Graham's blog Friday 5 March 2010

Published on Fri 5th Mar 2010

I am particularly pleased to see that the President of the European Parliament used new powers to dock the allowances of UKIP's Nigel Farage MEP, who refuses to apologise for having last week insulted gratuitously the new President of the European Council. It is thanks to an initiative I took in the last parliamentary mandate that such powers exist.

My week has focused a lot on constituency matters. I have spent two full weekdays in my constituency - a rare treat - during which I spoke to pupils at Pilton Community College in Barnstaple yesterday and address a conference on the future of agriculture in the region at Bicton College, near Exeter, today. Tonight I speak to the West Dorset hydro-power group in Beaminster.

Late last week two constituents who had been extradited to Hungary to face trial on charges of fraud were released from prison. I still do not know the details of their release, but I had intervened with both UK and Hungarian authorities on their behalf and expressed concern in parliament about the amount of time they were likely to be held before trial, saying 'it is cases like this which give the European arrest warrant a bad name'. The Arrest Warrant has been one of the most effective tools we have in the fight against crime, but the procedural safeguards which Liberal Democrats called for at the time of its adoption five years ago are still not all in place. I am particularly angry that the EU's justice ministers, meeting this week, threw out European Commission plans to improve them.

If proof were needed that the EU has developed a form of economic governance (at least in the euro-zone) to complement the single currency, look at Greece. Commissioner Olli Rehn (LD, Finland, economic and monetary affairs) was there this week, and has told them what they have to do and they will do it. The Socialists want a European Monetary Fund, like the IMF, to help struggling countries. Liberals think it better they act responsibly in the first place.

Another row with the USA is brewing since their Senate adopted on 25 February the inappropriately named 'Travel Promotion Act' under which all visitors to the States will have to pay a ten dollar tax. I think we should threaten to retaliate with a ten euro tax on US visitors to the EU.

The latest EU league tables are out, showing the number of legal cases launched by the Commission against member states for failing to transpose EU provisions into national law. Cyprus scores worst, closely followed by Italy, Greece and Spain.

Competitiveness ministers met this week. Top of their agenda was the need for a common EU standard for recharging electric cars. Since the current 800 million vehicles on our roads globally are expected to grow to over two billion within 20 years we'd better make sure they are as non-polluting as possible. Whether we really want this kind of Armageddon should also be a matter for debate.

This weekend our foreign affairs ministers meet in Cordoba. Top of their agenda is the situation in the Middle East. I hope their Spanish hosts think to take them to see some of the monuments to the Ummayad Caliphate which ruled Spain (and beyond) for around 700 years (approx AD 700 to AD 1400) and was succeeded by the Catholic Inquisition. It might give them a new perspective on the contributions of Islam and Christianity to human progress.

Enjoy your weekend!