Plenary focus - November

This EU policy of appeasement and the dirty deals with the Turkish government cannot continue. The Commission and the Council have a duty to bring about a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question; of guaranteeing human rights for all, including minorities, refugees and the political and civil opposition in Turkey.

These endless Annual Growth Survey reports never seriously provide for a proper growth and jobs strategy. What the EU needs is to reverse the present anaemic growth and record unemployment levels by implementing an alternative economic policy. This should include public investments geared toward social and environmental sustainability - and to reduce income inequality.

When the European Parliament adopted the National Emission Ceilings Directive back in 2005 - as part of the Commission’s clean air policy to reduce pollution and improve the EU’s air quality - we had some ambitious goals for it. However, we can only express our disappointment with the outcome of the negotiations between the EU institutions for choosing to put the interests of industries and farming ahead of citizens’ health.