All EU Member States will finally be compliant with the ban on battery farm eggs by the end of the year, Health Commissioner John Dalli has announced.

Speaking at a meeting of the European Agriculture Committee, Dalli also said that 16 Member States are now expected to be compliant with the ban on sow stalls by the end of this year.

MEPs have again called for an end to the 'traveling circus' which costs taxpayers millions of pounds a year.

The European Parliament is currently based in both Strasbourg and Brussels, forcing politicians and staff to relocate every month at an estimated annual cost of £145 million. MEPs' have now voted to back calls for the adoption of a single location, further raising the pressure on national governments to push through reform.

Using your mobile phone abroad will be cheaper from this summer after MEPs voted to cut roaming charges again today.

The new limits set in the European Parliament mean phone calls will cost no more than 28p per minute, while the cap on SMS charges is down to 8p per message.

For the first time, there will also be a cap on the amount charged for using data services abroad. MEPs managed to negotiate a much lower price ceiling than originally proposed, limiting the cost of using one megabyte of data to 67p, falling to 18p by July 2014.

Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament have today announced that they will reject the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

There is now a majority in the Parliament to vote against the ratification of this plurilateral treaty which was aimed at establishing international standards for intellectual property rights (IPRs).

New figures show that in Northumberland, 2,200 people have started an apprenticeship between August 2011 and January 2012.

This comes on top of record numbers of apprentices in our area last year: 3,860 were on an apprenticeship in 2010/2011, which is an increase of 73% on the previous year.

Commenting, local MP Sir Alan Beith said:

Lis Banks and the Hexham Liberal Democrats would like to thank everyone who voted in the Hexham Gilesgate byelection. The byelection which cost the taxpayer around £2,000 was caused by the resignation of the Conservative Councillor. In a keen contest the Conservatives retained the seat.

Derek Kennedy

Official reports have confirmed that no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has increased council tax for their residents. This is unlike both other major parties, many of which are increasing council tax by up to 3.5% this year.

Commenting on Labour and Conservative councils' record on Council Tax, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:

The North East is leading the way on ethical timber, according to a leading conservation charity.

The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) has singled out Newcastle and Durham for their efforts to cut the use of illegally harvested timber and has called on other cities to follow their lead.

Illegal logging is regarded as a major cause of deforestation, and, in a bid to highlight the problem, the WWF has ranked all local authorities on their timber policies. Newcastle and Durham are among just 16 out of 433 to secure the highest rating.

Local communities are being offered the chance to submit ideas for green energy projects, with thousands of pounds in funding available to the best.

The energyshare scheme - which was won last year by the Hexham Hydro project, securing £100,000 - has now opened for new applications.

Local Euro MP and green energy expert Fiona Hall has welcomed the opportunity for communities to come together and get involved.