Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are disproportionately applied to Christians and human rights activists. In 2010, the Christian woman Asia Bibi was handed down a death sentence for blasphemy and the Christian government minister Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated for advocating on her behalf.
Follow-up on the Council’s conclusions on Myanmar of 26 February 2018 and its Decision 2018/655 regarding human rights violations, targeted sanctions and and independent investigation.
Question on the forced disappearance of Pakistani human rights defender Mohammad Nawaz Atta in October 2017.
Evidence has emerged of links between pro-Brexit campaigners and intermediaries for the Russian Government. In addition, a study has revealed that over 156 000 Russian-based Twitter accounts were engaged in a concerted campaign to Leave.
In the background information section of its account of the 34th annual meeting of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO), the Commission reports that NASCO’s role is ‘to make sure that mixed-stock fisheries at sea do not target the stocks with the lowest rate of return.’
The 2012 financial fair play (FFP) agreement between the Commission and UEFA was designed to create a level playing field to enable European football clubs to compete fairly with one another.
Cambridge Analytica, the data company used by both Leave.EU and Vote Leave during the UK referendum on EU membership, have refused to comment on how they used personal data during the referendum campaign. Indeed, the only public knowledge on their use of data has come from research by individuals.
Has the Commission transferred to the UK Government any monies, from the Solidarity Fund or from other lines in the EU budget, related to the catastrophic floods that affected parts of Yorkshire in December 2015?
Has the Commission verified whether the UK has fulfilled its responsibilities under Article 18(1) of Regulation (EU) 1379/2013 of 11 December 2013?
In March 2015, a 3-bass bag limit was imposed on recreational fishermen. Further restrictions introduced this year stipulated no retention of bass during the first half of the year, and only one bass per day in the second half of the year.
Can the permission granted for limited scallop dredging taking place in one section of Cardigan Bay (a Special Area of Conservation) be extended to another part of the same SAC and remain compatible with the Habitats Directive?
Question A new study by Oceana has again highlighted the seriousness of consumer fraud in the labelling of fish in the EU. The study has pointed out that in Brussels in particular, the ‘error’ labelling average is 31.8% (95% in the case of bluefin tuna). Oceana had already reported in 2013 that 33% of the […]
Question What more can be done to ensure that European ships do not participate in illegal fishing activities outside the EU through the use of ‘flags of convenience’? What can be done to prevent such European ships from participating in illegal fishing activities on the Somalian coast, and what is being done to ensure that […]
Question Has the Commission given consideration to revising daylight saving time, and would it be willing to propose having an equal number of days before and after the winter solstice of 21 December? Does it agree that there are strong arguments for revising daylight saving time? Health and safety: citizens would have extra daylight in […]
Question Given that recreational fishing is now included in the common fisheries policy through both the control regulations and the TAC/quota regulations (specifically through the new minimum conservation reference sizes and the bag limit for sea bass), does the Commission therefore believe that the scope of Article 17 of the common fisheries policy should extend […]
Question Does Denmark (or do Danish citizens) have any legal obligation under EC law or under the Berne Convention to refrain from participating in, or helping in any way, the killing of cetaceans, and is there any legal obligation on the 86% of the people of the Faroe Island who have chosen to hold a […]
Question Have the Faroe islands continued to export products to Russia that fall under the EU embargo? Has the Commission or the Danish Government taken this up with the Faroese authorities? Answer The Faroe Islands, which are autonomous in their trade policy, have distanced themselves from the restrictive measures adopted by the EU and likeminded […]
Question Section 104(a)(2) of the US Trade Act of 2015, signed into law by President Obama on 29 June, provides that the US Trade Representative shall consult the US Congress before the ratification of any trade agreement, and keep Congress ‘fully apprised of the measures a trading partner has taken to comply with those provisions […]
Question Is the Commission aware that the aggressive tactics of directory scams is continuing, with threatening letters being sent to victims who are being misled into signing what appears to be confirmation of the accuracy of the description of their company entered into the directory, but which also contains, in the small print, a concealed […]
Question According to a report by Fairfood International, published on 8 April 2015 and not yet refuted, shrimp farms in Asia are employing labour at well below real wages (EUR 8 per worker per day) and under unacceptable labour conditions according to EU standards (60 hours per week). According to the report, shrimp produced under […]
Question Does the Commission regard Fmsy as an upper limit for fishing mortality as laid down in the common fisheries policy, Article 2.2 and the UN Fish Stock Agreement? If so, can the Commission then justify why the ICES was requested to provide plausible values ‘around’ Fmsy for stocks in the North Sea, in contradiction […]
Question How many visits (over the last five years) has DG MARE conducted, at the level of senior or junior officials, to meet with fishers’ organisations or practitioners in Member States and their regions, in order to consult on and explain the 2013 Common Fisheries Policy reform, and how many such organisations or practitioners have […]
Question In its answer to Written Question E-001717/2015, the Commission stated that, in view of the current lack of unanimous support for a European mutual society statute, it does not intend at this stage to initiate such a proposal and that therefore ‘there is no need for the Commission to publish the text of the […]
