online diary of Richard Corbett MEP

December 2003

Monday 1 December

Brussels again. Dealing all day with proposed EU Constitution. First the small group of one member from each party (I represent the socialist group) the position of parliament's negotiators and then the meeting of the Constitutional Committee. All is not well in the negotiations between governments on this matter. As we approach what should be the final summit meeting, the different countries are playing at brinkmanship. Although all governments want to conclude negotiations in 10 days time, no-one is going to move from their current positions until the very last minutes, risking an overloaded summit that reaches poorly thought out deals at three in the morning. Hopefully I am being too pessimistic.

Tuesday 2 December

The socialist members of my committee have a meeting with the Polish delegation. It is now clear that the main subject of division in the Intergovernmental Conference is the attempt by Spain and Poland to undermine the formula reached in the convention on majority voting in the Council of Ministers. They wish to revert to the complex and highly criticised formula used in the Nice Treaty. It is difficult to justify their attitude.

The draft Constitution introduces a clear system: a double majority of states and three-fifths of the population. Member states are placed on an equal footing in the first aspect of this formula and on a representation of their size on the second.

Yet Spain and Poland reject this. They are seeking to preserve a distortion which gives them undue privileges. Under Nice, they get 27 votes (for a population of nearly 40 million) compared to 29 for Germany (with a population of 80 million). How can they justify this?

The convention found a fair and reasonable balance between the principles of the equality of states and the equality of citizens. To attempt to overturn the formula it proposed to preserve entrenched privileges risks undermining the whole package. Spain and Poland must be told politely but firmly to back down.

It is extraordinarily difficult to see how to reach a compromise on this issue but I have an idea.

Governments were similarly deadlocked on the Council's voting system prior to the enlargement to Finland, Sweden and Austria in the early 1990s. On that occasion, it was the threshold for achieving a qualified majority that was at stake. It was resolved at a special Foreign Minister's meeting at Ioannina and is therefore known as the "Ioannina compromise". It provided for a change to the voting system to cater for enlargement, but allowed a member state that was outvoted to call for discussions in the Council to continue if it would not have been outvoted under the old system.

This enabled the new system to get through without loss of face for those defending the old system. In practice, the Ioannina compromise was never subsequently evoked in order to block a decision.

A similar deal could be envisaged now. The IGC could agree to introduce the double majority system as envisaged by the Convention, but adopt a declaration (or a protocol or a footnote) whereby a decision that would not have been carried under the old voting system could, if a member state requested, be postponed and subject to further discussion. This would allow Spain and Poland to save face with it being understood that such a provision would rarely, if ever, be used.

Then to meet my counterparts to the other political groups (i.e. the coordinators on constitutional questions) to negotiate the text of a Parliament resolution. After much haggling we emerge with a deal in time for me to get to part of the EPLP meeting with Geoff Hoon.

Then on to meet the “Brewers of Europe” including a large delegation from Yorkshire, who tell me about their problems.

Finally, a black tie dinner. This is an exceedingly rare event in Brussels as illustrated by the fact that I still use the one I brought over twenty years ago. This dinner is the award ceremony of the “European Awards” given by the European Voice newspaper. I spend the evening profitably, floating my proposed compromise on the Council voting system to the Polish European Minister.

Wednesday 3 December Socialist group meeting all morning and debate in the afternoon on the IGC. In between, I manage three-quarters of an hour with a visiting group of Labour students from Yorkshire.

Thursday 4 December

Early start for an 8 o'clock meeting of socialist members of the former Convention on the future of Europe, yet again discussing the situation in the IGC.

Votes in the house at 11 and then I give a lecture to 150 students from Gent University on the powers of the Parliament. Meeting with the opposition parties of Turkmenistan where, I learnt to my amazement, that I am something of a hero, because of a resolution I tabled in the Parliament on this subject a few months ago.

Then a talk to Ministers, former Prime Ministers and MPs from Japan, Korea and Taiwan before catching the 1650 flight to Leeds and making my way to Wakefield for a meeting of European coordinators from West Yorkshire constituencies and candidates in next year's European election.

