After pressure from Labour MEPs the European Commission announced they would not be adopting the legislation which was due to come into force from January 2014.

In a statement today the EU Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos confirmed that the Commission would not adopt the rules as it was clear the moves did not have widespread support from consumers.

Labour MEPs had written to the Commission earlier in the week saying that the initial decision represented a completely disproportionate response to the problem of fraud in the marketing of olive oil, and asked what the Commission planned to do to rectify the situation.

Labour’s leader in the European Parliament, Glenis Willmott MEP said:  “Today’s announcement from the Commission answers the questions we put before them at the beginning of the week.”

“This was clearly an ill-thought through decision, and today’s u-turn is definitely a victory for common sense.”

Glenis added  “The decision made last week was clearly a bad one, so the Commission decision today is very welcome.”

“However, questions do need to be asked as to why the UK government abstained on this legislation when the issue first arose.”

“Labour MEPs have worked hard to put pressure on the Commission and block these disproportionate measures, if only UK government ministers had been more alert to the problem then we wouldn’t have had to rectify the problem.”

Glenis Willmott, Leader of Labour MEPs said: “We are all too familiar with the statistics on domestic abuse in the UK.  One in four women will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime. One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute and on average, two women a week are killed by a current or former male partner.”

“Behind these statistics are real women and children suffering the huge impacts of domestic abuse.”

“With over 1million British citizens living in other European countries it is vital that we are able to respond to the threat of domestic abuse across European borders.”

Glenis added: “This new multilingual certificate available online and easily transferrable between European countries will be a life saving measure for some victims of domestic abuse.”

“Victims of stalking, harassment or domestic abuse will also be guaranteed information and support in their own language.”

“This law is an example of the European Union working at its best to protect citizens.”

Glenis Willmott, Leader of Labour MEPs and spokesperson on health, said, “We have to call the government’s commitment to public health into question.  They are willing to forge ahead with their disastrous reorganisation of the NHS, but will not take the simple measure of standardising tobacco packaging, which will greatly reduce the attractiveness of tobacco for the next generation.”

“Tobacco kills half of all its regular users, and the pack itself is the last place the industry has left to advertise its wares.  Some packaging designs are clearly aimed at young people, with young girls targeted by thin, pink, flowery boxes that look more like lipsticks.  Standardised packs would put an end to these marketing tactics.”

Linda McAvan MEP, the European Parliament’s Rapporteur on the Tobacco Products Directive said, “The EU is revising its rules on tobacco and Labour MEPs want to introduce standardised packaging across Europe.  We are also pushing for large pictorial health warnings and a ban on flavourings.”

“Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the UK, the EU and across the world.  Australia, one of the world leaders in tobacco control, has already implemented standardised packaging and the UK is falling behind in the fight against tobacco.  We are disappointed the UK government has backed down, but Labour MEPs will continue to push for standardised packaging at EU level.”

The campaign “Action on Stroke Month” is organised by the Stroke Association, and is the charity’s annual drive to increase awareness of stroke, the impact it has on people, and the help available to those affected.

Glenis said: “I’m delighted to support the campaign.  Those who survive a stroke and those who care for them, often face a future which is incredibly difficult; physically, psychologically and emotionally.

“Stroke victims and their families can often feel isolated and ignored.    This May will be “Action on Stroke Month” and I hope that as many people as possible will sign up to pledge their support on the Stroke Association website at  www.stroke.org.uk

“As Labour’s health spokesperson in Europe, I’m actually steering new laws through the European Parliament at the moment on clinical trials, work that has a real relevance for research into strokes and other medical emergencies.”

Glenis Willmott, Leader of Labour MEPs and spokesperson for health and food, welcomed the news

“The UK government was wrong not to support restricting these harmful pesticides and I’m glad that the ban will go ahead,” Mrs Willmott said.

“Many of my constituents are rightly concerned that the bee population is in crisis worldwide.  In the UK bees have declined by 30% since 2E007.  As around three quarters of crops are reliant on pollination by bees, this is something we have to take very seriously.”

“Labour MEPs have been pushing for action on this for years.  This January the European Food Safety Authority stated that three types of neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to bees, and their use should be restricted.  Now we must take urgent action.”

“The European Commission was right to push EU countries on this.  Clearly the British government has listened more to the lobby of the big pesticide companies than to the concerns of their own constituents.”

“The only way we can have a real impact on saving collapsing bee colonies is by working together at EU level.  Labour MEPs will be closely monitoring the implementation and effects of the restriction to see whether further action is needed.”

So far EU governments have not been able to reach a majority either for or against the proposal, with the UK government failing to support action on the pesticides.

The European Commission is now taking the proposal to its appeals committee.  If Member States are still unable to reach an agreement, the Commission would be able to take the decision to ban the pesticides.

Glenis Willmott, Leader of Labour MEPs and spokesperson for health and food, said “many of my constituents are rightly concerned that the bee population is in crisis worldwide.  In the UK bees have declined by 30% since 2007.  As around three quarters of crops are reliant on pollination by bees, this is something we have to take very seriously.”

