Michael Cashman CBE MEP

The European Parliament today voted two key reports defining its vision for future EU and global development co-operation frameworks. The Socialists and Democrats (the group which the European Parliamentary Labour Party sits in) put human rights at the heart of the discussions.

The Parliament voted to approve a revision of the Cotonou Agreement – the deal which defines relations between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific States. However, concerns were expressed about the weak political dialogue on human rights, and in particular the absence of a specific mention of sexual orientation as a potential factor in discrimination. This reserved consent invites the European Commission to revise it further in 2015 to address these concerns.

The European Parliament also voted on its position on the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals in advance of the UN Summit in September. The strongly worded text takes an unprecedented human-rights based approach to a universal development framework. The over-arching goal is equality and the text introduces binding national legislation on committing 0.7% of GNI to development aid.

MEP Michael Cashman, the European Parliament’s negotiator on the Cotonou Agreement and S&D spokesperson on the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals, said:

“Today we have sent a strong and unanimous message to the European Commission, EU member states and citizens, third countries and their citizens that there will be no successful development without human rights as the axis of our co-operation.

“The EU is the biggest aid donor in the world and it should be at the forefront when defining the future framework. We should not be complacent and never forget that that which happens to them is as if it were happening to us.

“We need development for the people along with the economies.”

S&D vice-president Véronique De Keyser added:

“We are disappointed to see the right-wing are still failing to see that sexual and reproductive health and rights, which include the right to abortion and contraception, are universal human rights and are key to achieving all the Millennium Development Goals.”

S&D co-ordinator on development co-operation Ricardo Cortés Lastra said:

“The S&D Group believes that the new framework should be universal and global, with ambitious and measurable goals that hold the EU accountable in achieving real development and poverty eradication. We must ensure sustainable development and human rights remain a priority on our political agenda after 2015.”
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The violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Turkey and curbs on fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech and freedom of the media, was in the spotlight during yesterday’s debate between MEPs and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

This was my contribution:

Following today’s vote in Strasbourg, European oil, mining, gas and logging companies will have to disclose the payments they make to governments for access to natural resources.

Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for the new Transparency laws, said: “The vote today is history in the making. The new rules will be a major new weapon in the global fight against corruption, ensuring that citizens of resource rich countries can hold their governments to account for the exploitation of their natural resources.”

In 2008 alone, African oil, gas and mineral exports were worth nine  times the value of international aid (296 billion Euros  vs.  33 billion Euros ).

Arlene said:  “After today’s vote 70% of the world’s extractive industry will  now  be covered by tough transparency rules and the European Union has led the way in setting a new global standard for transparency.  The adoption of these laws is a watershed moment in the global drive for greater transparency.”

Michael Cashman MEP, who is Labour’s representative on the Parliament’s Development Committee added: “Disclosure of key information can discourage corruption, reduce conflict and improve stability in resource-rich countries – benefits that pay dividends to all: governments, developing countries’ citizens, investors and EU citizens alike.

“We can no longer accept that the people living in developing countries are being exploited and do not receive the benefit of the development of their resource wealth.

“Through this legislation we will know in all openness whether the products we buy are conflict- and corruption-free or not and it will be a matter for us, responsible citizens, to take the right decisions. I know we will.”

The European Parliament today adopted a resolution calling for the other 2 EU institutions to join the Parliament at the negotiating table and find an agreement for more openness and transparency in the EU decision-making process.

The legislative revision of the Regulation on Public Access to Documents started back in 2008 but there has been stalemate in the negotiations for almost a year. That stalemate has been brought about by the refusal of the Commission, and to a lesser extent of the Council, to move towards the European Parliament’s position for better and wider access by the EU citizens to EU legislative documents.

Michael Cashman, Slead negotiator for the Socialists & Democrats Group (S&D) in the European Parliament on this dossier hopes the Parliament’s resolution will serve as a wake-up call for the other institutions.

“This is about empowering citizens to hold “Brussels” to account; not only the European Parliament, but also the Commission and the Council of Ministers.

Meetings of the Council of Ministers currently take place behind closed doors. If we knew how our Ministers voted in their secret meetings, we would be able to hold them to account, in all national parliaments across the EU!”

“I trust, however, that the Commission and the Council will stop their backstage collusion on this dossier and will actively follow up on this resolution to kick-start negotiations again as soon as possible. We are standing ready”, he concluded.

The S&D initiative was supported by all major political Groups in the Parliament, except the right-wing EPP.

Supporting the resolution, Sylvie Guillaume, S&D Vice-President said:

“A lot of people feel detached from ‘Europe’. By opening up to the citizen what goes on in Brussels and by making things more transparent, we can take the first steps in combating the apathy and mistrust which a lot of people feel towards the EU and its institutions.”

I regret the fact that the right-wing EPP fails to see how crucial this issue is just one year before the next European elections and that it continues to support the Commission’s secrecy approach. We are all here working on behalf of EU citizens, it is high time that the Commission understood that it cannot act as a private business”

Victims of stalking, harassment or gender-based violence who are granted protection in one EU member state will get the same protection if they move to another EU country under new rules to be approved by Euro MPs in Strasbourg TODAY (Wednesday 22^nd May).

