One year down the line

June marked the first anniversary since I was re-elected as a member of the European Parliament for the second term. It has been an eventful year with numerous developments requiring initiatives at EU level. I will elaborate on the roles I took on during the past year.

Being a member of the Employment and Social Committee proved challenging. There have been some positive contributions originating from this committee; a clear example is the European Micro-Finance Facility and just this week debates have been taking place on a report dealing with remuneration to financial sector workers. The evolution of what was at first an economic crisis into a social crisis has seen employment figures tumble, hence, the role this committee plays in addressing such issues has come to the fore. More needs to be done in this area at EU level. Nevertheless, the work the committee has undertaken so far has been commendable.

My first role came a few weeks after re-election when I was appointed joint president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. This JPA has been doing some interesting work, especially with regard to the global governance systems in addition to issues related to democracy and human rights within African, Pacific and Caribbean states.

There is still a great deal to be done in this area and I must note that the efforts made in attempting to bring corruption in African states to the surface have been unsuccessful.

The JPA's primary aim is that of addressing the push factors that spur illegal immigration, hence, being Maltese we have a vested interest in seeing that this committee achieves some measurable results through its work.

I have continued to carry on my work with the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly as well as the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee.

The Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs brought with it new challenges in the past year. The two reports that were brought to the attention of the EP and were adopted at the beginning of the year both originated from this committee.

The VAT Rules on Invoicing Report was primarily aimed at bringing electronic invoices on an equal footing with paper invoices and recommended measures to increase the efficiency of business and also protect SMEs.

The VAT Fraud Report, on the other hand, involved the temporary application of the reverse charge mechanism in an effort to combat carousel fraud, a criminal activity hindering the proper functioning of the Internal Market.

The reports gained overwhelming support from all sides of the political spectrum and, thus, conveyed a strong EP position.

A new role to which I have recently been appointed is that of representative of the EPP Group on the Eurofound agency. This is a body of the EU that aims to gather information that will aid in improving the general standard of living in member states while promoting better working conditions and a better working environment.

As EPP spokesman on a report dealing with the integration of youth in the labour market I was tasked with following up this report that has provided some valuable input to the ongoing debate on youth unemployment levels in the EU. The latest figures on youth unemployment, especially in member states such as Spain are staggering. The recommendations made in the report will be voted on next month in plenary. I am hopeful that member states and also the European Commission will take heed of the contents on this report.

This second term in the European Parliament has already offered numerous challenges. It is now on employment and social affairs that we must focus. The Commission has done an excellent job so far in addressing the issues associated with regulation and supervision of the financial sector in an effort to prevent future crises. Nevertheless, despite the limited competence of the EU on such issues, it would be positive to see more being done to provide support for member states that have seen their unemployment rates rocket. This should be our priority in the year to come.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.