China under scrutiny on rights

The Week in Strasbourg: As the US faced stinging criticism over President Bush's admissions about secret prison camps, China was under scrutiny over its human rights record and allegations of organ harvesting.

In a debate about a report on EU-China relations in the run-up to this weekend's EU-China summit, Fine Gael MEP Simon Coveney said that the EU "must be firm and consistent in our efforts to ensure that with a developing trade relationship comes democratic development and increased respect for human rights".

He said that the EU had to ask the "hard questions" of China about reports of organ harvesting and claims that China was sourcing human organs for sale from prisoners who are executed.

"There is also some evidence to suggest that some of China's exports to Europe have been produced or partially produced in Laogai camps, which is essentially forced labour, free of charge. How the EU economy, never mind the human rights consequences of it, can compete with free labour is a question that economists have started to ask."

He said "the EU needs to insist on clarification on issues like this if we are to develop a closer trade relationship with China."

Translation costs came under scrutiny when a report by Finnish MEP Alexander Stubb showed that the EU was "wasting millions of euro" on interpretation services and MEPs were the worst offenders. Some €25.9 million of total interpretation costs were spent on services that were either available but not used or cancelled at the last moment.

"The full cost for an interpretation is almost 30 per cent higher in parliament," Mr Stubb said.

In 2003 interpretation across the EU cost €163 million, less than 1 per cent of the total budget.

"This is not too high a price to pay for democracy and members have every right to use the official language of their choice," the MEP said. "But a full-day meeting with interpretation using 20 languages costs €118,000 in the European Parliament. Should only English, French and German be used, expenditure would be as low as €8,900."

Irish interpretation costs are not included as they will only come into effect in January 2007.

Belgian cycling legend Eddie Merckx is to help European Greens to "get on their bikes" by cycling with five MEPs from Brussels for the next session of the European Parliament at the end of September.

They will cycle one-third of the way, go by train for a second section, and resume cycling for the final part of the journey to Strasbourg on European car-free day.

The cycle is to raise awareness about the climatic danger cars and aircraft cause and encourage people to use alternative modes of transport or "soft mobility".

MEPs launched a debate to develop a strategy on mental health across the EU, with the publication of a report by British Liberal MEP John Bowis, a member of the Public Health Committee.

Mr Bowis emphasised the need to end the stigma of mental illness through annual campaigns on related issues and highlighted the "sizeable differences" spent by individual countries and the 3 per cent or 4 per cent annual cost to EU GDP of such illnesses.

The report stated that 18.4 million people in the EU between 18 and 65 suffer major depression. While 58,000 EU citizens commit suicide every year, 10 times that number attempt it.

Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle questioned the data and said that because of the stigma many people did not seek help. She believed the figures "reflect probably half, being generous, of what the real burden of the disease could actually be".