“Labour MEPs have been pushing for action on this for years.  This January the European Food Safety Authority stated that three types of neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to bees, and their use should be restricted.  Now we must take urgent action.”

“I am glad the European Commission has pushed the British government on this.  Clearly the government has listened more to the lobby of the big pesticide companies than to the concerns of their own constituents.  Owen Paterson has one last chance to side with scientists, environmental campaigners and citizens and vote in favour of restricting these harmful pesticides.”

Labour MEP Glenis Willmott, has been demanding European action on SCID, sometimes referred to as “bubble boy” disease after David Vetter, a boy with SCID, lived for 12 years in a plastic, germ-free bubble.

As Labour’s Public Health Spokesperson, Glenis has successfully persuaded the European Parliament’s Environment & Public Health Committee to hold a special debate where the European Commission will respond to concerns about the lack of action to deal with the disorder.

Glenis explained: “Babies born with SCID lack certain white blood cells, meaning their immune system does not protect them against a wide range of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

“SCID is extremely serious; if it is not spotted, then the baby normally dies before their first birthday. Yet it can be relatively easily and cheaply diagnosed and the disease can be cured. However, only certain US states and pilot areas across Europe currently screen for SCID at birth.

“Although the condition is rare, the costs to treat a baby that has not been diagnosed on time are enormous, makingscreening cost-effective.

“Almost two years ago I met with some East Midlands families who had been affected, and it is this connection with the lives of real people which has kept me campaigning. We can and must take action.

“The EU has a role to play in rare diseases, which are often neglected by individual countries due to the small numbers of patients. We already have effective EU action to incentivise the development of new treatments for rare diseases, and now I want to see EU action on newborn screening for rare diseases. I’m sure that most MEPs will be supportive and I hope that the Commission will suggest some practical steps for us to take.”

Commenting on today’s House of Lords Report on EU police and criminal justice measures, the Leader of Labour’s MEPs said it was clear that any UK opt-out could have “negative repercussions” for UK internal security.

Glenis said: “We now live in a world where crime, especially terrorist crime, is global and the need for law enforcement agencies to cooperate across borders is vital.

“Yet the Government so far has seemed hell-bent on pulling out of some 130 European police and judicial cooperation measures, including the European Arrest Warrant.

“There’s no doubt that this needs urgent reform, but it has made it possible for British victims to get justice by reducing extradition times from several months to 48 hours. The UK will be forced to revert to slower, less efficient agreements with individual countries making it more difficult for the UK police force to do their job.”

The Government has faced overwhelming opposition from influential groups including the UK Police Force, the Law Society of England and Wales and a pressure group called ‘Justice Across Borders’ who have pleaded with them to re-think their strategy at a time where cross-border crime is on the increase.

“Under the guise of repatriating powers back to Britain, real evidence shows that a UK opt out from the EU Justice and Home Affairs co-operation could have devastating effects on our criminal and justice system.

“Today’s damning report by the House of Lords confirms these fears and goes even further saying that such a decision would have serious implications for the UK’s internal security.”

Glenis Willmott, Labour’s European health spokesperson has co-signed a Written Declaration in the European Parliament calling on the EU to support the World Health Organisation’s activities in dealing with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

Glenis explained: “People may think tuberculosis is a disease of the past, but sadly it remains a threat in Britain and beyond, with London having the highest TB rate of any capital city in Western Europe. The disease is potentially fatal and can leave patients with lasting side effects.

“We are calling on the EU to back the WHO ‘Roadmap to prevent and combat drug-resistant tuberculosis’ and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

“TB already costs the European Union around €750 million (£640 million) per year and the WHO estimates that, if their roadmap is not implemented, the economic loss to the European region could be as much as $12 billion (£7.5 billion) within five years.

“Europe must take action to support the work of the WHO and to consign TB to the history books.

“It’s only this kind of regulation which will force manufacturers to get a grip on their supply chain,” she continued.

“It’s shocking to see how widespread the horsemeat scandal is.

“In 2011 the European Parliament supported my proposals for country of origin labelling for meat in processed foods but my plans were blocked by EU governments, including the UK government. I insisted that this was a serious issue, and obliged the European Commission to look into it and report back by the end of this year.”

“I was always told that the supply chain for meat in processed foods was too complex to allow for labelling.  Now we’ve seen what those complexities can hide.”

“It’s time we had a truly transparent system so that consumers know what they’re eating and where it’s come from.”

“Many EU countries are currently cutting back on food safety inspections, which are vital for preventing fraud in the food chain.”

“If the EU doesn’t put in place a better inspection system there will be similar cases in the future.”

“We also have to seriously look at the issue of the banned anti-inflammatory horse drug ”phenylbutazone” - known as ”bute” – in the food chain, which is a public health concern,” Glenis  Willmott said.