Sitting in Brussels I see a lot of different political styles and attitudes, and some national stereotypes do ring true. Never ask an Irish politician to make a speech in under 20 minutes, or without some lyrical reference to a poet or something, never expect a Scandic to smile while speaking, that sort of thing. But my personal favourites, for entertainment value at least, have to be the Italians. You can usually spot them for the elegant appearance, natty dressing and the mobile phone stuck to their ear at all times of the day (and I suspect night) whether in meetings, the chamber, lunch or wherever else. I almost always have the impression that the getting things done comes rather second to the sociable side of politics.
We also of course see different snippets of information with our colleagues, so when I received an email from Rome which started:
"Dear all,
as you probably know there is going to be (with a 99% probability) a Government crisis in Italy."
it all rang true. A few days later the government of Romano Prodi fell, amid the usual allegations of corruption, chaotic scenes in the Italian Parliament and scuffles and fisticuffs.
While a bemused Italian population looks on and wonders why Italian politicians just cannot seem to get it together.
So news last night that an interim government under Franco Marini (no I don't know him either) to handle the "ordinary business" and keep the seat warm for elections comes as no surprise, but should concern us all.
The state of the Italian economy is parlous. Tax evasion and illegality is the norm not the exception. Italian politicians are held in contempt by their own electors, and there is no sign that the likely re-election of right winger Silvio Berlusconi will do anything to tackle the systemic weak, divided and pretty venal nature of Italian politics. Italian politicians earn about 120,000 pounds a year, double my wage and about three tmies that of an MSP in Holyrood.
We can say what we like about Scottish politicians, but in my experience the vast majority of politicians of all parties in Scotland might perhaps not be the sparkiest, but are there to try to do a decent shift, and work long hours for not much glory. Only lately in Holyrood have we seen the sort of venal posturing (George Foulkes might know who I'm talking about) rife in Italian politics but with no place in the radical consensual Nordic social democracy we are creating in Scotland.
Meanwhile Italy is a big old part of the eurozone, and with so much of the economy undeclared or struggling it has a big effect on the credibility of the euro as a currency. For Italian politicians to spend as much time fiddling their own expenses while Rome burns has a direct impact on all of Europe.
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Slovenia and Scotland, compare and contrast
At my desk at coming on for 1am (I told you the blog would be sleep deprived, the middle of the night is the only time I get to think) I'm just in from a great night with the Slovenians celebrating, jointly, Burns and their national poet France Preseren. A grand evening with Scots Europe Minister Linda "Fabulous" Fabiani MSP holding court and numerous MEPs, officials and other folk enjoying the poetry and the craic.
Slovenia (population 2million) currently holds the Presidency of the EU and in the Agriculture Committee today we had the Slovenian Agriculture Minister briefing us on his thoughts on how things are going to proceed for the next 6 months. I made the point in my intervention that I'm delighted to see Slovenia playing such a constructive part and look forward to Scotland, with 5.5million, playing our part too.
One thing that did strike me this evening as the Slovenian MEPs recited their national poet's work amongst the tartan Burnsiana was the ease with which they refer to achieving independence back in 1991. The MEPs present themselves were all active in the independence struggle and they all used the "I" word quite happily, proudly, and utterly comfortably with our common European heritage and future.
And if you want to see a comparison between their man and ours, here is the translation of the Slovenian national anthem which they adopted on independence in 1991, written by Preseren in 1844, a century and a bit previously.
"God's blessing on all nations
Who long and work for
That bright day
When o'er earth's habitations
No war,
No strife shall hold its sway
Who long to see
That all men free
No more shall foes, but neighbours be!"
2 million people, GDP just below the EU average, members of the Eurozone since the first of January, and the current Presidency of the EU. And they 'get' the independence argument, umpteen of their senior officials offered tonight to give us tips. Nobody wants to hand power back to Belgrade.
I have their cards. I like their style.
"A man's a man" for the post independence Scots national anthem anyone?
Slovenia (population 2million) currently holds the Presidency of the EU and in the Agriculture Committee today we had the Slovenian Agriculture Minister briefing us on his thoughts on how things are going to proceed for the next 6 months. I made the point in my intervention that I'm delighted to see Slovenia playing such a constructive part and look forward to Scotland, with 5.5million, playing our part too.
