MINUTES

MARDI 20 AVRIL 2010

IN THE CHAIR: Jerzy BUZEK
President

1. Opening of the sitting

The sitting opened at 9.05.

2. Agenda

As a result of the changes made the previous day to the agenda for the part-session, (minutes of 19.4.2010, item 14) the President, with the agreement of the political groups, proposed the following changes to the agenda for Wednesday, 21 April 2010:

- cancellation of question time to the Council (item 7);

- withdrawal of the recommendation for second reading by Silvia-Adriana Ţicău on 'the energy performance of buildings (recast version)' (item 112);

- entry on the agenda for the afternoon, immediately after the debates on 'SWIFT' (item 119) and on 'Passenger Name Records (PNR)' (item 124), of the oral question 'ban on use of cyanide mining technologies' (item 102);

- closure of the sitting at 19.00, and hence cancellation of the evening sitting.

The agenda was thus amended (see also minutes of 20.4.2010, item 9).

The following spoke: Paul Rübig to request information on the work scheduled for the Thursday (the President replied that Parliament's work would continue as normal, with the exception of the plenary sitting and the votes in committee, adding that he would send a more detailed e-mail on the subject to all Members).

3. Disruption of air traffic in Europe (debate)

Council and Commission statements: Disruption of air traffic in Europe

The President gave a brief introduction.

Diego López Garrido (President-in-Office of the Council) made the statement and the President restated Parliament's intent to cooperate with the Council and the Commission.

Siim Kallas (Vice-President of the Commission) made the statement.

The following spoke: Corien Wortmann-Kool, on behalf of the PPE Group, Martin Schulz, on behalf of the S&D Group, Gesine Meissner, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Michael Cramer, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Peter van Dalen, on behalf of the ECR Group, Lothar Bisky, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Francesco Enrico Speroni, on behalf of the EFD Group, Angelika Werthmann, Non-attached Member, Mathieu Grosch, Saïd El Khadraoui, Dirk Sterckx and Isabelle Durant.

IN THE CHAIR: Miguel Angel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ
Vice-President

The following spoke: Ryszard Czarnecki, Jacky Hénin, Anna Rosbach, Danuta Maria Hübner, Hannes Swoboda, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Philip Bradbourn, Christine De Veyrac, Silvia-Adriana Ţicău, Pat the Cope Gallagher, Vicky Ford, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Stavros Lambrinidis, Ivo Belet, Jo Leinen, Anne Delvaux, Inés Ayala Sender, Artur Zasada and Jörg Leichtfried.

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris, Marc Tarabella, Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa, Antonio Masip Hidalgo, Czesław Adam Siekierski, Piotr Borys, Kriton Arsenis, Magdalena Alvarez, Bendt Bendtsen, Tanja Fajon, Judith A. Merkies, Gesine Meissner, Corina Creţu, Gilles Pargneaux, Elisa Ferreira and Robert Goebbels.

IN THE CHAIR: Jerzy BUZEK
President

The following spoke: Diego López Garrido, Gay Mitchell, including on the organisation of the debate, and Siim Kallas.

The President emphasised the importance of the debate.

The debate closed.

4. Commission Legislative and Work Programme for 2010 (debate)

Commission statement: Commission Legislative and Work Programme for 2010

The President briefly introduced the debate.

José Manuel Barroso (President of the Commission) made the statement.

The following spoke: József Szájer, on behalf of the PPE Group, Hannes Swoboda, on behalf of the S&D Group, Marielle De Sarnez, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Rebecca Harms, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Timothy Kirkhope, on behalf of the ECR Group, Miguel Portas, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Fiorello Provera, on behalf of the EFD Group, and Andrew Henry William Brons, Non-attached Member.

The following spoke: José Manuel Barroso and Diego López Garrido (President-in-Office of the Council).

The debate closed.

IN THE CHAIR: Libor ROUČEK
Vice-President

5. Coordination of humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Haiti (debate)

Commission statement: Coordination of humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Haiti

Kristalina Georgieva and Andris Piebalgs (Members of the Commission) made the statement.

The following spoke: Gay Mitchell, on behalf of the PPE Group, Corina Creţu, on behalf of the S&D Group, Charles Goerens, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Ryszard Czarnecki, on behalf of the ECR Group, Patrick Le Hyaric, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Bastiaan Belder, on behalf of the EFD Group, Mario Mauro, Enrique Guerrero Salom, Louis Michel, Michèle Striffler, Kriton Arsenis, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Filip Kaczmarek, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Philippe Juvin and Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris.

