Update on the Petition to keep the Met Police Specialist Trafficking Unit

Posted on December 9, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

 

You will know from previous blogs that I presented a petition on 26 November to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) Board to try and stop the Metropolitan Police closing their special dedicated human trafficking unit. The meeting was broadcast live over the internet. You can view the entire meeting here.  I start my presentation 5 minutes into the video.

We are still waiting for the Metropolitan Police to make their final decision on the future of the trafficking unit, despite the fact that it was said in the MPA Board meeting that this would be done at the Met management board on 8 December, ie yesterday.

I am following events closely and will go public as soon as I hear anything.

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Getting Creative with Creative Rights

Posted on December 8, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

 

I had the pleasure of being invited to take part in a panel discussion at a conference run by the EU Observer, called Online Content and Creative Rights. The discussion was entitled ‘Get paid when you get played’ and I shared the platform with Liberal MEP Cecilia Wilkström, Jörg Evers, Chairperson of GEMA, and Jean-Eric De Cockborne from the European Commission.  The debate focused on what we as legislators could do to tackle this important and difficult issue while Mr. Evers provided an industry perspective.

It was an enlightening debate, one that brought in to sharp relief the complex nature of the problem.  The Reflections paper released by the European Commission has suggested that there be a single European Market for copyright, with big international collecting societies providing a “one stop shop” for everyone – from i-Tunes to BBC Radio 1 – wishing to purchase a license to play or distribute music.  This sounds like a perfectly sensible and workable idea, especially when you think about the current situation where rights to music have to be negotiated on a country by country basis, meaning that some music available in one country won’t be available in another.  This can encourage piracy, since if a song is not available legally in a particular country then some would simply look for an alternative, most likely illegal, source on the internet. 

But this single market idea does have a lot of problems, especially when you consider cultural diversity, something that the European Parliament is very keen to protect.  Artists and creators from smaller member states or more niche markets might get lost or forgotten in a huge, pan-European system.  So already a difficult question and we haven’t even started talking properly about piracy yet.  Needless to say when we were asked questions by the floor, a great many forthright views were expressed.  It was very useful for me and my fellow legislators to see the strength and diversity of feeling on these issues.

The Labour Government is introducing some very good legislation at the moment which is going to tackle this issue head on, punishing those who download and upload content illegally.  I hope that we can be as constructive at the European level.  This is one of the big issues in the Culture and Education Committee, and as the Coordinator for the S&D group, I will be working with my colleagues to make sure we find the right solution.  The internet has meant that the old way of doing things for collecting societies and the record industry is now quickly becoming obsolete, so it is up to them as well as us here in the Parliament to find solutions.  It is time for us all to get creative with creative rights.

I did an interview for the EU Observer website afterwards which you can find here, along with a number of other interviews from people speaking at the conference.

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The Tories cannot overcome their problems with Europe

Posted on December 8, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

You will remember that on Friday I posted a report on the Tripartite Lords, Commons and European Parliament meeting held the day before.  I deliberately didn’t mention any of the names of those present, but nevertheless tried to give a rounded account of what transpired.

One thing I didn’t mention and decided to leave for later was a very significant comment by one of the Lords present.  He (all except one of the peers present were male) made the obvious and strikingly simple point that were the Tories ever to form a government they would have to engage with the European Union. Britain is, after all, a fully paid up member and has been for over 30 years.

Were there to be a Conservative government, they would have no option other that to take part in the Council of Ministers.  Government Ministers would have to go to the Council Ministerial meetings. If they failed to attend Britain would be left completely out in the cold.  Not going to Council meetings would mean the government could not stand up for Britain’s interests, surely a very grave dereliction of duty.  Again, I am not going to divulge the name of the Lord who put forward this view, except to say he has been a leading Conservative and therefore speaks with some weight.  However, what he said is not rocket science.  The Tories would have no choice but to be present in the EU and do their best for us, the British people.