One thing that did strike me this evening as the Slovenian MEPs recited their national poet's work amongst the tartan Burnsiana was the ease with which they refer to achieving independence back in 1991. The MEPs present themselves were all active in the independence struggle and they all used the "I" word quite happily, proudly, and utterly comfortably with our common European heritage and future.
And if you want to see a comparison between their man and ours, here is the translation of the Slovenian national anthem which they adopted on independence in 1991, written by Preseren in 1844, a century and a bit previously.
"God's blessing on all nations
Who long and work for
That bright day
When o'er earth's habitations
No war,
No strife shall hold its sway
Who long to see
That all men free
No more shall foes, but neighbours be!"
2 million people, GDP just below the EU average, members of the Eurozone since the first of January, and the current Presidency of the EU. And they 'get' the independence argument, umpteen of their senior officials offered tonight to give us tips. Nobody wants to hand power back to Belgrade.
I have their cards. I like their style.
"A man's a man" for the post independence Scots national anthem anyone?
Monday, 28 January 2008
In the South, something stirs
I had an interesting meeting with the Greek permanent representation to the EU where they outlined a document they are hawking around the other member states. They wanted my view because I do so much with Norway and am on the Switzerland, Iceland and Norway Delegation of the Parliament. Basically, they are looking to reform the basis on which the EEA states are able to participate in the single market without actually being members of the EU.
At present, each five years or so the negotiations over the “Financial Mechanism” take place and the EEA countries contribute to the EU budget, in particular the Cohesion funds which help spur the economies in the poorer regions of the EU. This is an argument often brushed over by the anti-EU crowd, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland are all net contributors to the EU budget, but without a say in how the money is spent! For the record they also have around 70% of their legislation straight off the fax in Reykjavik, Oslo or Bern without so much as a by your leave.
At present the EEA contribution is worth about half a billion to the EU funds, so not a huge amount but still a handy wee kitty.
The Greeks are proposing to do away with the financial mechanism and to treat them (for the purposes of calculating their contributions) as if they were member states. This would roughly triple the contribution. Apparently the idea has a pretty fair wind from a number of the states, so we shall see.
Personally I can see a logic. In the same way as it was logical for Norway to shut the Consulate General in Edinburgh because Scotland is neither a war zone or a developing country, it is logical for the EU to work our policies out with as few anomalies and special cases as possible. If Iceland, Norway and Switzerland do not want to join well I can understand that, but the days of special deals to keep them onside are I suspect coming to an end.
At present, each five years or so the negotiations over the “Financial Mechanism” take place and the EEA countries contribute to the EU budget, in particular the Cohesion funds which help spur the economies in the poorer regions of the EU. This is an argument often brushed over by the anti-EU crowd, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland are all net contributors to the EU budget, but without a say in how the money is spent! For the record they also have around 70% of their legislation straight off the fax in Reykjavik, Oslo or Bern without so much as a by your leave.
At present the EEA contribution is worth about half a billion to the EU funds, so not a huge amount but still a handy wee kitty.
The Greeks are proposing to do away with the financial mechanism and to treat them (for the purposes of calculating their contributions) as if they were member states. This would roughly triple the contribution. Apparently the idea has a pretty fair wind from a number of the states, so we shall see.
Personally I can see a logic. In the same way as it was logical for Norway to shut the Consulate General in Edinburgh because Scotland is neither a war zone or a developing country, it is logical for the EU to work our policies out with as few anomalies and special cases as possible. If Iceland, Norway and Switzerland do not want to join well I can understand that, but the days of special deals to keep them onside are I suspect coming to an end.
Friday, 25 January 2008
Burns night lost in translation
It being Burns season, I have a slew of Burns nights to do, and spent a few hours today working on an Immortal Memory I'll be doing tonight in Perth. And the Scots MEPs, ably led by my Tory colleagues Struan Stevenson and myself have jointly called for EU protection for haggis and are in pretty well every paper today about it, I'll try post some links.
I was thinking about how odd our customs might look to our continental friends (and vice versa) and with the help of a few translating websites turned To a Haggis into international English. I would probably need to check, but I fear that without proper explanation line 5 could turn into a diplomatic incident!
