Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/310131
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 MAY 2014 IX Europe 2014 The European Parliament at a glance committees and special temporary committees to deal with specific is- sues, and is empowered to create formal committees of inquiry under its supervisory remit to investigate allegations of maladmistration of EU law. Parliamentary committees meet once or twice a month in Brussels and their debates are held in public. Given the limited number of MEPs, Maltese members cannot sit on each and every committee, how- ever although each of the six MEPs are members on one committee they are also nominated as substitutes on a number of other committees and delegations. Joseph Cuschieri, the outgoing head of delegation of Labour MPs, sat on the committee on transport and tourism while his Nationalist Party counterpart David Casa sat on the committee on employment and social affairs. The other Labour MEPs – Clau- dette Abela Baldacchino and Marlene Mizzi – respectively sat on the com- mittee on the internal market and consumer protection and the committee on economic and monetary affairs. The remaining Labour MEP, John Attard Montalto, did not have any com- mittee re- sponsibilities but was part of the delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia. The second PN MEP, Roberta Metsola, sat on two committees: the com- mittee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs and the committee on petitions. Parliament and you During the 2009-2014 legislature, Parliament adopted a number of key legislations which had a direct bear- ing on European citizens and their quality of life. Although the majority of European citizens are detached from EU insti- tutions, legislation approved by Par- liament influences their daily lives, from the quality of food to mobile phone charges. Under EU treaties, all the posi- tions voted by Parliament in plenary before the elections, whether at first reading, or second reading, or under the consultation procedure, remain legally valid for the next legislature. This means that after the elections the new Parliament will pick up the files where the previous Parliament left them, and will continue with the next stage of the relevant decision- making procedure, namely the or- dinary legislative procedure – i.e., co-decision – or a special legislative procedure; i.e., consultation. But what about laws that do not reach the plenary before the elec- tions? In this case, there is no legally valid Parliament position and Parlia- ment's internal rules of procedure stipulate that in the event of this, the work done on them (in committee) during the previous parliamentary term lapses. Yet, the new Parliament will then decide whether to pick up the legislation again. Credit card fees In April 2014, the European Parlia- ment voted on its amendments to the draft rules in order to consoli- date the work done so far and hand it over to the next Parliament. This ensures that the newly elected MEPs can decide not to start from scratch, but instead build on work done dur- ing the current term. Banks' card payment fees cost EU retailers over €10 billion each year, according to European Commission figures. The proposal establishes caps on fees when paying by debit and credit card for domestic and cross-border purchases. MEPs backed a plan seeing banks' charge for processing consumers' payments via credit cards capped at 0.3% of the transaction value and at a maximum of seven euro cents for debit cards. Education Thanks to legislation approved by Parliament, Maltese students and the rest of their European peers will enjoy a new system which recognis- ing diplomas for professional qualifi- cations. A new professional card and one-stop-shop will make it easier to work abroad. The recognition of diplomas concerns about 800 regu- lated professions in the EU such as doctors, architects and nurses. Moreover, €14.7 billion have been voted for programmes aimed at stu- dents between 13 and 30 studying abroad. In addition, one third of the budget will go to the university pro- gramme, Erasmus. About 5 million people will benefit, of which 2 mil- lion will be university students. Telephony As a parting gift before the end of the current legislature, outgoing MEPs overwhelmingly voted to ban all roaming charges in the EU as of December 2015. This is a significant step in the protection of consumers of telecom services and should lead to further reforms in the telecom services field. In the meantime, Maltese and Eu- ropean customers will enjoy new limits to charges data services (20c per megabyte from 1 July 2014); roaming calls with mobile phones (19c from 1 July 2014); and text mes- sage charges will be capped at 6c per message from July 2014. Besides roaming, regulation also improved management of radio spectrum, increased competition among telecom firms and reinforced rights of internet users. Asylum The outgoing Parliament adopted a new policy which is set to come in force by mid- 2015 covering basic rights for asylum seekers, including access to services such as health and education and access to job market, not later than nine months after fil- ing an application, instead of the current 12 months. The new criteria for detention of asylum seekers lim- its discretion of member states, with minors being detained only as last resort and for the minimum time possible. Recently, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that child migrants would no longer be kept in detention centres. Health Access to healthcare in other member states and reimbursement according to rules of country of ori- gin has been facilitated. This covers a number of treatments, and although refusal needs to be justified, prior authorisation of the country of resi- dence may be requested. Moreover, medical prescriptions will be more easily recognised in other EU countries. The controversial tobacco direc- tive saw the introduction of health warnings to cover 65% of cigarette packages and a ban on flavoured cigarettes. E-cigarettes were also regulated. Digital rights Following protests all over Europe – including Malta – in June 2012 the European Parliament exercised its Lisbon Treaty power to reject an international trade agreement and voted against the ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agree- ment (ACTA). Although the EU and the majority of its members, including Malta, had signed the agreement in 2011, MEPs concluded that ACTA was open to misinterpretation and could jeop- ardise citizens' rights. ACTA was negotiated by the EU and its member states, the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland to im- prove the enforcement of anti-coun- terfeiting law internationally. How- ever, the EP's vote meant that neither the EU nor its individual member states could ratify the agreement. Environment The adoption of energy efficiency rules oblige member states to set up national targets with binding targets for saving energy in specific areas such as renovation of public build- ings, smart metering systems and audits. The reform of the fisheries policy limits overfishing and bans discards of fish at sea. Fishermen have to respect the "maximum sustainable yield" per particular fish stock. Maternity leave and parental leave Parliament voted this term to ex- tend minimum paid maternity leave in the EU from 14 to 20 weeks, and for at least two weeks paternity leave. No agreement was reached with the Council and the issue will be decided by the new Parliament. Economy The creation of the banking un- ion is aimed at preventing crisis and deals with banks in trouble. The Eu- ropean Central Bank was granted a new role to supervise banks. Banks of significant size or posing risks to the system or receiving public aid will be supervised directly by the ECB, which will also be responsible for signalling which banks are in bad shape and need intervention. New resolutions also regulate a fund financed by banks to avoid us- ing taxpayers' money to prop up failing banks, with common criteria for deciding who pays first. The fund will be set up over eight years. In addition, deposits of up to €100,000 in a single bank will be guaranteed. Mizzi – respectively sat on the com- mittee on the internal market and consumer protection and the committee on economic and monetary affairs. The remaining Labour MEP, John Attard Montalto, did not have any com- mittee re- sponsibilities but was part of the delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia. The second PN MEP, Roberta Metsola, sat on two committees: the com- mittee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs and the committee on petitions.