This again shows the complete madness of Tory policy on Europe.  They are trying to be neither one thing nor the other.  On the one hand, the Tories do not want to withdraw completely from the EU while on the other they think they can change EU agreements to suit their own agenda.  As I have said many times before, renegotiation of the treaties and agreements is a non-starter.  All of these were closely fought before being signed by all the EU member states.  Given this, it seems extremely unlikely that any, let alone a majority, of EU countries would be willing even to contemplate tearing up what already exists just to placate one particular member state. 

The fact that the Tories had huge difficulties setting up the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group in the European Parliament shows, I believe, just how marginalised they have become in Europe.  The Tories have, as I understand it, lost support from Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy as well as other centre-right governments in Europe.  In all honesty, I really cannot see any way in which they would be able to get enough agreement from enough of the 27 EU member states to change any of the EU treaties. 

This leaves the option of withdrawing completely from the EU.  This, at least, would be an honest policy and is now achievable as the Lisbon Treaty allows countries to leave the EU.  However, it appears Cameron doesn’t want to go down this route. The Tories are stuck with their impossible promises. In all seriousness, would you put your trust in a political party whose leaders are so obviously muddled on a topic as important as Britain’s role in Europe?

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Call me pretentious, but I am loving “Wolf Hall”

Posted on December 7, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

It’s not often I feel moved to take issue with a “Times” columnist about a book.  However, in response to Michael Gove today, proclaiming to the world that he didn’t like “Wolf Hall”, I must tell him, and the rest of you for that matter, that I am half way through it and I am absolutely loving it.

Hilary Mantel is a fantastic writer, drawing the character of the book’s main protagonist, Thomas Cromwell, a lawyer from very humble beginnings violently abused by his father, who rose to the highest office, in a quite brilliantly understated fashion.  In fact, one of the things which makes the book so good is it’s quiet grasp of the period and its sure footedness about Henry VIII and the tempestuous times he both created and survived.

I should declare and interest.  As a history graduate I spent much time immersed in the 16th century, the delights of which are now being brought to our attention on TV as well as the more recognised scholarly channels.  “Wolf Hall” brings the period alive and gives us pause for thought about our own times.  Although kings and queens no longer behead those who cross them and religion does not consume our lives, this book tells us much about the immutable nature of some forms of human behaviour.

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Irish Labour MEPs the best Bloggers in Europe

Posted on December 6, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

 

I was very pleased to see a Labour woman MEP elected from Ireland in June. Nessa Childers is also a blogger. Nessa’s blog is more of a news feed and she notes that most of the posts are done by others but this does not in my view diminish its value. I occasionally receive emails or letters which suggest that as the media sometimes portray politicians that I do not work that hard. A few years ago it was hard to argue against this. Now whilst explaining my work I always refer constituents to my blog. The blog acts in a fashion as a diary so that when reading it people can see whereabouts in Europe I am and what work I am doing. Probe further and I try to respond to most comments and this is usually doen outside normal working hours. I always appreciate it when constituents write back and say that whilst they may not agree with me on an issue, they do acknowledge the work I do and the transparent way in which the blog allows me to talk about it.

I sometimes think the very word blog acts as a stumbling block to other MEPs blogging. They imagine perhaps that there is a large amount of work (and cost) in setting it up and maintaining it. WordPress is free software and once the site is set up there is the discipline of writing on most days but it does become a habit. My apologies for the odd typo which creeps in when dashing off a piece between meetings. It does mean that you have a 24/7 commitment to monitoring comments but people understand if approval is delayed a little. With the modern media world all politicians to some extent are available 24/7 with the increase in news channels and the internet.

Perhaps if instead of saying MEPs should set up a blog it was called  a news feed then that would be more encouraging. All representatives should be sending out regular news about their activities and views to their electorates. The Irish Labour Party seem to have grasped this concept. They have lead the way in Ireland with using new technology. By setting up a simple platform like the one which Nessa uses they allow interaction with the Irish Labour Party website. This has a list of representatives who blog for Labour.

