a little longer than expected to get here. Being of a green disposition I opted for the overnight train from Strasbourg to Copenhagen, but heavy snow meant that it was more of a overnight-and-through-the-day train. Never mind - I'm here now, and we'll soon know if the trip was worth the effort. 2009-12-17T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000011/the_copenhagen_climate_summit_what_would_be_a_good_deal_and_how_can_europe_contribute_to_it.html Since the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its 4th Assessment Report in 2007, important new observations of the accelerating and worsening impacts of climate change have reinforced the urgency of a successful post-Kyoto international climate agreement in Copenhagen. 2009-12-01T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000005/20_years_since_the_fall_of_the_berlin_wall.html Lib Dem MEPs were in Berlin recently following the German elections which raised our sister party the FDP into partners in government. Berlin is gearing up for the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (9th November), and as a reminder of what life was like in East Germany before the fateful events of 1989 we visited the non-descript office block which houses the Stasi archives. 2009-10-19T00:00+01:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000004/fiona_is_reporting_back_on_the_first_week_of_european_parliament_business_after_the_european_elections_in_june_2009.html When the 7th term of the European Parliament got underway last week there were a few surprises. 2009-07-21T00:00+01:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000003/constitutive_plenary_session_of_the_european_parliament_in_strasbourg_1416_july_2009.html This week, MEPs will come together for our first plenary session in Strasbourg where we will first have to elect a new President of the House. The duties of the President are to preside over debates and activities of the European Parliament and to represent the House within the EU and at the international level. He or she also needs to sign most of the laws and the EU budget passed by Parliament. The President is elected for a two-and-a-half year term which means that there are usually two different presidents during each legislative period of the European Parliament. It looks as though the tradition of splitting the post of President between the conservative European People's Party (EPP) and the re-branded new socialist group Progressive Alliance of Socialist & Democrats (PASD) will continue as EPP and PASD have already agreed to support each other's candidates. For the first two-and-a-half years, the PASD has signalled support for Polish MEP Jerzy Buzek (EEP) as President. In return, the EPP will vote for the PASD candidate Martin Schulz (Germany) for the second two-and-a-half year term. Unfortunately, this leaves our liberal candidate Graham Watson (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, ALDE) out of the race and he has resigned his candidature for the post. We will also finalise our membership and positions of the parliamentary committees in which most of the legislative work takes place. I am keen to continue my work in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) and in the Development Committee and hope my membership of these committees will be confirmed this week. 2009-07-13T00:00+01:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000001/former_belgian_prime_minister_guy_verhofstadt_elected_as_the_new_alde_group_leader_succeeding_outgoing_leader_graham_watson.html ALDE has a new group leader, Guy Verhofstadt, who as a former Belgian Prime Minister has a high profile in Europe and is well respected in the European Parliament. He has chaired the first meetings of the group with courtesy, efficiency and a sense of humour, and I think he will successfully build on Graham Watson's work to establish ALDE as the third force in the European Parliament that can often hold the balance of power and cast the deciding votes. I agree with Guy's analysis that working together in the European Union is the solution to the problems facing Europe at the moment. We need to push for more and better international action on climate change and we need to work hard to resolve the current economic and financial crisis. 2009-07-01T00:00+01:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/articles/000002/british_conservatives_form_new_antifederalist_group_in_the_european_parliament_the_european_conservatives_and_reformists_ecr_by_joining_forces_with_farright_meps.html David Cameron's decision to withdraw Tory MEPs from the leading centre-right group in the European Parliament, the European People's Party (EEP), is a big mistake. Cameron has aligned the Tories with far-right MEPs, mainly from the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS) and the Czech Republic 's Civic Democratic Party (ODS), some of whom hold very extreme views about gay and women's rights. Cameron's decision has brought British Conservatives into disrepute in Europe . 2009-06-25T00:00+01:00