International

This week the European Parliament votes on a proposal to make all products carry a label declaring their 'country of origin', a so-called ‘made in’ label. SP-Euro-MP Dennis de Jong hopes to see the defeat of a measure which he calls "typical of the self-indulgent dilettantism of a number of Euro-MPs, primarily some of the Italians. The consumer will in practice gain little or nothing from this. I'd rather see progress on the introduction of clear and reliable labels relating to such matters as fair trade, decent working conditions and respect for the environment."

Yesterday the chair of the EU Budget Committee Alain Lamassoure, in making his proposal for an EU tax, spoke out of turn. The European Parliament is at present working on the re-focussing of the EU multi-annual budget for the period 2014-2020. Lamassoure's statements have thrown a spanner in the works of the European Parliament Committee on Policy Challenges, which was established specifically for this purpose. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong: “Consideration of the budget is yet to begin. As well as being inappropriate, these remarks were also unfortunate. EU taxes would mean that the public would have to pay more and Europe would demand even more power.”