Conservative MEPs have backed a report which looks at ways to boost the number of female entrepreneurs.

The report notes that the EU is lagging behind countries such as the U.S.A and China in terms of female entrepreneurial rates.

It urges the European Commission to incorporate women’s entrepreneurship into the post-2015 strategy on equality between women and men.

Conservative spokesman on women’s rights and gender equality, Julie Girling MEP commented: “There are almost one million SMEs led by women in the UK, however many female entrepreneurs will testify that it’s often not as straightforward a career path for women as for men.

“Women can often face additional hurdles such as childcare, training, maternity leave and access to microfinance.

“Recent estimates suggest that SMEs owned by women make an estimated £50-£70bn annual contribution to the gross value added by business. Therefore the economic arguments for increasing the number of female entrepreneurs simply cannot be ignored.”

Created: 18 January 2016

South West MEP Julie Girling is backing a proposed new scheme to strengthen the hand of struggling milk farmers.

It involves establishing a futures market in dairy products to reduce the price volatility currently damaging UK dairy producers.

The idea, championed by Conservative MEPs, is to be examined by a new EU task force set up to find ways of strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain.

The Agricultural Markets Task Force, established by EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, will also look at issues such as market transparency and the legal aspects of farmers acting collectively.

The move has been welcomed by Mrs Girling and fellow Conservative MEPs.

She said:  “Along with the Government, we have been leading calls for more than a year to establish a futures market for the hard pressed dairy sector.  It is good to see that message is gaining ground and that Mr Hogan wants to look into the idea’s potential.”

The 12-member task force is headed by former Dutch minister and academic Cees Veerman and includes David Dobbin, Group Chief Executive of the UK’s United Dairy Farmers.  It is due to report in the Autumn.

ENDS

Created: 07 January 2016

South West Conservative MEPs Julie Girling and Ashley Fox have congratulated Molly Scott-Cato of the Green Party for adopting a new approach to openness and transparency.

Both Mrs Girling and Mr Fox, who have been publishing their expenses and lobbying information online for the last 6 years, were delighted to hear the Greens are following their lead and adopting a similar position of transparency for constituents.

Commenting, Mrs Girling and Mr Fox said;

“The importance of transparency and openness in politics is essential and we are delighted the Green Party have finally adopted this position.

We have been publishing details of expenses online since 2009 and of lobby meetings since 2010 in a bid to increase transparency and for public scrutiny. We are delighted to see Molly has finally now taken a step towards greater transparency.”

END

Note to editors:

Mrs Girling MEP publishes all her expenses and lobbying at http://www.juliegirling.com/mep-site-archive/index.php/expenses-a-lobbying – She has published her expenses since the beginning of her first elected term 2009 and the lobbying contract since it was introduced in 2010.

We publish the full list of all Conservative MEPs on our website so it makes it easier for constituents to read. The main Conservatives in Europe site also has this information for Mr Fox MEP at http://conservativeeurope.com/MEP-Expenses

Created: 17 December 2015

An EU Committee of Inquiry into vehicle emissions in the wake of the VW revelations is unnecessary and will add nothing to attempts to tackle the issue, Conservative MEPs believe.

The European Parliament today agreed to establish a formal inquiry into vehicle emission measurements just six weeks after concluding that such a move was not needed.

Conservative MEPs voted against the proposal, pointing out important revisions to automative legislation had already been introduced or were imminent, covering both framework and secondary legislation, and that legal action was in the pipeline alleging fraudulent behaviour by some manufacturers.

Environment Co-ordinator Julie Girling, MEP for South West England and Gibralter, said: “We cannot support a Committee of Inquiry which will bring no additional light to a situation already subject to intense scrutiny by the Member States and the Commission. When the committee presents its conclusions later next year it will only service to ask questions that have already been answered.

“This seems more like political posturing than the real, effective action that is required.”

ENDS

Today the UK Government reached a deal for the UK fishing industry, achieving quota increases and ensuring sustainable fish stocks.
This announcement, which is important for South West fishermen, follows negotiations at the annual EU Fisheries and Agriculture Council where fishing quotas for 2016 were agreed.

Decisions were based on three clear principles: following the available scientific advice; achieving sustainable levels of fishing and reducing discards.
Commenting from Strasbourg, the Conservative MEP for South West England and Gibraltar Julie Girling said:
“We must ensure the future prosperity of our regional and national fishing industry and the outcome today is a good deal for Fishermen across the South West.
For months now fishermen have been telling me that implementing the discards ban from 1st January next year will be difficult without some extra flexibility on quota. They’ve also been telling me that the large amounts of haddock in particular that they’re finding at sea will act as a “choke” species. So I’m delighted that George Eustice has brought home a 50% increase in haddock quota amongst other successes. Our fishermen need support to help their business’s thrive and allow them to deliver the sustainable fish that consumers demand.
Whilst some concessions have had to be made and cuts made to ensure the future viability of fish stocks, the negotiations show it is possible to get UK-led reform in the EU which works for fishermen and for consumers.
The fight isn’t over, there is still more to do to reach Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) for all quota species by 2020 and to deliver the full discard ban, these changes will really contribute towards bringing discards to an end by 2019.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:

More information can be found in the Government press release at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tough-decisions-reap-benefits-for-uk-fishermen

As a result of UK-led reforms to ensure EU fisheries become more sustainable, the scientific evidence for many of our iconic species was positive this year. This has resulted in the UK being able to secure big quota increases for valuable fish such as:

English Channel: +80% Plaice
North Sea: +15% Cod, +47% Haddock
Celtic Sea: +20% Hake
Western Channel: +15% Sole

The UK also successfully negotiated a number of further concessions. These include:

Days at sea kept at 2015 levels rather than reduced
Maintaining 2015 quotas for a number of stocks, including:
Irish Sea: Plaice
Celtic Sea: Monkfish, Skates and Rays, Pollock

And accepting proposals for cuts where necessary to protect stocks, including:
Irish Sea: -55% Sole
North Sea: -3% Turbot and Brill, -19% Nephrops
Bristol Channel: -9% Plaice

A new consultation from the European Commission on retail financial services must lead to real rights and choice for consumers, say Conservative MEPs.

