We Don't Want a Global Superpower EU, Mr President Schulz

New Democratic Revolution Rising Against Euro-(Supra)Nationalism - Nigel Farage

An interesting and direct speech by Nigel Farage, well worth the few minutes needed to watch it.

Nigel Farage: EU's star-tangled banner will disappear

Nigel Farage asks Van Rompuy to apologise over Gaddafi meeting.

Nigel Farage MEP, UKIP, Co-President of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group in the European Parliament at the Extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Presidents with EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy asks that the EU resists the calls for military action in Lybia on the grounds that there is no legitimacy or consent for the European Union to take such action.

He then highlights the recent meeting of the EU Council President with Colonel Gaddafi, and concludes by asking Mr Van Rompuy "Do you accept that it was an error of judgement to be photographed as recently as December with Colonel Gaddafi and would you please, if you do, apologise for it".

Irrespective of whether you agree with his point of view; there is one thing that you can expect from any speech by Nigel Farage, that he says it as he sees it. 

The Euro Game Is Up - Nigel Farage MEP

Whether you agree with him or not he doesn't mince his words

Van Rompuy is modern-day Walter Mitty - Nigel Farage MEP

Whether one agrees entirely with his views, there can't be any doubt that he gets straight to the point.

Help Member States break free from this economic prison of nations - Nigel Farage MEP

Whilst I'm not a supporter of the UKIP party, Nigel Farage does make some good speeches in the EU Parliament which contain some valid points. This is one he has given in the parliament today.

Some of the comments made are interesting to read.

It's good to see him fit and well after his plane crash. He refers to it briefly in the video.

Sra. Pura Peris is NOT an MEP

In my article Los Verdes Continue to Mislead I referred to the claim by Los Verdes de Orihuela that "We commit to monitor the work at the European level of our Spanish (based in Valencia) MEP Pura Peris during the legislative period 2009 - 2014." and my rejection of their claim.

I pointed out that - 'Los Verdes de Orihuela is a member of the Los Verdes de Pais Valencia region which in turn is a member of the Confederation of Los Verdes in Spain. In the European elections campaign the Confederation joined the Europa de Pueblos – Verdes coalition.' - and that - 'The coalition received sufficient votes on the 7th June 2009 to elect ONE and only one MEP and that automatically in a “closed list” is the first candidate Sr. Oriol Junqueras. He is the MEP not Pura Peris as stated by Los Verdes.'

On the European Parliament website is published the current list of the 50 MEPs for Spain for the 2009 to 2014 parliament period.

The list clearly shows that there is only one MEP elected for the Europa de los Pueblos - Verdes coalition and that is Oriol Junqueras Vies .

No where on the list of Spanish MEPs is Pura Peris as claimed by Los Verdes de Orihuela.

Sra. Peris is not an MEP.

This I believe clearly justifies my point that Los Verdes have a tendency to be economical with the truth when it serves their purpose; thereby misleading the public. They are very quick to criticise other political parties for doing the same.

How to Vote for 'Los Verdes' on the 7th June

I have been asked by many people over the last few days how they can vote for Los Verdes (Green Party) in the European elections here in Spain as the two main parties the PP and the PSOE have been sending out voting lists and they are concerned that nothing has been received from Los Verdes.

As you may be aware in Spain each party puts forward a 'Closed Party List', for the whole of the country, of candidates for the election, made up of candidates selected from different areas of the country. The PP & the PSOE being the two biggest and riches parties in the country have the funds to spend an enormous amount of money on campaign literature. This includes sending out copies of the party lists.

The LOS VERDES - GRUPO VERDE EUROPEO campaign unfortunately does not have the same level of funds.

On the 7th June, when you vote, in the polling stations there will be election lists for every one of the parties throughout Spain that are included in the election. When you vote you select the party list of your chose, put it in a voting envelope, and this is then put in the ballot box. It is the same procedure as the local elections. (Remember to take your passport as identification with you)

If you wish to vote to elect true Los Verdes (Green Party) MEPs then select the 'LOS VERDES - GRUPO VERDE EUROPEO' list. The first name on it will be Kristien Lesage, followed by Esteban Cabal Riera and then Josep Lluís Freijo Lizan. You can see the full list at the bottom of this webpage.

Unfortunately in this election there are coalition party lists that may purport to be Los Verdes (Green Party) but are not pure green. They are nothing but a coalition between what some may consider as leftist, separatist, or nationalist parties plus some regional Los Verdes parties who have come together to try to get elected using the green banner.

One such coalition under the name of 'Europa de los Pueblos-Verdes' (Castellano) or 'Europa dels pobles - Verds (Valenciano), comprises of the parties, ERC, BNG, Aralar, Los Verdes (some of the regional groups), Eusko Alkartasuna, Chunta Aragonesista and Entesa per Mallorca.

Do not be fooled this is not a pure Los Verdes (Green Party) list. There are some Los Verdes candidates on the list, from different parts of the country, but only 6 out of a total of 50 are Los Verdes. The first Los Verdes member, Pura Peris, is only in the 4th position of candidates, after the candidates for the ERC, BNG, and Aralar parties. The remaining 5 are allocated much lower in the list.

Under the propotional representation voting system, if this coalition list was to receive sufficient votes to be included in the Spanish national allocation of MEPs, which is very doubtful, in my opinion, then the other party's candidates in positions 1 to 3, with leftist, seperatist or nationlist ambitions would be elected before Sra. Pura Peris.

Don't be fooled by their use of the word 'Verdes' or 'Verds'. They may also use the sunflower logo to tempt you.

