Strasbourg Commentary Plenary session 10 – 13 June 2013

Strasbourg Commentary Plenary session 10 – 13 June 2013

Tuesday Saw a report on “Organised crime, Corruption and Money Laundering” whereby the EU is to move in with all its bureaucracy and red tape. It is intended to set up a European Prosecutor’s Office, a training centre for intelligence agents, a standing committee and all the rest of it, with massive funds attached. No problem, Cameron got a deal on the budget did he not?

Wednesday Several reports on Border control and associated measures including Schengen. Although we are not a Schengen member it will affect us, see Gerard’s speech on the UKIP MEP’s web site, with his reply to a question from the floor. Summary of this business below,-

UKIP Press release - EU stops states acting over abuse of Schengen

For the first time, it will be possible for EU inspection teams to make unannounced visits to monitor any attempt to introduce illegal border checks at internal borders within Schengen.

New rules laying down common procedures and deadlines for handling asylum applications and basic rights for asylum seekers arriving in the EU were endorsed by Parliament on Wednesday.

Note, they don’t like the Government’s newly announced decision to police our borders more closely. How effective will that be with EU agents round their necks?

Today started with a debate, “Preparation for the European Council Meeting”, again, which included a great deal of hot air about unemployment, especially youth unemployment. Some points raised included,-

Barroso declaring again that SMEs show great deal of youth unemployment so we need to press on with the “Youth Guarantee” and we need to go on a journey for growth and jobs. At this point my apologies. I serve on the employment committee but I have no clear idea as to what the “Youth Guarantee” is. It has been mentioned several times but what exactly it is in practice I know not, in spite of listening closely to the debates in committee.

Swaboda, the Socialist leader, was disappointed with the Irish Presidency, now ending, because they failed on the budget.

Verhofstadt, Liberals, criticised Msr Hollande for saying that the crisis was over when it is not (at least that’s realism) and to cure it we cannot go on with 27 different governments and banking systems; we must have a Banking Union!!

For almost the first time today I thought that we were at Westminster for PMQs. There were a number of angry interventions starting with a Greek MEP who called a Point of Order, but turned it into a tirade about the closing down of the Greek national Radio/ TV station. He alleged that this had been done by order of the ‘Troika’ now running Greece and, “ was this Democracy?”, he asked. With 68% youth unemployment in Greece he has a right to be angry. The President, Schultz himself at that time, told him in no uncertain terms that he could not use a point of order to raise political issues, and promptly turned off the offender’s microphone.

Later on Commissioner Olli Rehn attempted to put this TV close-down into perspective. He said it had been done by the legitimate Greek Government authorities alone and recent documents endorse his statement. This was met by a round of boos and cat-calls, almost as if he was not believed!

Another MEP tried to turn a Point of Order into a political issue and he found his microphone switched off very quickly.

Perhaps the best was a woman MEP , Ms Ungureanu I think, who was mis-identified by the President. We all have a number in front of our place for identification, but there was a similarity of names. Ms “U” started to make a fuss about something. The chair had changed by then but this experienced deputy President was ready. He accused her of sitting in the wrong place deliberately, so as to make him call the wrong name and cause confusion. She got cut-off too!

And we are the Clowns!!

Thursday The last day is always light both on debates and votes because so many MEPs leave late Wednesday or mid-day Thursday. I usually start off for home late afternoon having completed the commentary but the agenda is particularly light today. Debates on Central Africa, breaches of human rights, rule of law in Russia, and so on.

I shall stay for voting at 1200 and off to the airport, I hope. There is a strike of Air traffic Controllers due to end this morning, but there will be a back-log. Indeed, will it end this morning? There is also a strike of the French railways, also due to end this morning, so change of plan dubious. My flight takes me to Brussels with change of flight to Birmingham so there is double the chance of being stranded.

Funny, these strikes always seem to occur during a Strasbourg week! They know perfectly well that there is no direct flight from/ to anywhere in the UK for Strasbourg, likewise, Ireland, Scandinavia, Italy (well, at least Rome). Travel to and from France and Germany is, naturally, easy and various, and there is a good motorway system.

Just my way of reminding all those chancing their arm with MEP selection of life’s little difficulties, EU style.

Derek Clark MEP Strasbourg 13^th June 2013.

Brussels Commentary Employment Committee May 29th - 30th 2013

Brussels Commentary Employment Committee May 29th - 30th 2013

More money for the taxpayer to find

Wednesday we voted on Regional Policy for wider State support schemes. My one vote was the solitary "No" against 36 in favour.

Thursday we voted on a Youth strategy which will cost 6 billion Euros. Did better here, my one vote against was supported by one other, as opposed to 35 in favour.

