Italy's electoral puzzle / Aircraft emissions / Smoking
240 views · Published 27 February 2013 · 1:47 · Indexed 8 October 2026
Channel: European Parliament · 2013 · News & Politics
Comment on European Parliament Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/europeanparliament Who will govern Italy after its election? Pier Luigi Bersani's centre-left Democratic Party has a tiny lead over Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom in the lower house, closely followed by comedian Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement. Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti came fourth, and there is no clear winner in the upper house. Markets have tumbled, Italy's borrowing costs have risen. European leaders consider the damage. All political and democratic forces in the country should try to find the way to dialogue, to check where co-operation is possible, where agreements are possible. Also to check where there are complete disagreements. MEPs on the Environment Committee voted to exempt foreign flights from the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme for now. Many non-EU states refused to pay, despite their emissions doubling since 1990. Now there's time for negotiation and hopes that the new US Secretary of State may be more sympathetic. I trust very much in John Kerry. Kerry introduced in the Senate, when he was a Senator, the Kerry-Lieberman Bill, which was an ETS system for the US economy, including for aviation, including for European aircraft. 700,000 EU citizens will die this year from smoking-related diseases. Proposed new rules on marketing, manufacture and packaging were discussed at the EP in a public debate. But some members detect a whiff of hypocrisy. There's this smoke-free atmosphere supposed to be in law for people at work, and yet here in the Parliament, in Brussels and in Strasbourg, Members smoke in the bars all the time. EuroparlTV video ID: d15fb53b-7910-440c-ad33-a1710129b017