In my opinion if you want to vote for the European Green Party policies, and you want your vote to count, and not be wasted, then choose the pure Los Verdes (Green Party) list headed 'LOS VERDES - GRUPO VERDE EUROPEO'. on the 7th June 2009.

Green Party MEPs rated best for animal rights voting record

In an analysis done by Protecting Animals in Democracy, the Green Party scored joint best amongst UK MEPs on animal rights.

Both Caroline Lucas (Green MEP for the South East) and Jean Lambert (Green MEP for London) received a score of +15 (only matched by Plaid Cymru's Jill Evans).

The analysis was based on recent votes on a new EU law on animal experiments. The votes took place recently (on 5 May 2009), and there were 15 votes taken into account for the analysis.

The Conservative Party scored the worst, with a score of -13.07.

UKIP was 2nd worst amongst political parties from England and Wales, at +1.38.

Labour MEPs scored +7.95, whilst Liberal Democrat MEPs averaged to +3.55.

The analysis cites Caroline Lucas as having "been especially active for animals and helps to table pro-animal laws. The Green group is now an influential force in the European Parliament, and UK Greens can rally their colleagues to help make a major difference for animals."

It also notes that the Euro-manifestos for Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives do not mention animal protection as an issue at all.

You can read the Green Party's full policy on animal protection here,

Green leader comes top in Open Europe's "premier league" MEP poll

Caroline Lucas MEP, leader of the Green Party, has been rated best British MEP on transparency, accountability, democracy and waste by campaign group Open Europe.

And Britain's Green Party MEPs were ranked above the groups of all other British parties.

Open Europe published a ranking of all 785 Members of the European Parliament, scoring their record on promoting transparency and reform in the European Union over the last five-year term.

'Los Verdes - Grupo Verde Europeo' - European Election Campaign Launch

The 'Los Verdes - Grupo Verde Europeo' chose to launch their campaign for the European elections at the Biocultura 2009 exhibition of environmentally friendly products held this week in Barcelona.

The 'Grupo Verde Europeo' is the coming together of various regional Green Parties within Spain to form a coalition to present a united list of candidates for the European Parliament elections on the 7th June.



The list is headed up Kristien Lesage, who is spokesman for Los Verdes del Mediterráneo. Originally from Belgium, Kristien is now resident in Mislata in Valencia. She is a member of the Heerlen Group, a network of members of different Green Parties of Europe that work to promote the direct participation in taking European decisions.

Position two on the list is held by Esteban Cabal, a writer. In 1991 he was the first Los Verdes Councillor to be elected in the Madrid Comunidad. In 1999 he headed the list of European candidates and obtained the support of 150,000 votes. Professionally his links are in the field of natural and alternative therapies.

Josep Lluis Freijo, founder of 'Els Verdes de Cataluña' holds the third position and in addition is the coordinator of the electoral campaign. As a green entrepreneur, his work is related to the field of bio-and ecological projects.

The three candidates, accompanied by a group of members and supporters, toured Bioculture 2009, the natural products trade show being held in Barcelona, where they unveiled Green Party proposals to emerge from the ecological crisis.

All of them wore a green work helmet as a symbol of the 20 million jobs which could be created in Europe if the European Union implements the proposal from the European Green Party entitled "Green New Deal", an ambitious public investment in energy alternative and sustainable business sectors. "

The candidates of the 'Los Verdes - Grupo Verde Europeo' pledged to boost , from the EuroChamber, organic farming and the market for natural products, as well as bio-construction and the recognition of natural medicines.

The 'Los Verdes - Grupo Verde Europeo' expects to achieve half a million votes in the European elections of June 7, which will surely result in becoming the third political force in Spanish politics and give them representation in the European Parliament.

Think Again Vote Green

For those Ex-Pats in Spain who are going to vote for the European elections in the UK - Think Again Vote Green.

Think Big - Vote Green European Green Party 2009

Limits on roaming charges debated Tuesday

Tuesday the 21st April 2009 sees MEPs debate the 'roaming' package on mobile telephone networks with many expected to back dramatic cuts in the price of calls and texts when abroad. The Industry Committee has already called for a maximum price of €0.43 per minute when you make calls abroad and €0.11 for text messages. The vote will take place on Wednesday on the first reading of this proposed EU-wide regulation.

The compromise sets price ceilings beneath which mobile operators could compete by offering lower prices:

• From 1 July 2009: a maximum of €0.43 per minute (excluding VAT) for outgoing and a maximum of €0.19 per minute (excluding VAT) for incoming roaming calls.

• From 1 July 2010: a maximum of €0.39 per minute (excluding VAT) for outgoing and a maximum of €0.15 per minute (excluding VAT) for incoming roaming calls.

• From 1 July 2011: a maximum of €0.35 per minute (excluding VAT) for outgoing and a maximum of €0.11 per minute (excluding VAT) for incoming roaming calls.

• From 1 July 2009 travellers should pay no more than a maximum of €0.11 (excl. VAT) per text message they send.

MEPs also succeeded getting the amendment through that travellers will no longer have to pay for receiving a roaming voicemail from 1 July 2010.

Downloads and internet surfing

The Industry Committee also wants to improve transparency for surfing the web and downloading data on mobile phones while abroad. Members agreed with the Council and Commission that price caps should be set for data roaming services (such as downloading and sending emails from mobile phones).

The price caps for the rates the host operator charges a roaming customer’s home operator will be as follows:

• From 1 July 2009: a maximum of €1.00 per megabyte (excluding VAT).

• From 1 July 2010: a maximum of €0.80 per megabyte (excluding VAT).

• From 1 July 2011: a maximum of €0.50 per megabyte (excluding VAT).