Graham's Blog

Regular views, thoughts and comment from Graham Watson MEP on the news, the European Parliament and more.

If you would like to comment on any of the items you see here, please send Graham an email to the following address info@grahamwatsonmep.org

10 Most Recent Stories From Graham's Blog

Mon 22nd Jun 2009:

Graham's blog Monday 22 June 2009.

The European Council meeting (aka heads of state and government summit) last Thursday and Friday unanimously nominated Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso for a second term. They also reviewed progress in getting the economy back on track and in fighting climate change, but that appeared to attract much less attention; and, to be frank, their decisions in these areas were less newsworthy. The big questions now are 'can they secure a majority for Barroso in Parliament and, if so, when?' The four Liberal Prime Ministers had been unanimous over lunch on Thursday that they wanted Barroso re-nominated at the summit and approved by Parliament in July. I had to point out to them that whilst around the table we had Prime Ministers and Foreign and EU affairs ministers from many countries, Germany, France and Italy were not among them: and these three countries supply three of the four largest delegations in my Group. At the moment there is no majority for Barroso in my Group. Nonetheless I undertook to try to build one. On Friday there was helpful news. The intemperate Socialist Group leader Martin Schulz issued a characteristically intemperate statement describing what he called 'the council's attempt to fast track the re-appointment of Barroso' as 'a political, legal and institutional outrage'. He vowed that the Socialists would not vote for Barroso in July. This leaves the European People's party (Barroso's party) with no choice other than to strike a deal with my group if they want to see him confirmed before the summer break. But they have first to approach us and second to offer us something in exchange; perhaps the presidency of the European Parliament, for which I am a candidate, either in the first or the second half of the parliamentary term. Sounds good for me? Far too early to tell. The third party candidate is almost always in the weakest position. And a lot can happen between now and the vote on 14 July. But it might just work out. My delay in penning this missive (I normally write on Friday) is down to the work I am putting in to my campaign. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

Fri 12th Jun 2009:

Graham's blog Friday 12 June 2009.

Last week's elections to the European Parliament saw a notable swing to the right. The big gainers were the European Peoples Party and the big losers the Party of European Socialists. The Greens made gains, as did the Far Right. My Alliance of Liberal Democrats was returned at around the same strength as in the last Parliament, though this time around our hold on the balance of power has been weakened by the rout of the left. Gordon Brown's headache was mirrored in results in France and Italy; while in Germany, Spain and Poland the left also lost ground. And since the six largest EU member states provide over half the members of the EP the left is much reduced. Indeed, even if Liberal Democrats were to support a combination of Greens, Socialists and the Far Left we would still be short of an absolute majority. Due to the vagaries of 27 different systems of proportional representation, final results and the names of all those elected will not be known until 19 June, two weeks after the poll. Nonetheless, within the Liberal Group we have lost representation from Poland and Hungary but considerably improved our strength in Germany. In the UK we have seen a net gain (on paper, at least) of one seat. I am personally disappointed that we failed to elect Kay Barnard, our No.2 in the SW England and Gibraltar constituency; I believe that had the UK news media not been transfixed with Westminster MPs' expenses we could have elected her. The main problem with elections to the European Parliament is that despite the best efforts of Liberal Democrats the elections are rarely fought on European issues. Rather than one Europe-wide election campaign we have 27 different national campaigns. And though voter turnout declined EU-wide from 45% to 43%, in some countries it rose considerably while in others it dipped. There is no clear pattern. My solution would be three-fold: first, give Euronews the status of public service broadcaster in every EU country so that we can all access common, comprehensive TV news coverage of EU affairs; second, elected a proportion of MEPs (perhaps 20% of the total) from pan-European lists of candidates, thereby obliging parties to fight truly pan-European election campaigns; and third, choose the European Commissioners from the ranks of the MEPs elected to give the voter a direct link between the person they vote for and those who subsequently wield executive power. I have spent this week and will spend the next two re-forming the Liberal Group. Having served seven and a half years as its Leader I do not seek re-election, so the first act of the new Group will be to elect my successor on 30 June. Meantime I will host one of our meetings in Bristol, where we will contribute at least a quarter of a million pounds to the City's economy and will be welcomed by the new LibDem-run city administration. But I will report from next week's EU summit before then.

Fri 8th May 2009:

Graham's blog Friday 8 May 2009.

