AGRI
Expiring milk quotas unite Latvian minister and MEPs
Parliament's agriculture and rural affairs committee held an exchange of view with Latvian agriculture minister Jānis Dūklavs, The minister presented the presidency's priorities for strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of European agriculture.
Just as agriculture and rural development commissioner Phil Hogan, Dūklavs put forward the simplification exercise of the CAP reform as the most important challenge. He also expressed commitment to moving forward on organic farming, animal health and medicated feeds.
The Russian embargo, the crisis in the milk sector and the expiring milk quotas dominated the discussion that followed. Latvia's milk sector being one of the hardest hit by the Russian import ban, MEPs hoped that the presidency could convince agricultural ministers to take further action.
UK deputy Diane Dodds pointed to record-low milk prices and denounced the “wait–and-see attitude” of the commission and council. Italian MEP Paolo De Castro, ECR deputy Zbigniew Krzysztof Kuzmiuk and Spanish GUE/NGL representative Lidia Senra Rodríguez expressed worries about expiring milk quotas as of 1 April 2015.
Dūklavs regretted that the Polish proposal for more flexibility in paying penalties did not gain support in council. He believed that the milk situation would be thoroughly discussed between agriculture ministers on 26 January.
Click here to read Jānis Reirs' article from our Latvian presidency special feature
REGI
MEPs and presidency agree on importance of cohesion for growth
The European parliament regional development (REGI) committee held an exchange of views with the Latvian minister for finance Jānis Reirs on the priorities of the presidency of the EU council with regards to cohesion policy. The minister said Latvia wanted to emphasise the importance of cohesion policy for investments and growth. "We have always seen the cohesion funds as instruments of investment policy, rather than money re-distribution policy", he added.
He also stressed that cohesion policy is among the core priorities of the Latvian presidency, a point which was received very positively by the members of REGI committee. He also referred to other priorities, mainly the newly launched strategic investment plan, the urban agenda as part of the territorial development, as well as the macro-regional strategies.
The MEPs received the minister warmly and mostly reiterated the same priorities from their side. They were more sceptical and even critical when it came to the Juncker plan for strategic investments, which they stressed should be used through clear, constructive synergies with the existing instruments of cohesion policy. Reirs pledged to provide more detailed information following the Ecofin council discussions on the €315bn plan.
Click here to read Jānis Reirs' article from our Latvian presidency special feature
ITRE
Parliament looks to ensure input into new energy governance system
Parliament's industry, research and energy committee held an exchange of views with Latvian economics minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola to discuss the presidency's priorities in the fields of industry and energy. The exchange of views was rather short, with the few MEP interventions focusing mainly on the expected communication on the energy union.
“The main objective of the Latvian presidency in the field of energy would be the development of a resilient energy union,” emphasised Reizniece-Ozola. Security, solidarity and trust, the completion of the internal energy market, moderation of demand and more R&D investment for new technologies in the field were among the priorities referred to by Reizniece-Ozola.
Furthermore, and as the EU is ready to overhaul its energy governance, the Latvian presidency would push for regional cooperation on the basis of the Baltic energy market interconnection plan. On the international front, the presidency pledges to focus on putting together a common, coordinated approach towards climate change in the run up to the Paris 2015 agreement.
As for industrial policy, the presidency would focus on digital transformation of the industry and facilitating access to finance for businesses. “We all have one, clear, shared interest - to promote growth, create jobs and foster competitiveness of the EU. To this effect, industrialisation and industrial competitiveness is our common priority,” said the minister. The revision of the small business act should lie at the heart of this effort, she added.
Among the few MEPs that took the floor, S&D vice chair Kathleen Van Brempt and Greens/EFA deputy Claude Turmes expressed their fear that member states would try to circumvent the normal legislative process and shut the European parliament out of the new energy governance system. Furthermore, they both saw renewables and energy efficiency as the “backbones of the energy union”, while EPP group coordinator Krišjānis Kariņš put emphasis on the need to decrease dependency on single external suppliers.
EMPL
EMPL MEPs raise concerns over maternity leave directive
Parliament's employment and social affairs committee met for an exchange of views with Latvian welfare minister Uldis Augulis in order to discuss on the programme of the Latvian presidency in the area of employment and social policy.
The main topics addressed during the debate related to skills and the quality of jobs, occupational health and safety, youth employment, long-term unemployment, equal treatment for disabled persons, gender equality, social dialogue, and equal rights of workers, including temporary agency workers. Moreover, the currently outstanding files on maternity leave, seafarers, EURES, and a European platform to enhance cooperation in the prevention and deterrence of undeclared work were debated.
During the discussion, it emerged that most MEPs were generally friendly towards the presidency's priorities. However, criticism came from a number of MEPs over an indication by Augulis that he does not see a future for the current maternity leave directive proposal, and several MEPs raised concerns over the potential for the EURES file to induce a one-directional flow of workers to from the poorer to the richer regions.