Question Is the Commission aware that applying competition law in the strict economic sense to football clubs can undermine competition in the sporting sense? Is it willing to approve schemes to equalise the resources of football clubs (such as UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Regulations) which have the effect of attenuating the concentration of wealth and […]
Question Is the Commission satisfied that the CE regulations are being enforced with equal vigour across Europe, and if not, what action does it intend to take? Answer The Commission is aware of the differences in the implementation of the current product legislation requiring manufacturers to affix the CE marking across Europe. For this reason […]
Question In light of the answer given to Question E-010150/2014, can the Commission explain why 708 projects had participants from only one country, given that one of the objectives of the framework Programme is to foster cross-border cooperation and networking? Answer Most projects referred to by the Honourable Member are funded through either European Research […]
Question Can the Commission indicate what proportion of the legislation in its 2015 Work Programme consists of proposals to amend, update or adapt existing EU legislation, rather than to legislate in new fields? Answer The Commission Work Programme (CWP) 2015 [COM(2014) 910 final] reflects the Commission’s commitment to prioritise its work and to strengthen better […]
Question Could the Council list the impact assessments it has conducted in accordance with the 2005 interinstitutional common approach to impact assessment (Council Ref. 14901/05), in which each institution was deemed to be responsible for assessing its own proposals/modifications [paragraph 3] and the Council (and Parliament) undertook to carry out impact assessments when they consider […]
Question In the context of the European Semester, what policy adjustment will the Commission advocate as a response to the significant fall in oil prices? Does the Commission consider that this windfall should be passed on entirely to consumers of fossil fuels, or does it consider that the benefit should be shared? In particular, does […]
Question What time scale does the Commission consider feasible for, at last, opening talks on a free trade agreement with New Zealand? Answer Following a request from New Zealand to pursue a free trade agreement with the European Union a joint declaration of 25 March 2014 launched a reflection process on options to progress the […]
Question What is the Commission’s view on electric fishing by Dutch trawlers inside North Sea special areas of conservation, particularly the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton SAC and the North Norfolk SAC? Does it agree that such activity is in breach of Article 6 of the Habitats Directive? Answer The effects of fishing with trawls towed […]
Question Does the President of the European Council intend to follow the same practice as President Van Rompuy in replying to written parliamentary questions concerning his own political activities? Answer The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, intends to follow the same practice as the former President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, […]
Question The International Skating Union (ISU) threatens to ban its athletes for life if they participate in speed skating events that are not authorised by the federation. In various other sports, international federations similarly restrict the economic opportunities of European athletes. Aside from the specificities of the ISU ban, how does the Commission view the […]
Question A preliminary study of the CORDIS database for the FP7 programme has shown that many projects with Israeli coordinators had no other partner, no EU partner, or only Israeli partners. Could the Commission clarify how many FP7 projects have Israeli coordinators and how many projects are Israel-only? Answer According to the statistics available on […]
Question The Commission will be aware that, earlier this year, Mr Bernie Ecclestone settled a court case, in which he stood accused of bribery, by paying a settlement of GBP 60 million to the court, without the issue of his guilt or innocence being settled. Has the Commission considered whether such a procedure is contrary […]
Question What is the intention of the new Commission with regard to the follow-up on the study completed at the request of the previous Commission entitled ‘The employment effect of subsidies’ (SOC 94 100018 05A01)? Answer The Commission continuously monitors and analyses the topics examined in the study referred to by the Honourable Member. This […]
Question In a comprehensive assessment of 130 banks, consisting of an asset review (AQR) and a stress test, it was found that some banks had been ‘explicitly non-compliant’ with accounting practices, with some 8% of the total provision increase reported as deriving from a misalignment with accounting standards. Have any sanctions been applied to those […]
Question Hundreds of UK citizens have invested in a complex named Vila Verde on the Cape Verdean Island of Sal. The developer, Tecnicil, was funded by the Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo (BES). There were strong safeguards in the contracts to protect the bank’s investment if the project was not completed. Tecnicil has now gone […]
Question Is the Commission aware that UK-based van hire companies typically levy additional charges (sometimes tripling the cost of van hires) when the van is travelling to the EU mainland, whereas continental van hire firms do not increase their charges for vehicles crossing borders? Van hire companies blame the insurance companies, which they claim charge […]
Question In September 2014 the presence of the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) in the European Union was confirmed for the first time, in two separate locations in the Reggio Calabria region of south-west Italy. Meanwhile, the European Food Safety Authority had already conducted a risk assessment on the entry of bee pests into the […]
Question What systemic plan has the Commission put in place for ex-post evaluation of the 2013 reform of the common fisheries policy? Answer Under Article 49 of the regulation on the common fisheries policy, the Commission is obliged to report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of the Common Fisheries […]