I was particularly pleased to see Alan Kelly elected for the first time as well in June.  I often found myself on different sides of the argument from his predecessor Kathy Sinnott. He’s pictured with fellow Labour councillors and he writes almost all of his own blog. Nessa and Alan have joined Proinsas de Rossas. I have campaigned with Proinsas on a number of issues over the years. I am pleased to see he has a blog, although I would like to see its current frequency of posting improved. The most important thing though is that all 3 members of the Irish Labour Party delegation to the European Parliament have their own blogs. As far as I know (do tell me if you know otherwise) they are the only delegation that are 100% bloggers. For that they should be applauded, and flattered by being imitated.

I do not think it is a coincidence that their embracing of blogging resulted in their best ever performance in the European Elections capturing 25% of the seats.

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David Cameron to speak at Gingerbread AGM

Posted on December 5, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

David Cameron is billed to speak at the AGM of Gingerbread, single parents, equal families, on Monday.  I would imagine the meeting, to be chaired by “Guardian” columnist Madeleine Bunting, will prove lively, to put it mildly.

I am especially interested as I was Chief Executive of Gingerbread in the early 1990s.  Although the organisation has since merged with the National Council for One Parent Families, I doubt if the nature of the Gingerbread membership has changed substantially.  In my day Gingerbread women, and since 90% of lone parents are women, nearly all the members were female, were tough and feisty, fighting for a better deal for lone parents.  Indeed the Gingerbread website states, “2009: The merged organisation [National Council for One Parent Families and Gingerbread] relaunches as Gingerbread.  And as the political, economic and social climate around single parents hardens, a new episode in campaigning life begins………..”

To an interested outsider, and I am now more out than in, the decision to invite Cameron looks suspiciously like the new episode will lean towards the Tories.  I would, however, caution Gingerbread against aligning themselves too far in that direction.  Only a year or two before my stint as Chief Executive, Peter Lilley, the then Secretary of State for Social Security, quoted from Gilbert and Sullivan at the Tory Party Conference.  Nothing wrong in that, you may think.  Except that the quote, with words changed as necessary, was the “I have a little list” from the “Mikado”, and Mr Lilley was to put lone parents on this list, the list being the roll call of those who would be executed.

I wonder how much Tory attitudes have changed.  Madeleine Bunting herself wrote a piece on “Guardian Comment is Free” on 29 November where she reported about David Cameron, “… when he recently appeared on the website mumsnet he was subjected to a collective howl of middle-England anxiety on everything from tax credits to free eye tests and choice of schooling. The subtext was, “how can someone of your background understand our lives?”

I’m afraid I will not be able to go on Monday, but I am fascinated as to how the meeting will go.  What’s the betting Gingerbread will realise they have made a terrible mistake?

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European Liaison Meeting with the House of Lords and the House of Commons

Posted on December 4, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

Top of the bill at the Tripartite meeting between the House of Lords, House of Commons and the European Parliament was the ever present climate change talks at Copenhagen.  This is undeniably the most important issue facing the world.  This did not, however, stop the two UKIP MEPs present coming out with what were rather feeble attempts to deny the man-made nature of the climate change we are currently suffering.

Although I don’t often attend these Tripartite meetings which are held two to three times a year, I strongly believe they are a good idea.  The meetings keep us all in touch and prevent the two parliaments occupying completely parallel universes where there is no contact whatsoever.

The debate on climate change was a case in point.  The MEPs were able to tell the Lords and MPs that Commission President Barosso intends to fund climate change to the tune of 30 – 50 billion Euros.  A lively debate followed, focusing on developing alternative energy sources and energy saving measures.  Although the economic downturn is making the former more difficult, it is probably helping the latter in which, incidentally, the UK has a good record.

The meeting moved on from climate change to the hugely problematic regulation of hedge funds.  80% of hedge funds in Europe are in the City of London, making this a substantially British issue.  The general feeling of the meeting was that since hedge funds only risk their own money, they are not a problem in the way the banks have shown themselves to be.

And finally, we looked at what seem to most people outside parliamentary procedures the arcane processes used in the European Parliament.  It is, of course, worth noting that since there is a high turnover of MEPs, over half the European Parliament elected earlier this year are new, and may also be struggling with some of these matters.