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Anna Záborská, Franziska Keller and Anneli Jäätteenmäki.

The following spoke: Kristalina Georgieva and Andris Piebalgs.

The debate closed.

(The sitting was suspended at 13 h 10 and resumed at 15 h 05.)

IN THE CHAIR: Jerzy BUZEK
President

6. Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting

The minutes of the previous sitting were approved.

7.1. Open questions

The following spoke to put questions and supplementaries to José Manuel Barroso (President of the Commission), who replied to these: Othmar Karas, on behalf of the PPE Group, Martin Schulz, on behalf of the S&D Group, Guy Verhofstadt, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Timothy Kirkhope, on behalf of the ECR Group, Lothar Bisky, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, William (The Earl of) Dartmouth, on behalf of the EFD Group, and Andrew Henry William Brons, Non-attached Member.

7.2. Employment situation in the European Union

The following spoke under the 'catch the eye procedure' to put questions to José Manuel Barroso (President of the Commission), who replied to these: Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris, Georgios Papanikolaou, Frédéric Daerden, Sergio Gaetano Cofferati, Graham Watson, Helga Trüpel, Ryszard Czarnecki, Nikolaos Chountis, Paul Rübig, Piotr Borys, Jutta Steinruck, Hannu Takkula, Joanna Katarzyna Skrzydlewska, Elisabeth Schroedter and Liisa Jaakonsaari.

IN THE CHAIR: Dagmar ROTH-BEHRENDT
Vice-President

8. The EU strategy for the relations with Latin America (debate)

Report on the EU strategy for relations with Latin America – [2009/2213(INI)] - Committee on Foreign Affairs. Rapporteur: José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra (A7-0111/2010)

José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra introduced the report.

The following spoke: Catherine Ashton (Vice-President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy).

The following spoke: Catherine Grèze (rapporteur for the opinion of the DEVE Committee), Pablo Zalba Bidegain, on behalf of the PPE Group, Emilio Menéndez del Valle, on behalf of the S&D Group, Vladko Todorov Panayotov, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Ulrike Lunacek, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Charles Tannock, on behalf of the ECR Group, Bastiaan Belder, on behalf of the EFD Group, Bruno Gollnisch, Non-attached Member, Elena Băsescu, Ramón Jáuregui Atondo, Gesine Meissner, Edvard Kožušník, John Bufton, Angelika Werthmann, Marietta Giannakou, Emine Bozkurt, Liam Aylward, Marek Henryk Migalski, Corina Creţu and Emma McClarkin.

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Miroslav Mikolášik and Raül Romeva i Rueda.

IN THE CHAIR: Gianni PITTELLA
Vice-President

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Andreas Mölzer, Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris and Peter Skinner.

The following spoke: Catherine Ashton and José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra.

The debate closed.

Vote: next part-session.

9. Agenda (continued)

The President proposed, in agreement with the political groups, that the debate on the report by Andrea Cozzolino - A7-0100/2010 - on 'Protection of the Communities' financial interests - Fight against fraud - Annual Report 2008' be deferred to a subsequent part-session.

The agenda was amended to that effect (see also the minutes of 20.4.2010, item 2).

10. Kyrgyzstan (debate)

Statement by the Vice-President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: Kyrgyzstan

Catherine Ashton (Vice-President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) made the statement.

The following spoke: Elmar Brok, on behalf of the PPE Group, Hannes Swoboda, on behalf of the S&D Group, Niccolò Rinaldi, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Ulrike Lunacek, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Marie-Christine Vergiat, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Fiorello Provera, on behalf of the EFD Group, Inese Vaidere and Eleni Theocharous.

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Elena Băsescu, Ivo Vajgl, Charles Tannock, Piotr Borys, Cristian Dan Preda, Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris, Franz Obermayr and Malika Benarab-Attou.

The following spoke: Catherine Ashton.

The motions for resolutions to be tabled under Rule 110(2) would be announced in the House at a later time.

Vote: next part-session.

11. EU-Canada summit (debate)

Statement by the Vice-President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: EU-Canada summit

Catherine Ashton (Vice-President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) made the statement.

The following spoke: Elisabeth Jeggle, on behalf of the PPE Group, Ioan Enciu, on behalf of the S&D Group, Wolf Klinz, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Reinhard Bütikofer, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Philip Bradbourn, on behalf of the ECR Group, Joe Higgins, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Anna Rosbach, on behalf of the EFD Group, Andreas Mölzer, Non-attached Member, Cristian Dan Preda, Jörg Leichtfried, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Kriton Arsenis, Miroslav Mikolášik, Jan Březina, Othmar Karas and Zuzana Roithová.

