Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved parliament’s lower house on Tuesday and called for national elections on August 30. In televised remarks, Aso apologized for his failings and admitted that his party’s internal turmoil had contributed to recent local election losses.
Posts Tagged ‘parliament’
EP chief on importance of Balkan integration
July 21st, 2009 |
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The new president of the European Parliament has stressed the importance of the Western Balkans’ integration into EU structures provided all conditions are met. “The situation in the Balkans is now promising. Today, there are no longer the tensions that we knew in the past. The countries of the region are now knocking at the EU’s door. We can admit new members, what’s more, in a entirely natural manner. But, the conditions need to be met first,†Jerzy Buzek told daily VeÄernje Novosti.
Japan PM dissolves parliament ahead of election
July 21st, 2009 |
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Japan’s unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for an election late next month seen likely to end his party’s more than half century of almost unbroken rule. The embattled Aso, who is lagging badly in opinion polls and has struggled to quell internal
Construction law to be debated by MPs
July 20th, 2009 |
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The Serbian parliament continues work today with a debate on four laws from the fields of urbanism, residence and environmental protection. MPs will discuss a draft law for spatial organization and construction, surveying registries, and the fund for environmental protection.
70% of EU National Integration Plan complete
July 17th, 2009 |
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70 percent of the National Integration Plan for the EU has been completed, the European Integration Office announced today. The government has adopted 10 out of 13 of its planned laws, equaling 77 percent, while parliament adopted 42 laws between April and June–2.8 times more than it received from the government
Iceland ready for EU accession vote
July 16th, 2009 |
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Iceland’s marathon debate over joining the European Union is nearing the finish line, with parliament preparing to put the issue to a vote. Should the motion succeed in the 63-seat Althing, the government intends to put the final say to a referendum.
Party rebels move on Japanese PM
July 16th, 2009 |
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By Roland Buerk
BBC News, Tokyo
Rebels within Japan’s governing party are making last ditch attempts to remove Prime Minister Taro Aso before he can dissolve parliament on Tuesday.
Local media say a petition has been signed by more than a third of the party’s MPs demanding a meeting.
Under party rules it must be held within seven days.
Mr Aso said he would call an election for 30 August but critics within his party said under his leadership it would be political suicide.
For decades it was a slick, election-winning machine, but now Prime Minister Taro Aso’s decision to call a snap poll has caused chaos in his Liberal Democratic Party.
Members of parliament, including Japan’s finance minister Kaoru Yosano, have signed a petition demanding an urgent party meeting.
Rebels have called openly for Mr Aso to be ousted believing he is leading them to an historic defeat.
The LDP has been in power for almost all the past half century.
It was earlier this week that Prime Minister tried to head off his party critics by letting it be known he would dissolve parliament next Tuesday.
Deeply unpopular, he has been under pressure to step down for months.
Japan is in a deep recession and at times the Prime Minister has appeared indecisive.
Many believe a last minute change of leader would do little to improve the Liberal Democratic Party’s fortunes.
Mr Aso is already the fourth prime minister since the party won the last election to the more powerful lower house of parliament in 2005.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Tories give up Eurosceptic leadership at EU
July 15th, 2009 |
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Timothy Kirkhope surrenders leadership of new group to Polish MEP after deal to secure a vice-presidency of the parliament for the Pole unravels
The Conservatives were today forced to forfeit the leadership of their new Eurosceptic grouping in the European parliament in order to prevent it from falling it apart on its first day.
Timothy Kirkhope, the Tory leader in the chamber in Strasbourg, had to surrender the leadership of the new group to the Polish MEP Michal Kaminski after a deal to secure a vice-presidency of the parliament for the Pole unravelled, triggering a major row.
On the first day of the new parliament on Tuesday, the veteran Tory MEP Edward McMillan-Scott defied the party whip and stood for one of the vice-presidency posts despite Conservative pledges last week that Kaminski would be backed for it.
Kaminski’s bid for a vice-presidency then failed, and McMillan-Scott ignored pleas from David Cameron to make way for the Pole.
The Poles then threatened to abandon the new caucus of “European conservatives and reformists” on its first day unless Kaminski was made the group leader in the parliament.
Kirkhope went to an emergency meeting with the Poles in Strasbourg and proposed sharing the group leadership with the Pole.
