Graham's Blog, Friday 16 July 2010

Published on Fri 16th Jul 2010

The European Parliament rises today for its summer recess, which this year is one week longer than usual. We do not return until 30 August, and there was a sense of demob happiness among MEPs. I was surprised to be the only UK Lib Dem MEP who attended Wednesday evening's summer drinks reception thrown by the Brussels local party of the UK Liberal Democrats; we have many members who live and work in Brussels, for the EU institutions or in other areas, who all have a valuable contribution to make, and the event was well supported.

One change associated with being in government is the need to be in London more. I spent Monday there on my way to Brussels, trying to raise funds for my Climate Parliament, and yesterday on my way home, to conduct interviews for a liaison person to serve the MEPs in London and to attend the Westminster parliamentary party's 'away day' session in Smith Square. In between I quizzed NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh-Rasmussen (former Danish Liberal prime minister) about India-Pakistan and Transnistria at Parliament's foreign affairs committee, spoke to visitors from the Dorset Youth Council and carried out more interviews, both for the MEPs' London based post and for a vacancy in my parliamentary office.

Our finance ministers met in Brussels this week with a heavily charged agenda. It may be worth my highlighting their discussion of the EU's 'broad economic policy guidelines' - still little known about outside Brussels, even 15 years after their introduction - under which banner they seek to co-ordinate the economic policies of the 27 different member states. A surprising degree of co-ordination exists since our prosperity depends essentially on the growth of trade within the EU's single market, which common policies facilitate.

Surprisingly, however, it was the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries ministers on Monday which committed the EU to finding 1.4 billion euros to pay for the cost overruns on the construction of ITER (International Thermonuclear Energy Reactor) in southern France. I am not an opponent of nuclear fusion but I think it crazy that we will allow so much money from the EU's budget to be eaten up in this that there will be little left for renewable energies; and I find it indecent that the decision was pushed through as an "A" point (ie without discussion) on the agenda of ministers who have no responsibilities in this area.

On Monday the 27 environment ministers met for informal discussions in Ghent and yesterday our home affairs ministers met informally in Brussels. In each case a Commissioner from the Liberal family led the discussions: environment commissioner Janez Potocnik (LD, Slovenia) tried to coax member states towards a co-ordinated policy on use of natural resources and home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom (LD, Sweden) sought agreement on a series of asylum-related proposals.

Today I address students in Cornwall at Redruth School and later at Bodmin College before travelling to Plymouth for a function there. Next week I clear my constituency office desk in advance of a holiday with my family. I will write again on 3 September.