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris, Olga Sehnalová, Chris Davies, Franz Obermayr, Paul Rübig, Silvia-Adriana Ţicău and Fiona Hall.

The following spoke: Catherine Ashton.

Motions for resolutions to wind up the debate tabled under Rule 110(2):

- Ioan Enciu and Mario Pirillo, on behalf of the S&D Group, on the upcoming EU-Canada summit on 5 May 2010 (B7-0233/2010);

- Elisabeth Jeggle, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Elmar Brok, Peter Šťastný and Daniel Caspary, on behalf of the PPE Group, Wolf Klinz, on behalf of the ALDE Group, and Philip Bradbourn, on behalf of the ECR Group, on the upcoming EU-Canada summit in May 2010 (B7-0234/2010);

- Reinhard Bütikofer and Nicole Kiil-Nielsen, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, on the EU-Canada summit (B7-0235/2010).

The debate closed.

Vote: next part-session.

(The sitting was suspended at 18 h 55 pending Question Time and resumed at 19 h 05.)

IN THE CHAIR: Stavros LAMBRINIDIS
Vice-President

12. Question Time (Commission)

Parliament considered a number of questions to the Commission (B7-0207/2010).

Question 25 (Georgios Papastamkos): Creation of European credit rating authority.

Michel Barnier (Member of the Commission) answered the question and supplementaries by Georgios Papastamkos and Franz Obermayr.

Question 28 (Liam Aylward): Consumer choice and smart phone technology.

Joaquín Almunia (Vice-President of the Commission) answered the question and supplementaries by Liam Aylward, Paul Rübig and Franz Obermayr.

Question 32 (Nikolaos Chountis): Activity of credit rating agencies.

Karel De Gucht (Member of the Commission) answered the question and supplementaries by Nikolaos Chountis, Morten Messerschmidt and Georgios Papanikolaou.

Question 30 (Brian Crowley): EU Broadband Strategy.

Neelie Kroes (Vice-President of the Commission) answered the question and supplementaries by Liam Aylward (deputising for the author), Malcolm Harbour and Silvia-Adriana Ţicău.

Question 33 (Bernd Posselt): Great Britain, Sweden and the euro.

Karel De Gucht answered the question and a supplementary by Bernd Posselt.

Question 34 (Georgios Papanikolaou): Extending cuts to the private sector.

Karel De Gucht answered the question and supplementaries by Georgios Papanikolaou and Nikolaos Chountis.

Question 35 (Ádám Kósa): Conflicts of responsibilities of Member States and the EU in connection with IMF agreement(s).

Karel De Gucht answered the question and supplementaries by Kinga Gál (deputising for the author) and Nikolaos Chountis.

Question 36 (Eleni Theocharous): Budget deficit in Cyprus.

The following spoke: Karel De Gucht and Gay Mitchell on the conduct of question time.

Karel De Gucht answered the question and a supplementary by Eleni Theocharous.

Question 37 (Morten Messerschmidt): Greece and the current crisis in euro cooperation.

Karel De Gucht answered the question and a supplementary by Morten Messerschmidt.

Question 38 (Gay Mitchell): European Monetary Fund.

Karel De Gucht answered the question and a supplementary by Gay Mitchell.

Question 39 (Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou): Financial monitoring procedures for the Member States.

Karel De Gucht answered the question and a supplementary by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou.

Questions 26, 27, 29 and 31, along with questions that had not been answered owing to lack of time would receive written answers (see annex to the Verbatim Report).

Commission Question Time closed.

(The sitting was suspended at 20.25 and resumed at 21.00.)

IN THE CHAIR: Miguel Angel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ
Vice-President

13. Establishment of a European Asylum Support Office ***II (debate)

Recommendation for second reading on the Council position at first reading for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Asylum Support Office [16626/2/2009 - C7-0049/2010- 2009/0027(COD)] - Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Rapporteur: Jean Lambert (A7-0118/2010)

Jean Lambert introduced the recommendation for second reading.

The following spoke: Cecilia Malmström (Member of the Commission).

The following spoke: Simon Busuttil, on behalf of the PPE Group, Sylvie Guillaume, on behalf of the S&D Group, Marie-Christine Vergiat, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Mario Borghezio, on behalf of the EFD Group, Franz Obermayr, Non-attached Member, Georgios Papanikolaou and John Bufton.

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris.

The following spoke: Cecilia Malmström and Jean Lambert.