He was rebuffed and had to step down as the overall fraction leader.
The 55-strong grouping is the fourth biggest caucus in the new parliament. The Tories are the strongest national contributor, with 26 members, while the Poles of the Law and Justice party are the second biggest contingent with 15 seats.
Cameron formed the new grouping, mainly with new EU member states from eastern Europe, to campaign against the Lisbon treaty.
The move brought an end to two decades of collaboration with the mainstream centre-right parties in the EU.
The dispute with the Poles in the first 48 hours of the new parliament highlights the volatility of the new caucus and raises questions about its durability.
McMillan-Scott, a vice-president in the outgoing parliament and a long-serving MEP, was expelled from the Conservative delegation in the European parliament.
He could yet decide to rejoin the mainstream centre-right European People’s party, making him the sole Briton in the parliament’s biggest fraction.
While proclaiming his loyalty as a lifelong Conservative, McMillan-Scott is known to believe Cameron’s new allies in Poland are “racist and homophobic”.
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Swedish PM sounds climate alarm
July 15th, 2009 |
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Sweden is to brief Euro MPs on its priorities as the new holder of the EU presidency, with jobs and climate change expected to figure prominently.
Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt is expected to say he will push for an EU deal on funding for green measures, with a global deal as the big prize.
A UN special conference on climate change, set for Copenhagen in December, is already shaping Sweden’s priorities.
The new European Parliament, with 736 MEPs, began work on Tuesday.
In the climate change negotiations the EU is wrestling with the problem of burden-sharing – how to spread fairly the cost of switching to a low-carbon economy.
The economic crisis has put huge pressure on state budgets and industry, complicating the introduction of green measures.
Sweden will hold the EU presidency for six months, under the current rotation system. But if the Lisbon Treaty is finally ratified by all member states the next presidency will run for two-and-a-half years.
SWEDISH PRIORITIES- Reaching an EU deal on funding green measures to curb global warming
- Getting Lisbon Treaty implemented smoothly
- Creating conditions for economic recovery in Europe, including action on jobs
Sweden took over the presidency from the Czech Republic on 1 July.
It says it wants the Lisbon Treaty to come into force during its presidency. The next big hurdle is the second Irish referendum, scheduled for 2 October.
On Tuesday the European Parliament elected former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as its new president.
A 69-year-old conservative, he is the first politician from the former communist bloc to chair the parliament.
The elections last month produced an assembly of 736 MEPs with the centre-right forming the biggest bloc.
Mr Buzek will hold the post for two-and-a-half years – half of the parliament’s five-year mandate. Under a deal struck before Tuesday’s vote, a Socialist MEP will serve as president for the other half.
MEPs will postpone for at least two months a vote on reappointing European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, a veteran Portuguese conservative. Sweden had hoped the vote would happen this week.
Mr Barroso has the support of all 27 member states, but his centre-right allies in the assembly do not have a majority.
- EPP – European People’s Party (Christian Democrats)
- PASDE – Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in Europe (centre-left)
- ALDE – Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (liberal)
- GUE/NGL – European United Left-Nordic Green Left (left-wing)
- Greens/EFA – Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens and regionalists/nationalists)
- ECR – European Conservatives and Reformists Group (right-wing)
- EFD – Europe of Freedom and Democracy (Eurosceptic)
- NI – Non-attached (MEPs not part of any group)
These groups may change if new alliances are formed. The number of MEPs will increase to 754 if the Lisbon Treaty comes into force.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Euro newcomers
July 14th, 2009 |
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By Jonty Bloom
The World Tonight, BBC Radio 4
The first session of the new European Parliament in Strasbourg has been dominated by two issues: the election of Jerzy Buzek as its president and the arrival of the first far right MEPs from the UK.
Jerzy Buzek is the living embodiment of what many people think the European Union is all about.
He was born in Poland, in a border region which changed hands between Czechoslovakia, Poland and Germany in the chaos of World War II.
He ended the war living and working in communist Poland – a regime that he eventually helped to bring down as a member of the anti-bureaucratic trade union Solidarity.
Eventually, he became prime minister of Poland and now, aged 69, has been sworn in as the first president of the European Parliament from the former communist East.
It has been a remarkable journey for him and for Europe, the significance of which can perhaps best be judged by a line from Mr Buzek’s speech of thanks.
