CONTENT

• Financial Crisis: Socialist Group President, Martin Schulz Calls for Proposals by December
• Parliament Backs Blue Card Scheme for High-Skilled Immigrant Workers
• MEPs Back Plan to Double EU's Crises Fund
• Further Developments
• Upcoming PSE Group Events

FINANCIAL CRISIS: SOCIALIST GROUP PRESIDENT, MARTIN SCHULZ CALLS FOR PROPOSALS BY DECEMBER

Europe will be holding consultations on support measures for economic activity in the run-up to the December European summit, said Jean-Pierre Jouyet, on behalf of the EU Presidency, during an urgent debate on the financial crisis, in the European Parliament. "In advance of the European Council, on 11 and 12 December, the Presidency intends to lead a reflection process with the Member States on the priorities of action to stimulate the economy," declared the French State Secretary for European affairs.

The debate in the House gave the political groups an opportunity to lament the European Commission's slow reaction, which they say, is too focused on industry's concerns.

The fact that the G20 met is "progress," said Martin Schulz PSE Group President. "It shows that we live in a multipolar world, in which the European Union has a central role to play." Is there enough time, however? We want measures now on sovereign wealth funds and on ratings agencies and their control," he noted. "The EU's aim must be to lay down its own rules and then, through the European Union's representation in the G20, to get them accepted in international bodies. We also have to analyse our responsibility for people of modest means in the European Union," said the PES chairman. "I expect you to submit proposals to the Parliament in December," he told Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

Barroso called on European Lawmakers to waste no time adopting the Commission's proposals on capital adequacy, deposit guarantees and ratings agencies. He confirmed that the Commission would turn its attention to regulation, surveillance and the transparency of the financial market, including the areas discussed in the Rasmussen and Lehnen reports, and that it would submit the initial analyses of the high-level group on financial supervision before the spring Council.

PARLIAMENT BACKS "BLUE CARD" SCHEME FOR HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANT WORKERS

The European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg backed a "blue card" scheme for skilled immigrant workers, while stressing it should be open only to the most qualified applicants. In a consultative report adopted thanks to backing from the biggest parliamentary blocs -- the socialists and the conservatives -- the MEPs backed the mooted scheme. The inspiration for the programme comes from the US green card system, which gives immigrants long-term resident status. However, Members of the Parliament called for the salary bar to be set higher than foreseen by the EU Member States.

The Members called for EU interior ministers, to insist that 'blue card' candidates should have a job offer in Europe which pays at least 1.7 times the national average wage in the country they are applying to work in. The Member States, though not the Parliament, have also agreed on some dispensations for sectors short of workers.

With the vote out of the way, the path is now clear for the creation of the European blue card scheme, a fact welcomed by French socialist EU Member, Roselyne Lefrançois, who stressed that only 1.2 percent of highly qualified foreign workers chose the EU. "The vast majority opts for the United States or Canada," she said.

Importantly, Blue card holders must also have guaranteed social rights, said Socialist spokesman on the proposal Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler adding that "highly skilled migrant workers can make an important contribution to the EU economy and help to bring about a higher level of innovation and development everywhere in Europe.   At the same time, we must avoid creating a brain drain in third world countries."

Therefore, in an effort to avoid negative brain drain from developing countries, the new policy also advocates ethical recruitment standards. Besides blue cards, the second proposal is aimed at simplifying procedures for all potential immigrants applying to reside and work in EU countries Click here to read the resolution in full

MEPs BACK PLAN TO DOUBLE EU'S CRISIS FUND

European lawmakers approved in Strasbourg plans to more than double the amount of money available to the bloc's non-euro Members in case they run into economic troubles. Last month, the European Commission proposed to more than double the maximum EU aid available to non-euro Member States facing economic trouble to 25 billion euros.

Under a 2002 rule, the Union can provide up to 12 billion euros in total financial assistance to Member States that do not use the euro when they run into a balance of payments crisis. The House backed the proposed increase under a special fast-track procedure.

