Additional Messages
On 11 January Mr Costas Cartalis MP announced his willingness to become GLOBE Europe's new Focal Point at the Hellenic Parliament. Our former Focal Point, Spyros Kouvelis MP, took office as Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece after the general elections in October 2009.
Mr Cartalis was elected Member of the Parliament in 2007 (prefect of Magnesia) and was re-elected in 2009. During his first parliamentary term he was speaker for Education and Culture and member of the Parliamentary Committee for Research and Technology. In his second term and as of November 10, 2009 he is the President – elect of the Standing Committee for the Environment of the Hellenic Parliament and Member of the Parliamentary Committee for the Economy.
Hugo Alfonso Morán, MP Socialist Spokesman at the Environment Committee of the Spanish Lower House (Congreso de los Diputados) has brought to our attention that on Friday 27 November the Spanish Cabinet approved the draft bill for Sustainable Economy, a comprehensive package of regulatory changes, aimed at providing a better regulatory environment for economic agents so they can enjoy a more competitive position during its economic recovery.
The Act is structured around three main pillars: improving the economic environment, promoting competitiveness and committing to environmental sustainability. It is part of a strategy that essentially aims to lay the foundations for a model of development and growth of the Spanish economy to make it more sustainable in the economic, social and environmental context. Indeed during the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, the Government also plans to propose a redefinition of energy taxation at EU level so that its environmental role is recognised.
Critics have argued that it should be up to the private sector to take the lead in developing the new economic model of Spain, rather than the Government. Speaking to El Pais newspaper, Instituto de Empresa professor Rafael Pampillón, argued that "The paradigm shift must be led by entrepreneurs wishing to invest in industries of the future," he says . "And what you need for that is the confidence of the employers, which would come about through major changes in the labor market, which have not been addressed." Professor Pampillón argued that reducing labor costs and Social Security contributions are necessary if productivity is to be improved.
However London School of Economics Professor Luis Garicano welcomed the Spanish Government initiative. He believes that the draft law is a modest step forward towards deeper structural reforms, which will need to address other elements of the Spanish economic model such as the labor market and the efficiency of the judiciary system, which the Government has also promised to tackle.
The conference, organised jointly by the Foreign Relations and Environment Committee teams of the Grand Turkish National Assembly and GLOBE Europe, was attended by 11 MPs from the Environment and Industry, Energy, Trade and Natural Resources Committees of the Grand National Assembly and a selection of delegates from the Turkish Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Environment, Industry and Trade, Public Works and Settlement, Finance, Communications and State Planning, plus representatives from the business sector and the civil society. Click here for a full list of participants.
- 100 Legislators from the world's major economies agree on key guiding principles for COP15 in GLOBE Forum in Copenhagen
- Institutional Investors reach out to MEPs on Climate Financing
- “A Renewable World” – A handbook for policy-makers, planners and above all those looking for smart options for a sustainable future
- GLOBE EU Speed Dating for Climate Change
Some of Our Partners | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | ||
 |  |  |  |  |  | ||