“EU Version of To a Haggis”
Hail! Justice to you wants big godfather of the noble dessert people
Superior a lot of you the relative stomach of place where fairies, side tripe or honest innards make good praying
The graceful long arm of the law shudders to look at you!
The worthy tolerances a big part of time in the proportion in my handful of plateau in loud mortal pain!
The distant relatives there that fill their buttocks with you as you mend the needy wind turbine
Which distant mountainous area pins help in the camp of repair it processes in the period of need
When I disgorge my juices they result as Amber's granules.
Amen
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, The groaning trencher there ye fill,Great chieftain o' the puddin-race! Your hurdies like a distant hill,Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Your pin wad help to mend a millPainch, tripe, or thairm: In time o' need,Weel are ye wordy o' a grace While thro' your pores the dews distilAs lang's my arm. Like amber bead
I was thinking about how odd our customs might look to our continental friends (and vice versa) and with the help of a few translating websites turned To a Haggis into international English. I would probably need to check, but I fear that without proper explanation line 5 could turn into a diplomatic incident!
“EU Version of To a Haggis”
Hail! Justice to you wants big godfather of the noble dessert people
Superior a lot of you the relative stomach of place where fairies, side tripe or honest innards make good praying
The graceful long arm of the law shudders to look at you!
The worthy tolerances a big part of time in the proportion in my handful of plateau in loud mortal pain!
The distant relatives there that fill their buttocks with you as you mend the needy wind turbine
Which distant mountainous area pins help in the camp of repair it processes in the period of need
When I disgorge my juices they result as Amber's granules.
Amen
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, The groaning trencher there ye fill,Great chieftain o' the puddin-race! Your hurdies like a distant hill,Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Your pin wad help to mend a millPainch, tripe, or thairm: In time o' need,Weel are ye wordy o' a grace While thro' your pores the dews distilAs lang's my arm. Like amber bead
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Cranks to the left of me, obsessives to the right, here I am...
I semi-regularly write articles for the papers, and wrote this one for the Scotsman because I am continually frustrated by the poisonous fluff and flannel that masquerades as political debate on the EU in Scotland.
Why the Scottish papers print letters from Outraged of Berkshire when it is cut and pasted anti-european propaganda is beyond me, but there's freedom of expression for you.
The pro-EU side is just as bad, too many times I have seen lines from my own press releases being regurgitated and passed off as opinion.
Well "Disgusted of Strasbourg" put this together one night when I could not sleep after a long shift. It did appear in the Scotsman, you can see the printed version at http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Like-it-or-not-the.3690354.jp but it was edited quite a bit for space.
The full article was:
Scotland’s EU debate is poor and getting poorer
The opposing sides of the pro and anti EU debate are as bad as each other in clouding the issues of EU membership, writes SNP Member of the European Parliament Alyn Smith. The truth is far more complicated and the people are missing out on judging what is being done in their name.
It is with depressing regularity I have to stop my self wading into the single transferable letters page debate between the obsessive/compulsives in the pro-EU corner and the compulsive/obsessives opposing them, the EU and its entire works. Furiously hunched over their computers, each side accuses the other of at best ignorance or more usually deliberate mendacity, and it would appear that some regular contributors seem to believe nobody understands the EU but them, and only they have access to the fountain of eurotruth. Half truths and distortions are cut and pasted from websites to masquerade as opinion. Both sides selectively quote, ignore inconvenient facts and use all the shabby tricks and spin of a sterile exchange which really just wastes the time of the readership.
Please, can we all just take a deep breath? It is of real concern that discussion of the EU cannot start but be hijacked by extremists and all rational discourse drowned out. This would be a good bit of sport but for the fact that most of Scotland’s laws are EU in origin and too often they are put together in full openness in Brussels, but because of the competing caricature EU images nobody really pays attention to the detail and then feel aggrieved when the law emerges off the fax. So long as the EU is presented as either a soft focus cosmopolitan utopia or a James Bond style Smerch organisation bent on world domination then it will hamstring Scotland’s politicians to get the best deal for Scotland, and we will all lose out.
The EU is not perfect, but it is not a dastardly foreign plot against the people of Scotland either. All of Scotland’s MEPs are in favour of EU membership. We have our differences of opinion within that, but all of us are in favour of remaining part of the biggest trading block anywhere near us. I want to see Scotland representing ourselves in that EU, others disagree and prefer London, but we all agree that being part of the EU is in Scotland’s interests. If the EU were the corrupt monolith we hear so much about do you not think one of us would have mentioned by now?
