Graham's blog Friday 4 September 2009

Published on Fri 4th Sep 2009

I return to writing this newsletter with some trepidation. I started writing upon my election as Leader of the European Union's Liberal Democrat MEPs in 2002 and it benefited hugely from the privileged access to people and information which that position gifted to me. Having resigned the leadership in July I am now what could be termed an expired politician, without these advantages. Should my writings decline in quality or interest I hope my readers will let me know. Should I feel unable to continue providing interesting insights I shall draw my own conclusions.

Parliament started back in earnest this week. Four Swedish ministers appeared before parliamentary committees to discuss progress on the agenda of their six-month Presidency. Reports of these meetings should now be available at www.europarl.europa.eu, Parliament's website. The foreign affairs committee, on which I sit, heard evidence from Peter Feith, the EU's special representative in Kosovo, who surprised us with the degree of his professional optimism; from Eneko Landaburu, the Commission's director general (Sir Humphrey) for external relations, who spoke to us about energy policy and suggested that we accede to Russia's request for a new security architecture (peace treaty to the likes of thee and me) to stop them being so beastly to us about oil and gas supplies; and from Olli Rehn, the Commissioner for EU Enlargement (Lib Dem, Finland), who believes Croatia and Iceland might be ready to join the EU in the latter half of next year or the first half of 2011 but that Turkey will have to step up the pace of its reforms.

The main gossip in Brussels is about whether Parliament will agree to vote to reappoint Mr Barroso as Commission President later this month and whether - should the Lisbon Treaty enter in to force as a result of a Yes vote in Ireland's October referendum - we should then vote again since the new Treaty requires a qualified majority of MEPs whereas the current Treaties require only a simple majority. Barroso published on Thursday a document he will send to Parliament outlining his ideas for a second term in office. At a quick glance he appears in it to stroke the erogenous zones of both his supporters and his detractors; but he comes before the political groups next week to be quizzed on it.

I find it a little distasteful that MEPs may wish to inflict a public humiliation on Barroso of the kind inflicted in 1962 on Commission President Walter Hallstein by the Council. I guess in the end we will not, since there is no majority possible on the centre left in the new Parliament and Barroso now has the right wing MEPs firmly behind him. But it could be a close call.

On Tuesday the European Commission announced a grant of EUR 13 million to help the UN's relief and works agency in its work with Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip. Four in ten people there live in poverty and the money will help create work opportunities to alleviate it. Meanwhile the EU's 'foreign minister', Javier Solana, returned from a visit to the region but was able to give our foreign affairs committee's chairman no real news of progress.

I joined three other Liberal Democrat MEPs in writing to the President of the Commission urging him to place Atlantic bluefin tuna on the CITES Annex 1 list, which would stop it being fished out of existence. The Commission's environment directorate is arguing for this but its maritime affairs directorate against, so the decision will fall to Barroso and will probably be taken next week.

Our foreign affairs ministers are meeting this weekend in an informal session to review the EU's current challenges. I be will at Glos CC today discussing EU issues and in Bristol tonight meeting the Turkish community. I'll be at home tomorrow catching up with the pile of casework which accumulated in August. On Sunday I host the final meeting of the European election campaign team which worked tirelessly to secure my re-election to a job I enjoy immensely.