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Item 4 is on the “Brussels Bulletin”. Do members have any comments or questions for clarification?
Page 7 of the bulletin has a section on equal opportunities. Under the gender equality item, it says:
“Some MEPs have seen this as a ‘downgraded’ document, which restricts the duration of proposed action”.
We send the bulletin to other committees, do we not?
We do.
So the Equal Opportunities Committee will have access to that information.
We can inform that committee specifically about that section and the report to which you referred.
Brilliant—that would be great.
We have shared specific information with committees on a number of occasions, so I am happy to do that. Is there anything else?
I will highlight a couple of matters. I was pleased to note that
“the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the ... review of the ... Biodiversity Strategy, calling in particular for better implementation ... and financing of the Birds and Habitats Directives”.
The resolution also called on the European Commission
“not to revise the Nature Directives.”
That is a positive move and I am pleased that that has been addressed at the European level.
I noticed also that MEPs debated sexual harassment and violence against women and that they called for an EU directive on combating violence against women. That certainly seems to be worth looking at.
The agricultural policy priorities under the Netherlands presidency include
“Sharing Member States’ experiences on the most recent Common Agricultural Policy ... reform”.
Convergence, which has been mentioned, is an issue. Another issue is that CAP reform has generally been disastrous for Scottish farmers so far. The reasons for that should be explained. If we are to share experiences, that experience should be shared.
We will have the Dutch ambassador in front of us next week, when we could have a conversation about all the points that you have raised.
Page 8 of the bulletin refers to a data protection issue—an agreement between the EU and the US on data transfers, data protection and privacy. It is not entirely clear to me what kind of data is being referred to and what the protections are. The bulletin mentions “three-step dispute resolution”, which all sounds horribly familiar from the debates that have arisen from the transatlantic trade and investment partnership.
At a previous committee meeting, we heard that there are concerns in Europe about data security issues and that it is thought to be unprepared for that. With that in mind, I would appreciate further information about exactly what is meant here and what the implications are.
We can get that for you. Are we happy to draw the “Brussels Bulletin” to the attention of all the committees of the Parliament, with a specific reference to the Equal Opportunities Committee?
Members indicated agreement.
11:02 Meeting continued in private until 11:28.Previous
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