The debate closed.

Vote: next part-session

14. General provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund ***I (debate)

Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 concerning general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund as regards simplification of certain requirements and as regards certain provisions relating to financial management [COM(2009)0384 - C7-0003/2010- 2009/0107(COD)] - Committee on Regional Development. Rapporteur: Evgeni Kirilov (A7-0055/2010)

Constanze Angela Krehl (deputising for the rapporteur) introduced the report.

The following spoke: Johannes Hahn (Member of the Commission).

The following spoke: Regina Bastos (rapporteur for the opinion of the EMPL Committee), Sophie Auconie, on behalf of the PPE Group, Karin Kadenbach, on behalf of the S&D Group, Elisabeth Schroedter, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, who also responded to a blue-card question by Lambert van Nistelrooij, Oldřich Vlasák, on behalf of the ECR Group, Cornelia Ernst, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, who also responded to a blue-card question by Elisabeth Schroedter, Lambert van Nistelrooij, Pat the Cope Gallagher, Kay Swinburne, Andrey Kovatchev, Csaba Sándor Tabajdi, Iosif Matula, Monika Smolková and Pascale Gruny.

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris, Ioan Enciu, Sidonia Elżbieta Jędrzejewska, Othmar Karas and Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid.

The following spoke: Johannes Hahn and Karin Kadenbach (deputising for the rapporteur).

The debate closed.

Vote: next part-session

15. Specific measures for agricultural markets (debate)

Oral question (O-0036/2010) by Paolo De Castro, on behalf of the AGRI Committee, to the Commission : Specific measures for agricultural markets (B7-0208/2010)

Stéphane Le Foll (deputising for the author) moved the oral question.

Dacian Cioloş (Member of the Commission) answered the oral question.

The following spoke: Peter Jahr, on behalf of the PPE Group, Marc Tarabella, on behalf of the S&D Group, Martin Häusling, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, James Nicholson, on behalf of the ECR Group, Georgios Papastamkos, Csaba Sándor Tabajdi, Michel Dantin and Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris.

The following spoke under the 'catch-the-eye' procedure: Sari Essayah and Ulrike Rodust.

The following spoke: Dacian Cioloş.

The debate closed.

16. Agenda of the next sitting

The agenda of the next day's sitting had been established ('Agenda' 439.802/OJME).

17. Closure of the sitting

The sitting closed at 23.25.

The following signed:

