President Pöttering: led silence for ETA victim Luis Conde de la Cruz
MEPs remembered the victims of a recent ETA bombing in Spain with a minute's silence when they met Monday. Parliament's President Hans-Gert Pöttering said "a terrorist attack in any part of the EU is a terrorist attack in the entire European Union, against each one of us". MEPs also debated creativity and innovation, the financial markets, petitions and the media in the EU.
Funding for Irish "No" campaign highlighted
Green Group leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit raised the issue of funding for the successful Irish "No" campaign for the EU's Lisbon Treaty. He said the word in Ireland is of a possible financial link between the "No" campaign and the US Defense Department and the CIA. President Pöttering called for transparency on funding. "We cannot allow Europe to be harmed by people who demand transparency but do not provide it themselves," he said.
Creativity encouraged for 2009
Greater creativity can lead to more innovation and development through training and learning. That is one of the benefits identified as Europe prepares to embrace 2009 as the "European Year of Creativity and Innovation".
MEPs have a range of expectations from the year. Romania's Mihaela Popa dwelt on the need to “invest in the capacities that people have" and investment in people with disabilities. Austrian Socialist Christa Prets stressed the need to "to build bridges between different groups".
Finnish Liberal Hannu Takkula said the year could help “involve the EU in the creation of technological innovation”. Polish UEN member Mieczyslaw Janowski said that “we need creativity to deal with the fact that we only account for 8% of the population of the world”.
Greek Socialist Katerina Batzeli drafted the report on the year. For the European Commission
Ján Figel' stressed the need to strengthen "the links between creativity and education".
Other topics debated
- Two reports relating to current financial turmoil, ahead of a debate on Wednesday: “Hedge funds and private equity”, “Transparency of institutional investors”
- Citizens' petitions during 2007
- Concentration and pluralism in EU media
- “Follow-up to the Monterrey Conference of 2002 on Financing for Development”
- “Internal Market Scoreboard”
- “The Bologna Process and student mobility”
- “Hill and mountain farming”
Sakharov Prize 2008
Hu Jia, Alexandr Kozulin and Abbot Apollinaire Malu Malu are the three finalists for this year's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The three were chosen Monday evening at a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Development Committees from a list of eight candidates put forward by MEPs. The winner will be chosen in mid-October.
