Editorials and Speeches

COPD Speech
19 November 2010, European Parliament Office “COPD – Why is it such a silent killer in Scotland?” Introduction Thank you all for taking the time to come along today and...

Editorial - May 2010
The action by the German Government to ban naked short selling was commended by some and fiercely condemned by others. The courage to take on speculators is vitally important in...

Editorial - February 2010
If you combine caffeine and alcohol (and no I am not talking about an Irish coffee taken at the end of a meal) into a pre-mixed drink, it is no surprise that this...

Editorial - January 2010
Happy New Year! The holidays are a distant memory. The Commissioner hearings have been the dominant event so far of the New Year. The first casualty has been Mrs Juleva who seems...

Editorial - December 2009
The idea of ghost MEPs floating around the Parliament could come straight from Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol. How may of us would like to see the ghost of Christmas past, present and future...

Editorial - November 2009
The Commission candidates are nominated. President Barroso now will make the tough decisions over who gets what portfolios. This will be no easy task. However he must be commended over the fact...

Editorial - November 2009
It is hard for those of us brought up in the West to truly comprehend what it was like for those who lived under Communism. The Berlin Wall became the physical embodiment of...

Editorial - October 2009
The financial crisis is on course for resolution thanks to unprecedented global action. Amongst the financial stimuli and quantitative easing, what has happened to Europe's commitment to Development? In this issue we...

Editorial - October 2009
It is said that if you want to go fast go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. This is no more true than with the Irish Referendum. As...

Editorial - September 2009
The result of the election for the Commission President was clear - 382 votes for, 219 votes against and 117 abstentions. A majority of MEPs voted to support Jose Manuel Barroso. The Commission...

Parliament Magazine MEP Awards
Welcome to the Parliament Magazine's MEP awards. The awards have been voted for by members, NGOs and organisations to select MEPs who they feel have made significant contributions to their chosen field....

Editorial - September 2009
September is here and already autumn is almost upon us. The Parliament is back and the holidays seem a distant memory. The committee meetings have been held, the coordinators appointed and reports and...

Editorial - May 2009
Last chance to sign written declarations, last day to submit written parliamentary questions - the European Parliament election campaign will soon be fully underway. The final days of the European Parliament session is...

Editorial - April 2009
The 2009 European elections are rapidly approaching. There is almost a demob atmosphere as MEPs begin to prepare for either leaving the Parliament permanently or to fight the elections. Some delegations are still...

Editorial - March 2009
Mr President, The situation in Darfur is desperate. Can you imagine the human suffering behind the United Nations (UN) statistics? According to the UN, up to 4.7 million people, including 2.7 million internally...

Editorial - February 2009
Some moments during the European Parliament plenary sessions are exciting and you appreciate being there to hear them. The mini-plenary speech by the Czech President Vaclav Klaus was always going to be controversial....

Editorial - January 2009
The financial crisis has claimed its first government. The fall of the Icelandic Government signals another chapter in this global man-made disaster. Yet those who created this catastrophe have yet to feel the...

Editorial - January 2009
Happy New Year! 2009 is with us and it is just over five months until the European elections. So what will 2009 mean for the European Parliament? Firstly, we can expect changes....

Speech on Kenya
Mr President, I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this joint motion for a resolution on Press Freedom in Kenya . A year ago, like many others I was dismayed and...

Speech Shirin Ebadi
The story of Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize winning lawyer, the first Muslim Woman and first Iranian to receive the prize maybe well known to most of us here today. She was the...

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