Graham's blog Friday 20 November 2009

Published on Fri 20th Nov 2009

Early this week the women members of Parliament and the European Commission were up in arms (or more accurately in neckties, demonstrating in front of the Council of Ministers' HQ) to point out that the best man for the job is often a woman. Liberal Democrats have known this, of course, since John Stuart Mill's writings 150 year ago; and it bears noting that of the women Commissioners who have been nominated, most are Liberals. The appointment of Cathy Ashton as High Representative for foreign and security policy marks a new departure, however. I welcome it not because she is a woman but because she was by far one of the best qualified candidates for the job. Hermann van Rompuy will no doubt be a competent President of the Council of Ministers, but the role has been reduced to that of Convener.

Meanwhile in Council-Parliament negotiations on the EU budget agreement appears to have been reached on finding the EUR 2.4 billion needed for economic recovery measures in 2010. Dairy farmers will get a little more help than foreseen thanks to the intervention of MEPs, but some money from the agriculture budget will be switched to other priorities. MEPs were a little surprised at the amount of money the Council representatives seek for the Council's new President; he may not have much power, but clearly they plan a lot of finery.

My week started in Brussels, where I again tried desperately to fend off life's daily duties and distressing disturbances to find time to work on the book I am writing to a tight publisher's deadline. I attended a meeting of the Liberal Group at which we welcomed three prominent economists for a discussion of economic policy, addressed visiting students of journalism, attended a meeting to discuss how to pursue in this new parliament the promotion of energy super grids and somehow still managed to write a few thousand words before departing for 24 hours to attend the opening of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) Congress in Barcelona.

Meanwhile our foreign ministers agreed we need greater military co-operation between EU member states, to deliver more bangs for our buck and keep down the cost of defence to the taxpayer, and discussed plans to mount a new military operation in Somalia, to help Somali forces provide stability.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) has agreed to reduce the total allowable catch by 40% (from 22,000 tonnes to 13,500 tonnes) over the next year. The environmentalists tell us a limit of 8,000 tonnes might have allowed a 50% recovery in stocks. A combination of the sushi lobby and the EU's Mediterranean states put paid to the idea of a moratorium on tuna fishing. Though tuna may yet be given a CITES listing at the UN, which would close the fishery, it now looks more likely we will fish it out of existence. EU Fisheries ministers are meeting as I write to try to reach agreement on quotas for fishing in the Black Sea.

Next week in Strasbourg Parliament will vote on the final drafts (after conciliation) of measures to open further the telecoms market and to improve energy labeling of appliances. I will endeavour to write from there.