online diary of Richard Corbett MEP

January 2004

Monday 5 January

Letter bombs go off in the offices of several MEP colleagues, including the constituency office of Gary Titley MEP, leader of the Labour MEPs.  Fortunately, no-one is injured by these incendiary devices, but there is significant damage (I later learn that this is not covered by insurance as this is a result of terrorist activity!) and, above all, shock for staff who opened  them and worry for all.

Typically, UKIP (the extremist anti-European "UK Independence Party") put out a press release saying they can quite understand people attacking MEPs! This is met with the contempt it deserves from democratic parties, who can recognise an attack on democracy when they see one.

In the evening I meet the Labour Group of Kirklees Council in Huddersfield Town Hall.  Useful discussion with a great bunch of people, including their dynamic young leader Mehboob Khan.

Tuesday 6 January

Back to Brussels - and my birthday! Lots of security and some tension following the letter bombs, some of which had gone off in the Parliament.

New Year brings new issues, such as whether ships from EU countries should have the European flag in the corner of their own flag, given the mutual recognition accorded in EU ports. Trouble is, given the design of the UK's "Red Ensign", the European flag would replace the Union Jack in the top left corner - an idea almost guaranteed to cause apoplexy in much of Britain. Labour MEPs vote to keep the red flag flying!

Evening to an event hosted by the European organisation of Deaf-Blind people.  It is impossible for most of us to imagine what it must be like to be both deaf and blind and to know the world almost only through touch. Their "interpreters" use an elaborate touch-sign-language to tell them what is going on and what is being said at the event. It underlines how lucky most of us are to have senses that we take for granted.

Wednesday 7 January

Day of parliamentary meetings, enlivened by lunch with the Ambassador of Kazakstan to the EU and his colleague the Ambassador to Britain. Among other things, I learn that the apple originated in Kazakstan - all apples in the world come from ancestors there! Less surprisingly, they invented the stirrup, which Attila spread more widely. Kazakstan has been admitted to UEFA, so we might sometimes hear a bit more about this surprising country in our newspapers.

Thursday 8 January

To Dublin to meet Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, Foreign Secratary Brian Cowan and European Affairs Minister Dick Roche. Ireland has the Presidency of the EU Council (which they spin to call the "Presidency of the EU", although the EU as such has no President, each institution having its own one) for the next six months.

It is a novel experience being in an English-speaking city which uses the euro and where European flags are to be found festooned to every public building and many lamposts!

Friday 9 January

Back to Yorkshire to catch up with constituency correspondence and speak to Scunthorpe CLP in the evening.

Saturday 10 January

Reading a document on language teaching in different countries, I am struck at how we and the French seem to be the worst at learning other languages. We both assume that others will speak ours.

I'm frequently impressed by the standard of English spoken by people in some of the smaller Member States such as Holland, Denmark and Sweden. Sometimes, they are better, gramatically, than the language you hear in parts of England!

Many MEP colleagues from other countries speak several languages. I thought I wasn't doing too badly with four (and able to read documents in two others), but some can speak five or six. The record holder of people I know is a secretary in the Socialist Group. She grew up in old Jugoslavia, as part of the Hungarian speaking minority in northern Serbia. So she spoke Hungarian and Serbo-Croat for starters, learning the other main languages of old Jugoslavia (Slovenian and Macedonian) as well as Russian at school. When she was 14, her parents emigrated to Sweden, where she went to local school learning Swedish (and therefore able to understand Norwegian and Danish), German and English. Now living in Brussels, she has learned Flemish (Dutch) and French. Recently, she went on a Spanish language course, meaning that she can now easily understand 12 languages.

Sunday 11 January

Interviews on  Radio Five Live, Sky News TV and with the Yorkshire Post (the latter conducted when I was in the bath!) on the David Wilson affair.

David Wilson is a Bradford lorry driver who was arrested in Greece last year when boarding the ferry to Italy in Patras. He had several Iraqi Kurd stowaways hidden in ther back of his lorry, but he didn't know that they had climbed on board in Patras itself. Although they themselves said as much to the police, he was sentenced to several years' imprisonment under a fast track procedure the very next day - with an assigned lawyer who didn't speak English, a local shopkeeper as interpreter, and no chance to discuss the matter with the British Embassy beforehand!

I had taken up his case and visited him in prison. I was sure that he was innocent and felt that he hadn't had the chance to mount a proper defence. With the help of the Embassy and the media, we got him released on bail pending an appeal which is now due to come up this week.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but you never know, and the Greek legal system has sprung surprises before now!