Friday 5 December

Over to Hull to take part in various events including the “Question Time” for sixth formers at the University of Hull. Some 500 sixth formers bowl googlies at myself, Austin Mitchell MP, Lord Norton of Louth and Diana Wallis MEP and a young sixth former debating champion. In the evening, to Hull North CLP's Christmas dinner – an opportunity to make a humorous speech for once.

Saturday 6 December

Another day in Hull, today discussing Britain's future role in Europe. The event was well attended and the debates and suggestions were very encouraging. It seems that people are much more positive about Europe than the media would have us believe.

Off back to Brussels on the overnight ferry from Hull with a stack of papers to read and letters to reply to. I am accompanied by Lol, who is doing a “job-swap” with Kay from the Brussels office this week.

Sunday 7 December

Arrive mid morning in Zeebrugge. Quick visit (one hour) to Bruges - what a beautiful town! - before catching the train.

Monday 8 December

Catch up with correspondence etc. in Parliament office. Speak to a visiting group of agriculture students and go to an event on protecting horses from dismal transport conditions.

Tuesday 9 December

Morning meetings on new EU constitution, working out possible compromises.

Lunch with John Monks the former TUC Secretary General, now head of the ETUC. Discussions focused on various items of forthcoming social legislation and the relaxing of the stability pact.

Afternoon, various EPLP and socialist group meetings to define our position on legislative votes coming up in Parliament on:

•  tissue and cells: we want to preserve the possibility to use stem cells to do research on Alzheimer´s and Parkinson´s diseases

•  take-over bids: we are concerned that such bids should not just be a matter for institutional shareholders - the rights of employees and small shareholders must not be ignored

•  environmental liability: who is responsible for cleaning up the mess when there is an environmental disaster? The "polluter pays" principle implies that it is for the company or organisation causing the pollution, but that can be beyond the means of small companies. So, should there be compulsory insurance on environmental liabilities to make sure they can repair any damage they cause? Common sense says YES but there is as yet no developed market for such insurance which must be created if we are not going to cripple small companies with prohibitive costs.

•  pharmaceuticals: we look at the rules allowing prescription-only drugs to be switched to over-the-counter drugs.

Wednesday 10 December

Spoke to a visitor's group in the European Parliament.

Friday and Saturday 12 and 13 December

European Council (summit of Heads of Government) in Brussels. Supposed to be the culmination of two years work on a new constitution for Europe. As Labour's spokesperson on these issues in the European Parliament I have a special pass to the press room.

With well over a thousand journalists, not only the press room but every corridor, nook and cranny around is occupied by hacks and their laptops. Periodically a Minister or senior official from one or another government appears in the press room to give titbits to them about what is going on. It is like throwing bones to dogs with packs immediately circling the provider.

The British press, from top lobby correspondents to the political editor of the Sun to the normal Brussels specialists are all in the same corner of the press room, all feeding of the same source of information, all chewing over its repercussions together. They are the filter through which the great British public obtains its European information.

I manage the grand slam: being interviewed on BBC TV, ITV news, Sky News and Yorkshire Television. I try to bring a modicum of sense to the proceedings, attempting to summarise complexities into sound-bites. Heaven knows whether I succeeded.

Towards the early afternoon of Saturday, the summit breaks up without reaching an agreement. Although the Italian Presidency claims that agreement was reached on all but one of the eighty two outstanding points at issue (which is not absolutely clear) the one remaining point is a difficult one: the voting strength of governments in the EU Council.

I later learn that the Italian Presidency proposed my compromise (see 2 December) to some of the other governments in the bilateral meetings that they held – but Chirac, the French President, would have no truck with compromise. In other words, the French were as rigid as the Poles who got most of the blame in the media.

The issue will have to be dealt with in the new year and the draft constitution – a useful set of improvements on the current constitution (i.e. the various treaties) - will, at best, be delayed.