The vote by Czech Senators on Wednesday to approve the Lisbon Treaty, thus completing its parliamentary ratification process in the Czech Republic, was widely welcomed by MEPs in the final week of this Parliament's term in Strasbourg. The EU has spent far too much time gazing at its own navel over its treaty arrangements, but if the Lisbon Treaty enters into force it will make the EU more democratic and much more efficient. Of course, Ireland still needs to ratify it; a second referendum is foreseen for October. And the famously euro-sceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus still has to sign the document. My quip that he should sign it in blood was widely reported in the Czech media. As the House rises today my thoughts turn completely to the European election campaign which Nick Clegg will come to Bristol to launch on Monday. I still need volunteers to come out leafletting in my campaign bus over the next 24 days, and I still desperately need to raise money to pay for the campaign. If you can help with either please let me know at euro_office@cix.co.uk (or send a cheque payable to South West England Liberal Democrats to Bagehot's Foundry, Beard's Yard, Langport, Somerset TA10 9PS). Among the business we despatched this week in our final votes was a call for a ban on the trade in seal products; a vote to better regulate scientific experimentation on animals (I was very unhappy that one of our Conservative MEPs, Neil Parish, allowed the tough but workable proposals of the European Commission to be watered down by the animal experimentation lobby and so I voted against the measure); and a refusal to allow governments to cut off internet access to their citizens without judicial approval (unless public security is under serious threat). We also voted to approve EUR 5 billion for green technology projects (see previous newsletters). My week was full of TV debates with the leaders of the other parties in Parliament: French, Polish, Austrian and Swedish TV had Question Time type programmes devoted to the European elections and other broadcasters interviewed us individually about our respective manifestos. Sadly but predictable the BBC's coverage is sparse and restricted mainly to the channels it broadcasts outside the UK. Beyond Parliament, our heads of state and government met the leaders of the former soviet countries in south east Europe at a summit in Prague. The Russians perceive this as an attempt by the EU to 'interfere' in their sphere of influence. The tone of recent preparatory meetings in advance of the EU-Russia summit on 21 May suggest relations will remain frosty. I was pleased to welcome Devon County Council leader Brian Greenslade to Strasbourg this week. Brian is a leading light on the Assembly of European Regions and between us we represented the Lib Dem position in a debate on the EU's regional policy. This afternoon I chair a world wide video conference to launch an Index of Democracy prepared by the World Future Council. Participants will include parliamentarians from London, San Francisco, Delhi and Johannesburg. My hope is that we can shame the less democratic countries into greater respect for democratic practices. But with our own European election campaign unlikely to persuade more than 4 voters in 10 to go to the polls, questions must be asked about democracy. I learned this week that the average age of MEPs as Parliament rises is 54.8 years. At only just 53, I'm still young enough to be a rebel.

Fri 1st May 2009:

Graham's blog Friday 1 May 2009.

Readers are advised to check their European Health Insurance Card before the summer holidays, because two-thirds of all the EHI cards issued in the UK expired in March of this year. You can apply for a new one online (https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do) or call 0845 606 2030; you should then receive one by post, free of charge. Today, the Labour Day holiday in continental Europe, is also the 5th anniversary of the enlargement of the EU to ten new countries. Five years ago we were joined by Poland (population 40 million) and nine other countries (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Malta and Cyprus (combined population just under 40 m). Most people judge it to have been a success. The 470 m EU citizens of 2004 were joined in 2007 by Bulgaria, bringing the EU's population to 500 m. I am often asked about how the EU is funded. Contributions are worked out according to a complicated formula involving gross national income and VAT receipts, but the outcome is that this year Germany's gross contribution to the 2009 budget will be EUR 20 billion, France's EUR 19.7 bn, Italy's EUR 16.2 bn and the UK's EUR 12.5 bn. Keep this figures with you for next time anybody tells you we pay more than our fair share! Representatives of the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament met overnight on Monday in the final session of the conciliation committee on the revision of the working time directive. They were unable to reach agreement, so the 1993 directive (allowing an opt-out from the maximum 48 hour a week limit) remains in force, meaning that the UK's retained fire fighters, junior doctors etc can continue to provide emergency cover. This is the first time since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam that the European Parliament and the 27 national governments have failed to reach agreement on a piece of legislation. On Wednesday the European Commission published proposals to regulate hedge funds and other 'alternative investments'. These affect the UK more than other EU countries, since most such funds have been UK based. The hedge fund managers reacted by saying the proposed regulatory regime - under which fund managers would have to be authorised by government and meet risk management standards including minimum capital requirements - would cripple businesses that manage some EUR 2,000 billion of assets. They're calling the proposed measures 'disproportionate, inappropriate and anti-competitive'. To me, the European Commission's proposals sound about right. The EP and member states will have to agree them before they come into force, possibly within the next three years. Liberal Democrat MEPs from across the EU met in London this week at the invitation of their UK colleagues. We threw a reception on Monday in the historic late Victorian National Liberal Club, arranged visits to the BBC and to the Kings Cross redevelopment scheme and organised a seminar on UK politics addressed by our Westminster leader Nick Clegg MP. We then studied parliamentary business for the final week of the 2004-09 parliament, which starts on Monday in Strasbourg, and agreed on how we would vote. Outside our formal sessions I was struck by how visible is the recession in London's bars and restaurants, with many places operating well below capacity. Back in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon I received representatives of Business Europe and the EU Chambers of Commerce, eager to give advice on the policies needed to keep the recession as short and as shallow as possible; the following day I hosted a round table for representatives of NGOs working on climate change, eager to stress that we need to emerge from recession with a more sustainable type of economic growth. I have much sympathy with their case. If I am elected President of the EP in July I hope to promote the 'green growth' agenda. The demands of an imminent election again dictate a heavy weekend schedule. On Thursday evening I was in Cologne, tonight I will be in Dorset, tomorrow in Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire again. And on Sunday evening I fly back to the continent.