The whole episode shows the potential dangers of going down the road of mutual recognition of legal procedures and judgements. Yes, we should be co-operating in the EU on fighting crime (as crime is increasingly trans-national), but simply to recognise each other's judgements requires confidence in each other's systems being up to scratch. Minimum common legal guarantees for people facing prosecution in another Member State of the Union are necessary, covering such things as the right to proper interpretation, consular access before court procedings start, help in choosing lawyers, and so on. Fortunately, this is one of the things envisaged by the draft new constitution for the EU.

Monday 12 January

Off to Strasbourg. Parliament sitting gets underway after meeting of the Socialist Group.

Evenng, dinner with Roger Liddle, Tony Blair's European advisor. We soon sort out all of Europe's problems!

Tuesday 13 January

Good news! David Wilson (see 11 January) is acquitted! Both the prosecutor and the judge agreed that he is entirely innocent. He is free to return Home | Photos | Links | Contactand to take repossession of his lorry. I do interviews with Sky, Yorkshire TV and assorted journalists on the matter.

I chair a lunch debate at which Elmer Brok MEP, a veteran German Christian Democrat whom I've known since university, is the speaker. I inform the 4 participants that he used to be known as the "man of many vices" as he was Vice-President of so many organisations! He has moved on and is now chair of Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Friday 16 January

Morning: waste an hour at the bank. They had encouraged me to switch to internet and telephone banking, then they tell me that most of the things I want to do cannot be done by these methods – so I go into the bank and am given quite different information from what the nice lady at telephone banking told me. Is it me, the bank or new technology?

Quick visit to Borders bookshop and then the rest of the day in the office dealing with constituency correspondence. Evening debate at Leeds Civic Hall with the Leeds and Bradford European Movement - Diana Wallis MEP and myself speaking on the proposed new EU constitution. On these issues, the Lib Dems are quite close to our position, so it was scarcely an adverse debate but nonetheless a valuable meeting.

Saturday 17 January

Morning at Home | Photos | Links | Contactin Saltaire. Afternoon to Leeds to the new Transport and General Workers Union office in The Calls. Here, meeting with John Prescott and the Labour Council Leaders from across the region in order to launch Labour's regional devolution campaign.

This was overshadowed by the announcement that the European elections, and all local elections that day on the 10 th June, will be held by all postal ballot, with no traditional polling stations. The Electoral Commission and the Government were keen to extend the successful experiment with this carried out at local level in some areas to a wider test. It was originally envisaged that three of the European regional constituencies would be chosen for this purpose. We had all assumed it would be Scotland rather than Yorkshire as the Scots have no local elections the same day. However, the Scots declined (their Chief Returning Officer claimed they weren't ready). Yorkshire has been pencilled in instead. This will be a novel experience for us all!

Evening to Labour Party Regional Awards dinner, also with John Prescott. I auctioned a bottle of whisky I had, bearing the autographs of both Tony Blair and Robin Cook – a collector's item in current circumstances! I managed to raise £90.

Monday 19 January

Meeting of Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee, attended by the Irish Foreign Minister, currently chairing the EU Council. Debate focuses on where we go from here on the proposed EU constitution. Most leave the meeting quite optimistic after hearing from the Irish Minister.

Tuesday 20 January

8am start at the Crown Plaza Hotel for the launch of Peter Ludlow's book on how the EU has been transformed over the last 10 years. Then to the continuation of the Constitutional Committee.

Lunch time talk to BT's corporate strategy group and then meeting with Karl Lankowski of the US State Department. He kindly invites me to give a few conferences in Washington on condition I pay the fare! Given the collapsing value of the dollar, that might actually be a good deal! However, they might not like some of my views…

Evening, reception given by the Irish Foreign Minister. The great and the good of Brussels all seem to be there and I pick up much gossip.

Wednesday 21 January

With the exception of an interview on Estonian television, the day is devoted entirely to working on documents in my office.

Thursday 22 January

Alarming meeting with the Health in Aviation Institute who are campaigning on the issue of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) affecting air passengers. However, they also inform me that anyone who travels regularly by plane faces a number of other hazards too: higher rates of infection because of the recycled air and exposure to cosmic radiation because of the altitude. Apparently this give you 100–300 times the level of radiation that you would get at sea level. One flight is the equivalent of exposure to one chest x-ray and anyone who has flown frequently for over 20 years should have regular check-ups for cancer! In a state of shock, I check the Hull to Zebrugge ferry timetables. No more planes for me! Though somehow the prospect of 14 hours travel to Brussels instead of one hour and 10 minutes, both there and back every week, somehow persuades me to keep on flying.

