Witney Liberal Democrats

The European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee today voted to radically reform the way in which Europe's largest firms are audited.

Sharon Bowles MEP played a key role in ensuring the mandatory rotation of audit firms and supported a new requirement that auditors can only audit large public interest companies for a maximum of 25 years.

MEPs have reinforced demands for a single European Parliament seat in a bid to end the monthly travelling circus to Strasbourg.

It comes as the European Council ignored treaty obligations to move meetings from Brussels to Luxembourg for three months each year.

Catherine Bearder, an MEP for the South East, has campaigned vigorously for a single seat to save money and cut carbon emissions.

Commenting on today's announcement that the Bank of England will extend the Funding for Lending Scheme until 2015, Sharon Bowes MEP* said:

"The extension of the Funding for Lending Scheme is welcome, but 2015 is not a long time horizon.

"I am sure that lower interest rates are welcome, no matter for how long, and this helps in the struggle for survival. However, if businesses are to plan for expansion, especially in the manufacturing sector, longer loans are needed. That kind of expansion cannot be planned on 'hire and fire'. Two years is not long enough for spreading capital repayment, business needs at least five years to establish confidence.

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats were pleased to hear that at the last Cabinet meeting on 16th April, the Cabinet had received £3.55M additional funding for Highways and Transport. At the last County Council meeting on 2nd April, the Conservative ruling group refused to support a Liberal Democrat motion calling on the Cabinet to require contractors to meet their obligation on highways repairs and so ensure our roads are fit for the public to travel on . The Conservatives obviously think that everything is fine across the county, but most Oxfordshire residents know just how bad the roads really are.

WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITIES

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS in Oxfordshire will continue to work hard to spend scarce resources wisely and make Oxfordshire a better place for everyone.

We will strive to:

Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles, who chairs the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, today called on the Basel committee on banking supervision to recognise the significant steps taken this week in the EU to alleviate the regulatory burden for trade finance, an issue Ms Bowles championed during negotiations.

The British Government is failing thousands of victims of trafficking despite pledging to clampdown on the problem, Catherine Bearder MEP has said.

It comes as a Eurostat report criticised 21 EU member states, including the UK, for failing to implement into national law the EU directive on human trafficking.

UKIP and the Tories in the European Parliament have been accused of damaging British industry by blocking an attempt to further reduce carbon emissions.

The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) sets a price for carbon dioxide emission permits in a bid to combat climate change. It was hoped companies would instead investment in green technology, rather than shell out for permits.

New transparency rules for banks and a cap on bonuses were today (Tuesday, April 16) backed by Lib Dems at the European Parliament.

Catherine Bearder, a Liberal Democrat MEP for South East England, said the Strasbourg vote would make the British banking system 'more resilient'.

She said: "Capping bankers' bonuses would usher in a much-needed culture change, putting an end to the excessively risky behaviour that led to the financial crisis.

Sharon Bowles MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, today welcomed the vote in favour of the Capital Requirements Directive and Regulation, which implements Basel III - the international accord which sets global standards for banks - into EU law.

While in recent weeks the hotly politicised subject of capping bankers' bonuses has dominated the headlines this measure is in fact part of a much larger raft of legislation which will increase banks' resilience to future financial crises by requiring them to have higher capital buffers to absorb losses and hold more easy-to-sell liquid assets. In addition, the regulation and directive introduce various other measures to strengthen corporate governance and transparency, and encourage growth and lending to the real economy in the EU.