It was a sombre start to the first Strasbourg session of 2015, as MEPs remembered those murdered in the terrorist attacks in Paris. Martin Schulz MEP then led tributes to Philip Bradbourn MEP who died in December.
Three new MEPs arrived in Strasbourg for the first time this week: Anneleen Van Bossuyt and Hilde Vautmans, both from Belgium, and Dan Dalton from the UK.
Whilst this week may have been light on legislation it was certainly heavy on speeches as MEPs endured a number of introductory and concluding statements resulting from the change in EU presidency. So it was ‘arrivederci’ from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and ‘sveike’ from Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma.
First up though was newly-elected European Council President Donald Tusk who received a customarily warm welcome from Nigel Farage MEP. Compared to the “welcome” Farage gave to his predecessor, Herman Van Rompuy, it could be argued Tusk got off lightly!
Tusk stated his priorities would be the fight against tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. In light of last week’s events security was bound to be mentioned, and Tusk did not disappoint. There was a need, he said, to balance security and freedom as he made the case for a single European passenger name records (PNR) system. He is likely to face opposition from UK and French S&D MEPs.
MEPs then listened to the Latvian Prime Minister set out her country’s priorities for the next six months. Like Tusk, security was highlighted as a priority amongst all the usual references to ‘creating jobs’ and ‘boosting growth’.
Controversially MEPs voted this week to allow Member States to ban the cultivation of genetically modified crops on their territories, even if such a crop has been approved at the EU level.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP) made the headlines as the Commission published consultation results showing that 97% of respondents were against the inclusion of a mechanism known as investor-to-state dispute settlement whereby independent tribunals with power to overrule Member State policies would be used. Whilst TTIP negotiations continue, talks relating to this specific aspect have been suspended.
The week ended badly for Commission President Jean-Claude Junker as the Greens in Parliament managed to gather enough signatures to formally ask for an inquiry committee into tax evasion and tax avoidance in the wake of the LuxLeaks scandal.
Closer to home Ed Miliband hit out at David Cameron’s EU referendum stating that leaving the EU would hinder the UK's fight against terrorism. However, Cameron found a friend in Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny who stated his government would back reforming the EU to keep the UK a member.
Finally, it was reported that 200 businesses have closed following the introduction of new EU VAT rules. These rules require companies selling products or services on line to charge VAT at the rate that applies in each customer’s country. Not the best news for the Latvian Presidency who have vowed to make jobs and growth a priority over the next six months!