Fri 24th Apr 2009:

Graham's blog Friday 24 April 2009.

Orthodox Easter holidays for our Greek and some of our Bulgarian MEPs meant that Parliament sat from Tuesday to Friday this week rather than Monday to Thursday. It allowed me to spend Monday in my constituency: I canvassed voters with one of our Unitary Authority candidates in Chippenham and spoke to pupils at the South Wilts Grammar School in Salisbury. I suspect the head teacher would have preferred me not to use the occasion to attack the Tories for having voted against the European Arrest Warrant which I pilotted through the House a few years ago: but I gave a local example of a murder victim whose family would probably never have seen the killer brought to justice had it not been for my measure. And if the self-styled "party of law and order" has taken such leave of its senses on all matters European as to oppose co-operation in fighting crime I believe it deserves to be pilloried from Penzance to Pewsham! The need for such police and magistrate co-operation was underlined by a recent report from the European Police Office stating that last year there were 391 separate terrorist attacks in Europe (though virtually none of them by Islamists): but a further 125 were foiled and over 1,000 people arrested on terrorist charges, increasingly thanks to cross-border co-operation. In Strasbourg on Tuesday I took three young Sri Lankans from London to see the EU's external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner. Protests against the lack of intervention by the international community to stop the killing of Tamils by Singhalese have escalated with the rising violence, and Simon Hughes MP had persuaded one young lad to come off hunger strike on the basis that he would arrange meetings for them with people in public office. I had agreed to help with the Brussels end. The Commissioner outlined the actions she had taken to try to intervene (and the list is impressive) but had to concede that the larger EU member states were reluctant to allow action while the US administration considered Sri Lankan measures as part of the global 'war on terror'. I urged her to get Sri Lanka high on the agenda of the 27 EU foreign ministers, who meet on Monday. On Wednesday we had a marathon two and a quarter hour voting session, during which we completed our first reading of the draft Patients' Rights Directive, which would allow EU citizens to seek treatment in other member states; and approved a liberalization of the gas and electricity markets which does not go as far as Liberal Democrats wanted but is nonetheless a step towards bringing down prices through greater market efficiency. We also legislated to cap the charges which can be levied by mobile phone service providers for sending text messages from one EU country to another. And on Thursday, in the presence of the Leaders of Moldova's three opposition parties (all Liberal parties!) who I had invited for the occasion, Parliament debated the police brutality towards protesters after the recent (and almost certainly rigged) parliamentary election. For my speech in the debate, see You Tube or www.grahamwatsonm.org . On Tuesday I had joined the President of Parliament in speaking at the dedication of one of our public spaces in Strasbourg to Bronislaw Geremek MEP, who died last year. We will shortly name one of the public spaces in our Brussels buildings after another prominent Liberal - frenchwoman Simone Veil, the EPs first ever President. And on Wednesday I addressed groups of candidates for the European parliament elections in June from Lower Saxony and West France. With an election soon, interest in our work is growing appreciably. Tonight I address our LibDem euro election rally in West Camel in Somerset; tomorrow a rally in Exeter.

Fri 17th Apr 2009:

Graham's Blog from the European Parliament, Friday 17 April, 2009.

