Nigel Farage Tells MEPs: Most of You Have Never Done a Proper Job

Nigel Farage addresses an emergency meeting of the European Parliament to discuss Brexit plans. MEPs shake their heads, boo and jeer throughout his speech. He accuses them of trying to impose a political union by stealth.

Migrant Abuse: MEPs Plan Qatar Trip after Damning Resolution

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Amid ongoing criticism over the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar, the European Parliament has announced it will send a delegation to the 2022 World Cup host. On Thursday, MEPs issued a resolution condemning conditions for these workers in the Gulf state, though Doha called the resolution "premature."

The European Parliament is expected to send a delegation to Qatar next spring after passing an emergency resolution condemning the treatment of migrant workers in the Gulf state. The issue has come to a head as major construction work gathers pace ahead of the soccer World Cup in 2022, which the country will host.

In addition to the Qatari government, which has dismissed the resolution as "premature," MEPs are also looking to the world and European governing soccer bodies, FIFA and UEFA, for answers. » | dsk -- with wires | Friday, November 22, 2013

MEPs Call for Compulsory 'EU Lessons' in Schools
THE TELEGRAPH: MEPs are calling for school pupils to be forced to take European Union lessons to counter "lies" about Brussels.

EU flag. Photo: The Telegraph
Leaders of the centre-right EPP grouping in the European Parliament say there should be compulsory classes for 14-year-olds in all member states.

The calls are being led by Mario David, a Portuguese MEP who was chief of staff to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso when he was the country's prime minister.

He claimed the controversy surrounding the Lisbon Treaty demonstrated their was widespread ignorance of the EU's work.

"All the debates about the constitution and then the Lisbon Treaty showed a great deal of lying, cheating and mistrust about the EU," he said.

"In Ireland people were told there was going to be abortion across the EU, that young men would be conscripted into a European Army. This was a bunch of lies.

"Knowing and understanding, from a young age, the principles, the procedures and the successful history of the European Union, the generations of tomorrow will be immune to any distortion of the perception of the role of the EU and will much better embrace the advantages of this unique project of voluntary sharing of sovereignty."

He said the curriculum would initially include a series of five half-day seminars on the history of the union.

It would cover the "Founding Fathers", the different treaties, enlargement, EU functions, the role of the union in the world and "How the EU affects everyday lives". >>> Leigh Phillips in Brussels | Thursday, October 15, 2009

Nicolas Sarkozy Told David Cameron He Was 'Stupid' for Pulling Out of European Group
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: French President Nicolas Sarkozy angrily told David Cameron he was "stupid" for pulling the Conservatives out of the main centre-right grouping in the European Parliament.

Mr Sarkozy is said to have confronted Mr Cameron about the issue several times. Photo: The Telegraph
President Sarkozy and the Conservative Leader were involved in a series of heated exchanges after Mr Cameron left the European People's Party, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

Mr Sarkozy is said to have told Mr Cameron: "C'est fou, il se fait mal à la tête," meaning "It's stupid, you're giving yourself a headache."

Senior sources in Brussels revealed the exchanges which took place in the wake of Mr Cameron's pulling his Conservative MEPs out of the centre-right EPP grouping in June in order to fulfil a pledge made during his leadership campaign in 2005.

The decision went down badly with other mainstream European leaders including Angela Merkel of Germany, who threatened to withhold co-operation from the Conservatives.

Ms Merkel's Christian Democrat Union party recalled its London representative Thomas Stehling to Germany in protest at the move.

Mr Sarkozy is said to have confronted Mr Cameron about the issue several times. "They have had three or four conversations about it," said a senior diplomatic source. "On one occasion Sarkozy basically told Cameron he was stupid for doing it, that it was a decision that would come back to haunt him."

European leaders were not alone in expressing their amazement at the move. President Barack Obama is understood to have raised the issue when he met Mr Cameron last summer at the House of Commons during his visit to Britain. >>> Melissa Kite, Deputy Political Editor | Sunday, October 04, 2009

MAIL ONLINE: 'Dithering' Cameron urged to speak out on Europe as Tory referendum row overshadows start of conference >>> Tim Shipman | Sunday, October 04, 2009

THE GUARDIAN: David Cameron retreats on European referendum: Boris Johnson claims no rift over call for public vote / Decision may bring Blair presidency closer / Party will attempt to claw back UK powers >>> Nicholas Watt | Sunday, October 04, 2009

Geert Wilders' Anti-EU Party Biggest Election Winner
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The biggest winners in Thursday's European Parliament elections in the Netherlands are the two most outspoken parties: Geert Wilders' nationalist anti-EU party and the firmly pro-EU social-liberal party D66.

Fielding candidates for the first time, Mr Wilders' staunchly anti-European party will be returning four of the 25 Dutch MEPs. The other winners are social-liberal D66 and Green Left, both of whom are firm advocates of the European Union; each will send three MEPs to Brussels.
 


The Freedom Party MEPs will be headed by Barry Madlener; Mr Wilders will remain an MP in The Hague. The Freedom Party has ruled out joining any of the existing multi-party factions in the EP. In his victory speech, Mr Madlener repeated he will go for "less Europe, more Netherlands, Turkey never an EU member". >>> By Rob Kievit | Friday, June 06, 2009

NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: The Netherlands Is Now a Polarised Country

Stable government coalitions may be a thing of the past in the new, polarised Netherlands.

In politics, things can turn on a euro cent. Just six month ago Wouter Bos was celebrated for the way he dealt with the financial crisis. The Dutch Labour party leader and finance minister soared in the opinion polls. But all that was forgotten when people went to vote on Thursday, and dealt Bos' party a devastating blow: Labour lost four of its seven seats in the European parliament.

The Christian democrats, the other major coalition partner, also took a severe beating: it went from seven to five seats. That didn't keep prime minister and party leader Jan Peter Balkenende from claiming victory: "We said we wanted to remain the biggest party and that's what happened," Balkenende said, adding nevertheless that his coalition government will have to work hard to regain the public's confidence.

The big winner of Thursday's election was undoubtedly Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom (PVV) went from zero to four seats, making it the second biggest Dutch party in the Brussels parliament in its first European election.

Low turnout

The mainstream parties had silently hoped that the traditional low turnout for European elections would prevent a PVV breakthrough, going on the assumption that Wilders supporters are not that interested in Europe and wouldn't bother to vote. That turned out to be wrong. Despite a record low turnout - 36.5 percent, 2.5 points less than in 2004 - the PVV was able to attract 16.9 percent of all voters. According to research by public broadcaster NOS, many PVV voters were men and/or over fifty.

At a party meeting on Monday, Wilders had correctly predicted that the PVV would become bigger than his old party, the right-wing liberal VVD, which he broke away from in 2004. Still, VVD party leader Mark Rutte was not entirely unhappy with his party's three seats - down from four. Opinion polls had predicted a bigger loss. Just ahead of the election, Rutte had caused a controversy by proposing to broaden the definition of freedom of speech to include Holocaust denial. No matter how hard he tried to explain what exactly he meant, Rutte was ruthlessly attacked by political friends and foes alike. "This is a good result, " Rutte said on Thursday night.

But even Wilders had not expected his party to become bigger than Labour. "This the day the PVV finally made its breakthrough," he said. "People have had enough of the Balkenende and Bos cabinet." Wilders will not be going to Brussels himself; preferring to concentrate on national politics. Instead, an aide, Barry Madlener, will lead the PVV's four-man delegation to the European parliament, an institution it would like to see abolished. >>> By Herman Staal in The Hague | Friday, June 05, 2009