EU: MEPs arriving for the opening of the plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday were greeted by several hundred disabled people lobbying for independent living. Proinsias De Rossa (Lab Dublin), a member of the Parliament's inter-party group on disability, was among the first to welcome them, followed by Fianna Fáil's Brian Crowley (South).
On Tuesday, MEP Kathy Sinnott (Ind South) was among the Irish MEPs who met the Irish disabled delegates. By Wednesday, around 1,000 delegates had arrived for a rally.
In a move that could have implications for Ireland's mining industry, parliament reversed the position of its Environment Committee, and exempted "non-hazardous, non-inert" waste from a proposed waste directive aimed at extractive industries.
The EU Council of Ministers had also been keen to exempt this particular category from some of the measures required by the directive. However this was opposed by MEP Jonas Sjostedt (Swedish member of the Europe United Left/Nordic Green Left group), who tabled amendments in a bid to ensure the directive would apply to all mining waste.
Some Polish MEPs said this requirement would be too costly and their argument prevailed. It was mainly MEPs from the European People's Party/European Democrats group who wanted to follow the council line. Some directive provisions will not now apply across the EU, with member states able to opt out.
MEPs also expressed concern about imports of Chinese textiles and called for a "level playing field". MEPs want Chinese manufacturers to observe international labour and environmental standards. They want China to refrain from "dumping" textiles on the European market, and do more to combat counterfeit goods. In adopting a report by Tokia Saifi (French member of the European People's Party/European Democrats) on textiles and clothing, MEPs stressed the move did not amount to protectionism.
Parliament took note of the agreement aimed at limiting Chinese textile exports, but MEPs want to go further and called on both the commission and council to "extend the coverage of the agreement to other categories, where necessary".
Parliament adopted a resolution in support of developing a commercial arm of the Galileo satellite system. The aim of Galileo is to create a worldwide satellite radio navigation and positioning network for civilian purposes. The programme is to be realised through a public-private partnership, and a number of safeguards were recommended to take account of what is a new way of financing projects for the EU.
Proinsias De Rossa issued a statement calling on MEPs to support regulations on medicine for children. "It is clearly wrong that doctors end up having to guess which quantity of a medicinal product can be given to a child," he said. The proposals would encourage companies to invest in medicine-testing on children. Such tests are longer, more complex and more costly than tests on adults.
Yesterday, DUP representative Jim Allister told a debate on tourism that the industry was "beginning to grow again" in Northern Ireland. While the 2012 London Olympics were still some way off, it was important to plan in tourism, and he called for the benefits of the games to be spread throughout the UK regions.