It is designed to establish what barriers prevent providers from selling across EU borders, and prevent consumers from purchasing the best services available from anywhere in the EU.

The consultation, launched today, will cover a wide range of products, such as retail banking, current accounts, credit cards, mortgages and life insurance.

This latest step follows the Commission’s objectives of a Capital Markets Union, designed to open up EU capital markets, including for retail investors.

Conservative spokesman on Economic Affairs Dr Kay Swinburne said: “I am pleased to see the Commission addressing the key issue of retail financial services.

“It is vital that the single market is made to serve customers as well as businesses, and retail financial services must be an integral part of a successful capital markets union.

“I now look forward to working on this issue to make sure it fully delivers better products, transparency and choice for consumers.”

A new plan that will guarantee loans to small businesses in the UK has been welcomed by Conservative MEPs.

The guarantee scheme will allow an innovative financial firm, iwoca, to lend £40mn to over 3,000 small businesses.

The scheme is funded by the European Investment Fund and benefits from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

Dr. Kay Swinburne, spokesman on Economic and Monetary Affairs, said: “Small businesses in the UK are still struggling to get access to finance so this programme should be welcomed as an opportunity for small business owners.”

Amjad Bashir, spokesman on SMEs commented: “As someone who has been directly involved in setting up small businesses I know how vital it is to have sufficient access to finance. Today’s announcement will be a boost to those SMEs and entrepreneurs who are at the heart of our economic recovery.”

Budgetary Affairs Spokesman Richard Ashworth added: “The European Fund for Strategic Investments was a hard fought win for the Conservatives and I am delighted to see British businesses benefiting from our work in Brussels.”

ENDS

Notes to editors: For more information please see the European Commission press release: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/katainen/announcements/investment-plan-europe-eif-and-iwoca-sign-eur-60-million-deal-support-over-3000-small-businesses-uk_en

Question for written answer E-012955/2015 to the Commission
Rule 130
Julie Girling (ECR)
Subject: CAP disallowance penalties
I have been trying to obtain comparative data on so-called ‘disallowance penalties’ imposed on Member States by the Commission when it believes that Member States have not complied with its requirements for the proper control and administration of payments under CAP.
I have found that the UK has incurred fines of over GBP 640 million since 2005 (from the UK’s National Audit Office), but I cannot find anywhere on the DG AGRI website what fines have been imposed on other Member States.
I am aware that information on the procedure to recover EU agricultural policy funds, unduly spent by Member States, can be found on the DG AGRI website , and that each individual fine is published in the Official Journal, but this does not give a cumulative picture of the total level of fines, nor does it allow for a comparison between Member States.
Is the Commission able to provide such data, and can it explain why such comparative data is not readily available to the public?

EN E-012955/2015

Answer given by Mr Hogan on behalf of the Commission 

The Commission provides summary cumulative data on financial corrections per Member State for the European Agriculture Guarantee Fund (EAGF) in its annual Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on the protection of the EU budget. The data is provided in both absolute and percentage terms. The Commission refers the Honourable Member to the latest Communication (see Table 4.2.2). The Commission will be sending directly to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat a table containing the summary cumulative data (since 2009) on financial corrections for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

Financial corrections cannot be qualified as “penalties” or “fines”. Rather, they relate to expenditure which as regards the EAGF has not been spent by the Member States in conformity with EU rules or as regards the EAFRD has not been spent in conformity with the applicable EU and national rules, and which are therefore recovered to the EU budget. A penalty or fine, however, implies a sanction over and above the undue expendtiture which is not the case for DG AGRI’s financial corrections.

Proposals to cut red tape for companies seeking to raise capital and make prospectuses easier for potential investors to understand have been welcomed today by Conservative MEP Kay Swinburne.

The ideas put forward by Briton’s EU Commissioner Jonathan Hill particularly benefit small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) , which would be relieved of some of the costly burden of producing a lengthy, detailed prospectus each time they sought to raise funding by issuing shares or debt.

Lord Hill, Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union,
said: “We need a prospectus regime that gives investors the information they need but that does not pile up unnecessary costs and puts companies off raising money on the public markets.

“Today’s proposals strike a better balance. They safeguard investors while making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to raise money.”

Mrs Swinburne, the Conservatives’ Economic and Monetary Affairs Spokesman in Brussels and MEP for Wales, believed the planned changes would make it easier for UK SMEs to raise money.

“Anything that lifts the burden of red tape from our companies must be a good thing and the proposals appear to strike a sensible balance between reducing bureaucracy and removing unnecessary jargon on the one hand, while informing and protecting investors on the other,” she said.

“If dealt with correctly these proposals should play an important part in further encouraging and improving investment in Europe.”

The main points of the plan, which now goes to the European Parliament and the European Council for discussion and adoption, include:

*Raising the threshold for capital raisings for which an EU prospectus is required from €100,000 to €500,000. Member states would be able to set higher thresholds for their domestic markets, up from €5 million to €10 million.

* For companies wanting to tap into European markets, a streamlined prospectus will be introduced for capitalisations of up to €200 million.

* Prospectuses will be made shorter and easier for investors to understand by clearly defining what information they must contain.

* Public companies seeking to raise issue additional shares or corporate bonds will also benefit from a new, simplified prospectus.

* A single, searchable online portal for all approved EU prospectuses will be provided for the first time, making it easier for the public to make cross border investments.