Jean on Delegation visit handing out food aid
Jean attended the Green Group meetings where there were a series of debates, most notably on UN Reform and on the Services Directive
In the second leg of his tour - hosted by Jean, Greg Mello visited the Parliament to deliver a presentation on his citizen inspections of US Nuclear facilities. Mr Mello also met with a number of MEPs - gaining messages of support that will be used to promote disarmament in the US. You can read a full account of his visit here.
Jean's Assistant attended the ETUC Meeting reviewing the Lisbon Strategy. The President of the Commission was a keynote speaker. Barroso faced tough questions from the trade unions on services and the social aspects of future European employment strategy.
Jean sits on three Committees and consistently attends their debates and voting sessions. In the Employment and Social Affairs Committee Working Time, Social inclusion and health care and services of general interest were just some of the proposals given time.
Rupert Read, Green Party Councillor for Norwich visited the Parliament and attended the Joint Committee debate on Migration. He also produced a briefing paper for MEPs and NGOs on nuclear issues prior to the arrival of Greg Mello.
In the Human Rights Committee, the Parliament's Report on the situation of human rights in the world was considered, Jean has submitted several amendments to this Report on a range of issues from upholding Geneva Convention standards to ensuring minority rights are recognised.
EU – Asylum seekers and employment
Jean gave the keynote speech at EQUAL ASSET/Refugee Council conference . The conference focused on developing an employment strategy for asylum seekers, highlighting the difficulties they currently face. You can read the Speech here
In Strasbourg, Jean gave a speech to the Plenary on social security, an issue in which she is well versed having been Rapporteur on Parliament's 1408/71 Report. You can read her speech in full here
Jean attended a meeting on endometriosis, aimed at raising awareness of the condition. She is also Co-author of a Written Declaration on the issue.
Jean represented the Green Group when she co-signed Parliament's Joint Resolution on the Non Proliferation Treaty to find out more click here
Jean is a Member of the Delegation to Japan. She was therefore invited to dinner with the Japanese Consul General where issues around North Korea were discussed.
Jean participated in and chaired a range of sessions at the Green Party Spring conference - held in Chesterfield. Jean chaired a panel session on asylum and refugees, which included a speaker from the Refugee Council. Her second panel debate was on the issue of public services, with speakers from the Royal College of Nursing and the Centre for Public Services. Jean also spoke on a panel on ‘workstress’ and life/work balance.
Current Affairs - Jean's Visit to Sri Lanka and Maldives
Jean as a Member of the SAARC and South Asia Delegation recently visited Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Here she gives her first impressions on what she found:
The money that people have been sending over the last three months has been getting to the right places. People have got shelter, they have water and they have food. However there are real issues in Sri Lanka about securing better protection for people before the monsoon season sets in. The governments and charities are all very aware that what we need to be looking at, is long-term solutions that really get people back up on their feet and able to look after themselves.
One consequence of the tsunami in Sri Lanka is that land mined have moved. The land mines could prove to be some of the most lasting legacies of this terrible tragedy. Before, the local communities knew where the mines were and could avoid them. Now they could be anywhere. This is a disaster waiting to happen in a country which doesn't need any more trauma.
In the Maldives, there are equally severe problems in the aftermath of the tsunami. While they may not have suffered the vast human toll of Indonesia and Sri Lanka, they have suffered a massive blow to their already fragile and emerging economy. Here you are looking at a country, which made up of tiny islands, all with hardly any people on each and all a good distance apart. So communications become very difficult. The authorities have coped very well on the ground but it is clear that the country will need more help.
- Jean was interviewed by the World Tonight during Green Party Conference
where she was asked about Green Party policies on public sector issues. - Jean was interviewed for Time Out magazine and participated in the Guardian Questionnaire.
- Korean TV filmed Jean for a documentary on the Constitution.
- She was also interviewed for Public Sector magazine on pensions and cuts to the civil service in England.
- Jean received local coverage around a public meeting in Newcastle Under Lyme
and issued press releases on subjects as diverse as Sudan 1, the Kurdish New
Year celebrations, the International day for the Elimination of Racism and
the growing protests around the software patents.
The fifth edition of MEPs in Action was published and disseminated across London and beyond during March. The publication covers the work of Jean and her fellow Green MEP, Caroline Lucas.
Jean participated in the GLA's Children's Seminar. She also met with a wide range of NGOs, including the Refugee Council, to help develop an EU- wide campaign for the rights of asylum seekers.
Jean hosted a visit to London of Greg Mello, leading US anti-nuclear campaigner and Director of the Los Alamos Study Group. Jean held a lunch for the UK's leading peace and anti-nuclear campaigners to meet Greg and discuss strategy and exchange ideas.
Jean compered a major Youthcomm event at the TUC head office, which was part of a Citizenship and Europe Young Peoples' Conference. The event saw young people from London and across the UK and EU participate in political discussion and electronic voting. Jean gave a Green perspective to the participants on a range of topical issues.
As part of the Association of London Government (ALG) conference on Transnational Working, Jean chaired and gave an introduction to the workshop on 'Improving Opportunities for All'. The conference brought together high-level London Borough councilors and officers, as well as other interested stakeholders.
Jean gave a presentation 'Representing your needs in Europe: Introduction and Q & A' to senior health professionals and ngos working on public health issues - at a Health Development Agency (England) event in central London. The event explored the relationship between health and social or environmental issues.
Jean's office submitted a response to the Commission on London
Governance's Consultation on the future of London government. She called
for the abolition of the Government Office for London, and for its
responsibilities to be taken up by the GLA and the London Boroughs. She
also called for more powers to be devolved from national government to the
London level, and for the London Assembly to have more power in relation to
the Mayor.
Jean's office also submitted a short response to the Learning and Skills Council's consultation on its national 'Strategy for Sustainable Development'.
Jean's constituency co-ordinator attended a number of meetings on her behalf, including an event to promote the tackling of London's fuel poverty through greater use of renewable energy, a meeting of the Thames Gateway London Partnership's Environment and Quality of Life Task group and a meeting with Charles Secrett, former Director of Friends of the Earth.
Jean traveled to Sri Lanka from London as part of a European Parliament Delegation on 20 March. Whilst she was away, Jean's assistant represented her at the Newroz (Kurdish New Year) celebrations at City Hall. Jean's office issued a public statement to mark the festival and offer a message of support to the Kurdish community in London and beyond.
Jean's assistant also represented her at the 'Remember Saro-Wiwa' event,
which launched a 'living memorial' to Ken Saro-Wiwa, who died at the hands
of the Nigerian government. Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his colleagues were
executed by the Nigerian Government on 10 November 1995 following their
campaign against the devastating environmental impacts of oil companies,
including Shell, in the Niger Delta. Jean has been a strong supporter of
the 'Remember Saro-Wiwa' memorial initiative since its inception. Following the
launch, a mobile artwork will be produced during this memorial year, in
accordance with the principle of a living memorial to Ken.
Concerns of constituents
Jean responded to the concerns of her constituents on a range of issues.
The biggest single concern expressed over the month was opposition to the
Software Patents Directive. Jean, like the other Green MEPs,
opposes this directive and will continue to do so in the Parliament. A
statement to this effect has been published on Jean's website.
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5 April, Social Platform Seminar on Social Services, Brussels
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Open Democracy - dinner and discussion on Climate Change, London
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6-7 April, Visit of German Greens to the European Parliament
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8 April, Public Meeting: do more women vote green than men? London
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11 April, launch of 'The Deportation Machine' report, London
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11-14 April, Strasbourg Week (voting)
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21 april, Question Time with Jean on Panel, Durham
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28 April, ECAS General Assembly, Brussels