James Nicholson

James Nicholson    (politician)
Born	1945-01-29 Armagh, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Religion	Presbyterian
Children	7
Spouse	Elizabeth Gibson
Party	Ulster Unionist Party
A member of the European Parliament  Member of the European Parliament for Northern Ireland In office 15 June 1989 - Present  Member of Parliament for Newry and Armagh In office 9 June 1983 - 17 December 1985

James Nicholson (born 29 January 1945, Armagh, Northern Ireland) is a British MEP for Northern Ireland. Originally from Ulster Unionist Party, Nicholson has been elected to the EP in 2009 elections from the bipartisan electoral alliance between the Ulster Unionist Party and the Conservative Party called Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force (UCUNF).

Affiliations

• Vice-Chairman, Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
• Member, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
• Substitute, Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
• Substitute, Committee on Regional Development
• Substitute, Delegation for relations with the Korean Peninsula

Former Affiliations

• Member, Quaestors
• Member, Committee on Regional Development
• Member, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
• Member, Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand
• Member, Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia
• Substitute, Delegation for relations with the Korean Peninsula
• Substitute, Delegation for relations with India
• Substitute, Delegation for relations with the United States
• Substitute, Delegation for relations with Israel (05.02.1992-10.02.1993, 11.02.1993-31.01.1994, 01.02.1994-18.07.1994)

Record and Controversies

Declaration of Financial Interests

• Part owner of farm at 147 Keddy Road, Armagh

Former Declaration of Financial Interests

• Visit to Israel as guest of Israel Government for which they paid the Hotel accommodation for five nights.

Record of Parliamentary Votes

• Abstained from voting the directive on "establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy" (A5-0027/2000). The directive covers all water management aspects in order to achieve a 'good status' of all waters by 2015.
• Voted in favour of the directive on "national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants" (A5-0063/2000). The amendment allows setting less ambitious national emission ceilings for sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), which would result in more damage to human health and the environment.
• Voted in favour of the Commission White Paper on "Strategy for a future Chemicals Policy" (A5-0356/2001). The amendment helps avoid the necessary precautionary approach towards some chemical substances that are not proven to be completely safe.
• Voted against the directive on "waste electrical and electronic equipment" (A5-0100/2002). The amendment sets higher reuse and recycling rates for IT and telecommunication equipment. Rejected due to lack of absolute majority.
• Voted in favour of the report on "Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network" (A5-0135/2002). The Trans-European Network of Transport (TEN-T) is a network of so-called 'transport corridors' through Europe. This amendment calls for a full Strategic Environmental Assessment of these transport corridors and calls on the Commission to improve methods for analysing the environmental and economic impact of the TEN-T.
• Voted against the report towards a "thematic strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides" (A5-0061/2003). The amendment proposes to ban or severely restrict use of pesticides in areas around sources of drinking water and nature protected zones.
• Voted against the directive on "environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage" (A5-0145/2003). According to the amendment, polluters have to pay for environmental clean-up, and it supports an EU-wide regime which makes polluters liable for the damage they cause to wildlife, water and land.
• Voted against the directive on restructuring the "Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity" (A5-0302/2003). The amendment aims at giving tax benefits to environmentally friendly sources of energy, which would make them cheaper and more competitive to conventional (more polluting) sources of energy. It also gives tax benefits to environmentally friendly uses of energy for transport, for instance trains. Rejected due to lack of absolute majority.
• Voted against the amendment on Bulgaria’s progress towards accession (A5-0105/2004). The report objects to extending the life of the nuclear power stations in Bulgaria.

Personal Information

Curriculum Vitae

• Farmer and full-time politician.
• Vice-President of the Ulster Unionist Council.
• Mayor of Armagh (1996).
• Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (1982-1986).
• Member of the House of Commons (1983-1986).
• Member of the European Parliament (since 1989).
• Chairman of the Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand (1997-2002).
• Chairman of the Delegation for relations with the United States (2002-2004).

Resources

• European Parliament, Declaration of Members' Financial Interests: James Nicholson, 28 February 2008, accessed 07 February 2009.
• European Parliament, Declaration of Members' Financial Interests: James Nicholson, 12 June 2009, accessed 03 November 2009.
• European Parliament, MEP Directory: James Nicholson, accessed 07 February 2009.
• European Parliament, MEP Directory: James Nicholson, accessed 07 February 2009.
• Friends of the Earth, EU Vote Watch, accessed 07 February 2009.

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