MEPs were in Strasbourg this week for a week of formal debates and votes. Thanks to the good work of my UK LibDem colleague Sarah Ludford MEP, we voted to prevent children under the age of 12 from being fingerprinted for visa or immigration purposes (though the UK will opt out because our government wants to take fingerprints of 6 year olds). And thanks to the good work of my Catalan colleague Ignasi Guardans MEP we have struck what I think is the right balance between aid and trade in new partnership agreements with the former colonies of EU countries (the so-called ACP countries - African, Caribbean and Pacific). And Danish Green MEP Margrete Auken did a great job in steering through parliament a call for EU level action to help the thousands of holiday home owners in Spain who have suffered injustice in commercial, planning or other legal disputes. The main theatre of the week in Parliament was provided by Gordon Brown, who had asked if he could come and debate with us (as host) next week's G20 summit, and started his speech 'thank you for inviting me'. He made a good but messianic speech about world affairs, covering everything from world poverty through nuclear disarmament to peace in the Middle East: as I pointed out in my reply on behalf of my Group, an ambitious agenda for an institution (the G20) which has no permanent secretariat and is meeting only for the second time at heads of state and government level. Previously it was only a meeting of finance ministers and excluded two of the world's top 20 economies (Taiwan and Iran). The lead column in The Guardian the following day opened with the amusing line 'Gushing like a broken fire hydrant, Gordon Brown drenched the European Union in praise'. He did. His spin doctors certainly would never allow him to make a speech like that in the UK. To watch or read the speeches in the debate, visit www.europarl.europa.eu. The Czech Government lost a no confidence vote in the lower house of their Parliament on Wednesday night, making its Prime Minister Mr Topolanek the third to fall in the current financial and economic crisis. Since the Czechs currently preside the EU this is most unwelcome, but in fact the current government will remain in office as a caretaker administration until their stint at the helm finishes at the end of June. To PM Topolanek's credit, he nonetheless traveled to Strasbourg to report to us on last week's European Council meeting. But he was hardly the bouncing Czech who addressed us in January: he looked gutted, though he tried to put on a brave face. The fall of the government makes it highly unlikely the Czechs will ratify the new Lisbon Treaty before the autumn; so it is no longer simply Ireland which is the problem. I dropped a note to Commission Barroso (with whom I shared a birthday on Monday; I am four hours older than he) to say we must now proceed to install the next college of EU Commissioners on the basis of the Treaty currently in force, the Treaty of Nice. The leaders of the Socialist and Green Groups used their Tuesday press conferences to take a shot at veteran French Front National MEP Jean-Marie Le Pen. Most of us despise his politics, but they stupidly gave him huge publicity by saying they want to change Parliament's rules of procedure to prevent a situation in which Le Pen might be the oldest member when Parliament returns after the elections and therefore be called on to chair the first meeting of the new house until a President is elected. My view is that however much we detest him, we should respect his democratic mandate: and if the Socialists are so worried they should put up an 85 year old in a winnable position (Le Pen is 81). Nonetheless they won their battle on Thursday; from now on the first meeting of each new Parliament will be chaired by the President of the outgoing Parliament. But by Thursday I was back in my constituency, addressing young people at Preston College in Yeovil, older people at the Portland Probus Club in Weymouth and older people still (though still active and curious) at the University of the Third Age in Wells. Today I visit the community radio station in Wiveliscombe, Poltimore House restoration project near Exeter and then the St Austell and Newquay Lib Dems supper. Tomorrow I address the Langport LibDems.

Fri 3rd Apr 2009:

Letter from the European Parliament, Friday 3 April 2009.

