http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speecharchive.php Recent Speeches 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 2010-09-10T20:32+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000012/fiona_hall_mep_moves_lib_dem_conference_motion_on_climate_change_after_copenhagen.html Conference 2010-03-13T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000011/telecoms_package.html Madam President, I welcome the agreement on the telecoms package because this agreement brings in its wake another agreement on a less discussed issue: the repeal of the GSM Directive. 2009-05-05T00:00+01:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000005/investments_in_energy_efficiency_and_renewable_energy_for_housing.html Madam President, time and time again discussion on energy efficiency has focused on the fact that much more could be achieved - and quickly - if only up-front funding was available. That is why it is so important to allow ERDF funding to be spent on energy efficiency, not only in the EU-12 but also in the EU-15. 2009-04-01T00:00+01:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000008/explanation_of_vote_on_auken_report_spanish_landgrabbing.html I am submitting an explanation of vote on the Auken report in support of three separate constituents who have contacted me pleading for help. In each of these three cases, the constituent has spent his or her life savings on the purchase of a house and land in Valencia. In each case, proper legal procedures were followed at the time of the purchase. But, in each case, the constituent has subsequently had to suffer illegal land-grabbing demands by the Valencian authorities. 2009-03-26T17:58+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000004/economic_partnership_agreement_between_the_ec_and_cariforum.html Mr President, if we take a step back to the start of the EPAs process, the Cotonou Agreement of 2000 established that the EU has a legal obligation to take developing countries' interests into account in all policy areas that are likely to affect them. In 2005, the Commission identified this policy coherence on development as being key to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. 2009-03-23T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000001/greener_transport.html Speaking in the plenary debate on integrated pollution prevention and control in the European Parliament, Fiona said: 2009-03-10T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000002/fiona_speaks_up_for_north_east_farmers.html Speaking in the plenary debate on integrated pollution prevention and control in the European Parliament, Fiona said: 2009-03-10T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000003/energy_efficiency.html Madam President, in all the discussions on the energy crisis, there is one aspect which my colleague, Anne Laperrouze, does mention, but which generally receives insufficient attention. We talk about energy efficiency in the context of climate change and of fuel poverty, but energy efficiency is also of huge strategic importance. Controlling demand takes pressure off the supply side and is crucial to reaching energy independence in Europe. I want to make two specific points in the context of the oral question on the use of information and communication technologies. 2009-02-02T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000007/transport_of_animals_for_slaughter_horses.html Mr President, has the Commission considered the human health implications of poor implementation of animal welfare regulations? Transport, especially transport over long distances with a lack of space, produces stress, and stress means more susceptibility to disease. This is particularly true for horses, where scientific studies show that transport makes horses become shedders. That means they excrete a lot more than they would normally, which greatly increases the likelihood of the spread of disease. Many transported animals are going to slaughter - 320 million of them in the EU each year - so that means there is a greatly increased risk of diseases like salmonella entering the food chain. 2009-01-15T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000006/russiaukraine_gas_crisis.html Madam President, this crisis highlights the importance of making the EU more energy-independent, but, while we are discussing energy supply, we must not forget the fundamental importance of also controlling energy demand. 2009-01-14T17:51+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000009/promotion_of_the_use_of_energy_from_renewable_sources.html Mr President, I am disappointed that there has been a loosening of emission-reduction requirements in part of the climate package. The EU needs to set its course firmly towards a low-carbon future; otherwise it will be overtaken by other countries that are now keen to make up for lost time. I think we may come to regret this missed opportunity to get our own house in order ahead of the rest of the world. 2008-12-16T00:00+00:00 http://www.fionahallmep.co.uk/speeches/000010/state_of_the_negotiations_on_the_eu_climate_change_and_energy_package.html Mr President, thanks to the determination of the rapporteur, we have made huge progress in the negotiations on renewable energy. It was disappointing not to reach complete agreement last night, but the one clause at issue is not just about keeping inviolate the 20% by 2020 target: MEPs have worked long and hard to ensure that there is legal certainty in the flexibility mechanisms which Member States can use to help them achieve their renewables targets. A review of the flexibility mechanisms in 2014 risks undoing all that good work. It risks undermining the large-scale development of renewables and green-collar jobs which promise a renaissance for European regions like mine, North-East England. That is why we cannot give in on wording which is being insisted on by just one Member State. 2008-12-04T00:00+00:00