European Parliament Committees will, of course, be interviewing Commissioners in the middle of January, and there is no cast-iron guarantee that all Commissioners will be confirmed.  It will be made more complicated in that President Barosso has redrawn Commissioner portfolios to some large extent.

One of the main conclusions of this Tripartite meeting was that the Lisbon Treaty has changed the landscape.  Lisbon gives the European Parliament much greater power.  As one of the members of the House of Lords on the Committee succinctly put it, “The Lisbon Treaty has ended the democratic deficit at a stroke.”

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Walthamstow Labour Party’s successful fundraiser

Posted on December 3, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

I was delighted to go to a fundraiser organised by Walthamstow Labour Party last night.  Leading lights Walthamstow MP, Neil Gerrard, and the PPC Stella Creasy (pictured) were just two of the star attractions.

The other two celebrities present and earning their keep were John O’Farrell of “Things Can Only Get Better” fame and the MP for Ealing North, Stephen Pound.  John and Stephen both did stand up acts in their own inimitable styles, making the entire audience laugh.  It’s very good to go to a Labour Party event and see people really enjoying themselves! 

John O’Farrell was, of course, promoting his latest book, “An Utterly Impartial History of Britain”, which was one of the prizes in the inevitable raffle.  I have to admit that I haven’t yet read it, though it is on my shortlist to get stuck into over the Christmas break. 

My thanks to Walthamstow Labour Party for a great evening.  Since there were the best part of 100 people there, many others obviously agreed with me that this fundraiser was the place to be.  The finger buffet was also most acceptable and I particularly enjoyed the mulled wine.

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Women of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Whose Justice?

Posted on December 2, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is today a flourishing European state, which looks set to secure its place as a member of the European Union in the next few years.  Its current image stands in stark contrast to that of the 1992 to 1995 period, which witnessed a bitter war and countless human rights violations. Among them were rapes, killings, forced displacement, and other crimes against humanity.  During the war, women comprised a large proportion of the total victims, with rape being actively used against them as a tool of war.  Estimates of the numbers of women raped range between 20,000 and 50,000, though the actual figure has proved difficult to determine.

Fourteen years on, and justice in the majority of cases has still not been served.  In an attempt to reverse this lack of progress, a unique event organised by Amnesty International and chaired by my fellow Socialists and Democrats Group member, Emine Bozkurt MEP, was held yesterday in the European Parliament.  Its aim was to provide an opportunity for Parliamentarians to hear first-hand the experiences of women who were directly affected by this issue, so that MEPs might find a way of moving things forward.

This initiative is not a new one.  In fact, Amnesty International has been working for six years on the current project and on helping victims of rape to fight for the justice they deserve.  In September it published a report entitled Whose Justice? Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Women Still Waiting, which highlights the on-going struggle women are experiencing in trying to obtain justice in BiH, and which seeks to offer some hopes for the future.

The report is shocking in parts.  It notes first of all that rape is a crime under international law and that it is the only crime of sexual violence recognised explicitly by the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).  Yet to date there have only been 18 rape convictions at the international level for the 1992 to 1995 period in BiH.  Even more disturbing is that many perpetrators have now found themselves holding high positions in the region, be it in municipalities, banks or schools, and victims are rarely in a position to stand up to them.

Achieving justice is not the only important consideration.  A significant issue identified by Amnesty and other NGOs is that the ICTY has by and large failed to address the long-term psychological, social and economic needs of the survivors of sexual violence.  Unlike at the International Criminal Court (ICC), where survivors have the right to be represented thoughout criminal trial proceedings, at the ICTY survivors can only participate if they themselves provide evidence at The Hague.  Understandably this can have a damaging impact upon victims, who risk their personal safety and expose themselves to added trauma in their determination to see their violators brought to justice.

The question, then, is what can be done in the light of this report?  One idea put forward by Amnesty is to encourage the Bosnian authorities, NGOs and victims to meet together, and to set up a state strategy on reparations for victims.  This is something the authorities have been avoiding for some time.  The European Parliament and other legislative bodies must push the issue up the agenda, and ensure that the Bosnian authorities face up to the needs of victims.  It has been 17 years since the start of the war in BiH, and it will be many more years before a reasonable number of convictions have been secured.  I believe that it is up to those who have the power, including myself, to speak up for the victims of rape in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to ensure that those responsible for grave crimes against humanity and war crimes are held to account for their actions.