Then an interesting meeting with British and German academics. I learn that I am recognised by some academics as (1) the first person to have used the term “democratic deficit” in reference to the EU in something I wrote when a student back in the 1970s – the term has caught on! – (2) the author of the first draft of the co-decision procedure – now used for the adoption of legislation in the European Parliament and (3) the originator of the idea of having a Convention to prepare the current constitutional treaty, as I had launched the idea in an article back in 1999. Such claims to fame would produce many a yawn in local pubs, but they do get the academics going!

Friday 23 January

Fly back from Brussels and manage to do a couple of hours' work in the office before going off to a meeting of the Yorkshire Coal Task Force. Can we save the remnants of Yorkshire's coal industry? One third of Britain's electricity is still generated by coal – yet more and more of it is imported. British coal has difficulty in competing, not just because of price but because of the high sulphur content conflicting with our obligations to cut emissions under the Kyoto protocol. The solution lies in 'clean coal technology', but this requires significant investment. The whole future of the industry hinges on this crucial matter. But, while discussions and debates continue, mine after mine is closing down (funny the way that they all cite geological problems whenever they seem to be running into financial difficulties!).

One European aspect of the debate is how we are implementing the Kyoto protocol as compared to other European countries. David Bowe and myself undertake to investigate which options have been chosen by other European countries.

Then to a meeting with Stella Guy, Regional Secretary of the Transport & General Workers Union. Sectors of the chemical industry in our region are faced with unfair competition due to alleged dumping by Chinese, Pakistani and Australian producers who are attempting to squeeze them out of the market by supplying at less-than-cost prices for the time being. The European Union has the power to impose anti-dumping duties and restrictions on such imports, if it can be proved. Another issue for us to take up in Brussels where the clout of the European Union can actually help preserve people's livelihoods here in Yorkshire.

Evening: to the Shipley Fabians for a social event at the house of one of their members. It's in Baildon, just on the crest of a cliff with a wonderful view over the Aire Valley and much of Bradford. Conversations centre on the forthcoming crucial week in Westminster with the vote on University fees and the Hutton report, both coming up.

Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 January

Catch up with newspapers that I haven't been able to read much all week, including the sport news. Will the Cameroons win a record-breaking fifth African Nations Cup? In any case, there should be some good matches in the next couple of weeks. Will there be another all-Belgian final in the Australian women's open tennis? My Belgian colleagues are convinced that there will be. Clijsters v Henin also means Flanders versus Wallonia, which adds to the intrigue.

But I'm amazed yet again by the letter-writing campaign by a handful of UKIP and BNP members that manage to get into so many newspapers. They write from all over the country to target one or another local paper at a time. Their current line is that proposals for an elected regional assembly in Yorkshire & Humber are an EU plot to divide Britain. Never mind that the EU has no jurisdiction on such matters, that the decision on regional devolution will be taken here by the people of Yorkshire in a referendum, and that no proposal on the matter has been forthcoming from the EU – they are determined to spread this story knowing full well that it is not true!

Monday 26 January

I put the finishing touches to two documents that I am writing which will be placed on my website within a couple of days:

100 Labour achievements in Europe - I was inspired to write this by the list of “50 Labour achievements in government” publicised at party conference in Bournemouth and I reckoned we could do the same about our achievements in Europe. However, with the help of colleagues, I rapidly developed a list well beyond 50 – so I wonder if we achieve more in Europe than we do nationally? (Not necessarily – it depends on the importance attributed to each of these items.)

Rebuttal of common euro myths - This is a sadly necessary document as we continue to have a lot of nonsense printed about Europe in many of our newspapers, amplified by the deliberately malicious material put out by UKIP/BNP and, sometimes, the Conservatives.

Tuesday 27 January

A day for foreign affairs.

Lunch with the lovely Malike from the Uzbekistan Parliament. I am more than happy to pay the bill as lunch in Brussels cost the equivalent of a week's salary for her! Uzbekistan is a former Soviet Central Asian republic bordering Afghanistan. Although Islamic, very few women wear veils, there are no restrictions on alcohol and even pork is widely eaten. However, their transition to democracy leaves much to be desired. The political system is dominated by their President, already the strong man when it was part of the USSR.

Then to a meeting with Zimbabwean opposition leaders who are visiting Brussels to encourage the EU to strengthen its regime of sanctions against Mugabe. They were impressive in all regards: articulate, moderate and strongly committed.

Finally, a meeting with a delegation from Molucca islands in Indonesia. Representatives of both Christian and Islamic community groups told us how they were trying to build a climate of reconciliation after communal clashes two years ago. Encouraging, but my postbag is still full of letters complaining about cases of persecution of Christian minority in Indonesia.

