Graham's blog entry Sunday 9 December 2007

Published on Sun 9th Dec 2007

National MPs from all 27 member states were much in evidence in Brussels this week, as last: two major Joint Parliamentary Meetings, one last week on Justice and Home Affairs legislation and one this week on the new Reform Treaty, took place. It is a sign of growing co-operation which I welcome, though I did not join them since I was in my constituency office on Monday, where I welcomed a new staffer, James Sully of Weston super Mare. After a three week handover period James will succeed Andrew Dunne as my caseworker/researcher.

Andy is off early in the New Year to trek around South America.

The European Commission adopted at its weekly meeting a draft directive on public defence contracts but postponed the adoption of a draft measure on cross-border healthcare provision. Fielding questions from Commission civil servants on a training course in how to deal with Parliament I detected a concern, later confirmed to me by a Commissioner, that decisions in the current Commission are far less collegial than in the last. Barroso has adopted the style of Jacques Delors under which, rather than build a consensus among Commissioners as a Prime Minister might in her or his Cabinet, he strikes a deal with the pertinent commissioner and steamrollers it through. Such was the case with the Directive mentioned above, which proposes a common licence to make it easier to move weapons and weapons system components among the armed forces of the EU's member states.

Telecoms ministers from the 27 member states met over last weekend and finance ministers at the start of the week. One interesting point of note is the e-Inclusion initiative under which efforts will be made to provide access to new technologies to the entire population of the EU. At the start of this year 55% of households had access to the internet, compared to 40% a year earlier, so the task is getting easier. There is particular concern to help the elderly learn to use technology to assist them to with security and heath care and thus help them live long but more independent lives.

Of the 80 milion Europeans who travel outside Europe each year, seven million visit countries where their country of origin has no diplomatic representation. So moves are underway (they had started three years ago but were put on hold after the French and Dutch

referendums) to set up a common EU consular service, which will be part of the EU's external action service. Article 20 of te EC Treaty already gives citizens the right to assistance from the Embassy of any EU member state when travelling beyond the Union.

But under the new Reform Treaty to be signed next week we will see the first moves to a common EU Diplomatic Service, drawing on the personnel of member states'

foreign offices.

Julian Temperley and Nicholas Bulmer, producers of Somerset and Hereford cider brandy respectively, came with me on Tuesday to see the Commission official in charge of spirit drinks labelling. I am pleased to report that we found a solution which allows them to continue using the name cider brandy.

Later that day I welcomed Messrs Clegg and Huhne to the European Parliament to present to an audience of 150 UK Lib Dems living and working in Brussels their wares. Both were MEPs in the last parliament so are no strangers to the place. And each was on good form, so we had a good debate.

Among other visitors this week I welcomed Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome and leader of Italy's new Democratic Party. Since the party brings together centrist MEPs who sit in my Group and social democrats who sit in the Socialist Group, there is much speculation about which Group the new party will join.

Veltroni said that all his MEPs will stay where they are until 2009. Thereafter they will decide. From what I know of the disorganized nature of Italian politics I guess they will continue to send members to both political groups.

I flew back into Bristol eye-achingly early on Friday, hosted a conference call at my office in Langport, drove to Exeter for a meeting in the morning about my Chinese language teaching scheme and a conference in the afternoon of 150 school children about the EU; then to Poole to address a Lib Dem supper. Today I am writing a mega-galactic quantity of Christmas cards, dealing with a tray of constituency casework and hoping to find time afterwards to pen an article I've

promised to a political journal.