Then "crisis on access to care for the vulnerable" will cost a lot more, but no figure given!. I was down to voting against on my once more, 36 in favour.

Lastly, "social investments for growth and cohesion, implementing the European Social Fund". I got 2 to support me against 34 in favour this time.

So, in spite of Dave's stand on the budget it looks like we will end up finding more cash.

I got rather fed up in the debate on "Improving private International Law, jurisprudence rules applicable to employment". This became a matter of yet more laws to allow workers to move from one country to another without being penalised by the different employment laws they then will find. This was admitted to being a legal minefield so, instead of letting the lawyers earn their money and sort it out, they will now want to bring in a raft of laws to ensure that people can move countries and still be employed on the same legal basis. No adaptation needed.

No chance of allowing people to work to the laws they find themselves under on making a move of course. That is the thin and of the wedge, all other national laws will be "harmonised" over the course of time. Not that this will be apparent for years to come, one thing at a time, very slowly so as not to frighten the horses.

Did I hear you say, "When in Rome......"

I regret to say I did not stay long enough to hear the Employment Commissioner in an exchange of views, "in the context of the structured dialogue". What dialogue do you ask?,- quite.

Lastly, I wish you all to know that I am not seeking re-election as MEP. I will continue to work as one of your MEPs over this last year, as indeed you would expect me to.

Derek Clark MEP Brussels 30th May 2013

Strasbourg Commentary Plenary session 20 - 23 May 2013

Strasbourg Commentary Plenary session 20 - 23 May 2013

I have to tell you that things go on here much as before. There is no sign of collapse, yet, and the problems of the Euro have not surfaced, unless that happens after I have completed this edition.

However, there were debates on fraud and tax havens as well as further legislation on the EMU. Here you should see Godfrey's contribution on the UKIP MEP's website.

Tuesday Voting included a report to alter the date of the next Euro elections due next year. MEPs voted to change the dates from the first week in June to May. But this is against EU law, as explained by Stuart Agnew MEP,-

Euro election date changed to suit holidays of sun-lounging Germans.

UKIP Press Release

Tuesday 21st May 2013. Immediate.

The EU is breakings its own laws to change Euro elections from June to May next year. The law says it may be changed if to have it in June 2014 is "impossible".

The reasons advanced by EU Parliament for changing date is that it was to facilitate election of new European Commission and it clashed with German holidays.

UKIP MEP Stuart Agnew for Eastern England said,

"The EU is acting against its own laws and leaves the decision to change the date open to legal challenge in the courts. It betrays itself as a tyranny rather than an institution under the rule of law.

It is quite ridiculous that the date of the European Elections would be changed for the reasons that German holidaymakers wish to spread their beach towels on the sun lounges of the Mediterranean. But it does show the increase of arbitrary rule of the EU allied to the growing German dominance of Europe."

Ends

Stuart Agnew MEP is a member of the AFCO or Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.

Need I say more?

A further report pokes the EU nose into Offshore Gas and Oil exploration, especially with reference to European waters. Can they do this, of course they can. An earlier commentary mentioned that a report on the CFP brought a vote which allows the EU rights over the sea bed. So the rights are there, prepared in advance.

There was also a report on, "adequate, safe and sustainable pensions". This is a re-run of an earlier attempt to hijack pensions which was all about transferability of pensions, helping people moving from one country to another. On that occasion I pointed out that no legislation was necessary because different pension companies would offer different policies with a view to creating a "niche" market. That's just like Insurance Companies offering policies for different customers who shop around for what suits them. Pensions are, I said, an insurance against reduced circumstances after retirement.

I do not know how much notice they took but this report disappeared, we now have it back in different form. That is how the EU works of course. Don't frighten the horses, put it back on the shelf, let people think its gone, then bring it out again with a few alterations as a new departure.

Wednesday Votes on the European banking authority and Credit Institutions will do us no good. Worse to come.

A report on Audiovisual media services was passed. This tells the news agencies how to presnt news, how and what to present and will control what the TV companies will be allowed to broadcast, ie calls for a broad interpretation of what constitutes items of "Major interest to society". EU Big Brother looms. Adopted by 593 - 69 votes.

Finally, "Mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters", in effect this is about domestic violence. It sets up a European Protection Order enabling a judge in any part of the EU to grant a domestic violence injunction which will be enforceable without question in the UK and may lead to persons being arrested and imprisoned for alleged breaches by UK judges who will have lost jurisdiction over domestic violence matters.