End the day with a reception at the Home | Photos | Links | Contactof the British Ambassador to the EU, John Grant, at the end of which I watch the news coming through of the government's victory in the House of Commons on the issue of university fees.

Wednesday 28 January

Early start with a meeting with Eastern European journalists coming to learn more on how the European Parliament works. Then to the Socialist Group where I am to propose a line for the Group to take in that afternoon's debate with the Irish Presidency of the Council on the IGC (the negotiations on a new constitution for the EU). The debate itself, in which I speak, continues to show the Irish presidency growing in confidence about securing a result in the IGC. After some office work, off to the opening of a new think-tank called “The Centre” just a few streets away from the Parliament. And back to a meeting of the Socialist Group Co-ordinators – the team of Socialist spokespersons who determine the Socialist Group's policy and strategy options.

Thursday 29 January

First a meeting of the spokespersons of the various political groups on constitutional questions – me and my counterparts in the other political groups. We easily reach agreements on procedures, if not always on policies.

Then to hear UN Secretary General Kofi Annan address the European Parliament. He is as impressive in the flesh as he is on television and makes an interesting, thoughtful speech, largely on the issue of migration. It is well received by the Parliament.

The occasion was his receipt of the prestigious Zakharov Prize for Human Rights and Freedom of Thought. This was awarded to the UN in commemoration of the victims of the terrorist attack on the Baghdad Office of the UN. Family members of the victims were present, as were previous winners of the Zakharov Prize, two of whom are now Presidents of their countries having previously been in jail.

I participate in a BBC TV debate on Kofi Annan's visit and the UN. My counterpart is Robert Goodwill, Tory MEP for Yorkshire. I have to counter a new euro myth that he launches, namely that Britain is about to lose its seat on the Security Council of the UN in favour of a single, common European seat. Although such a decision would be impossible without Britain's agreement, which is pretty unlikely, and without changing the UN Charter itself, Robert evidently thinks this would be a good scare story ahead of the European elections.

Flight back to Leeds – with Robert and my colleague, David Bowe on the same flight, in time to get to the Yorkshire & Humber Chinese community's New Year Dinner at Elland Road Stadium. This is to mark the start of the Year of the Monkey. Some three hundred and twenty guests are entertained to some Chinese physical culture, food and drink as well as learning a lot more about the Chinese dating system. Good speeches from the Chinese Consul General, several Yorkshire businessmen who work or trade with China and John Healey MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and MP for Wentworth in Rotherham.

Chatting to Yorkshire businesspeople, it's striking how cosmopolitan and international they are nowadays, both in business terms and in lifestyle. Chatting away together about week-ends in Barcelona, conferences in Amsterdam, lottery tickets purchased in other European countries, holidays in Cyprus and so on. I can't help thinking that one of the reasons why business does not nowadays automatically back the Tory party is that they have been put off by Tory parochialism and euroscepticism. Indeed, many of them comment to me how glad they are that the Labour Government has got through this week strengthened rather than weakened.

Also bumped into Keith Wakefield, Leader of the Council who info rms me that the super-tram project is running into financial trouble and may be called in by the Government.

Friday 30 January

Battle through the snow-hindered traffic from Saltaire to the office in the morning. Hilary Benn MP, whom I share our set of offices with, is upbeat and cheerful following the hectic week's events in Westminster with the Government emerging totally exonerated by the Hutton Inquiry.

Funnily enough, there are still some people on the radio this morning complaining that the Hutton Report was one-sided. Well, of course it was! It was supposed to decide which side was right and which side was wrong and having gone exhaustively through all the evidence reached an impeccably clear conclusion that the Government was in the right. The government did not, as claimed, falsify the intelligence reports to beef up its case. Whether those reports were accurate is another matter – vitally important, but not one involving any supposed government lies.

Off to Huddersfield to address the issue of the Lib Dem led Council's plans to close the local library and knock it down. This is an impressive city-centre building, a notable land mark of Huddersfield, across from the Town Hall. Its demolition would not only destroy a local facility, but also a major landmark. And on top of it, a new library would cost some £5 million, whereas the necessary repairs only cost £1 million. What on earth are the Lib Dems up to?

A quick visit to the Media Centre, a highly successful project financed with European money in Huddersfield which has helped spawn many new local businesses.

In the evening to the Leeds Chamber of Commerce annual dinner where Hilary Benn is the guest of honour. Unlike the previous year when I fell asleep during the keynote speech (by Ian Duncan-Smith), this year's event was lively, witty and entertaining.