Category: Current Affairs

France is set to become the latest nation to ban single-use plastic bags in shops following a vote in the National Assembly Friday on a wide-ranging Energy Transition bill.

The ban will come into force in 2016 if the bill is approved by the Senate, although it will not apply to re-usable or biodegradable bags.

The proposed law will also outlaw disposable plastic cutlery and crockery by 2020, a measure introduced by members of France’s EELV Green Party which wanted the rule enforced by 2017.

THE Electoral Commission campaign to get more British expats voting in the UK local and European elections proved a disappointment.

In a report the Commission said that although the number of registration forms downloaded from its website by Britons overseas was higher than for the previous European elections, it ‘fell well short’ of its target.

The commission ran an advertising campaign in the weeks before the elections on May 22 to encourage 25,000 more people to register. However, only 7,079 did so.

“Although we were disappointed not to hit our target we recognise that expatriates at these elections may have chosen to register to vote in their EU countries of residence,” said the report.

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British expatriates – It’s your vote, don’t lose it

THE French postal service, La Poste, has been given the green light to increase the price of its services in the coming years.

Regulatory body, l’Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des Postes (Arcep), has agreed to an average increase of the inflation rate plus 3.5% per year for the next four years – which at present would mean a 5.2% price hike.

There is no detail on whether stamps, parcel deliveries or other products will be hit by the price rises, but La Poste has been hit by a dramatic slide in the use of its services.

The volume of post fell by 4.3% a year between 2008 and 2012, while last year the amount fell by 5.5%.

And with La Poste facing increased competition especially in the delivery of parcel, and the possible opening up of postal deliveries via the EU, postal chiefs are looking to increase revenue to pay for changes in the service.

YOU most probably didn’t feel it last night, but the number of regions in France dropped from 22 to a slimline 13 after an evening of debate in the National Assembly.

As predicted the Poitou-Charentes, the Limousin and Aquitaine have been joined together, as well as Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy.

Although local politicians in the north of France, including former Socialist party chief Martine Aubry, were not too pleased with the move.

But ultimately the French government got its way, as it looks to cut costs and reduce the levels of bureaucracy many people face every day.

MP Carlos Da Silva, who proposed the joining of the three regions in south west France, said that changes might still have to be made, but the new map will be put in place from 2016.

Discussion between Harry Shindler and Viviane Reding, from September 2013
THE campaigning work of 92-year-old Harry Shindler that would see UK expats enjoy voting rights in Westminister elections, has been recognised by the vice-president of the European Commission.

Speaking at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, Viviane Reding, who is also the EU Justice Commissioner, said Harry Shindler was a ‘remarkable’ man who had ‘lost his voice in the nation for which he fought’.

Now living in Italy, Harry Shindler has been calling for all UK expats to have the right to vote in UK elections, a right that is lost once someone lives overseas for more than 15 years.

In her speech, Viviane Reding cited Mr Shindler as an example of a ‘remarkable campaigner for rights’ explaining: “A British veteran of World War Two, Mr Shindler fought for his country during the liberation of Rome. He returned to Italy, and this caused him big trouble: because he has now been living in Italy for more than 15 years, he has lost his right to vote in national elections in the United Kingdom.

“He has lost his voice in the nation for which he fought. And he is not alone: there are many EU citizens who are disenfranchised simply because they used their right to move to another EU member state.”

The UK is one of five countries that Viviane Reding has called on to end the practice of ending voting rights after a certain time if someone takes the option to live in another EU country – the others are Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland and Malta.

The EU Justice Commissioner said it was ‘about making sure citizens do not lose one right because they exercise another’.

Related: Harry Shindler’s votes for expats case blocked by European Court of Human Rights

In an address, published on the l’Elysée website, President Hollande has put forward proposals for changes to the regions of France, in an attempt to cut costs and reduce bureaucracy in the government system.

There is set to be a parliamentary debate on the issue, but the changes proposed would see the following regions come together:

Poitou-Charentes, Centre and Limousin
Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon
Champagne-Ardenne and Picardy
Burgundy and Franche-Comté
Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes
Alsace and Lorraine
Lower and Upper-Normandy

The following would be unchanged: Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Aquitaine, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Corsica, Ile-de-France and Paca (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur).

Prime Minister Manuel Valls claimed that savings of around €25billion were possible with cuts in administration costs and efficiency savings.

WITH just seven weeks left to register to vote in the European elections, the Electoral Commission is urging UK expats to visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/overseas to make sure they can have their say on Thursday 22 May.

“Many people have already downloaded their registration form, but we don’t want any eligible expats to miss out,” said Samantha Mills, head of campaigns at the Electoral Commission.

“It only takes a few minutes but time is running out. Expats need to act now to make sure they’re on the register by the deadline of Tuesday 6 May.”

Every British citizen who has been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years is eligible to vote in UK Parliamentary general elections and European Parliamentary elections.

Those who were too young to register when they left the UK can still register as an overseas voter as long as their parent or guardian was registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years.

It is also important for expatriates to think about how they are going to cast their vote. Ballot papers can be sent overseas but people must think about whether they have time to receive and return these papers by polling day.

Those who think they might not have time may want to consider voting by proxy. This involves nominating a person they trust in the UK to vote on their behalf.

WITH just weeks to go before the European Parliamentary elections on Thursday 22 May, the Electoral Commission has launched an international campaign to encourage British citizens living overseas to register to vote.

To mark the start of the campaign, the elections watchdog is staging Overseas Registration Day on Wednesday 26 February in a bid to boost the numbers of expatriates on the UK’s electoral registers.

Samantha Mills, of the Electoral Commission, said: “Estimates show that there may be as many as 5.5 million UK citizens living overseas, but the latest figures showed that there were only around 20,000 on the UK electoral registers.

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EUROPEAN Union citizens in France only have a few weeks left to register to vote in next year’s municipal and EU elections.

A campaign has been launched to prompt people to register before the 31 December, 2013, deadline as the electoral roll is updated at the end of the year.

It is a simple enough task and involves heading to your local mairie with an EU passport and proof of address, and upon completion of a short form you can take part in next spring’s elections.