Áder, Albertini, Albrecht, Alfonsi, Alvarez, Alves, Andreasen, Andrés Barea, Antonescu, Arif, Arsenis, Ashworth, Auconie, Audy, Ayala Sender, Aylward, Bach, Badia i Cutchet, Balczó, Balz, Băsescu, Bastos, Baudis, Bauer, Bearder, Belder, Belet, Bélier, Benarab-Attou, Bendtsen, Bennahmias, Berès, Berlato, Besset, Bilbao Barandica, Binev, Bisky, Böge, Bokros, Bontes, Borghezio, Borys, Boştinaru, Bozkurt, Bradbourn, Brantner, Brepoels, Březina, Brok, Brons, Brzobohatá, Bufton, Bullmann, Buşoi, Busuttil, Bütikofer, Buzek, Cabrnoch, Cadec, Callanan, van de Camp, Carvalho, Casa, Caspary, Castex, Cavada, Cercas, Chatzimarkakis, Chichester, Childers, Chountis, Christensen, Claeys, Coelho, Cofferati, Cohn-Bendit, Colman, Cramer, Creţu, Creutzmann, Crocetta, Cutaş, Czarnecki, Daerden, van Dalen, Dăncilă, Danjean, Dantin, (The Earl of) Dartmouth, Daul, Davies, Delvaux, De Rossa, De Sarnez, Deß, Deva, De Veyrac, Donskis, Dorfmann, Duff, Durant, Dušek, Ehrenhauser, Eickhout, El Khadraoui, Elles, Enciu, Engström, Ernst, Ertug, Essayah, Fajon, Falbr, Feio, Ferber, Fernandes, Elisa Ferreira, Fleckenstein, Fontana, Ford, Fox, Gahler, Gál, Gallagher, Gallo, Gardiazábal Rubial, Gauzès, Gebhardt, Gerbrandy, Geringer de Oedenberg, Giannakou, Giegold, Glattfelder, Goebbels, Goerens, Gollnisch, Göncz, Goulard, Gräßle, Grech, Grelier, Grèze, Griesbeck, Griffin, Groote, Grosch, Grossetête, Gruny, Guerrero Salom, Guillaume, Gurmai, Hadjigeorgiou, Häfner, Haglund, Hall, Händel, Handzlik, Hannan, Harbour, Harkin, Harms, Haug, Häusling, Jiří Havel, Hénin, Herczog, Hibner, Joe Higgins, Nadja Hirsch, Hohlmeier, Danuta Maria Hübner, Iovine, Itälä, Ivanova, Jaakonsaari, Jäätteenmäki, Jadot, Jahr, Jáuregui Atondo, Jazłowiecka, Jędrzejewska, Jeggle, Joly, Junqueras Vies, Juvin, Kaczmarek, Kadenbach, Kalfin, Kalniete, Kamall, Kammerevert, Karas, Kariņš, Kasoulides, Kastler, Keller, Kiil-Nielsen, Kirilov, Kirkhope, Klaß, Klinz, Klute, Koch, Koch-Mehrin, Köstinger, Koumoutsakos, Kovatchev, Kozlík, Kozłowski, Kožušník, Krahmer, Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Krehl, Kreissl-Dörfler, Kuhn, Kukan, Lamassoure, Lambert, Lamberts, Lambrinidis, Landsbergis, Lange, de Lange, Langen, Lechner, Le Foll, Le Grip, Lehne, Le Hyaric, Leichtfried, Leinen, Lichtenberger, Liese, Lisek, Lochbihler, Løkkegaard, Lösing, Lulling, Lunacek, Lynne, McClarkin, Macovei, Madlener, Manders, Mann, Manner, Marcinkiewicz, Marinescu, Hans-Peter Martin, Martínez Martínez, Masip Hidalgo, Maštálka, Mathieu, Matias, Matula, Mauro, Mavronikolas, Mayer, Meissner, Melo, Menéndez del Valle, Merkies, Messerschmidt, Mészáros, Michel, Migalski, Mikolášik, Mitchell, Mölzer, Morganti, Morin-Chartier, Muñiz De Urquiza, Muscardini, Nedelcheva, Neuser, Newton Dunn, Neynsky, Nicholson, Niebler, van Nistelrooij, Nitras, Obermayr, Obiols, Ojuland, Oomen-Ruijten, Őry, Ouzký, Pack, Panayotov, Panzeri, Papanikolaou, Papastamkos, Pargneaux, Paşcu, Paška, Paulsen, Perello Rodriguez, Pieper, Piotrowski, Pittella, Poc, Podimata, Ponga, Portas, Posselt, Pöttering, Poupakis, Preda, Vittorio Prodi, Protasiewicz, Provera, Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Ransdorf, Rapkay, Rapti, Regner, Reimers, Remek, Reul, Riera Madurell, Ries, Rinaldi, Riquet, Rivasi, Rochefort, Rodust, Rohde, Roithová, Romero López, Romeva i Rueda, Rosbach, Rossi, Roth-Behrendt, Rouček, Rübig, Rubiks, Rühle, Saïfi, Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Salvini, Sanchez-Schmid, Sargentini, Schaake, Schaldemose, Olle Schmidt, Schnellhardt, Schnieber-Jastram, Scholz, Schroedter, Martin Schulz, Werner Schulz, Schwab, Seeber, Sehnalová, Senyszyn, Siekierski, Silvestris, Simon, Sippel, Skinner, Skrzydlewska, Skylakakis, Smolková, Sommer, Soullie, Speroni, Staes, Stassen, Steinruck, Sterckx, van der Stoep, Dimitar Stoyanov, Emil Stoyanov, Strasser, Strejček, Striffler, Surján, Susta, Eva-Britt Svensson, Swinburne, Swoboda, Szájer, Tabajdi, Takkula, Tănăsescu, Tannock, Tarabella, Teixeira, Thaler, Thein, Theocharous, Theurer, Thomsen, Ţicău, Toia, Tomaševski, Trautmann, Tremopoulos, Trüpel, Trzaskowski, Tsoukalas, Turmes, Ulmer, Ungureanu, Urutchev, Uspaskich, Vaidere, Vajgl, Vanhecke, Vattimo, Vaughan, Vergiat, Verheyen, de Villiers, Vlasák, Voss, Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa, Watson, Henri Weber, Manfred Weber, Weiler, Weisgerber, Werthmann, Westphal, Wieland, Wikström, Wils, Hermann Winkler, Wortmann-Kool, Yannakoudakis, Záborská, Zahradil, Zala, Zalba Bidegain, Zalewski, Zasada, Ždanoka, Zeller, Zimmer, Zver, Zwiefka