While I was in Bulgaria on Monday addressing conferences of our two member parties there (both in government), news came out of Prague of agreement among our foreign ministers to invite Belarus to the EU's eastern neighbours partnership summit on 7 May, but not to receive President Lukashenko himself. Belarus is the only European country still to execute its citizens in peacetime; there is no media freedom to speak of and little political freedom. And none of our Leaders wishes to be photographed alongside its dictatorial President. In Brussels the following day the EP hosted a cross-party conference on Belarus attended by some of the country's opposition leaders, journalists and other representatives of civil society. I urged them to redouble their efforts to make sure the country does not fall further under the sway of Putin's Russia. We debated with Council and Commission on Wednesday the proposed new EU-Russia partnership (on the basis of a report piloted through the foreign affairs committee by my Polish Liberal colleague Janusz Onyskiewicz MEP) and I had a sharp exchange of words with the Socialists, who have gone soft on their criticism of Russia's very poor human rights record. (My speech can be found in text or video recording on www.europarl.europa.eu. Or see page 7 of this document) The signs for EU-Russia relations are not propitious: last week Russia objected to EU talks with the Ukraine aimed at modernising the gas transit system, threatening to reduce supplies unless they can approve the plans; and on the day of our debate Gazprom announced a contract to buy all 16 billion cubic metres per annum of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field's gas output from 2010, meaning that the EU's proposed new Nabucco pipeline will have nothing to feed it. On Tuesday evening I met Howard Dean, leading US Democrat and Obama campaign manager, to discuss the new US administration and to pick his brains about his 50-state campaign strategy; this is the kind of thing we'll need in Europe if we ever have truly 'Europe-wide' EP election campaigns. I enjoyed supper with the UK's EU Commissioner Cathy Ashton, who is a long-standing acquaintance and who is making a much better fist of the trade portfolio than her predecessor Peter Mandelson. On Thursday parliament voted to approve at first reading the new comprehensive EU anti-discrimination directive, which my Group succeeded in persuading the Commission to propose (who says Parliament cannot initiate legislation?). This means we can give it a second reading early in the next parliament. I convened a meeting of the Welsh and SW England representatives in Brussels together with Jill Evans MEP (Plaid Cymru) and a representative of the company concerned to discuss a proposal for new ferry services between Ilfracombe and Swansea and Minehead and Cardiff, starting next year. We need a small amount of public money to build pier and jetty facilities and set up integrated transport links and Jill and I are determined to get EU funding for them. I flew home to Bristol yesterday as the G20 summit got underway in London. I intend going nowhere near it. This morning I start a week's Easter break with my family. I'll write again in a fortnight's time. Ps. I am still quite a long way short of raising the funds I need to secure re-election in June. If you can help, please send a cheque payable to South West England Liberal Democrats to me at Bagehot's Foundry, Beard's Yard, Langport, Somerset TA10 9PS. Thanks.

Fri 27th Mar 2009:

Graham's blog Friday 27 March 2008 .

Fri 20th Mar 2009:

Graham's blog Friday 20 March 2009.

In planning my 2009 agenda for the six months to the elections I allowed as many Mondays as possible in my constituency. Thus this week I was able to open the new Liberal Democrat office in Gloucester with Cllr Jeremy Hilton before speaking to the young ladies at Cheltenham Ladies College under the delightful Miss Matthews. Since I had a couple of hours to kill between the two events and it was an unseasonably warm, gloriously sunny day I took a stroll around the Gloucester docks renovation project, admiring the use of EU funding in providing housing and office developments and an imaginative Inland Waterways Museum. The current economic climate is unkind to such grand designs, and it shows a little: but I have no doubt it will revitalise part of the town centre and turn an eyesore into a pleasing prospect. The Foreign Affairs and EU Affairs ministers from the twenty seven member states were meeting in Brussels as I flew in that night, to prepare the European Council (heads of state and government summit) which has just finished as I write. It is interesting to note that in the 'General Affairs and External Relations Council', which is the formal name for their meeting, the roles of the two sets of ministers are now more clearly defined: as the EU countries develop an increasingly united foreign and security policy the foreign secretaries concentrate on these matters of external affairs, leaving the internal EU business to the EU affairs ministers. Thus, as the former reviewed initiatives such as the EU's peace-keeping mission in Chad and the anti-piracy fleet in Somalia, the latter (previously only there as observers) now increasingly take the floor on domestic matters. I was able to despatch the business of co-ordination of my Group's positions for next week's debates and votes in Strasbourg with unusual brevity on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, which allowed my departure in good time for Stockholm, where I took our leading Liberal Democrat spokespersons to meet the ministers of the incoming Swedish Presidency of the EU. Sweden's four-party coalition government is blessed with two Liberal Democratic parties, the People's Party and the Centre Party, so many of the ministers who will chair council formations in the latter half of the year are friends. As the (Conservative) Prime Minister pointed out a little mischievously in answer to one of our questions, the two Liberal parties disagree on whether Sweden should join the euro: but in general his coalition seems to be working well and I believe Sweden will be well prepared to guide the EU through the choppy waters of economic recession and uncertainty over the fate of the Lisbon Treaty. I was pleased to welcome to Brussels a group of students from Bristol University and to speak at the launch of a book on European Identity which is the fruit of pan-European co-operation among social scientists. I also fitted in a meeting with the Bulgarian Prime Minister to discuss assistance to his country in the fight against organised crime. But the main business of the week was the heads of state and government meeting on Thursday and Friday, preceded by the summits of the party political families which, in my case, involved a five a.m. start from Stockholm to beat it back to Brussels. After the Liberal PMs gathering, at which Irish PM Brian Cowen joined us for the first time (his party will shortly affiliate to the EU Liberal Democrat and Reform Party), our 27 national leaders enjoyed a productive summit, if hardly headline grabbing. They agreed to use a five billion euro underspend in the EU budget for EU-wide infrastructure projects; they agreed to put 75 bn euros more into IMF reserve funds, and they undertook to help any EU country with balance of payments difficulties. Unlike the 1930s, they recognise we are all in this together and need to pull together to make it as quick and painless as possible. The UK newspapers are writing about major differences with the US. Don't believe a word of it. Co-ordination is the order of the day. And if you see anti-EU letters in the columns of your newspapers, write back in reply: remember, all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men and women to stay stumm. Tonight I'll be at Martock Primary School for a Q&A on the recession with Paddy Ashdown, David Laws and Sam Crabb. Tomorrow I take a train to Lancaster to speak to LibDems at our North West Regional Conference.