Labour’s Spokesperson on Legal Affairs, Euro MP Arlene McCarthy said: “We are all too familiar with the statistics on domestic abuse in the UK.  One in four women will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime. One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute and on average, two women a week are killed by a current or former male partner.”

“Behind these statistics are real women and children suffering the huge impacts of domestic abuse.”

“With over 1million British citizens living in other European countries it is vital that we are able to respond to the threat of domestic abuse across European borders.”

Arlene added: “This new multilingual certificate available online and easily transferrable between European countries will be a life saving measure for some victims of domestic abuse.”

“Victims of stalking, harassment or domestic abuse will also be guaranteed information and support in their own language.”

West Midlands Labour MEP Michael Cashman also welcomed the new legislation:

“This law is an example of the European Union working at its best to protect citizens.”

Labour Euro MPs today voted for strong proposals to tackle tax dodgers, calling for action to stem the 1 trillion Euros (850 billion pounds) lost to public finances due to tax fraud and avoidance.

Labour’s Economic affairs spokeswoman, Arlene McCarthy MEP said: “It is time to get tough on those intent on avoiding tax. To those big businesses who say stop the talk on tax avoidance we say stop trying to find ways around paying your fair share of tax.

“According to HMRC figures, in the UK alone £9billion is lost every year which could pay for the construction of more than 600 new schools or over 50 new hospitals or pay the annual salaries of over 330,000 police officers.”

In a European Parliament vote today Labour Euro MPs backed a range of proposals, including calls for:

• naming and shaming those sheltering tax evaders by creating a EU wide black list of tax havens,
• companies avoiding tax not to be awarded public contracts,
• more resources to be delivered to tax authorities to tackle tax dodgers andan end to aggressive tax planning by companies trying to avoid paying tax.
• an obligation on companies to publish a single figure for the amount of tax paid in each EU country.
  

Conservative MEPs refused to back proposals to bring greater transparency to multinationals’ tax affairs by requiring them to publish a single figure for the tax they pay in each country. This would help to shed light on the practice of companies using their international operations to avoid paying their fair share of tax such as the recent high profile cases involving Google, Amazon and Starbucks.

Labour’s leader in the European Parliament, Glenis Willmott MEP, called on the British government to use tomorrow’s (Wednesday) European summit to take international action to tackle tax avoidance and evasion:

“We call on David Cameron to match his words with tough action. The UK Government claims that tax avoidance is a key priority for their presidency of the G8 yet their lack of action shows it is all rhetoric.

“We’ve made it clear today that there are cross-border solutions that can be used to tackle companies that don’t want to pay their fair share. Here’s an issue on which international cooperation is essential, but with Cameron under pressure from his backbenchers, will he deliver anything but warm words?”

Arlene McCarthy MEP added: “As for UKIP, Nigel Farage claims to be “free thinking” but he is instead encouraging free loading by tax dodgers. Today he could have backed proposals to crack down on tax evaders and avoiders – but his colleagues voted against the proposals and he left before the end of the vote.”

Today the EU Fundamental Rights Agency has published the first-ever comparative study on the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the 27 Member States and Croatia. It finds that almost one in two (47%) LGBT people felt discriminated against or harassed in the last year.

Ordered by the European Commission in 2011, the report draws on over 93,000 responses, the largest sample of this type. The survey was conducted by Gallup Europe.

The results were unveiled today at a high-level EU conference in The Hague. Speakers included UN human rights chief Navi Pillay; Vice-President of the European Commission Viviane Reding; French Minister for Women’s Rights and government spokesperson Najat Vallaud-Belkacem; Irish Minister of State for Equality Kathleen Lynch; and Polish Secretary of State for Equal Treatment Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz.

Commenting on the results, Co-President of the LGBT Intergroup Michael Cashman MEP said: “The survey found that 47%—or almost one in two LGBT persons—felt discriminated against or harassed in the last 12 months because of who they were. This is a clear signal for the EU, and especially Member States and the European Commission, to do much more to outlaw discrimination and harassment.”

“It turns out that lesbian women (55%), young people between 18 and 24 (57%) and poorer LGBT people (52%) are the most likely to be discriminated against. This shows the effects of discrimination and harassment are multiplied for people who tend to be marginalised; anti-discrimination isn’t an elitist concern, it’s a crucial imperative for people from many different social groups”, added Ulrike Lunacek MEP, Intergroup Co-President.

“The data shows that one in four (26%) respondents were attacked or threatened with violence because of who they were, including a whopping one in three (35%) victims among transgender people. It’s high time the European Commission and Member States stop paying lip service to LGBT rights and turn words into action: they must condemn hate speech and ensure safety and respect for all EU citizens”, commented Sophie in ‘t Veld MEP, Intergroup Vice-President.

Dennis de Jong MEP, Intergroup Vice-President, concluded by saying that “Unfortunately, only one in ten (10%) respondents reported discrimination to the police, and only one in five (22%) reported violence or harassment. For every violent incident recorded by the police, four more have actually occurred. We can’t afford to wait much longer for tougher laws protecting LGBT people.”

