MEPs approve new EU trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton (UK)
"The European Parliament voted 538 in favour, 40 against and 63 abstentions in favour of new EU trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton from the UK. Baroness Ashton faced a hearing at the European Parliament on Monday. She has been nominated to replace Peter Mandelson as Trade Commissioner following his appointment to the British government. MEPs questioned Baroness Ashton on the future of the Doha Round, the financial crisis, bilateral trade negotiations - and on her own experience.
Baroness Ashton will be Commissioner until the end of the current Commission's mandate - 31 October 2009." [Europa]
Summary of the hearing of Catherine Ashton (United Kingdom), Commissioner-designate for Trade
"Commissioner-designate Catherine Ashton faced a hearing at the European Parliament on Monday. She has been nominated to replace Peter Mandelson as Trade Commissioner following his appointment to the British government. MEPs questioned Baroness Ashton on the future of the Doha Round, the financial crisis, bilateral trade negotiations - and on her own experience. The outcome will be considered on Tuesday by the Conference of Presidents, with the full Parliament due to vote on Wednesday." [Europa]
Ashton wins emphatic endorsement from MEPs
MEPs back the new trade commissioner; Ashton wants better co-ordination of trade policy.
Members of the European Parliament yesterday (22 October) endorsed the appointment of Catherine Ashton as the European commissioner for trade. MEPs voted 538 in favour, 40 against, with 63 abstentions during their meeting in Strasbourg. From there, Ashton went directly to Geneva for a dinner with Pascal Lamy, the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to discuss the prospects of reviving the Doha round of world trade talks.
Ashton had told MEPs on Monday evening (20 October), at a scrutiny hearing, that she would be assuring Lamy that “the WTO and pursuing a successful Doha round remain absolutely central to Europe's trade policy”. [EuropeanVoice]
EU parliament formally approves new trade commissioner
"MEPs have formally endorsed the appointment of Catherine Ashton as the EU’s new trade commissioner.
Deputies meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday voted 538 in favour of her appointment, with 40 against and 63 abstentions. She replaces Peter Mandelson, who stepped down after four years in the job to become the new business secretary in the UK. Ashton faced a hearing in parliament on Monday in which is she is generally thought to have given a good account of her grasp of the notoriously difficult trade portfolio.She was also questioned on the future of the Doha round, the financial crisis and bilateral trade negotiations.
The conference of presidents, or group leaders, endorsed her appointment on Tuesday ahead of today’s vote by the full parliament." [TheParliament]
Alliance of Civilisations: Jorge Sampaio addresses MEPs
"Building bridges and altering misguided perceptions of other cultures are crucial in a globalised world, according Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations and a former President of Portugal, who addressed a formal sitting of the EP on Wednesday on the subject of cultural diversity, in a speech given as part of the EP's series of guest speeches for Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
In his introduction, the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, stressed the shared outlook between the UN Alliance of Civilisations and the EP, with their emphasis on the importance of cultural interaction, and argued that there was a need in the modern world for practical not just symbolic steps on this front, such as the many projects the EP had supported in the context of Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
At the start of his address, Mr Sampaio read out a short statement on behalf of the UN Secretary General, which said that "Like many other regions of the world, Europe faces multiple challenges in promoting intercultural dialogue. Migration, economic uncertainty and political tensions are putting strains on relations between different cultural, ethnic and religious groups. But it is precisely in your region, where constructive contacts over the centuries have allowed humanity to take major leaps forward, that opportunities for reconciliation and cooperation exist." Ultimately, "Cross-cultural tolerance, dialogue, respect and understanding must be pillars of the better world we are trying to build."" [Europa]
Row flares over EU commission's link with business group
"A furious row has flared over allegations of an “intimate” relationship between the commission’s trade directorate and the organisation representing European SMEs. It follows claims by a left-wing Swedish MEP of a possible conflict of interest between the influential directorate and Businesseurope. GUE/NGL member Jens Holm sets out his allegations in a letter to new EU trade commissioner Catherine Ashton.
But Philippe De Buck, director general of Businesseurope, hit back on Thursday, telling this website, “What is the problem?
“Yes, we have a close relationship with DG trade – they need us but, equally, we need them. I make no secret of that.
