I hope this page gives you a flavour of some of the recent work that I’ve been involved with both in the European Parliament and in London.
May
I supported legislation to increase women’s maternity leave through European Parliament and sent out a media release on this.
April
I voted through legislation cutting mobile phone roaming costs included reductions in SMS, data roaming, phone calls.I sent out a Media release on this topic, which resulted in numerous media coverage in The Metro, BBC Oxford, Channel 4 News and The Mail.
Following the global outbreak of swine flu I took part in an international debate on the issue on France 24.
I worked on and voted for legislation to triple UK women’s maternity pay passed by women’s committee. I also sent out a media release on this, which resulted in news coverage in The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Parliament and various human resources magazines.
Given the wide ranging impact of the European project i2010, which is set to increase European’s access to fast broadband, I have been publicising it through comment pieces in The House Magazine and The Parliament.
Blogger in the backwoods
March
Following the publication of the shocking results of London Student’s survey into the attitudes towards women I responded with a comment piece.
In further efforts to tackle sexism in London I have been fervently supporting city worker Rosemarie Corscadden in her brave case of sexual harassment against city giant Credit Agricole. Here, the blog has really shown it’s worth in pulling together supporters for Rosemarie and publicising updates on her case.
February
Pre-G20, Harriet Harman visited the European Parliament to discuss with my political colleagues and I how the recession is likely to impact on women. I introduced Harriet to the women’s committee and later commented in the Guardian on how the recession looks set to effect women in Europe.
Following the leak of a internal document warning about ‘interns trading sex for secrets’ I responded publicly with a comment piece for European publication New Europe.
Shocked at the morally provoking adverts for plastic surgery, plastered across the London and the Underground, I have raised awareness of this problem via the Evening Standard and Metro.
At a very interesting Hummanist event aimed at students I met a very brave and interesting woman Maryam Namazie from the Council of Ex-Muslims, who I hope to support in her endeavors in the future.
Maryam Namazie from the Council of Ex-Muslims
January
Reflecting on the horrendous developments in Gaza I wrote a women focused piece for New Europe.
Responding to a feature on the increase of violence in young women I wrote a letter to Marie Claire.
Letter to Marie Claire
December
Reflecting on the work that I have been involved in on the trafficking of women across Europe I commented on a Evening Standard piece exposing the Met’s ‘laissez-faire’ attitudes toward policing prostitution in the capital.
Shocked at a sneaky shuffle of EU commissioners, which missed a rare opportunity to promote more women into these powerful posts I released a press statement and wrote this comment piece.
October / November update
With summer now just a memory and the autumn session well underway, it has been a very busy couple of months in Parliament. It is an exciting time in the parliamentary committees at the moment.
The Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee has been presented with a proposal for a ‘work-life’ legislative package. This package hopes to address some of the problems many women face in trying to combine a career with family commitments. In the coming months, the Women’s Committee will be considering how to ensure that self-employed women have the same maternity rights as other women. We will also look at the existing legislation to protect pregnant women at work and women who have recently given birth. You can read more about this legislative package HERE
The Industry, Research and Energy committee is once again considering how to cut the extortionate roaming fees charged by mobile phone operators. Following the success of the Parliament’s legislation which slashed roaming voice calls, we are now looking to make sure that telecoms companies play fair on data and text message charges. I am already meeting interested parties and look forward to debating the issue fully.
The Culture and Education Committee has once again proved itself to be one of the most valuable committees for Europe’s citizens. In October the Committee’s proposal to renew the Erasmus Mundus programme was accepted by the Parliament. Erasmus Mundus is one of the many excellent EU programmes available for students and aims to make Europe a rival to the United States in attracting the best and the brightest students. At a time of economic difficulty, improving Europe’s academic competitiveness can only be a good thing.
Besides committee work, I have been supporting Europe’s workers by voting in favour of legislation to protect temporary agency workers. This will guarantee agency workers the same rights as their permanent colleagues. This means that the many women and men who are working temporarily will no longer be discriminated against and will have access to training, childcare facilities and parental leave. You can read more about this legislation HERE:
I continued my campaign to end the ridiculous system of MEPs travelling to Strasbourg every month by signing the Written Declaration calling for one seat for the European Parliament. If you think that this monthly trip is an extravagant waste of money and carbon emissions, please sign the petition HERE:
Since September I have written several articles for the Guardian Comment Is Free on the need to have Europe-wide abortion laws and to explain the truth behind the media’s frenzied Working Time Directive debate. If you would like to read these you can find them HERE:
I have also written a letter to the Independent in response to their article on women in prisons in the UK. Having worked on a report in Women’s Committee concerning the plight of women and young children in Europe’s prisons, and having watched the Tories vote against this report, I feel strongly that the media must continue to address this issue.
Finally, I send my congratulations to two people who have overcome some adversity in order to take on new roles. Firstly, I welcome Baroness Cathy Ashton to Brussels. It is fantastic to have another woman on the European Commission. She had to face thinly-veiled sexist criticisms from politicians on the Right but it is clear that, with her experience and undoubted skill, she will do an excellent job. Secondly, it has been truly inspiring to see Barack Obama voted President of the United States. The global enthusiasm that has followed his election surely indicates a bright future.