Moreover, MEPs expressed disappointment over vagueness and a lack of concreteness in the minister's statements on topics such as the advancement of equal opportunities for the disabled, discussions over a potential revision of the EU equal treatment directive, the way forward in relation to a proper implementation of the EU temporary agency work directive in the UK and the establishment of legislation to ensure adequate health and safety measures for hairdressers.
Click here to read Uldis Augulis' article from our Latvian presidency special feature
ENVI
Health minister hopes for medical devices progress
The Latvian presidency has received clear support from parliament's environment, public health and food safety committee for pursuing the medical devices package during the next six months.
Guntis Belēvičs, Latvian health minister, presented the presidency's priorities for his government's tenure setting the council’s agenda. Members expressed support for several of the measures, including the minister's plan to promote healthier lifestyles and build momentum for reducing alcohol consumption by 10 per cent, in line with world health organisation objectives.
However, the majority of the debate revolved around existing legislative negotiations. Members repeatedly asked how Belēvičs planned to make progress on the medical devices directive and the in vitro diagnostic medical devices regulation. Belēvičs said he hoped to begin negotiations with parliament on the package by the end of the presidency's term, though this was less ambitious than some in the committee had hoped for.
Members also pushed the minister to pressure the commission on reopening the file for pharmaceutical prices, which Belēvičs said he supported but offered fewer details in this regard.
Click here to read Guntis Belēvičs' article from our Latvian presidency special feature
AFET
Latvian foreign minister discusses Balkan accession with AFET MEPs
Edgars Rinkēvičs, the Latvian foreign minister, addressed MEPs at a meeting of the parliament's foreign affairs committee on Monday. As the representative of the incoming EU council presidency, the minister focused on questions related to enlargement, even though thornier topics - such as the security threats posed by returning jihadists and the situation in Ukraine - were also touched upon later behind closed doors in the hope of allowing a freer discussion.
Rinkēvičs clearly took a more supportive stance on accession talks than commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who had promised no enlargement in the upcoming five years. The Latvian presidency is keen on opening new chapters with the aspiring countries of the western Balkans, and can be expected to draw on the success story of its own 10 years of EU membership. "Progress must be rewarded when it's due", the minister said, claiming that broadening the EU was the most effective foreign policy tool for helping spread values, incentivising reform and building prosperity.
Rinkēvičs also briefly addressed the recent tragic events in Paris, which he called "barbaric acts of violence". He also pledged his country's leadership at the helm of the EU to be devoted to finding a consensus and stepping up coordination in combating terrorism. While data protection is an important aspect of this fight, the "internet cannot be recruitment ground for terrorists", the minister added.
Click here to read Edgars Rinkēvičs' article from our Latvian presidency special feature
JURI
JURI MEPs query Latvian justice minister over better regulation
On Tuesday, the legal affairs (JURI) committee held an exchange of views with Latvian justice minister Dzintars Rasnačs. He indicated that the four priorities of the Latvian presidency in terms of legal affairs are achieving progress in terms of the trademarks reform, the small claims procedure, reform of the court of justice of the European Union and the recognition of public documents.
The chair of the JURI committee Pavel Svoboda inquired as to the presidency's plans for adoption of the interinstitutional agreement on better regulation. EPP deputy Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg asked what Latvia plans to ensure the charter of fundamental rights is ratified by all member states and Daniel Buda asked for the minister's opinion regarding the insolvency of natural persons.
The minister said that they were impatiently waiting for the commission's proposal for a more efficient and better legislative process. He also underlined the importance of ministers being present in the meetings, adding that they should cooperate more actively with the commission and the MEPs of their respective parliamentary committees. In reply to Geringer de Oedenberg's question, he said he hoped that the remaining member states would ratify the charter. Regarding the question on insolvency of natural persons, he said that the interests of creditors are involved and a great deal of lobbying is going on by commercial banks.
Click here to read Dzintars Rasnačs' article from our Latvian presidency special feature
AFCO
Latvian presidency tells AFCO it will work on EU internal security strategy
On Tuesday, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, parliamentary secretary to Latvia's foreign ministry went in front of the constitutional affairs committee to discuss the EU council presidency's priorities in the field of institutional affairs.
She indicated that the presidency will focus on a reform of the European citizens' initiative (ECI), the ratification of the European convention on human rights, the improvement of inter-institutional cooperation and the respect of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Europe.
The debate with MEPs, following the minister's presentation, was largely unremarkable. Nevertheless, ECR deputy Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski expressed the opinion that the legal perspective taken by the commission on the citizens' initiative was largely the cause of issues related to the lack of efficiency of the ECI instrument, while Kalniņa-Lukaševica said that the presidency was ready to pick up on the issue once the commission publishes its report in April.
In response to centre-right MEP György Schöpflin's query about the difficult balance between enhancing security and transparency, in light of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Kalniņa-Lukaševica indicated that the Latvian presidency will actively engage on reforming the EU internal security strategy in the upcoming months.
Click here to read Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica's article from our Latvian presidency special feature
Dods EU Monitoring also present their rundown of the key dates and priorities of Latvia's six-month EU council presidency running from January to June 2015.