SOUTH WEST FIRST
SEPTEMBER LETTER FROM
EUROPE
New title - New format – New
term and New job at the European Parliament.
And a new
constituency office: Longridge,
West Hill, Ottery St Mary, Devon EX11 1UX
The new job is Chairman of the Industry, Research
and Energy Committee. The first major piece of work we have to do is
conduct hearings for the Candidate Commissioners and my committee has
the heaviest workload with four hearings. Consequently I have been in
receipt of requests for private meetings with each of them in advance so
they can find out the format and what questions will be asked. I rather
enjoyed saying I had no idea what the MEPs on the committee would ask.
Technologically challenged
Two of these meetings took place on the Monday
afternoon of the September Strasbourg session when I was also trying to
get to grips with a new office, new email system in a computer that
wasn’t working and was in the wrong place, as well as a very long list
of queries from my assistant Natalie in Brussels which awaited my
arrival. All of which was calculated to keep me on my toes!
Three Wise Monkeys
On the Monday evening, we had a committee meeting,
the main business of which was an exchange of views with yet another
Commissioner in rather bizarre circumstances. Mr Michel from Belgium
has replaced Mr Busquin as their Commissioner while the latter has been
elected MEP and joined our committee. Mr Michel has temporary
responsibility for Research until the new Commission is formed in
November, when he assumes a different portfolio. So we shall have had
three Commissioners for Research in the space of less than six months.
On and On
A Dutch MEP asked him to confirm he would serve the
full 5 year term to which the reply was not only that, but he intended
to go on for another 5 year term after the first one. I couldn’t resist
reminding him what happened to politicians who said they would go on and
on!
Compensation Culture
The next morning, I attended a briefing by the
European Contact Group of Auditors about the 8th Audit Directive and
their concerns over aspects of the proposal which is still in
consultation within the Commission prior to being translated (into all
19 official languages) and sent to the Parliament. We had an exchange
of views on the concept of unlimited liability and the rising tide of
American influences in what is known as the compensation culture.
Singing for my Supper
On Wednesday afternoon, I attended the
co-ordination meeting for all EPP-ED (European Peoples Party – European
Democrats political group of which we Conservatives are allied members
of the ED part) members of the Industry Committee. For the first time
in five years, I was not in the chair as co-ordinator but sat with all
the other MEPs. I had to sing for my supper, however, by answering
questions about the procedure for the Hearings.
A Lot on my Plate
In the evening, I attended and spoke at a dinner
held by the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium (BCCB) which had
brought a group of its members to Strasbourg to take stock of the new
Parliament and exchange views with British MEPs on a range of issues. I
spoke about my own view of the new Parliament and how it could work with
industry.
THE NEW EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
The first thing to say is that it is too soon to
form any serious view beyond reflecting on some of the differences.
Obviously the accession of ten new member states and the election of
their MEPs along with a reduction in the number of MEPs from the
existing fifteen countries is a big change. This means that the
proportion of new MEPs, up to 60% in previous Parliaments, is even
higher this time in a Parliament which is numerically much larger, 732
now compared with 626 last time.
The next point to make is that British MEPs now
form the smallest proportion of the Parliament’s membership since the
first elected Parliament in 1979. Today we are 10.6% of the membership;
then our predecessors were 19%, so we have to work harder to represent
UK interests and persuade others to support our views. Another
significant change has been brought about by the Blair government
imposing proportional representation in place of single member
constituencies.
There are now four parties with the number of MEPs
in double figures with six other parties having at least one MEP. This
means that UK representation is further diluted within each political
group with the one ironic exception of UKIP which dominates the group it
is affiliated to with just under 30% of the admittedly very small
marginal Independants and Democrats. Ironic because they have no
intention of pursuing British interests in a Parliament they wish to
smash.
Two developments should give some comfort to
industry. First is the increased number of standing committees, back to
twenty, of which more deal with business related issues than before.
The other is the professed priority of the head of the new commission,
President Barroso, to push the so-called Lisbon Agenda to make Europe
the most dynamic, competitive knowledge based economy in the world. As
one of the architects (he is Portuguese) he has a vested interest in
making it succeed. We shall see.
The big challenge is to make the rhetoric a reality
and roll back the tide of social and environmental regulation which has
imposed burdens on business and compromised its competitiveness on world
markets, but also borne down heaviest on small businesses. I’m not
holding my breath, to be frank!
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of past letters
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