"Nick Griffin seemed to think he might get quite a respectful reception on the floor of the European Parliament"
Jonty Bloom, BBC Radio 4
Euro parliament elects new leader"Once upon a time I hoped to be a member of the Polish Parliament, in a free Poland," he said.
"Today I have become the president of the European Parliament, something I could never have dreamed of."
But amid all the symbolism that surrounds these events it is also worth remembering that the role of president is largely symbolic and, in this case, is the result of political trade off.
It has already been arranged that conservative Mr Buzek will serve two-and-half years before standing down in favour of a socialist candidate.
Anti-BNP petition
If that kind of wheeler-dealing highlights one problem for Europe, many MEPs fear that the election of Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons presents another.
They are the first members of the far right British National Party to win seats in the European Parliament, although to be fair that has caused more consternation in the UK than in Strasbourg where far right politicians are not so uncommon.
Their election has led to a petition by 90,000 British voters declaring that the BNP does not speak for them.
But technically now, at least, they do and no petition is going to stop them being MEPs or speaking when and how they want.
In fact, Nick Griffin seemed to think he might get quite a respectful reception on the floor of the European Parliament.
He pointed out that when UK Independence Party’s leader Nigel Farage attacked the "federalist project" from the floor of Parliament he was heckled.
But he said: "When Bruno Gollnisch [from the French National Front] got up and spoke more specifically today he was heard politely, so I may be in the same category, we will see."
Mr Griffin may well be right, but it seems unlikely.
It is true to say, however, that the European Parliament is made up of a very wide range of political parties and has coped with their often controversial views for a long time.
Doubtless it will manage to do so in the next five years as well. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Strasbourg diary
July 14th, 2009 |
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The newly-elected European Parliament is holding its first session this week, with MEPs vying for political influence. Half are novices in the Strasbourg assembly, the rest have been re-elected.
The BBC’s Dominic Hughes is keeping a diary as he rubs shoulders with MEPs, gauging the mood as they settle in and forge new alliances. You can send in your comments using the form at the bottom.
Tuesday, 1225 French time
As expected the former Polish PM Jerzy Buzek has been elected as the new President of the European Parliament. He scored an overwhelming win – 555 vots to just 89 for the only other candidate, Eva-Britt Svensson from Sweden.
His election is interesting not least because it reflects the growing power of the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe in the EU. And Mr Buzek made reference to that in his acceptance speech, talking about the long journey Poland had taken to emerge from behind the Iron Curtain as a key player in the EU. It’s pretty amazing really.
I remember a conversation with my Dad in the mid-1980s when I asked him if he ever thought the Iron Curtain would fall. "Not in my lifetime," he said. It’s his birthday on Thursday and he’ll be 76. Just goes to show that even dads get it wrong sometimes.
Tuesday, 1120 French time
So the first session of this new Parliament has begun amid pretty chaotic scenes. To start with, journalists had to queue for ages in pouring rain at the press entrance to the Parliament as loads of people were waiting for temporary accreditation – part-timers! The BBC News Channel was waiting, so I flashed my badge and barged in I’m afraid.
Meanwhile outside the Parliament chamber hordes of camera crews and snappers were jostling for position as the new MEPs entered what’s known as the hemicycle, trying to get a shot as the members trooped in to vote for a new president. A few well-known faces appeared – Jose Bove for example, the French farmer who became the poster boy for the anti-globalisation movement and is now a freshly-minted MEP.
The first round of voting is now under way as I type, but everyone knows the former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek will emerge as the winner. How democratic is that
We’re also waiting to see what will happen with the British National Party. I’d be amazed if there was not some kind of statement or demonstration by a British MEP objecting to their presence in the chamber.
Here’s some unverified gossip: During preliminary meetings in Brussels over the past few weeks the BNP were given the cold shoulder in the canteens and cafes. And every time the BNP’s Nick Griffin tried to speak his microphone mysteriously went dead so he could never be heard. If it’s true, is this the right way to treat someone who is after all a democratically elected representative
Monday, 1830 French time
So here we are for a (shortish) week at the Strasbourg seat of the European Parliament to mark the first sitting of the new session. It’s a good five-hour drive here from my usual base in Brussels (don’t get me started on the insanity of the Parliament’s two seats in Strasbourg and Brussels) and over the past two years my cameraman colleague Patrice and I have developed a tradition of stopping for a hearty lunch of meatballs and chips at the Ikea on the Belgium-Luxembourg border. I then fall fast asleep to leave Patrice to drive on, accompanied by the sound of some light snoring.
