The European Parliament has today voted for the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), a spending plan for the period 2014 - 2020 which will extend new funding to Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), near Abingdon.

The Centre is home to the European JET experiment, the world's largest and most powerful fusion device, as well as 600 scientists and engineers investigating the potential of fusion power as a safe, clean, and virtually limitless energy source for future generations.

Omnibus II package agreed - comments by Sharon Bowles MEP

Yesterday's final trialogue on Omnibus II lasted for over 8 hours and late into the night. Presided over by Sharon Bowles MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, a provisional deal has been agreed with Member States.

"A report by Britain's biggest business organisation, the CBI, has confirmed that every person in the UK profits from EU membership each year. The report explained that each Briton benefits by £1225, compared with an annual contribution of just £116 per person.

"The report follows a YouGov / CBI poll which found that 78% of British firms favour staying in the EU, including 77% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and 6% of businesses said they would close if the UK left the EU.

The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee today voted by a large majority in favour of extending rules on the automatic exchange of information in taxation policy, making full exchange of information the standard across the European Union.

Sharon Bowles MEP, who chairs the committee, commented:

Sharon Bowles MEP, who chairs the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has been named on a list of the 100 'most influential women' in European finance by Financial News, a leading industry newspaper.

The list, compiled by Financial News staff reporters, honours 'women who are getting the job done' in post-crisis Europe and includes chief executives, business founders, chairmen, and chief operating officers.

A new poll, published today, conducted by IPSOS-MORI for TheCityUK has found that four in five business leaders in the financial and professional services sector want the UK to stay in the EU.*

Sharon Bowles MEP, who chairs the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, commented:

"The UK financial services sector employs over 2 million people and contributes billions to the economy each year.

Following last night's vote on an EU proposal for the development of key information documents for investment products, Sharon Bowles MEP, Chair of the Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, said:

"The ECON Committee has voted a text that will significantly enhance the way in which pre-contractual information is communicated to potential investors across all Member States and across a wide range of investment products."

There has been a huge increase in the number of people in work in South East England according to the latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The figures show that the number of people in employment in the South East went up by 69,000 between June and August 2013, and by 130,000 since June 2012.