The study also found that 32% were discriminated against in housing, education, or when accessing healthcare, goods or services. This could be outlawed under EU law if Member States stopped blocking a draft Directive addressing these issues, proposed by the Commission in 2008 and approved by the Parliament in 2009.

Finally, 20% of all respondents (29% among transgender respondents) were discriminated against on grounds of sex or sexual orientation in their job or while looking for one, despite EU law forbidding this.

Download the survey results at a glance or a summary factsheet

On Friday 10 May 2013, Michael Cashman will be made Commander of the British Empire (CBE), as he was named in the New Year’s Honours List, for his tireless fight for equality. He will be accompanied at the ceremony in Buckingham Palace by his partner of 30 years, Paul Cottingham, his brother, John, and long-time friend, actress Michelle Collins. Following the ceremony, he will host a celebratory lunch with, amongst others, Sir Ian McKellen, Barbara Windsor, Paul O’Grady and Michelle Collins.

“I have had an amazing life where I have been able to stand up for the values and principles which I believe in and to effect real change for my life and the lives of others. Not a day goes by when I don’t recognise how lucky and fortunate I have been in my life.”, he commented.

“Whilst we have achieved so much in terms of legal equality for LGBT people in the UK we still have so much more to do. Discrimination still exists and it destroys and blights so many lives. In other parts of the world people are imprisoned, criminalised or face capital punishment simply because they are different. On behalf of all those people I proudly accept this honour and commit to continue the fight for equality”, he concluded.

From participating in the first gay kiss in a British Soap Opera on EastEnders to becoming the founding Chair of the Stonewall Group in the UK which put forward the case for equality for LGBT people on the mainstream political agenda in 1989, and to being the outgoing Chair of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, Cashman has been an active campaigner across a wide range of issues and is a trenchant critic of any form of discrimination, a defender of human rights and has worked to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Cashman has been a Labour Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands for the last 15 years. In this capacity, he is co-presiding the Intergroup for LGBT Rights and is continuously campaigning for inclusive legislation, horizontal non-discrimination frameworks and a more transparent and democratic decision-making process within the EU and beyond. For his work, he was 2 times awarded the title of MEP of the year (2007 and 2012) and received the European Diversity Lifetime Achievement Award (2012).

The Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with South Africa, Labour MEP Michael Cashman CBE, hascriticised the UK’s decision to end its development programme in the African nation from 2015.

This decision was taken unilaterally, without the consultation of the South African government as the UK’s International Development Secretary, Justine Greening, said South Africa, the continent’s largest and most developed economy, was now in a position to fund its own development.

“Justine Greening has seriously misjudged the position in South Africa and risks undermining the excellent investment development decisions taken over the last fifteen years.

It is clear she is either ignorant of the depths of poverty in South Africa or she is badly advised. Either way she should review this decision immediately, or at the very least work a solution bilaterally with her South African counterpart”, stated Cashman, who is also Labour’s Spokesperson on European Development Cooperation

This decision comes as the European Union is reviewing its development cooperation strategy and fights have begun to differentiate countries who should still benefit from aid and those who should not, South Africa being one of the most controversial case. The country is somewhat of a development “success story” and is the continent’s largest and most developed economy. However, it remains one of the world’s most unequal societies and is blighted by high unemployment and widespread poverty. It is estimated that nearly 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.

“Tories do not understand that they are destroying years of good development and aid work. It is catastrophic for the poorest in South Africa, and if revealing of the new UK development aid policy, for the world’s poorest! At such a time, the UK should be at the forefront promoting a fair, sustainable and inclusive growth rather than purely economic growth for the richest. The relation between South Africa and the UK, and in extenso the whole European Union, which was based on a partnership strategic for all sides has been harmed and we should not be surprised if the country decides to continue to look East and turn to China or India to create a new global pattern,” he concluded.

EU governments will be voting today (29 April) on whether three types of pesticides should be restricted, following evidence that they are harmful to bees.

So far EU governments have not been able to reach a majority either for or against the proposal, with the UK government failing to support action on the pesticides.

The European Commission is now taking the proposal to its appeals committee. If Member States are still unable to reach an agreement, the Commission would be able to take the decision to ban the pesticides.

The UK bee population has declined by 30% since 2007. As around three quarters of crops are reliant on pollination by bees, this is something that the UK government should be taking very seriously.

Labour MEPs have been pushing for action on this for years. This January the European Food Safety Authority stated that three types of neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to bees, and their use should be restricted.”

Michael Cashman said:

“The European Commission have been absolutely right to push the British government on the use of pesticides. Hitherto our government has sides with pesticide companies instead of scientists, environmental campaigners and concerned constituents. Today they have one last chance to finally do the right thing and support these proposals.”

UPDATE:
The European Commission has decided to go ahead with a two year restriction on three pesticides found to be harmful to bees, as EU countries fail to reach a consensus. Clearly the British government listened more to the lobby of the big pesticide companies than to the concerns of their own constituents.

The only way we can have a real impact on saving collapsing bee colonies is by working together at EU level. Labour MEPs will be closely monitoring the implementation and effects of the restriction to see whether further action is needed.