But now I’m here there’s plenty to get my teeth into. All 736 MEPs elected last month need to be sworn in; chairmen and members of the various parliamentary committees – where most of the real work is done – need to be agreed; and a new President of the European Parliament needs to be elected. I use "elected" in the broadest sense of the word in that it’s almost certainly going to be the former conservative prime minister of Poland Jerzy Buzek who will assume the parliament’s top job, in a stitch-up between the centre-right group, the European People’s Party (the biggest in the parliament), and the centre-left group, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The latter will probably have one of their own take over the role half-way through the five-year life of this Parliament.
Plus, a new force makes its debut this week – the European Conservatives and Reformists Group gets its first outing, following the British Tories’ withdrawal from the EPP. Quite how influential they will be depends on how many committee seats and chairmanships they pick up this week.
And of course there is the small matter of the arrival of two newly-elected British MEPs from the British National Party. How will the generally liberal establishment here in Strasbourg deal with a party that many regard as racist How should they respond – engage and challenge or isolate and ignore What do you think I’ll be adding diary entries across the week and I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Your comments:
I hope our esteemed Euroleaders are reminded how much we hate their dictatorial tendencies whenever they see their two new colleagues. I do not personally think voting in wannabe dictators is a good way to do it though. I never thought I would see the day when the BNP got someone beyond councillor status. Tony Sweeting, Leicester, UK
Un-democratic body! This statement doesn’t add up! Why do we have Euro Elections The European Parliament does represent the voters’ wishes, better than in the UK where they still use the first past the post system.
foxyeric, brussels, belgium
I wonder how this new-look EU Parliament will handle another rejection of the Lisbon (Constitution) Treaty by the Irish electorate this coming October
How will it reconcile its dictatorial aspirations with the blatant democracy emanating from Ireland
The Constitution (Lisbon) Treaty is all about destroying democracy and the Irish really are now becoming just more than an embarrassment; they are an unwelcome hindrance.
Micheal Breathnach, Galway, Ireland
Why does no-one comment on the fact that the European elections have reflected the Eurosceptic feelings that most people in the UK (and other Euro countries) have
The only comments we get about the BNP and UKIP is that they are racial votes. Yet in most countries only the smaller parties reflect the scepticism that Europeans feel towards this nonsense and un-democratic body that makes its representatives waste money by moving from Brussels to Strasbourg etc.
Marijke Bevan, Tunbridge Wells, U.K.
<p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Euro parliament elects new leader
July 14th, 2009 |
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The European parliament will begin its new five-year term in Strasbourg on Tuesday following elections last month.
One of the first tasks of the 736 MEPs will be to elect a new parliament president. Former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek is expected to be chosen.
But they will postpone for at least two months a vote on reappointing European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.
The new parliament will include right-wing groups that made gains in June, including the British National Party.
Correspondents say it is not clear how British MEPs from the political mainstream will interact with their two colleagues from the BNP.
It is also not yet clear whether the BNP will be form a new bloc with other far-right MEPs – including those from Hungary’s Jobbik, France’s National Front, Belgium’s Vlaams Belang, Bulgaria’s Ataka, the Danish People’s Party, and the Dutch Freedom Party – or be independent.
Strongest bloc
June’s election produced a clear victory for centre-right parties across Europe.
Although the 25 British Conservative Party MEPs have left the European People’s Party to form the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), the EPP remains the strongest bloc in parliament with 264 seats.
The centre-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in Europe (PASDE) is the second largest bloc with 183 MEPs, followed by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) with 84.
NEW PARLIAMENT IN FIGURES- Half of MEPs were re-elected, half are new
- Highest proportion of newly-elected MEPs is from Lithuania
- Youngest MEP – Emilie Turunen (Danish), 25
- Oldest MEP – Ciriaco De Mita (Italian), 81
- Women MEPs – 35.3% (31.2% in old parliament)
- Finland has most women MEPs (61.5%)
- Malta has no women MEPs
Quite how influential the ECR will be in the new parliament should become clear when the members and chairmen of the powerful committees are decided, says the BBC’s Dominic Hughes in Strasbourg.
