July 13th-14th 2010 - . Brussels Commentary - Employment Committee

13 July 2010

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Brussels Commentary Employment Committee July 13th & 14th 2010

The employment committee President happily informed us that she had lunch with Van Rompuy the other day. All about European Economic Governance, she said, and very interesting it was too, with van R listening most carefully! The documents for this session included 6 pages of detailed information on an MEP's jolly to Ireland, sorry, I mean a delegation visited Dublin to discuss the relocation of Dell to Poland. All sorts of things being done to alleviate these job losses, mostly under the "Globalisation Adjustment Fund". Funny that, I can not remember a similar effort to cope with the job losses caused when Citroen-Peugeot closed in Coventry. Job loss score, Dell 2,840 workers sacked, Citroen-Peugeot, 2,400. Have just received a leaked memo from a Spanish University, all about Wind Farms and Green energy.

There is increasing talk here, and action of a sort, about promoting "Green" jobs. I expect you can imagine the kind of guff I am now subjected to. But this report notes that Spain's "green jobs" program has cost the country about $800,000 and 2.2 jobs lost elsewhere for every "green" job created. Some one tell "Dave", please. Much of this report comes from the US where Obama's department of Energy is using the American Wind Energy Association, the big "Wind Lobby" in the US. But Obama had promised not to use lobbyists! Worse, a certain Cathy Zoi, the assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the US Government Department of Energy is the former CEO of Al Gores Alliance for Climate protection! Have a nice summer, me, I have had anough of voting on Precarious Women.

Derek Clark MEP Bastille Day, even if this is Brussels.