10 Most Recent Stories From Graham Watson MEP's Published Articles

Thu 10th Jan 2008:

Build a Barrage not a Nuclear Plant.

Following Business Secretary John Hutton's Commons statement giving the go head for a new generation of Nuclear Power stations in the UK, local Lib Dem MEP for the South West and Gibraltar, Graham Watson, whose constituency has a site at Hinkley near Bridgwater, Somerset, which is short listed for further nuclear plants said;

Tue 4th Dec 2007:

Spot the difference.

Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne have each served longer in Brussels and Strasbourg, in our mother-in-law of parliaments, than at Westminster. From 1999 to 2004 (in Chris' case 2005) they were colleagues of mine: indeed, they served under me first as Leader of the ten UK Liberal Democrat MEPs and then (from 2002) as Leader of the European Parliament's Liberal Group. I think I can fairly say I had the privilege to get to know both of them well; over more years, certainly, than my counterparts in the Commons.

Wed 19th Sep 2007:

Broadening Horizons: Why our children should learn Chinese .

IN 2000, the Nuffield Languages Inquiry concluded: "English is not enough"; "Young people from the UK are at a growing disadvantage in the recruitment market", "The UK desperately needs more language teachers".

Mon 1st Jan 2007:

Changing Times .

In 1994, when I was first elected as MEP for the then Somerset and North Devon constituency, concerns about the environment and recycling were sidelined to the fringes of 'main' political debate. Today, some twelve years on, it is testament to the conviction of the green movement, not to mention some irrefutable evidence on climate change, that green politics has moved to the forefront of our debate.

Sat 21st Oct 2006:

Mobile Roaming Charges.

On the now infamous date, 11th September 2001, former European commissioner Mario Monti was in Barcelona for a speech on competition in high-tech sectors in which he outlined some of the EU executive's concerns over market failings in the telecoms sector, highlighting amongst other things, the excessive mark-up by mobile phone operators between the real cost of calls and what they charge customers when roaming abroad. This conclusion followed a sector inquiry the previous year which had identified that there were insufficient incentives on companies to reduce prices under the current system. Unsurprisingly, his speech failed to hit the news headlines.

Mon 16th Oct 2006:

Freedom of expression and the European Union .

Last week a founding EU Member State, France, suffered the indignity on receiving a lecture from the Turkish Government on fundamental human rights after its lower chamber of parliament approved a bill that, if passed into law, would make it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide. Fortunately, it seems unlikely to enter into law as it must both pass through the Senate and obtain the signature of the French President.

Wed 6th Sep 2006:

Scotland Must Act as a Magnet for Migration or Miss Out says Bute born Graham Watson, MEP .

"Realisation that the number of Eastern Europeans coming to find work in the UK after 2004's EU enlargement is way above government estimates has sent the immigration debate spiralling up the political agenda - and, not coincidentally, onto the tabloid front pages. Yet behind the tough talking designed to pacify the populists lurks a problem that is only half-acknowledged: that no single UK immigration policy can adequately meet the diverse needs of Britain's different regions.

Tue 29th Aug 2006:

The need for dialogue across the Mediterranean.

If further proof were needed of the imperative of dialogue across the Mediterranean, this summer has supplied it. Europe now risks developing or having imposed on it the kind of 'dialogue of the deaf' with countries across its southern sea that the US had in the 1970s and 1980s with Central America, at similar cost in terms of human lives, human freedom and human development. The EU must not allow politics in its backyard to be defined by the tribal or religious politics such as those influencing US politics: rather it must bring its own brand of secular democracy to the fore.

Wed 19th Jul 2006:

EU Asylum and Immigration Policy: Difficulties defining safe countries.

Malta finds itself on the front line in the current European immigration debate. The spiralling number of migrants arriving on the island from Sub-Saharan Africa has finally caught Europe's attention. It is now generating feverish debate in Brussels on how to address significant migration movements from countries suffering poverty, conflict or political instability and reconcile concerns over border security with a duty to care for the welfare of the migrants.

EU Asylum and Immigration Policy: Difficulties defining safe countries.

The recent collapse of the Balkenende II governing coalition over a 14 year old asylum claim strangely enough failed to trigger an in-depth nation-wide debate about the approach of the political establishment to asylum and immigration issues. All EU countries are facing similar challenges. Spain has also been in the firing line for granting amnesty to thousands of illegal immigrants without consulting its European partners.

Earlier Stories

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Graham Watson MEP's Published Articles, provided by Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/.

(c) 2008 Graham Watson MEP