GUE/NGL Study Days in Czech Republic cover wide range of issues
Press release of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL), Ceské Budějovice, 07/01/2009
GUE/NGL MEPs meeting in the town of Ceské Budějovice in the Czech Republic this week, for their first study days of the year and the last of this term of office, discussed issues of importance for the left under the Czech presidency, namely the future of Europe and the Lisbon Treaty, the global financial crisis, international security and the planned installation of a US anti-missile system on Czech soil, EU agricultural policies and the CAP, and energy security and safety.
The war in Gaza
But before tackling the programme itself, MEPs debated the situation in Gaza. The group was unanimous in its condemnation of the war launched by Israeli leaders and approved the intercessions made by the Group's President, Francis Wurtz, to the French presidency of the Union immediately after the first bombings and the request for a debate in the European Parliament during the 12 January plenary session. GUE/NGL MEPs decided to take immediate initiatives aiming to help put a stop to the war, to assist the Palestinian people and to relaunch a peace process worthy of the name.
Czech presidency priorities & the Lisbon Treaty
Vojtěch Filip, President of the KSCM party and Vice-President of the Czech Parliament, said he supported the Group's initiative on Gaza. "I would like to see solidarity gaining over brute force." He then presented his party, the third largest in the country, before outlining the Czech presidency priorities and his party's input, which managed to get the energy question high on the list. He went on to describe the process of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in the Czech Republic, saying that after a first successful reading in the Senate, there were doubts that it might pass the second reading and criticised it for not meeting the needs of the EU.
Speaking about the Lisbon Treaty and the Irish "No" vote, GUE/NGL MEP Bairbre de Brún (Ireland) stressed that this vote had been a "progressive vote", despite media attempts to minimise the arguments put forward by her party, Sinn Fein, and trade unions, as well as the government's "scaremongering tactics" both during the campaign and in the aftermath of the vote.
Central to her party's proactive campaign was the message that Ireland's place is firmly in the EU. MEP de Brún stressed that the Irish "No" was not a vote against the EU but a vote for a "better deal", a better treaty: one that will protect workers' rights, public services and Ireland's neutrality. "There is a second referendum scheduled for October 2009 but many of the concerns of the "No" voters have not been addressed. Irish people have been told there will be a number of declarations, but these do not have the same legal status as the text of a treaty or a protocol to a treaty," she concluded.
International security & the anti-missile shield
GUE/NGL MEP Jiři Maštálka (Czech Republic) described the opposition to the planned US anti-missile shield to be deployed on Czech soil, which 66% of the Czech population oppose and for which 61% of the population favour a referendum. No party in Czech parliament had mustered as much support for this opposition as his party, the KSCM, he explained.
He described some of the many initiatives organised such as "No to the bases" or "Initiative for a referendum", which have been effective thanks to voluntary activities by young people. However, despite the unfavourable public opinion, this opposition is likely to be ignored by the Czech government, which is still in a cold war mindset and sees the installation of these missiles as their "hallowed duty" in the struggle against dependency on Russia.
German GUE/NGL MEP Tobias Pflüger informed participants of an executive decision by NATO to build an anti-missile system in south-east Europe and said there was a "need to look at how to prevent this going ahead." He described these systems as being more secondary attack systems than defence systems, as they are presented by the US, and said that the current economic crisis may be an opportunity to prevent them being built at all because of the costs involved.
He also spoke of the activities organised around NATO's 60th anniversary celebrations in Strasbourg on 3 and 4 April, including a summit to look at a new strategy in the post 1999 strategy period, the situation in Afghanistan and the reintegration of France as a full NATO member and said the group should participate in the demonstration and counter conference being organised there in protest.
EU agricultural policy and the CAP
During a debate on common EU agricultural policies, Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL, Portugal) said that during the accession process, the terms of the agreements imposed by the European Commission and Council of Ministers on the new Member States, in particular with regard to agriculture, had resulted in discrimination because much less aid had been proposed in relation to the older Member States.
"Our group was against that approach and sought equal treatment regarding aid to farmers in all EU countries," she said. The GUE/NGL also supports respect for the agricultural specificities of each country, she said, and had called for mechanisms to ensure that account was taken of these differences. Another recurring demand is for specific support to be given to small and medium farmers and farm holdings while keeping in mind food safety, security and quality and the needs of each country to feed its population, she said.
Energy security - sure energy
Opening the debate on energy, Miloslav Ransdorf (GUE/NGL, Czech Republic) stressed the dangers of dependency on fossil fuels and provided an overview on the situation in the Czech Republic where electricity is mostly generated by coal and nuclear energy, and only where 5% comes from renewable energies. To prevent rising prices for consumers due to speculation, it's necessary to store more energy, he said, adding that biomass fuels were not efficient and could increase food prices by up to 70%."A good mix of energy is traditional energy sources together with renewables", he said. André Brie (GUE/NGL, Germany) disagreed and stressed that nuclear power was not a solution. "We must have the courage to undergo a real change to protect our environment and the climate".
GUE/NGL Press conference in Czech Parliament, Thursday 8 January
The study days will conclude tomorrow, Thursday 8 January, with a visit by the GUE/NGL to the Czech Parliament in Prague beginning with a press conference there at 10 am chaired by Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, Vice-Chair of GUE/NGL, with Vojtěch Filip, President of the KSCM party and Vice-President of the Czech Parliament, Pavel Kovacik KSCM member of the Czech Parliament, and Czech GUE/NGL MEPs Miloslav Ransdorf and Jiři Maštálka.