Last month, the EU offered to provide Hungary 6.5 billion euros in aid as part of 20 billion euro package put together with the International Monetary fund and the World Bank. Last Thursday, recession-hit Latvia decided to seek financial help from the IMF and EU.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

- Rapid and Coordinated Action in Support of DR Congo Urgently Needed. The Socialist Group has expressed its grave concerns about the current chaos reigning in eastern DR Congo. On behalf of the PES Group, Socialist Alain Hutchinson intervened during the plenary debate in calling upon the EU as a matter of urgency to step up its humanitarian efforts and participate in the immediate strengthening of UN troops. Europe's Socialists regard offering genuine protection to civilians, the front-line victims in this dirty war, and supporting the ongoing peace efforts as the absolute priority today. Alain Hutchinson reiterated that the deep-rooted causes of this conflict were directly linked to the exploitation of the region's natural resources and not to the ethnic rivalries, as some are claiming so as to absolve themselves of any blame. In order to move towards a final and lasting peace it is vital to close the mines for as long as we remain incapable of controlling their operation.

- Keep Billion Euro Aid Promise On the eve of key negotiations between EU ministers, MEPs and the European Commission, Socialist lawmakers urged Member States to keep their promise of a one billion euro food facility to help poor countries face the food crisis. The EU needs to act now." said Catherine Guy-Quint, socialist spokeswoman on the budget: "How are we going to explain to these countries where people live with no less than one dollar a day, that the EU has been able to save its banks with a plan worth several hundred billion euros but can't find one billion euros for them. Said Jutta Haug, spokeswoman of the European Parliament on the 2009 EU budget: "We know that money is available in the EU budget. The EU has always been a key political and financial actor in fighting poverty and promoting economic and social development. Failure to act now will seriously damage Europe's image in the world".

- MEPS Press for Cluster Bombs Ban in the EU In a resolution on the Convention of Cluster Munitions (CCM) adopted at the Strasbourg plenary session, MEPs call on all EU Members States to "sign, ratify and implement the CCM at the earliest opportunity", and to take steps towards implementation "even before it is signed and ratified". At the same time Labour's European Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Richard Howitt, MEP, accused the European Union of hypocrisy for criticising Russian aggression against Georgia, including the use of cluster bombs; at the same time as one third of EU countries are refusing to sign the convention banning cluster munitions at an international conference next month. Richard Howitt, MEP, will name eight EU countries currently expected to fail to sign the convention at an international conference on 3 December during a debate in the Parliament. The EU MP will name Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia alongside EU aspirants Turkey and Serbia for obstructing European agreement for the ban, despite backing already announced by over 100 countries worldwide. The resolution was adopted with 471 votes in favour, 6 against and 21 abstentions. Click here to read the resolution in full

- HIV/AIDS: early diagnosis and early care In a resolution on HIV/AIDS: early diagnosis and early care, European lawmakers call on the Council and the Commission to formulate a strategy on HIV to promote early diagnosis. They ask for a reduction of barriers to anonymous testing and want the two authorities to communicate on the benefits of earlier care. The resolutionwas adopted with 480 votes in favour, 4 against and 10 abstentions.Click here to read the resolution in full

- EP TO VOTE ON CLIMATE PACKAGE IN DECEMBER The Parliament's Conference of Group Presidents decided that the debate on the state of play of the negotiations on the climate change and energy package would take place on the 4th of December in Brussels on the basis of a Council and Commission declaration. The debate on the reports and the vote itself will, instead, take place on the December II part-session in Strasbourg.

UPCOMING PSE GROUP EVENTS

• Conference: "Best Practices for Cohesion" 03 December 2008 (European Parliament - P1A002)

• Seminar: "Western Balkans and ENP countries: the EU visa policy"  
  04 December 2008(European Parliament - A5G-1 - A5G-3) 

• Conference: "Peace and Disarmament: a World without Nuclear Weapons?" 09 December 2008 (European Parliament)

• Conference: " European Year of Intercultural Dialogue: The Minority Agenda" 11 December, 2008 (European Parliament, Brussels - P1 A002)

    Seminar "The Challenge of Tolerance" 11 December 2008 (European Parliament, P1A002).

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Monthly e-mail based bulletin edited by the External Interinstitutional Coordination Unit with the Secretariat of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament. Resposible Editors: PES Group Vice-President Jan Marinus Wiersma and Secretary General Anna Colombo . For subscriptions, comments, questions please e-mail: pseparlhighlights@europarl.eu.int or call +32 2 384 30 39. Printable version attached.

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