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The new European Commission

Posted on December 1, 2009 by maryhoneyballmep

Thirteen new faces and nine women were the two vital statistics when Jose Manuel Barroso announced the new European Commission at the end of last week.

However, it doesn’t end there.  The new Commission must gain approval from the European Parliament before it takes office for a term running until 31 October 2014.

Commissioners-designate will appear in individual hearings before Parliamentary committees from 11-19 January. The vote of consent on the new Commission as a whole is scheduled to take place on 26 January and on the basis of the vote of consent, the Commission will be appointed by the European Council.

I need hardly remind you that Commissioners are not an automatic shoo-in and the hearings before the European Parliament Committees really do matter.  In 2004/5 the Italian Commissioner-designate, the anti-gay rights Rocco Buttiglione, was forced to stand down when the Civil Liberties Committee refused to accept his nomination.  The new Commission, therefore, can only start working when all the Commissioners have been approved.

The new College will have 27 members, including President Barroso, one from each Member State. I am very pleased it includes nine women, one-third of the total.  Since the Socialist and Democrat Group fought hard for more women Commissioners, it is heartening to see that our efforts have been taken on board.

As proposed by Mr Barroso, the new College will have 7 Vice-Presidents, including Vice-President Baroness Catherine Ashton who will, at the same time, be the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.  Three of the Vice-Presidents will be women.

The members of the College, of course, come from the different political families represented in the European parliament, notably the European People’s Party (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S & D), and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).  It is worth noting that the European Conservatives and Reformists, the new Tory group, are not strong enough to have a Commissioner.

It is the job of the President of the European Commission to decide on portfolios and then allocate them to individual Commissioners.  President Barroso has announced a number of new portfolios: Climate Action; Home Affairs; Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. He has reconfigured a number of other portfolios: Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth; Health and Consumer Policy; Industry and Entrepreneurship; Research and Innovation; International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. He has also claimed to put new emphasis on inclusion in the Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion portfolio, and a renewed focus with the Digital Agenda portfolio.

Proposed Portfolios of Commissioners-designate

  • Joaquín ALMUNIA (Spain): Competition. Vice-President of the Commission.
  • László ANDOR (Hungary): Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
  • Baroness Catherine ASHTON (UK): High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security and Vice-President of the Commission.
  • Michel BARNIER (France): Internal Market and Services.
  • Dacian CIOLOS (Romania): Agriculture and Rural Development.
  • John DALLI (Malta): Health and Consumer Policy.
  • Maria DAMANAKI  (Greece): Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
  • Karel DE GUCHT (Belgium): Trade.
  • Štefan FÜLE (Czech Republic): Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy.
  • Johannes HAHN (Austria): Regional Policy.
  • Connie HEDEGAARD (Denmark): Climate Action.
  • Maire GEOGHEGAN-QUINN (Ireland): Research and Innovation.
  • Rumiana JELEVA (Bulgaria): International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.
  • Siim KALLAS (Estonia): Transport. Vice-President of the Commission.
  • Neelie KROES (Netherlands): Digital Agenda. Vice-President of the Commission.
  • Janusz LEWANDOWSKI (Poland): Budget and Financial Programming.
  • Cecilia MALMSTRÖM (Sweden): Home Affairs.
  • Günter OETTINGER (Germany): Energy.
  • Andris PIEBALGS (Latvia): Development.
  • Janez POTOČNIK (Slovenia): Environment.
  • Viviane REDING (Luxembourg): Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. Vice-President of the Commission.
  • Olli REHN (Finland): Economic and Monetary Affairs.
  • Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ (Slovakia): Vice-President of the Commission for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration.
  • Algirdas ŠEMETA (Lithuania): Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud.
  • Antonio TAJANI (Italy): Industry and Entrepreneurship. Vice-President of the Commission.
  • Androulla VASSILIOU (Cyprus): Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

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