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Strasbourg Round-Up

Coming only days after decisive “non” and “nee” votes in the French and Dutch referenda on the European Constitution, the June plenary session was dominated by one big topic – “where to now”. Labour’s Leader in Europe, Gary Titley, urged the EU to end its obsession with process and institutional navel-gazing and, instead, concentrate on outcomes.

“We must start addressing the people’s priorities – jobs, economic growth and a better life for all Europe’s citizens,” Gary said. “The danger for Europe now is that we’ll try to muddle along, neither delivering the competitive edge we need to survive economically, nor the leadership that the world needs for peace and stability.

“We must now develop an agenda of economic and political reform that puts people at the centre of everything that happens. The UK Presidency provides Britain with a golden opportunity to lead the debate, define the issues and forge agreement on Europe’s future.”

There was evidence aplenty in Strasbourg this month of the UK government putting the finishing touches to its preparations for stepping into the EU hotseat on 1^st July. A number of Ministers were in town for talks with key players in the European Parliament. For his part, Gary had meetings with Derek Twigg from the Department for Transport and Gareth Thomas from the Department for International Development.

Also as part of the preparations for the Presidency, the Socialist Group Executive flew to London at the end of the Strasbourg plenary for a visit instigated by Gary. Proceedings began on the Thursday evening with a dinner hosted by Labour Party Chairman, Ian McCartney, with a number of his Cabinet colleagues in attendance. Then, on the Friday, meetings took place with the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, the new Minister for Europe and other Cabinet members. On the agenda were the UK’s plans for what promises to be an exciting Presidency with big issues like world poverty, climate change and economic reform to tackle, on top of the future of the Constitutional Treaty.

Labour MEPs issued a challenge to the public this month to get tough on the amount of energy they use to prevent further global warming. The call came during a debate in the European Parliament on ambitious targets for energy savings in the public sector and help for people to save energy in their own homes. Experts calculate that these initiatives should achieve an 11.5% reduction in energy use by 2015 – more than meeting Europe’s Kyoto obligation to curb energy consumption by 10%.

“Global warming is the biggest challenge facing us today,” said Gary. “To think globally, people need to act locally. Domestic consumers can make a huge contribution to the battle against climate change – and save money into the bargain.” The new rules - approved overwhelmingly by MEPs - will oblige energy companies to give consumers information on their bills about the environmental impact of their energy use. They will also encourage the use of smart meters and require companies bidding for public contracts to adopt energy efficient policies.

The principle of freedom of movement throughout Europe for legally recognised gay couples won the backing of MEPs this month. They were voting on proposals put forward in a report by Labour MEP Claude Moraes that defines what it means to be a minority in the EU. Claude also wants two new minority categories – stateless persons and linguistic minorities – introduced to combat discrimination and racism. Following its approval by the European Parliament, the report will now go to the European Commission for legislative proposals to be produced.

“Dolphin friendly tuna” will soon become a whole lot friendlier after MEPs gave the go-ahead for the EU to sign up to stricter international standards for tuna fishing. The new regulations will guarantee an end to dolphin deaths and the danger this form of fishing poses to other species like turtles and sharks. Under the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Programme, ‘dolphin safe’ labels are only granted when no dolphins are reported injured or killed in fishermen’s nets, whereas, under the old regime, the labels stopped short of guaranteeing that dolphins would be safe. Catherine Stihler, Labour’s fisheries spokesperson, said: “People’s purchasing power has won the day. Consumers will not accept unnecessary deaths or damage to the environment to catch their food.”

Labour MEPs have always been at the forefront of attempts to get the European Parliament to clean up its expenses regime. Now, word is circulating that the Luxembourg Presidency has come up with proposals that will do just that. The deal is said to include much tighter controls on staff allowances and travel expenses, as well as a common salary for all MEPs. For British members the salary would stay at roughly the same level as now – equivalent to a Westminster MP. Welcoming the move as a positive step forward, if it happens, Gary said: “It‘s high time the European Parliament put its house in order. For years, Labour MEPs have been leading the charge for the system to be open and transparent and based on costs incurred.”

Regular readers of Strasbourg Round-Up will know that relations between British Tory MEPs and the pro-European Christian Democratic (EPP) Group, to which they belong, are often fraught. This month they hit rock bottom again when arch Eurosceptic Tory MEP, Roger Helmer, was kicked out of the EPP Group for repeated attempts to undermine it. What this shows yet again is that last year’s shotgun wedding (see Strasbourg Round-Up – Feb 2004) between the Tories and the EPP Group to win £1 million in annual funding was nothing more than a sham.

Strasbourg Round-Up

June 2005