The EPP and PASDE are expected to share the presidency of the parliament over the next five years, with Mr Buzek, a former conservative Polish prime minster, likely to be the first to occupy the top job for two-and-a-half years.
Our correspondent says the president sets the tone of the parliament and can rule on points of order. The post holder also represents the assembly to heads of state and government.
Absent from the session, however, will be a vote on the reappointment of Mr Barroso as president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm.
The former Portuguese PM has support of all 27 member states, but his centre-right allies in the assembly do not have a majority.
The Greens bloc, which increased its number of MEPs to 52, said in a statement on Monday that it did "not trust him to wholeheartedly implement the policies that Europe urgently needs" as a result of his handling of the economic crisis in recent months.
The chairman of the PASDE, Martin Schulz, meanwhile said EU nations had made a mistake by trying to force a vote well before Mr Barroso’s term ended in October.
"They wanted to rush this through, and we have prevented that. We will see and hear in September what Mr Barroso has to say and discuss with him," he said. "What I have seen over the past weeks does not make me hopeful."
The Swedish presidency, which took over from the Czech Republic on 1 July, will lay out its priorities for the next six months on Tuesday.
- EPP – European People’s Party (Christian Democrats)
- PASDE – Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in Europe (centre-left)
- ALDE – Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (liberal)
- GUE/NGL – European United Left-Nordic Green Left (left-wing)
- Greens/EFA – Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens and regionalists/nationalists)
- ECR – European Conservatives and Reformists Group (right-wing)
- EFD – Europe of Freedom and Democracy (Eurosceptic)
- NI – Non-attached (MEPs not part of any group)
These groups may change if new alliances are formed. The number of MEPs will increase to 754 if the Lisbon Treaty comes into force.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Buzek easily wins European Parliament presidency
July 14th, 2009 |
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The European parliament has a new president, the former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek. The center-right politician has been an MEP since 2004, shortly after Poland joined the EU.
Pressure remains on Japanese PM
July 14th, 2009 |
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Japan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Taro Aso has survived a no-confidence motion in the lower house of parliament.
But a non-binding censure motion has been adopted in the opposition-dominated upper house – heaping more pressure on Mr Aso.
Following his party’s loss of control of the Tokyo municipal assembly on Sunday, Mr Aso dissolved parliament and called a general election for August.
Defeat would end the LDP’s almost continuous rule for the past 50 years.
The prime minister is deeply unpopular, and there have been calls from within his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for Mr Aso to stand down as leader before the poll.
DPJ’s hopes
Japan’s opposition put forward the motions to pile humiliation on Taro Aso, according to the BBC’s correspondent in Tokyo, Roland Buerk.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama, told parliament that the huge sums being spent trying to boost the recession-wracked economy looked like an attempt to buy electoral support.
The lower house of parliament, which is controlled by the LDP, easily voted down the motion of no confidence by 333 to 139.
But a similar motion was passed in the opposition-dominated upper house a few hours later.
Recent newspaper opinion polls have suggested that the DPJ is well-placed to make considerable gains in the August election.
Such polls also put Mr Hatoyama ahead of Mr Aso as the people’s choice for prime minister.
Are you in Japan What is your reaction to Taro Aso’s call for a general election in August Send us your views on the current political situation using the form below.</b
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Morgan Warners: FOX Got Holland All Wrong
July 14th, 2009 |
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I’ve been living in the Netherlands for almost a year and like most other people from the States I showed up intrigued by the legendarily…
Parliament ends debate on four drafts
July 13th, 2009 |
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The Serbian parliament has finished its general debate on four draft laws, one of which is related to the proposed changes to the labor law. The parliamentary session is expected to reconvene on Wednesday.
WATCH LIVE: President Obama Speaks To Ghana’s Parliament
July 11th, 2009 |
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Obama begins landmark visit to Ghana
July 11th, 2009 |
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US President Barack Obama on Saturday addresses parliament and visits a historic slave castle during a landmark visit to Ghana, widely seen as a tribute to a vibrant democracy in conflict-scarred Africa. Obama will speak to lawmakers about democracy during the 24-hour visit, his first to