This will make the European Arrest Warrant look tame. We voted against but it passed by 602 - 23 votes. I/ we have sent an explanation of vote describing our opposition and that UK law is perfectly capable of dealing with domestic violence matters. Note that the EU can override UK law in this matter. This will lead to the next step of overturning our laws in other respects.

For me it brings to mind my day in Rotherham helping with the by-election there. I did my bit at the table in the market place, joining several other UKIP members including a lady magistrate. Or, rather, a former magistrate. After many years experience she increasingly found that she was having to dispense justice EU- style, not according to UK law. So she quit and joined us.

I just hope that this is read by people who are not UKIP members, indeed, by those who support our EU membership. To those people I say, "Whose law do you want?" Or, to put it an other way, "do you now understand that we are losing control of our own country. That the EU continually ratchets up their regulations, starting with something apparently sensible, in order to exert control over increasingly wide fields of activity".

Britain started Parliamentary Democracy which has been copied around the world. Where it has been used you will find increasingly prosperous and peaceful countries. European countries have not followed our lead, they are now trying to catch up without looking at what we have to offer. The wretched ECHR was brought in after the last war to prevent the atrocities inflicted across Europe in the thirties and forties. Why do we need it, we didn't build gas chambers.

Derek Clark MEP Strasbourg May 22nd 2013  

Northampton Commentary Friday 26th April 2013 COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS

Northampton Commentary Friday 26^th April 2013

COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS

The Chronicle & Echo, the local Northampton paper, conducted an on-line survey over lunch-time today, asking people to vote for who they thought would win the County Council Elections a week hence.

Leaders of UKIP, Tory, Labour, Lib-Dem, Greens and “others” took part in an on-line Q & A.. With no leader as such we were asked to nominate a spokesperson and we put Margot Parker up for it. Views were expressed and points made over a two hour debate and people could vote on line. Voting continued into the late afternoon, and at 4.30 pm the figures were,-

Conservative 24% Labour 11% Lib-Dem 3%

Others 5% Green 16% UKIP 42%

WELL DONE MARGOT!!

The leaders of the other parties included Brendan Glynane (Lib-Dem) and Tony Clarke (Green), both well known in the town. Tony is an ex labour MP, holding the Northampton South Seat for two successive elections, 1997 & 2001. He fell out with the Labour party and held a Borough Council ward as Independent Labour over two elections, now a Green. A pity in many ways, I don’t like to see former students of mine being badly treated.

As for the Tory leader today you may recall my latest Strasbourg commentary in which I commented on the odd statements he made as Tory leader of the Northants CC when I met him at Geddington during Nigel’s whistle-stop tour. He claimed that the expensive Brussels office the CC were to establish would generate hundreds of thousands of pounds for businesses in the county, seconds after saying that local elections were not UKIP business since there was no connection between a County Council and the EU!

I said then that he was confused, but I had not realised how much. One would think that, as local Party and CC leader of some standing now, he should have been doing his stuff in the on-line debate, but was conspicuous by his absence. He had a dental appointment!! Now we all know how difficult making such appointments can be but there are times, are there not?

It’s all to play for next week, get those leaflets out, they’re no use next Friday.

Good luck to all of you

Derek Clark MEP Northampton 26^th April 2013

Brussels Commentary Employment Committee 22nd - 23rd April 2013

Brussels Commentary Employment Committee 22nd - 23rd April 2013

A great number of votes in one day, most concerning money. European Funds, budget priorities, Social housing, Aid to the deprived and so on.

Among these were the European Social Fund and the Globalisation Adjustment Fund. These had gone to a Trilogue because there was no agreement as to the amounts of money to be put aside from the budget. The Trilogue is the Commission, The Council and Parliament meeting to thrash it out. Parliament is always represented in such trilogues by members of the committee concerned, in this case Employment. Council is represented by some of the appropriate Ministers of member states.

There was no agreement in these trilogue discussions. That simply means that Parliament (ie MEPs) wanted to spend more, the Council (Elected MPs of Member States) wanted to spend less. The representative from employment committee told us that the division became discord as the Council wanted to operate the European Social Fund themselves. This was totally unacceptable to the Parliament reps who promptly walked out. Back to square one.

It means of course that member states are, at last, beginning to watch the pennies more closely and are trying to hang on to taxpayers cash more than they used to. Well, its a step in the right direction. Cameron need not claim a victory yet, the issue is still up in the air.

All of this, austerity and cut backs, spells unemployment. Figures given today show 27 million out of work in the EU, of which youth unemployment is 5.7 million. Hence the other half of the debates this week, furthering youth employment. Many fine words, but that's all it is, no actual plans but with "Erasmus" freely quoted. I am sure you know what that is. No?, its the EU program to enable to students to travel abroad for University Education. But that costs money because the EU is to help with the extra costs involved by each student! Where that will come from is another matter,- 8 member states have cut education budgets by 8% this year.