Some would respond that we are ourselves blinded by the salary, the gravy train, the glamour, the ferrero rocher of the endless ambassadors’ receptions. Aside from how hurtful (and wrong) that is, it misses an important point. Our parties, and the people of Scotland, also agree EU membership is best for Scotland; can we have hoodwinked all of them too?
As an example, a canard resuscitated each year is that the EU’s accounts are not signed off by the Court of Auditors. The reason for this is that the Court of Auditors does not work to international accounting standards. It works to a standard that the UK’s accounts would fail according to the former UK Auditor General John Bourne. The member states are in charge of actually making most EU payments, the member states (including the UK) do not adequately account for this to Brussels, so Brussels cannot demonstrate sufficient rigour.
This is of course pretty sloppy and I have criticised it repeatedly. But so much do the extremists on both sides damage debate that to express criticism is to risk being lumped in with the UKIP muppet show and dismissed. I have watched successive Commissioners dismiss any criticism as “anti-European” often to the delight of the eurospectics because it makes reform that much harder. The Europhiles, meanwhile, will turn a blind eye to almost anything for basically the same reason.
And this matters, because the EU is omnipresent, we are part of it and we ignore it at our peril.
Lawmaking depends upon the input of the public, practitioners and civic society who in a democracy feed into and praise, inform or criticise the works of the legislature. By contrast I often have to go stoating around Scotland myself to draw the attention of Scottish business, NGOs and others to the fact that inputting to a particular piece of legislation might be a good idea.
When we get that input, we can achieve pretty spectacular results. All MEPs will tell you that our amendments are by and large successful. This week alone we considered regional airport charging, a common corporation tax base, energy efficiency legislation, health and safety at work and consumer credit. Real stuff, not philosophical masturbation. We are not diplomats. We are Scottish politicians dealing with Scottish politics, in a different place.
And we need the debate in Scotland to move on from the self indulgence of “EU Bad/EU Good” because few legislative proposals are 100% good or bad. We need people to feed us ideas and opinions on how to influence the reality of proposals, without the posturing.
862 words
Why the Scottish papers print letters from Outraged of Berkshire when it is cut and pasted anti-european propaganda is beyond me, but there's freedom of expression for you.
The pro-EU side is just as bad, too many times I have seen lines from my own press releases being regurgitated and passed off as opinion.
Well "Disgusted of Strasbourg" put this together one night when I could not sleep after a long shift. It did appear in the Scotsman, you can see the printed version at http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Like-it-or-not-the.3690354.jp but it was edited quite a bit for space.
The full article was:
Scotland’s EU debate is poor and getting poorer
The opposing sides of the pro and anti EU debate are as bad as each other in clouding the issues of EU membership, writes SNP Member of the European Parliament Alyn Smith. The truth is far more complicated and the people are missing out on judging what is being done in their name.
It is with depressing regularity I have to stop my self wading into the single transferable letters page debate between the obsessive/compulsives in the pro-EU corner and the compulsive/obsessives opposing them, the EU and its entire works. Furiously hunched over their computers, each side accuses the other of at best ignorance or more usually deliberate mendacity, and it would appear that some regular contributors seem to believe nobody understands the EU but them, and only they have access to the fountain of eurotruth. Half truths and distortions are cut and pasted from websites to masquerade as opinion. Both sides selectively quote, ignore inconvenient facts and use all the shabby tricks and spin of a sterile exchange which really just wastes the time of the readership.
Please, can we all just take a deep breath? It is of real concern that discussion of the EU cannot start but be hijacked by extremists and all rational discourse drowned out. This would be a good bit of sport but for the fact that most of Scotland’s laws are EU in origin and too often they are put together in full openness in Brussels, but because of the competing caricature EU images nobody really pays attention to the detail and then feel aggrieved when the law emerges off the fax. So long as the EU is presented as either a soft focus cosmopolitan utopia or a James Bond style Smerch organisation bent on world domination then it will hamstring Scotland’s politicians to get the best deal for Scotland, and we will all lose out.
