MEPs' pension fund sparks lively debate

THE WEEK IN STRASBOURG:THE IDEA of trying to make the European Parliament debates livelier and more like Westminster was promoted by a German MEP this week, the author of a report on reforming the institution.

She need not have worried. The Strasbourg assembly erupted with accusations and denials during Thursday’s vote as the question of the €120 million hole in the MEPs’ supplementary pension fund came before it.

Members asked how some 400 MEPs who are members of the scheme could be allowed to vote on the issue, but the bureau of the parliament has insisted that no public money would be spent on it.

On MEP finances, Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald called on her Irish colleagues to publish their expenses in advance of the June election in order to stop the “gravy train culture” in Brussels.

Apart from considering their own financial woes, MEPs also took further steps to deal with the financial crisis. This included a measure called Solvency II which aims to ensure the financial stability of insurance companies by bringing in more complex criteria for assessing risk.

During the financial debate Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell said the EU needed leaders like Nicolas Sarkozy or Jacques Delors to solve the crisis, suggesting the Czech EU presidency was not so capable.

Another strong leader, President Barack Obama, was praised on all sides during a debate on nuclear weapons on Thursday in which MEPs called on ministers to strengthen the EU’s stance. Mr Obama has pledged that the US will take new initiatives against nuclear proliferation.

Commissioner Oli Rehn said that time and climate were ripe for changes in the way Europe handles nuclear issues.

The first video link-up debate between members of the US House of Representatives and MEPs was also held on Thursday.

Commissioner Viviane Reding this week spoke of the “shock bills” of thousands of euro received by some travellers who download music or browse the web while roaming.

The parliament voted in charges that will reduce mobile data charges by up to 95 per cent for many Irish customers.

Phone calls in EU countries will be reduced by some 20 per cent, while text messages will in many cases be halved.

EU consumers could also benefit from proposals for cross-border healthcare which were before the parliament. This would give Irish patients the right to seek health treatment in other EU countries and to be reimbursed.

A “war on hospital bugs” was declared by a report which the parliament backed this week. It proposes measures to reduce hospital infections by 20 per cent.

Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley had a report adopted in parliament. His proposals would extend music copyright for performers from 50 to 70 years.

And, as this was the penultimate plenary session before the European elections, MEPs pondered would they be back after June. It was a reality that proved useful for politicians during press conferences, as answers on several occasions went along the lines of “we have to leave something for the next parliament to do”.