28 November 2007

Plenary Meeting 28-29 November

Key items for financial services:

Law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I)
The Parliament approved the Rome I regulation adopting the report by Cristian Dumitrescu (PES, RO) on the Rome I regulation. The text provides common EU rules on the choice of the law to apply in case of cross-border disputes concerning contracts.

The approved text provides, as a general rule, that, in the case of a contract between a professional and a consumer, the latter should be advantaged by the choice of the court. In fact, the adopted states that the applicable law should in general be the most familiar one, i.e. the law of the country where the consumer has his habitual residence.

EP successfully proposed to make an exception to the general rule that consumer's law should always apply.  In fact, it will be possible for the parties involved in the dispute to make a choice of law. This will enable an e-trader to be free to impose his law when proposing a contract to a consumer.

In addition, the approved regulation also provides that the choice of the applicable law is always subject to the rules of the consumer's country of residence, thus offering a solution that is at the same time consumer-friendly and small business-friendly.

As far as individual contracts of employment are concerned, where the law applicable has not been chosen by the parties, the contract would be governed by the law of the country in which the employee habitually carries out his work.

Obligations arising out of family relationships, from matrimonial property regimes, wills and succession are excluded from the scope of the regulation.

The Parliament called on the Commission to present, no later than two years after the date of application, a report on the implementation of this regulation.

Together with the recently approved Rome II regulation on non-contractual matters, this regulation provides a complete set of Community rules of private international law relating to contractual and non-contractual obligations

Consolidated Text

Debate on the future of Europe with the participation of the Spanish Prime Minister, Member of the European Council

MEPs debated the future of Europe, with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Mr Zapatero staunchly supported both the work of the European Parliament and a strong Union. "Too often have we heard that Europe is in crisis", said Mr Zapatero, but he stressed "I do not share this pessimistic outlook". The new treaty should enable Europe to become "a beacon of progress and welfare. "Let us be ambitious" he told MEPs. "Experience tells us that when we are, things tend to go well".

Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero told the European Parliament meeting in Brussels in its plenary session that "in Spain, the notion of Europe is associated with our longing for peace, freedom, democracy and prosperity" and that "we owe a lot to Europe, and the people of Spain consider this project, in the first place, with a sense of deep gratitude".

Now, however, the challenge is to create the "Europe of values" the world needs in the 21st century. "Freedom, the rule of law, human rights, tolerance, equality between men and women, solidarity – this is the moral code of Europe."  "We Europeans enjoy the most rights and are best protected. But we are not an island, and cannot live at ease knowing that these rights are absent or are trampled upon in other parts of the world. We must obey an ethical imperative to strive to disseminate them".

"Too often have we heard that Europe is in crisis", said Mr Zapatero, but he stressed "I do not share this pessimistic outlook". The new treaty should enable Europe to become "a beacon of progress and welfare", partly by opening up and modernizing its economies. "Let us be ambitious" he told MEPs. "Experience tells us that when we are, things tend to go well".

Mr Zapatero also stressed that "our economic model is inconceivable if fairness is absent". Stable, decent employment was required, as well as continued solidarity among Member States through cohesion policy. 

Jaime Mayor Oreja (EPP/ES) argued that words were not enough and that deeds were needed, for example to transpose EU directives and comply with the Kyoto protocol.  He also stressed the need to strengthen the moral values of the Union, which in his view meant "being honest with our citizens about the difficulties we face". 

His group believed in the need not just to reinforce the EU but also to strengthen Europe's different nations, and in this connection pointed out that freedom was one of the EU's basic values. He closed his speech by emphasising the importance of "consistency" rather than mere words.

Graham Watson (ALDE, UK) said: "When Member States ratify the reform Treaty as we hope and believe they will, we can look forward at long last to a revitalised European Union.

Now is not the time to go back to a French drawing board nor to follow a new British plan for a glorified free trade zone.

Andrew Duff (ALDE, UK) asked the Prime Minister to please tell President Sarkozy that "we ought not to upset the prospects for the ratification of the Treaty by reopening the quarrels about procedures and the balance of power"

EP Press release

© Graham Bishop