Meanwhile another spending plan, the European Fund for Aid to the Most deprived is to get 3.5 billion Euros this year. Will that include our money when we already have food banks for the needy? That itself is a matter of shame for us in the 21st century.

Away from money a green MEP is promoting, "Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on the stock exchange." That mean more women on the boards but no quota. She proposes sanctions on Companies who do not make the effort, or do not explain why there is still an imbalance, but there is to be no compulsion! And the sanctions are not specified.

Derek Clark MEP Brussels 23rd April 2013

Strasbourg Commentary Plenary Session April 15 - 18 2013

Strasbourg Commentary Plenary Session April 15 - 18 2013

Much more voting in Strasbourg these days since they have to cancel the mini plenaries in Brussels due to the debating chamber there collapsing. Voting sessions extended.

Tuesday We at least helped to send a Greenhouse Gas emissions report back to committee. Does not get rid, but puts it off. But two reports on Credit Institutions, which will affect the City of London very badly, were adopted with huge majorities.

Wednesday. Massive number of individual votes on "discharges", for example, the European Police College, European Medicines Agency & European environment agency. All of these votes authorise using funds with the money already spent!!

Thursday Outline approval of a new census. This is to establish the EU demographics. But the info will be collected like an ordinary "head-count" census in each member state and then used by the EU to tabulate where every body has come from. That means using personal data without permission and looks like it will contravene the data Protection Act, not that this will bother the EU. It is no coincidence that today there were several votes on reports designed to ease the way for EU membership to places like Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey.

Otherwise leading MEPs are getting hot under the collar about Hungary with many allegations of denial of Human Rights and so on resulting from a re-write of the Hungarian constitution with a new amendment. It is claimed that this will undermine their Constitutional Court leading, for example, to the homeless being criminalized and that homosexuals will be persecuted. This is countered by documents from Hungarian MEPs saying that the new amendment does nothing of the sort.

Difficult to know where the truth lies, except that a few sessions ago The Hungarian President, Viktor Orban, spoke in the Parliament and was viciously attacked by the usual suspects demanding that he answer their claims in a special meeting which he would be forced to attend. He maintained a dignified silence and simply said that he would not attend such a meeting, better described as an inquisition. The Parliament is now instituting "Infringement proceedings " against Hungary.

General business. Olly Rhen, Swaboda, (socialist leader);Verhofstadt and others all said we need a EU a Banking Union. Well, at least that would hasten the end. Swaboda even said the Commission were democratically elected!!

COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS, MAY 2nd.

Well done everybody!!

As a result of the terrific response here and across the country we have two Party Election broadcasts, which I suppose you have seen already. You may also have seen the report by Patrick O'Flynn in the "Express" recently of Nigel's progress through the East Midlands. This was a two week nation-wide tour where he took a largely coastal route starting in Cornwell, up to Hadrian's wall and down through the East, calling at places with a 100% UKIP candidate list. So it was Gainsborough, Lincoln, Boston/South Holland & the Deepings, (Tuesday) then Corby, (Margo's great result) Geddington, and Kettering (Wednesday) and then off to Huntingdon. Tuesday was disrupted by his going to Grantham to sign the Thatcher Book of Condolence.

In Patrick O'Flynn's article you may have noted a comment of an interjection by a, "Local Tory Councillor". This was none other than Jim Harker, Tory leader of the Northamptonshire County Council!. I happened to park next to where Jim was standing with a group of despondent Tory members. Having dispensed with polite formalities he asked me why UKIP were fielding candidates in these elections when County Councils were nothing to do with "Europe". I responded with, "Our County Councillors will do their best to stop Northants CC from spending £200,000 per year for 8 years on an office in Brussels. His reply was to say that it was only £140,000 for 3 years and that would bring in hundreds of thousands of pounds in European Money to help Northants businesses!

So, no connection between a County Council and the EU there then! He looked so miserable that I let him off my next comment, "There is no such thing as "European Money" and that this would only be some of our own money coming back to us, after the EU had extracted a hefty surcharge".

You will have seen that we are now rated at 16% in the Polls so beware of the dirty tricks brigade. That's already started with the Tories in the South West, and it will spread. Julie Girling, Tory MEP S.West, has produced an A5 leaflet attacking us and which her office is mailing out to Tory canvassers. It starts with detailing the hundreds of thousands of pounds we, UKIP MEPs, claim for travelling, hotels, offices etc etc, all of which is tax payers money. True, but then the Tories are the same, or more so as they have more MEPs than we!

