Inside and outside the home

The European Parliament is growing familiar with the Lisbon Treaty, which boosts MEPs’ legislative powers, as exemplified in the EP’s rejection of the SWIFT EU-US data sharing agreement. The EP closely follows the works of the Commission installed a few days ago, called to address a number of urgent issues regarding the economic crisis, the environment and the social sector. While the developments in the international scenario – notably Haiti’s reconstruction, Teheran’s nuclear program, the Middle East and Burma are reason for serious concern. Iran, Haiti, Ukraine. The latest EP plenary meeting in Strasbourg (February 8-11) addressed the question of Iran. MEPs deplore the Iranian government’s opposition to international cooperation fuelling – especially with nuclear testing – a situation of danger and instability across the entire Middle-Eastern region. Parliament equally condemned the Iranian authorities’ use of violence against demonstrators and deplored the cancellation by Tehran of a scheduled European Parliament delegation visit in January this year. The Parliament agreed that the EU’s engagement in Haiti’s reconstruction process ought to involve immediate humanitarian aid, consistent funding and political determination. Other primary foreign policy issues addressed by the Parliament range from the organization of the External Service, coordinated by the High Representative Catherine Ashton, to the stabilization of democracy in Ukraine, to the next climate change negotiations, to relations with the Balkan region. Burma: elections and human rights. MEPs further addressed the international scenario focusing on the concerning developments in Burma. The Asian country, which gained independence in 1948, is controlled by a fierce military dictatorship since 1962. The last free elections date back to 1990, won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). The results of the election were subsequently annulled. Since then the democratic leader was arrested many times and her freedom of movement was severely restricted, while protests are crushed with violence and ‘enemies’ of the regime are often deported to forced labor camps. New legislative elections are due to take place in 2010, but the risk is that they be held in a situation that is far from being peaceful, free and democratic. In a resolution the European Parliament calls for the respect of human rights and the liberation of San Suu Kyi, Nobel peace prize for peace in 1991 and deplores the ban which prevents her standing at the next election. All EP political groups condemn the ruling junta, which fails to respect the fundamental rights of citizens and violently crushes also the peaceful protests of Buddhist monks and of faithful from all religions. But Burma also represents a social and humanitarian problem. Following the clashes of July 2009, thousands of people left the country, while there are 150 thousand Burmese border refugees. The Parliament calls on the Commission to extend humanitarian aid to refugees residing along the Thailand-Burma border.Housing for the needy. At EU level, the EP approved a regulation providing for housing renovation funding to poor communities. The amended regulation, which has been agreed between Parliament and Council, will entitle all 27 Member States to use the ERDF funds, “in addition to other sources, to renovate the existing houses of their ‘marginalized communities’ or to replace them with new ones, irrespective of whether these are in urban or rural areas”. Until recently only urban housing improvements in the 12 countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 were eligible for ERDF money. Accordingly, funding for housing, except for energy-efficiency and the use of renewable energies is provided for in “those areas hit or threatened by deterioration or social exclusion”. Member States that recently acceded the EU can refer to integrated urban development projects, while all other countries fall within the “integrated approach for marginalized communities”. Expenditure (amounting to 3% of ERDF allocation) is eligible “for intervention on existing multi-family housing or on the replacement of public buildings for housing purposes for low-income families or for people with special needs”. These include large families, disabled or non-self-sufficient family members, the poor, marginalized and extra-EU population.