The European Parliament has voted on a comprehensive reassessment of the EU’s approach towards nuclear energy, pushing for common safety standards of nuclear facilities across Europe and more investment into renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. No majority however has been found for any proposal. Guy Verhofstadt: “I deplore the fact that no majority has been […]

Just like the weather and our environment, criminals don’t just stop magically at our borders. ALDE MEP Sonia Alfano (Italia dei Valori, Italy), rapporteur for the European Parliament on “Organized crime in the European Union” said: “Organized crime has been underestimated for far too long. We are comforted by an increasing awareness of the necessity of a […]

Euro-MPs have approved a new landmark law on consumer rights that will, if EU governments agree, replace 4 existing laws and introduce stronger and clearer rights across the EU especially for online and telephone buying. Originally the European Commission wanted to standardise consumer rights for all types of shopping, but the European Parliament decided that […]

You’re in a foreign country. There’s no British Embassy. Something’s gone wrong. What do you do next? There are many countries where we don’t have representation, or where the nearest embassy or consulate isn’t British. One of the benefits of being European is that you can seek help from one of the other European countries […]

Tougher penalties and more cooperation between European police forces await human traffickers following the decision by the Coalition government to ‘opt in’ to European wide anti trafficking laws. Following the decision by the Home Office to opt in to the Lib Dem sponsored law, human traffickers will face tougher sentences and more advanced policing across […]

Lethal blind spots in lorries which are the cause of so many cyclist deaths could soon be a thing of the past after the success of a long-running campaign strongly supported by LibDem MEPs on lorry and truck road safety. Campaigners have secured the support of the 369 MEPs needed for the ‘Written Declaration’ on […]

Euro-MPs have approved new Carbon Dioxide emissions limits for new vans paving the way for greener vans in years to come. This follows ambitious legislation pioneered in the European Parliament in 2008 which set targets for the CO2 emissions of passenger cars. Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Allan Siao Ming Witherick said: “The UK can’t legislate […]

The European Union isn’t all bad- and you can thank them for keeping Football on TV free, despite FIFA and UEFA taking the UK government to court. The formally named European Court of First Instance, the European General Court (EGC), and part of the European Court of Justice has ruled that all World Cup and […]

A series of talks to celebrate ‘International Women’s Month’ are being held at the Museum of St Albans on 16, 23 and 30 March, between 7.30pm and 9pm. Liberal Democrat Cllr Sheila Burton, Portfolio Holder for Culture and Heritage commented: “The role of women in history is sometimes undersold. These three lectures give us a […]

The European Parliament will mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day today by reporting on gender equality and female poverty in the EU. Liberal Democrat European justice & human rights spokeswoman and London MEP Sarah Ludford said: “Achievement in liberation of women over the last hundred years is impressive, at least in the developed […]