Fri 13th Mar 2009:

Graham's blog Friday 13 March 2009.

So, the UK Tories have now formally told their continental counterparts that they will leave the conservative-christian democrat European People's Party. In so doing they will be the only major party in any EU member state not to belong to one of the EU's major political family groupings. Liberal Democrats could seize upon this move with glee: but that would be to overlook the damage it could do to Britain, especially if the Tories get back into government. Deals are struck before EU summits in the political family meetings: an isolated national party would have very little influence in matters which could be crucial to our national interests. Fortunately, the current UK government takes a rather more pragmatic approach. EU affairs minister Caroline Flint was in Strasbourg this week: on Tuesday I discussed with her progress on the Working Time Directive and other matters. On Thursday the political group leaders welcomed an offer from Gordon Brown to come and address Parliament on 24 March to debate preparations for the G20 summit. And day in day out our government, directed by the dashing diplomat Sir Kim Darroch, wins most of its battles in the Council of Ministers. Romania joined Hungary and Latvia this week in asking its EU partners for help. Three billion euros have been made available to Latvia and six and a half billion to Hungary. Thankfully there is still money available in the EU's 25 bn euro balance of payments support mechanism to help the Romanians. One thing which disturbs me at present is the blythe and widely held assumption that if only we extend the mandate of the current European Commission by two months the Irish will vote Yes and the next Commission can be ushered into office just eight weeks behind schedule on the basis of a new treaty. It is not only the Irish who have failed thus far to ratify, however; three other countries have not yet completed the process. I spoke this week to five EU affairs ministers (UK, Ireland, Sweden, Czech Republic and Netherlands) and told them I believe it recklessly cavalier to build a house of cards solution when we may be in the depths of an economic crisis. Parliament voted this week to improve the EU law on freedom of information; but we are locked in a dispute with the member states, most of which want jealously to guard their secrets, and a Commission afraid of being caught in the crossfire. Members also voted to close the debate on Tibet with a resolution sharply critical of China, against the wishes of the leaders of the two main parties who are increasingly susceptible to Chinese diplomatic pressure. It was a victory for my group and for the Greens, who insisted on putting the matter to a vote on the floor of the house. I spoke on Wednesday morning in the debate on the economy ahead of next week's 'summit' meeting of our heads of state and government. I told Commission and Council that we all know what needs to be done - government simply has to get on with it. For my speech see http://tinyurl.com/b57w9z . My campaign for the EP Presidency was again boosted this week, this time by an announcement by the European People's Party that they will not choose their candidate until after the European elections. The reason: they have two contenders and will not risk division in their ranks by a public contest at their forthcoming conference in Warsaw. By chance I saw the two gentlemen concerned at a leaving reception for parliament's secretary general; they were standing three feet apart listening to the speeches and I simply could not resist the temptation to stride up to them, shake each vigorously by the hand and plant myself between them in front of three or four hundred onlookers. Last night I returned from Strasbourg to Brussels to speak at the launch of a book by former Tory MEP and financier John Stevens, now a Liberal Democrat. 'Ten years of the Euro: new perspectives for Britain' is a serious study by leading experts about how the UK would be better off joining the single currency. Today I am in Scotland to address the Scottish LibDem conference in Perth; tomorrow I'll be in Gloucestershire to speak to Lib Dems there. My message to both will be similar: in an uncertain world we are stronger together in the EU with partners who share our values; and in current circumstances we can again be guided by that great twentieth century Liberal internationalist John Maynard Keynes.

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