Graham's blog Friday 27 June 2008

Published on Fri 27th Jun 2008

Speaking at a UK-Italian twinning dinner on the night Italy played Spain in the European Cup was not a great idea, so I made one of my shortest speeches ever. That was the start to my week last Sunday evening. Since then I've been in Brussels at the EP, in Paris with the incoming Presidency of the EU and in Lome (capital of Togo, from where I write) hosting an EU-African Liberal Conference.

On Monday I met Yves Leterme, new Belgian Prime Minister (Christian Democrat) to urge him and other Benelux countries to help the EU find a way out of its current difficulties. He is young and dynamic and although many say that Belgian politics will soon cause his downfall I am less sure: he has the mettle of a survivor. With France and Germany saying (to all intents and purposes, at least) that Ireland will have simply to vote again, a Benelux initiative would almost certainly be more subtle. Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg enjoy a certain small-country sensitivity which would go down well in Ireland and which is lacking in Paris and Berlin.

On Tuesday morning Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa came to Parliament to report on last week's Council Meeting (summit). It was his last appearance as President of the Council of Ministers. We gave him a reasonably easy time, praising him for the achievements of his 6 months in the chair. It's not his fault that the Irish No vote cast a dark shadow over his final summit. (For my speech in the debate, see www.grahamwatsonmep.org).

Transparency in government took a step forward this week with the Commission's launch on Monday of a register for EU lobbyists. There are more commercial lobbyists in Brussels than in Washington DC and it is high time that such a register - giving names, organisations, objectives and financial resources - be established. I now have to persuade my colleagues not to speak to anyone who fails to register.

On Wednesday and Thursday the so-called "Conference of Presidents" - the leaders of each political party in the EP - was in Paris to meet the main players in the French government, which takes over the EU Presidency on 1 July. We had lunch at the Elysee with President Sarkozy, who engaged us in a remarkably frank and no-holds-barred discussion of the EU's current difficulties over an excellent Puligny-Montrachet and a rather disappointing St Julien. From there to the Assemblee Nationale, where we sat in the gallery to listen to Question Time (it is even more of a bear pit than the House of Commons and makes the European Parliament appear genteel). Then to the Senate for a discussion with the Speakers of both Houses. The EU affairs minister had laid on a wide screen TV for us to watch Germany defeat Turkey over supper, which pleased the President of the EP and the Leader of the Socialists, both Germans. The latter at least had the good grace to admit that the Turks played better.

On Thursday morning we had two hours with Prime Minister Francois Fillon and seven of his ministers at the Hotel Matignon, his official residence. I had met many of them just a fortnight ago, when I brought the committee coordinators (spokespersons) from my Group to Paris. But by now they are much more on top of their EU briefs and ready to chair the monthly meetings of their 26 counterparts which form the EU's lower chamber (the European Parliament being more the upper chamber, a kind of House of Lords with teeth).

I left at lunchtime, leaving one of my deputies to represent the Liberal Democrat family in the televised debate of Group leaders which normally follows these meetings. I had to lead a delegation of 6 colleagues to Togo to a conference with African Liberal MPs from 27 countries (in an African Liberal network which I have helped to create) entitled A Roadmap for the Liberal and Democratic State. African countries are making important steps towards democracy, encouraged by us.

I'll be back on Saturday and will address the Madison Trust conference at Bath University on Sunday. On Monday I have engagements in Stroud and in London.