Sunday 14 December

Why couldn't the news of Saddam Hussein's release have come out just a few minutes later? There I was, due to participate in a debate on the Sky Television Adam Boulton show against Bill Cash, a leading Tory euro-sceptic MP – on the studio floor, all made up and ready to go – when they pulled the programme with a minute to go before it started. Saddam's arrest, although not confirmed at that point, was crowding out all the other items.

Too bad: I had relished the prospect of debating against Bill Cash.

Monday 15 December

The trek to Strasbourg again. Parliament buzzing with evaluations of the failed EU summit. Sit in Constitutional Committee until 9.00pm at a meeting to which most national Parliaments had also sent representatives.

Parliament clearly divided into two camps: the pessimists and the optimists. The pessimists think this is the worst disaster to befall Europe since France rejected the EDC Treaty in 1954. The optimists point out that 95% of the Articles in the draft constitution have been agreed. The one issue on which it fell is one which all member states know that, in due course, they will have to reach a compromise. And at the beginning of this process, no one had expected it to be wrapped up by December anyway.

I am a cautious optimist. Of course the new constitution is not dead, but there is still a lot of work to be done to reach final agreement.

Tuesday 16 December

Much the same views are expressed in a debate on the floor of the House with Prime Minister Berlusconi of Italy reporting back on the failed EU summit. Berlusconi tries to boost the optimists camp by claiming that agreement was reached on no fewer than eighty two separate points in the negotiations on the constitution and that it was just the one point that caused it to fall apart. However, as he has yet to publish these eighty two points, there is a degree of scepticism in this respect.

Mince pies were offered at lunch time by UKREP – one of the few all party get togethers for British MEPs and staff. This turned out to be the only point in the day when I wasn't (or at least hardly) discussing the outcome of the summit and the future prospects of the new constitution, as this subject dominated the remaining meetings of the day.

Wednesday 17 December

Bad news day. We are discussing the pay and conditions of MEPs. Whenever we do so there are lurid headlines about supposed massive pay increases etc.

All MEPs get paid the same as a member of their own national Parliament. This is politically fine, but under the treaties (not to mention employment law) we are supposed to be paid the same salary – but one has never been agreed.

To agree one would mean that either the Germans and the Italians having a significant cut in their salary or everyone else having an increase which is impossible to justify politically.

However, today's vote is about other aspects of terms and conditions that would apply – if ever a common statue was agreed. It concerns pensionable age (set at 63) and taxation (to be national). The vote does not concern the salary level – but this does not prevent the Tories putting outHome | Photos | Links | Contactclaiming we have all voted for a pay rise!

In the evening is the EPLP Christmas review where we all put on an act to raise money for charity. Richard Howitt MEP and myself do “The Two Richards” based on “The Two Ronnies” which goes down well.

Thursday 18 December

Down to the TV studios for a debate on BBC news 24 on the issue of the Brussels summit and MEPs pay and conditions again.

Meeting with Tim Bennett of the National Farmers Union, followed by votes in the Chamber including the adoption of the 2004 budget – the first budget for 25 member states.

Friday 19 December

Day catching up with reading and correspondence and going to the children's school. Thankfully their reports are good.

Saturday 20 December

Christmas shopping – last minute as usual.

Sunday 21 December

More Christmas preparations. The way we celebrate Christmas is a blend of different European traditions. The Christmas tree comes from Germany (brought here in Victorian times by Prince Albert ); Santa Claus comes from the Dutch and Flemish tradition of St. Nicholas, which we shifted by three weeks to coincide with Christmas, and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer comes, of course, from Finland.

Monday 22 December

A day entirely devoted to the office, with no external meeting. A real chance of finishing all outstanding correspondence before the Christmas break.

The office Christmas dinner enlivens the day as it draws towards its close.

Christmas and New Year recess

Great to have ten days without travel and relatively little work! Time to catch up with the family, hopefully compensating somewhat for how little they see of me for most of the rest of the year.

Also catch up with books and films (Lords and Rings come to mind!) and I get for Christmas the videos of the first 20 episodes  of West Wing, which I had never had time to see.