Why
European Parliament? Sept99 |
Britain is at the heart
of Europe. British leadership in European affairs based on long experience
of democratic government and international trade is vital in shaping the
future development of Europe. The launch of the Euro, the socio-economic
adjustment necessary for enlargement to the East and the realisation of an
open, competitive single market for goods and services require meticulous
vigilance and ingenuity to enact efficient legislation that promotes
subsidiarity, enterprise, and accountability. The Conservative victory in the 1999 European Elections in Britain
has given the centre-right party (The European Peoples’ Party EPP) a
majority in the European Parliament. It is the only check on the socialist
domination of the Council of Ministers and the bureaucratic European
Commission. I look forward to playing my full part in the European Parliament
to promote legislation that encourages free enterprise, free markets and
creates jobs. People of Europe – the taxpayers – need more
opportunities to trade and work. They do not need a centralised
bureaucracy that wastes public funds. They need less government and more
enterprise. As a Member of the Budget Control Committee, I will have the
opportunity to assess the efficiency of the EU institutions and ask for
investigation into any mismanagement or fraud of public funds. Biotechnology and its applications will have an enormous impact on
the food we grow and consume. As a Member of the Committee on Industry,
External Trade, Research, IT & Energy I will have the opportunity to
assess the advances in Biotechnology and new WTO regulations affecting
trade in products such as GM foods. International aid to poor countries has often been misapplied and
wasted in projects that are unsustainable. It is vital that aid is given
to promote self-reliance and sustainable development at the grassroots.
Helping small farmers to acquire technical skills to plant, harvest,
store, process, package and market their products will give aid a real
meaning. It will give incentive to millions of poor people to have a stake
in their land, their local markets and in the rural areas where they
prefer to live. It will open the door for them to market directly their
products in the developed world. Many missionaries, established in the
remote rural areas in the poorest sub-Saharan countries, have shown that
their efforts in setting up schools, hospitals, vocational training
centres and cottage industries have brought enormous direct benefit to the
community. The cost of such assistance is very small indeed! As a Member
of the International Co-operation & Development Committee I will have
the opportunity to promote such an approach for future aid programmes.
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