Keith Taylor MEP weekly update

UK’s €60m ‘solidarity fund’ grant example of value in maintaining close EU ties

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South, is calling on the UK to maintain as close as possible a relationship with the EU as MEPs vote to approve the British Government’s latest application for a €60m ‘solidarity fund’ grant.

The application asks for support to help cover the cleanup costs of the flooding that swept Britain last summer, acutely affecting communities in the north of England and in London, but also causing widespread disruption in the South East.

It is the third solidarity fund payment Britain has been granted since 2002, all have been for flooding support. In total, Britain has received more than €280m in funding and is the third biggest recipient of support behind only Italy and Germany.

Speaking after the vote, in which MEPs supported the UK’s application almost unanimously, Mr Taylor, a member of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, said:

“The solidarity fund is just one of the many aspects of our EU membership that goes unheralded despite it providing almost £250m of essential support for communities across Britain that have been devastated by flooding. That we are the third biggest recipient of this funding helps to dispel the myth that the relationship between the UK and the EU is somehow one-sided.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2017/04/05/uks-e60m-solidarity-fund-grant-example-of-value-in-maintaining-close-eu-ties/

Keith Taylor MEP responds to European Parliament vote on Brexit resolution

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, has welcomed the European Parliament’s support for a cross-party Brexit resolution that gives top priority to protecting the interests of the citizens most affected by Brexit and Britain to commit to maintaining vital EU laws.

Following the vote, Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East and a member of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, said:

“The cross-party resolution adopted by MEPs serves to highlight the stark contrast between the UK and the EU’s approach to Brexit. The UK government’s pursuit of an autocratic extreme Brexit is entirely at odds with the cross-party unity displayed in the European Parliament today.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2017/04/05/keith-taylor-mep-responds-to-european-parliament-vote-on-brexit-resolution/

More than 20 nurseries in South East close to illegally polluted roads

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, is warning of the desperate need to tackle air pollution as a major investigation reveals more than 20 nurseries in the region are within 150m of a road breaching air quality laws.

The Greenpeace and Guardian investigation comes just weeks before the government is due to publish new plans for tackling the UK’s air pollution crisis after it lost a High Court case which ruled its existing strategy was inadequate.

The news also comes just weeks after the European Commission was forced to issue a final warning to the UK for failing to address repeated breaches of legal air pollution limits in 16 areas, including the South East region.

Responding to the latest report, Keith Taylor MEP, a member of the both the European Parliament’s Environment and Transport Committees, said:

“These shocking figures make clear just how many children across South East England are at risk of exposure to toxic pollutants in the air. We know that air pollution is a serious threat to children’s health. We know that thousands of preventable deaths every year in the South East are attributable to air pollution. And we know that children’s health is being put at risk by a government consistently refusing to take the air quality crisis seriously.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2017/04/05/more-than-20-nurseries-in-south-east-close-to-illegally-polluted-roads/

Dieselgate: Greens welcome EU step in the right direction

Responding to the vote on the findings of the Dieselgate inquiry, Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East and a member of both the European Parliament’s Environment and Transport committees, said:

“Greens were instrumental in securing an inquiry into the emissions fraud scandal on behalf of European citizens who have twice been the victims of Dieselgate; through their exposure to toxic fumes and the complete contempt for their consumer rights. Today’s vote is both a vindication and an important step forward in taking an EU-wide approach to ensuring that a similar scandal can never be allowed to happen again. It’s a reminder that Dieselgate was a problem of too little Europe, not too much.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2017/04/04/dieselgate-greens-welcome-eu-step-in-the-right-direction/

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