GUE/NGL MEPs meeting in the town of Ceské Budějovice in the Czech Republic this week, for their first study days of the year and the last of this term of office, discussed issues of importance for the left under the Czech presidency, namely the future of Europe and the Lisbon Treaty, the global financial crisis, international security and the planned installation of a US anti-missile system on Czech soil, EU agricultural policies and the CAP, and energy security and safety.
The war in Gaza
But before tackling the programme itself, MEPs debated the situation in Gaza. The group was unanimous in its condemnation of the war launched by Israeli leaders and approved the intercessions made by the Group's President, Francis Wurtz, to the French presidency of the Union immediately after the first bombings and the request for a debate in the European Parliament during the 12 January plenary session. GUE/NGL MEPs decided to take immediate initiatives aiming to help put a stop to the war, to assist the Palestinian people and to relaunch a peace process worthy of the name.
Czech presidency priorities & the Lisbon Treaty
Vojtěch Filip, President of the KSCM party and Vice-President of the Czech Parliament, said he supported the Group's initiative on Gaza. "I would like to see solidarity gaining over brute force." He then presented his party, the third largest in the country, before outlining the Czech presidency priorities and his party's input, which managed to get the energy question high on the list. He went on to describe the process of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in the Czech Republic, saying that after a first successful reading in the Senate, there were doubts that it might pass the second reading and criticised it for not meeting the needs of the EU.
Speaking about the Lisbon Treaty and the Irish "No" vote, GUE/NGL MEP Bairbre de Brún (Ireland) stressed that this vote had been a "progressive vote", despite media attempts to minimise the arguments put forward by her party, Sinn Fein, and trade unions, as well as the government's "scaremongering tactics" both during the campaign and in the aftermath of the vote.
Central to her party's proactive campaign was the message that Ireland's place is firmly in the EU. MEP de Brún stressed that the Irish "No" was not a vote against the EU but a vote for a "better deal", a better treaty: one that will protect workers' rights, public services and Ireland's neutrality. "There is a second referendum scheduled for October 2009 but many of the concerns of the "No" voters have not been addressed. Irish people have been told there will be a number of declarations, but these do not have the same legal status as the text of a treaty or a protocol to a treaty," she concluded.
International security & the anti-missile shield
GUE/NGL MEP Jiři Maštálka (Czech Republic) described the opposition to the planned US anti-missile shield to be deployed on Czech soil, which 66% of the Czech population oppose and for which 61% of the population favour a referendum. No party in Czech parliament had mustered as much support for this opposition as his party, the KSCM, he explained.
He described some of the many initiatives organised such as "No to the bases" or "Initiative for a referendum", which have been effective thanks to voluntary activities by young people. However, despite the unfavourable public opinion, this opposition is likely to be ignored by the Czech government, which is still in a cold war mindset and sees the installation of these missiles as their "hallowed duty" in the struggle against dependency on Russia.
German GUE/NGL MEP Tobias Pflüger informed participants of an executive decision by NATO to build an anti-missile system in south-east Europe and said there was a "need to look at how to prevent this going ahead." He described these systems as being more secondary attack systems than defence systems, as they are presented by the US, and said that the current economic crisis may be an opportunity to prevent them being built at all because of the costs involved.
He also spoke of the activities organised around NATO's 60th anniversary celebrations in Strasbourg on 3 and 4 April, including a summit to look at a new strategy in the post 1999 strategy period, the situation in Afghanistan and the reintegration of France as a full NATO member and said the group should participate in the demonstration and counter conference being organised there in protest.
EU agricultural policy and the CAP
During a debate on common EU agricultural policies, Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL, Portugal) said that during the accession process, the terms of the agreements imposed by the European Commission and Council of Ministers on the new Member States, in particular with regard to agriculture, had resulted in discrimination because much less aid had been proposed in relation to the older Member States.
"Our group was against that approach and sought equal treatment regarding aid to farmers in all EU countries," she said. The GUE/NGL also supports respect for the agricultural specificities of each country, she said, and had called for mechanisms to ensure that account was taken of these differences. Another recurring demand is for specific support to be given to small and medium farmers and farm holdings while keeping in mind food safety, security and quality and the needs of each country to feed its population, she said.
Energy security - sure energy
Opening the debate on energy, Miloslav Ransdorf (GUE/NGL, Czech Republic) stressed the dangers of dependency on fossil fuels and provided an overview on the situation in the Czech Republic where electricity is mostly generated by coal and nuclear energy, and only where 5% comes from renewable energies. To prevent rising prices for consumers due to speculation, it's necessary to store more energy, he said, adding that biomass fuels were not efficient and could increase food prices by up to 70%."A good mix of energy is traditional energy sources together with renewables", he said. André Brie (GUE/NGL, Germany) disagreed and stressed that nuclear power was not a solution. "We must have the courage to undergo a real change to protect our environment and the climate".
GUE/NGL Press conference in Czech Parliament, Thursday 8 January
The study days will conclude tomorrow, Thursday 8 January, with a visit by the GUE/NGL to the Czech Parliament in Prague beginning with a press conference there at 10 am chaired by Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, Vice-Chair of GUE/NGL, with Vojtěch Filip, President of the KSCM party and Vice-President of the Czech Parliament, Pavel Kovacik KSCM member of the Czech Parliament, and Czech GUE/NGL MEPs Miloslav Ransdorf and Jiři Maštálka.
Tobias Pflüger - 2009/01/07 18:54
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