Sarah's bulletin: 4 December 2009

I am writing to you from across the Pond, where the European Parliament delegation to the United States is meeting administration officials and Congressmen to address issues such as climate change, economic recovery, security and human rights cooperation, and foreign policy including Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Before departing, I was in Brussels for a couple of days of committee duties, though I also welcomed my London staff on a visit to Brussels - always useful for them to see what I get up to over there!

Andrew Symeou

I am frankly horrified that Andrew Symeou, my constituent on remand in prison in Greece while he awaits trial regarding the death of a fellow young Briton in a Greek nightclub, has been transferred from a youth prison to the maximum security Korydallos prison in Athens.

Andrew should be released on bail and not even kept in prison in the first place. There are very serious allegations about police behaviour in the case, now the subject of complaints by Andrew's Greek lawyer. In last week's bulletin I mentioned that I had raised his case in a European parliamentary debate. This latest move is completely outrageous, since Amnesty International has branded Korydallos prison one of the worst in Europe. You can read my press release here.

I have worked to help achieve justice for Andrew, and this incomprehensible move comes as a heavy blow to all of us who have been part of that effort, though most of all of course to him - recently marking his 21st birthday - and his family. I will be consulting with the family and lawyers to see what else I can do to convince the Greek authorities that Andrew should be granted bail like a Greek citizen would be. I am impatiently awaiting a reply to a letter I sent some weeks ago to the Greek justice minister.

UKIP in disarray; boxing magnate as candidate in Barking

Sadly (!) UKIP are in a pickle as it was revealed that their newly elected leader, Lord Pearson, had made a highly controversial offer to the Conservative party offering to disband UKIP and withdraw all candidates if the Tory party agreed to hold a referendum on EU membership. This has caused an outcry among their party membership and triggered a wave of resignations. Far be it from me to rejoice in their agonies...

We also learn that UKIP is planning to put up the boxing promoter Frank Maloney as its parliamentary candidate in the constituency of Barking in east London, where Nick Griffin also says he will run as the BNP candidate. During his mayoral campaign, Maloney made homophobic comments such as "I don't want to campaign around gays, I don't think they do a lot for society". So we are seeing even more clearly the overlap of UKIP and BNP prejudices in contrast to the attempt by Nigel Farage to keep UKIP focussed on Europe.

Liberals demand safeguards for passenger rights in case of airline bankruptcy

The European Parliament has again shown itself to be a staunch defender of European consumers. Thanks to the work of my Belgian Liberal colleague Dirk Sterckx, we called on the European Commission to review a raft of EU laws on passenger rights and are demanding that the compensation provisions in case of airline bankruptcy apply not only to passengers who have booked a package holiday, but also to those - the majority - who booked their travel and hotel separately.

At present passenger rights to accommodation, alternative transport or refund are at best patchy - they fall under the scope of different laws which - as we saw this summer - leave much to be desired. If the European Parliament has its way this will be much improved, removing at least one source of stress for European travellers!

Pushing for an AIDS drugs patent pool for developing countries

To coincide with World AIDS day a few days ago, MEPs are calling for the Commission and the governments to bring forward the introduction of a UNITAID patent pool to ensure affordable HIV medicines for AIDS sufferers in poor countries. More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981. Antiretroviral drugs that delay the onset of AIDS and much improve health can be very successful, but only one third of the 10 million people who need them have access to these medicines - and that is why I added my signature to the European Parliament's statement.

90 years since the first woman MP

Nancy Astor, the first ever British woman MP was elected 90 years ago, on 28 November 1919. She represented the Tory party for Plymouth Sutton - surprisingly perhaps given that these days the Tory party is rather lagging in its female representation. She of course paved the way for many other women, myself included, to hold elected office. However, the battle is not over yet: only 126 of the 646 MPs in the House of Commons are women, which is absolutely pitiful. The European Parliament has 259 women out of 736 MEPs, which is better, but still not representative of the population.

London City Airport flight path to be reviewed

Earlier this year a new flight path into London City Airport was introduced, causing a fair amount of controversy (this is a separate but not completely unrelated issue to the increase in flights per year that I am involved in the opposition to). The Civil Aviation Authority has announced that the flight path will be reviewed next year, sparked in part by the fact that the boroughs of Redbridge and Waltham Forest formally complained that they were not properly consulted. The areas affected are Leytonstone, Wanstead, Newbury Park and parts of Havering. The review will take into account the impact of the flight path on people on the ground, hopefully taking on board the concern about aircraft noise in these areas.

Demanding an end to human rights abuses is Laos and Vietnam

A resolution which I instigated was recently passed by the European Parliament condemning the violation of religious freedom in Laos and Vietnam. As I have mentioned previously, the Vietnamese government has illegally imprisoned hundreds of peaceful government critics and church activists and it is suggested that it has returned to its repressive ways now that it has managed to secure WTO membership. I called for EU action after meeting a delegation of monks and nuns from the Bat Nhat monastery in Vietnam, and am glad to say it worked! Read more about this here.

Best regards,

Sarah Ludford