August / September Update
The European Parliament started back after the summer recess at the end of August. Because of the collapse of the ceiling in the Strasbourg chamber, Parliament met in full session (Plenary) in Brussels this month. This saved a huge amount of money. Many MEPs object to the cost and environmental waste of having meetings in both Brussels and Strasbourg. You can read more about my campaign to end Strasbourg sessions on my blog: http://maryhoneyballmep.blogspot.com/2008/09/strasbourg.html
Over the summer recess I had an article published in the European Voice on scientific research funding and what level of political scrutiny there should be over the direction of funding, particularly in controversial areas like stem cell research. http://www.maryhoneyball.net/EV%20Research.pdf My guide to women Members of the European Parliament – Women In Power – was also published over the summer. The guide looks at why women become members of Parliament and what can be done to encourage more women to enter politics. It also reveals some interesting facts about female MEPs – for instance a disproportionate number come from science backgrounds. In the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, I voted through a number of key reports on renewable energy and emissions trading. http://maryhoneyballmep.blogspot.com/2008/09/european-energy.html I’ve also been working on the reform of European telecommunications and spectrum legislation. This series of reports gets voted on by the whole parliament at the end of September. In the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee I’ve been working on a high-profile report on gender stereotyping in adverts. Among other proposals, the report included my amendment which called for an end to adverts for sex services in local newspapers. These lewd adverts reinforce the image of women as objects to be bought and sold and are easily visible to children. You can see some of the press coverage of this report in the press section of my website: http://www.maryhoneyball.net/press.htm There’s also some more background to this report on my blog. http://maryhoneyballmep.blogspot.com/2008/09/sex-in-adverts.html In the Culture Committee I’ve been working on a report on media pluralism which I’ve tried to amend to stop any further attempt at regulating bloggers. Also this month, I voted on a resolution on the situation in Georgia and heard the President of Costa Rica address the Parliament. I went on to vote in favour of a report which called for a ban on cloning of animals for food production. In London at the end of the month I’ll be giving a couple of speeches, one to the National Alliance of Women’s Organisations and the other to the European Group of the International Federation of Actors. ——————————————————————————– July Update This month, in Strasbourg, I took part in a protest against the Italian Government’s plan to fingerprint Roma gypsies. I called on the European Commission to investigate this blatant and shocking discrimination. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/27/race.italy I joined other Labour MEPs to crack down on airlines that advertise flight prices that exclude additional costs and charges. It’s ridiculous that airlines can still get away with advertising flights for 99 pence when the total cost could be nearer £99! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7496677.stm ——————————————————————————– In Parliament’s Industry Committee, I voted on a series of reports which will reform Europe’s telecoms legislation. I’ve been following these reports closely and tabled a raft of amendments at the committee stage. The ‘telecoms package’ goes to a full vote of the Parliament at the end of September. I welcomed news from the European Commission that they are bringing forward legislation to slash text message (sms) charges whilst roaming. This follows our success in slashing the prices for voice calls whilst abroad. MEPs will be considering the legislation in the autumn. Also this month, I signed up to a campaign to introduce a missing child alert system across Europe. The sooner information on a missing child reaches the public, the greater the possibility of tracing the child. The statistics are impressive and show that a well functioning alert system really increases the probability of finding the missing child. In the Culture Committee, I’ve been working on a report on internet safety for children. The European Commission produced an excellent draft report but I tabled some amendments to stress the need for better education for parents and teachers on safe use of the net. I backed my colleague Eluned Morgan’s campaign to combat energy poverty by signing her written declaration. At the beginning of the month I visited Orpington Labour party to discuss the implications of the Irish rejection of the Lisbon treaty. http://maryhoneyballmep.blogspot.com/2008/07/visit-to-orpington.html I also attended a ceremony and laid a wreath in Westminster Abby to commemorate Dame Millicent Fawcett. http://maryhoneyballmep.blogspot.com/2008/07/laying-wreath-for-dame-millicent.html In terms of constituency work, I’ve had a huge amount of casework this month on subjects as diverse as biofuels targets, concerns about internet privacy, animal welfare and much, much more. ——————————————————————————– June Update This month Euro 2008 has been very much on my mind. I’ve been doing a lot of work on measures to combat the trafficking of women and children for forced prostitution surrounding major sporting events like Euro 2008. Unfortunately when major sporting events take place we often see a big rise in demand for prostitution. Studies show that many women and children are often illegally trafficked into a country to fulfil demand. I want to make sure that London can learn the lessons from Euro 2008 so that this vile form of human slavery doesn’t blight the 2012 Olympics. Mary with fellow London MEP Robert Evans at the site of the future 2012 Olympics ——————————————————————————– On a similar vein, this month I’ve been involved with an MEP network on combating prostitution. The network advocates adopting the Swedish model of tackling prostitution, essentially reversing the current legal situation and criminalising the purchase of sex, rather than the selling of it. I was interviewed on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour about human trafficking surrounding Euro 2008. BBC Radio Ulster also interviewed me about the influence of the Catholic Church on British politics. I met with the CEO of T-Mobile UK to talk about the review of telecoms legislation in the EU, as well as some of the work they are doing to protect children online. I had my regular meeting with a group of Culture Trade Unions to talks about recent developments in media and broadcasting. We also talked about the European Parliament’s report on the use of the digital dividend. In Strasbourg I voted on my colleague Eluned Morgan’s report on the liberalisation of the electricity market in Europe. We adopted a number of measures designed to increase competition in the market and to combat fuel poverty. Also in Strasbourg, MEPs adopted a report that I’ve been following on extending the term of ENISA the European Network and Information Security Agency. We also adopted a report on the revision of the Waste Framework Directive – we want to encourage more recycling and less use of landfill. In London we recycle just 23% of our waste, that’s lower than the UK average. Parliament also took time to debate to the implications of the Irish referendum and their rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. In the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, I tabled a number of amendments to a report on combating child poverty. In the Industry Committee I tabled amendments to a report on the digital dividend – the additional spectrum that will be freed up as a result of the switchover to digital television. I am working to ensure that Londoners get competitive access to high speed internet connections. In London I also visited the site of the 2012 Olympics to see the progress that is being made.