It goes on to say how we have lost MEPs to other parties, without mentioning our acquisitions, where, I think we have the best of the bargain! It then says how lazy we are! Well, Nigel does not spare himself and I know what the others do. Me, ? look at my website and realise that this is only a bare bones outline. When not mentioned I am at the office dealing with emails that come in every day, I know I've got a pile to come home to. Yes, I answer every one except the impossibles.

This rag goes on to specifics. It claims we have caused a rise in sugar prices but this was the result of voting to preserve small British farms and jobs against French interventionism.

It claims we voted against Discards in the fishing policy. Not True. In fact,-

*UKIP voted for Am 119 which strengthened the obligation to land all catches (discards ban)

*UKIP voted against and helped to defeat amendment 297 which would have weakened the discard ban

*UKIP voted for more protection for small scale and coastal fishing

*UKIP voted to keep EU meddling away from inland waters

*UKIP voted against the EU taking control of the sea bed

This pamphlet also claims that we voted against legislation giving rights to victims of crime , and against protecting children from exploitation and pornography, both in the "Victims Rights Package". Yes , we did vote against this because the UK already has its own legislation offering a higher level of protection than that proposed by the EU legislation. Evidently, the Tories want to lower the protection.

The pamphlet also says we voted against Human Trafficking, of course we did.!!

Derek Clark MEP Strasbourg 18th April 2013

(at 4.20 pm and its even better to be on my way home this afternoon!)

Strasbourg Commentary Plenary Session March 11th - 14th 2013

Strasbourg Commentary Plenary Session March 11th - 14th 2013

Tuesday Votes on greenhouse gas emissions, consumer protection, the economy, gender and women's rights (esp in North Africa)

Wednesday and the Multiannual framework vote, ie the size of the EU budget. You will have seen in the press that Parliament voted to reject the planned cuts, we voted to support them. In the course of that the motion to have a secret ballot on it was rejected. But beware, it is not over yet and, even if the cuts remain we will still end up paying more than at present. We are one of the biggest contributors and its the small countries who will benefit. How will Cameron cover that one?

That was followed by 4 different reports on the CAP with a total of 800+ amendments. We were there for over two and a half hours in spite of calls to spread it over two days. The vote to return it to committee to cut it down to size were rejected by MEP vote. Ask yourself, how reliable is the voting on an issue like the CAP, which absorbs the greatest share of EU funding, after over 2 hours of concentrated voting?

The CAP voting was all concluded but there were other votes to come, in the course of which the president of the day called a short recess, turned to leave the platform and collapsed. Several doctors rushed to his aid and the ambulance took 30 minutes to get there. Not sure of the reason but it was either a heart attack or, some say, a stroke. Business halted and remaining votes put off until Thursday.

Thursday Any day always starts with comments from the president of the day and, believe it or not, no mention was made of the president who had collapsed in the course of duty on Wednesday. No progress report, nothing!

One of the votes was on "Integration of migrants..... social security coordination". It passed by 334 - 247 votes, not that anyone took any notice of my 2 minute speech on the previous evening. Video on my web site, and, just to illustrate how difficult it can be here,-

You may notice that I got the gavel for running over time allocated, 2 mins! That was partly due to altering my speech just before delivery. I was in the house to hear the rapporteur start the debate. Her address included a phrase, " if an Indian cannot get a job here he can always go to the US". Wonderful, my original script said that the prior claim for Bulgarians and Romanians over non- EU workers would act against members of our Commonwealth, to whom we owe a debt. So I took that out, replaced by the bit you will find.

You see, I was due to speak at 8.0 pm, the normal time for our weekly "Gadfly" dinner. That timing allowed me to speak and get to the restaurant, except that it did not. Speakers always run over time and, these days, there is the possibility of a "Blue card" question from the floor of the House. So I kept an eye on the electronic list on my office computer and, as 8.00 pm approached, my start time slipped to 8.30pm, to 9.00pm and, when, at 8.00 pm, the computer showed my start time to be 9.30 pm I left for the restaurant, having ordered a car to bring me back from dinner at 9.15pm.

I got the first course in, we are always late starting, warned the friendly restaurateur, and the car got me to the House by 9.30, spoke at about 9.50, left for the restaurant again and finished my dinner. Indigestion again!

All that illustrates that we have to be flexible, especially with regards to time of speaking. My delay on Tuesday was not unusual. That it caused me to eat dinner in two parts an hour apart will not have bothered the powers that be.

Derek Clark MEP Strasbourg March 14th 2013