“However, I want to stress that all dealings between my organisation and the commission are done openly, publicly and transparently, and I object to these comments,” said De Buck, formerly the organisation’s secretary general." [TheParliament]
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Showing posts with label EU Commission External Trade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EU Commission External Trade. Show all posts
10/20/08
EU Public Affairs Monitor - 20/10/08
WIPO Director General Calls for Concrete Outcomes to Benefit Indigenous and Local Communities
"The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, called upon WIPO’s member states to intensify efforts to develop concrete international outcomes on traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources. This call opened the 13th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), WIPO’s principal policy forum working on these issues, on October 13, 2008. Newly appointed IGC Chairman, H.E. Ambassador Rigoberto Gauto Vielman of Paraguay, echoed the Director General’s call for the Committee to accelerate and focus its work with a view to delivering conclusive results. Mr. Gurry stressed the need for progress in the IGC’s work, in light of the high priority given to these issues by many diverse countries and by indigenous and local communities. He called on delegations to “reflect on the progress that we have made and where we are going in this process.” The Director General recalled the IGC’s decision at its last meeting in February 2008 to consider intersessional procedures to help accelerate the IGC’s work and to enable it to submit proposals to the WIPO General Assembly in September 2009 in line with the Committee’s current mandate. Mr. Gurry underlined the importance of maintaining a holistic approach to traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources, in the light of their cultural significance for many indigenous and local communities. But he equally pointed to the need for practical steps that would lead the Committee to areas of common ground on which solid progress could be made." [WIPO]
Ireland to work with EU lawyers on Lisbon opt-outs
"Irish Taoisach Brian Cowen said his government is consulting with EU council legal services on drafting possible "opt-outs" to the Lisbon treaty, speaking after an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. "We are prepared to go into that process in good faith," he said, the Irish Times reports, with the structure of the European Commission, EU military integration, taxation and civil rights the likely areas of concern.The Irish leader also underlined his personal support for the Lisbon document and used Iceland's financial meltdown to show the benefits of EU and eurozone membership."There is a huge body of opinion - not shared by the Irish people as things stand - that sees the need for stronger institutions, for better decision-making processes, for more effective decision-making to make sure we can deal with challenges that transcend national boundaries," Mr Cowen said." [EUObserver]
Ashton hearing brought forward
"Deal with European Parliament could limit the disruption caused by the handover of the trade portfolio to the UK's new commissioner. The European Parliament has agreed to fast-track its hearing of the UK's new European commissioner, Catherine Ashton, a move prompted by concerns that she might otherwise be obliged to miss a number of important international meetings." [EuropeanVoice]
"The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, called upon WIPO’s member states to intensify efforts to develop concrete international outcomes on traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources. This call opened the 13th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), WIPO’s principal policy forum working on these issues, on October 13, 2008. Newly appointed IGC Chairman, H.E. Ambassador Rigoberto Gauto Vielman of Paraguay, echoed the Director General’s call for the Committee to accelerate and focus its work with a view to delivering conclusive results. Mr. Gurry stressed the need for progress in the IGC’s work, in light of the high priority given to these issues by many diverse countries and by indigenous and local communities. He called on delegations to “reflect on the progress that we have made and where we are going in this process.” The Director General recalled the IGC’s decision at its last meeting in February 2008 to consider intersessional procedures to help accelerate the IGC’s work and to enable it to submit proposals to the WIPO General Assembly in September 2009 in line with the Committee’s current mandate. Mr. Gurry underlined the importance of maintaining a holistic approach to traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources, in the light of their cultural significance for many indigenous and local communities. But he equally pointed to the need for practical steps that would lead the Committee to areas of common ground on which solid progress could be made." [WIPO]
Ireland to work with EU lawyers on Lisbon opt-outs
"Irish Taoisach Brian Cowen said his government is consulting with EU council legal services on drafting possible "opt-outs" to the Lisbon treaty, speaking after an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. "We are prepared to go into that process in good faith," he said, the Irish Times reports, with the structure of the European Commission, EU military integration, taxation and civil rights the likely areas of concern.The Irish leader also underlined his personal support for the Lisbon document and used Iceland's financial meltdown to show the benefits of EU and eurozone membership."There is a huge body of opinion - not shared by the Irish people as things stand - that sees the need for stronger institutions, for better decision-making processes, for more effective decision-making to make sure we can deal with challenges that transcend national boundaries," Mr Cowen said." [EUObserver]
Ashton hearing brought forward
"Deal with European Parliament could limit the disruption caused by the handover of the trade portfolio to the UK's new commissioner. The European Parliament has agreed to fast-track its hearing of the UK's new European commissioner, Catherine Ashton, a move prompted by concerns that she might otherwise be obliged to miss a number of important international meetings." [EuropeanVoice]
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