The EU is not perfect, but it is not a dastardly foreign plot against the people of Scotland either. All of Scotland’s MEPs are in favour of EU membership. We have our differences of opinion within that, but all of us are in favour of remaining part of the biggest trading block anywhere near us. I want to see Scotland representing ourselves in that EU, others disagree and prefer London, but we all agree that being part of the EU is in Scotland’s interests. If the EU were the corrupt monolith we hear so much about do you not think one of us would have mentioned by now?
Some would respond that we are ourselves blinded by the salary, the gravy train, the glamour, the ferrero rocher of the endless ambassadors’ receptions. Aside from how hurtful (and wrong) that is, it misses an important point. Our parties, and the people of Scotland, also agree EU membership is best for Scotland; can we have hoodwinked all of them too?
As an example, a canard resuscitated each year is that the EU’s accounts are not signed off by the Court of Auditors. The reason for this is that the Court of Auditors does not work to international accounting standards. It works to a standard that the UK’s accounts would fail according to the former UK Auditor General John Bourne. The member states are in charge of actually making most EU payments, the member states (including the UK) do not adequately account for this to Brussels, so Brussels cannot demonstrate sufficient rigour.
This is of course pretty sloppy and I have criticised it repeatedly. But so much do the extremists on both sides damage debate that to express criticism is to risk being lumped in with the UKIP muppet show and dismissed. I have watched successive Commissioners dismiss any criticism as “anti-European” often to the delight of the eurospectics because it makes reform that much harder. The Europhiles, meanwhile, will turn a blind eye to almost anything for basically the same reason.
And this matters, because the EU is omnipresent, we are part of it and we ignore it at our peril.
Lawmaking depends upon the input of the public, practitioners and civic society who in a democracy feed into and praise, inform or criticise the works of the legislature. By contrast I often have to go stoating around Scotland myself to draw the attention of Scottish business, NGOs and others to the fact that inputting to a particular piece of legislation might be a good idea.
When we get that input, we can achieve pretty spectacular results. All MEPs will tell you that our amendments are by and large successful. This week alone we considered regional airport charging, a common corporation tax base, energy efficiency legislation, health and safety at work and consumer credit. Real stuff, not philosophical masturbation. We are not diplomats. We are Scottish politicians dealing with Scottish politics, in a different place.
And we need the debate in Scotland to move on from the self indulgence of “EU Bad/EU Good” because few legislative proposals are 100% good or bad. We need people to feed us ideas and opinions on how to influence the reality of proposals, without the posturing.
862 words
Testing post
This post should I think demonstrate that I have changed the interface from Deutsch to English. Not that I've anything against the old German mark you, just that it might be a wee bit more user friendly if I can actually understand what the buttons mean.
How clever!
I'm impressed, even if I do say so myself. I have managed to upload a photo, a banner, change fonts and everything all on my own. I have even added a few links so should hopefully remember how to do that too.
I think I might even be able to add an image.
Marvelous thing this technology!
Hello there, and welcome to the inaugural posting to the Alyn Smith blog. If I only understood what I was doing I'd be dangerous, but then that is not the first time anyone has said so.
With a website already at www.alynsmith.eu already up and running this blog will (at least in my plans) be used to keep folk up to date with what I am up to, though for some reason the user interface is in German and I'm pretty "rustig" so fingers crossed I can post properly. Not the run of the mill "I had kippers for breakfast" sort of stuff but hopefully something a bit more interesting as I stravaig my way across Scotland and Europe as Scotland's youngest Member of the European parliament.
We ventured into Facebook, Bebo and Myspace the other month and I'm meeting with the parliament people to find out about videos of my speeches appearing online as well. The mind boggles. I only hope someone somewhere is paying attention, but we'll see.
With a website already at www.alynsmith.eu already up and running this blog will (at least in my plans) be used to keep folk up to date with what I am up to, though for some reason the user interface is in German and I'm pretty "rustig" so fingers crossed I can post properly. Not the run of the mill "I had kippers for breakfast" sort of stuff but hopefully something a bit more interesting as I stravaig my way across Scotland and Europe as Scotland's youngest Member of the European parliament.
We ventured into Facebook, Bebo and Myspace the other month and I'm meeting with the parliament people to find out about videos of my speeches appearing online as well. The mind boggles. I only hope someone somewhere is paying attention, but we'll see.
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