La Treizième Étoile: European Union Edition
Cornish Flag An Tredhegves Steren - agas pennfenten a nowodhow dhyworth an Kesunyans Europek.
Spanish foreign minister formally requests Gibraltar sovereignty talks, hours after UK rules them out once more

Thursday, 2 February 2012
The Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo Y Marfil has today formally requested the resumption of negotiations on the sovereignty of Gibraltar, in spite of the British’s refusal to do so without the consent of the inhabitants of the Rock.

According to El Mundo, an official note stating the Spanish Government wants “progress in everything related to Gibraltar, which must include dialogue with the UK on issues of sovereignty” was delivered to the British Secretary of State for Europe David Lidington, on a working visit to Madrid, just hours after he had conducted a chat session on Twitter where he reiterated there will be so resumption of negotiations without the consent of Gibraltans.

Amongst his replies to questions posed using the #askMFE hashtag on Twitter, Mr Lidington said:

@ukinspain
UK in Spain@jamesneish Yes. The UK will not enter into sovereignty arrangements or negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content #AskMFE 2 days ago via HootSuite · Reply · Retweet · Favorite



@ukinspain
UK in Spain@donjosecadalso UK committed to safeguarding Gibraltar’s interests & continuing to work closely with Spain. This is not “zero sum”. #AskMFE 2 days ago via HootSuite · Reply · Retweet · Favorite



@ukinspain
UK in Spain@donjosecadalso The UK-Gibraltar relationship is not colonial; it’s modern, mature and reflects the wishes of Gibraltar’s people #AskMFE 2 days ago via HootSuite · Reply · Retweet · Favorite



Gibraltar is one of the main issues that Mr Garcia-Margallo has been determined to address since taking office last December. On January 24 he announced “Esta broma se ha terminado. La política sobre Gibraltar la vamos a cambiar” (Translation: “The joke is over. The policy towards Gibraltar is going to change”) just days after a press conference in Strasbourg where he quipped to British MEP Charles Tannock “Gibraltar, Spanish”.

You get the impression this matter will run on and on, much to the annoyance of the British Government and of course the citizens of Gibraltar, whom the Spanish hope won’t have a say in the matter.
Posted by Andrew at 22:29.
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David Cameron stands firm on Gibraltar’s right to self determination during speech before the Council of Europe

Saturday, 28 January 2012
British Prime Minister David Cameron was in Strasbourg this week to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (note: entirely different to the EU) of which the UK has now assumed the presidency.

David Cameron speaking at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg (Photo: Guardian)Following his speech delivered on Wednesday in which he urged EU leaders to seize a 'once-in-a-generation chance' to make sweeping changes to the European Court of Human Rights (see also: full speech and analysis here and here), he took questions from parliamentarians and in response to one notably reaffirmed the UK backed Gibraltar’s right to self determination and that to go against the wishes of its people would amount to “re-colonisation”.

Mr Cameron made that particular statement in response to questions from a Spanish Partido Popular (PP) MP Pedro Agramunt, who sought his views on the “European Union, the Schengen Agreement, the European Monetary Union and the decolonisation process”. In reply, Mr Cameron said:

“I am not sure whether the last part of your question was on Gibraltar or the issue of the Falklands, which has been raised recently. I have a very clear view: we should stand for self-determination, and as long as people in a part of the world that is part of the United Kingdom, effectively, want to remain with that status, far from being de-colonisation, it would actually be re-colonisation to go against their wishes, and that is the case in all those instances.”

Since arriving in power last November, Mr Agramunt’s Partido Popular have been making loud noises about Gibraltar seeking future sovereignty talks, but the British stance has remained firm. A little over a week after the Spanish General Election, The Europe Minister David Lidington, vigorously restated the Government’s long-standing assurance that it will not talk about Gibraltar’s sovereignty against the wishes of the Rock’s citizens.

The United Kingdom holds the Presidency of the Council of Europe until May 2012.

Posted by Andrew at 17:15.
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Happy Birthday BloggingPortal.eu: three years young

Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Tomorrow (Thursday 26th) marks three years since the launch of BloggingPortal - a website ran by volunteers that now aggregates more than 900 blogs written in an array of European languages and each discussing European affairs and political activity.

As many will testify, a week is a long time in politics (all the more so in current times of European crises) but over the last three years, blogging as a communication tool has come on leaps and bounds; it has become more and more established and is now recognised as an important extension of the media landscape no longer just the employ of passionate citizens 'with time on their hands in the evenings'.

Not only platforms for expressing ones opinion, I believe blogs exist to fill holes left vacant by traditional print media and the success of one's blog is dependant on finding a niche interest, establishing a readership, and ultimately the writer enjoying the process of maintaining it. There are currently some incredible and informative blogs that focus solely on particular aspects of European affairs and these have become terrifically influential and essential reading as a result, all of which can be found via Bloggingportal.

I do not for one minute qualify my blog in those glowing terms, but I would like to think that mine fills a gap left vacant by the traditional media. My blog seeks to answer a question my mother once asked me, namely: "what does the EU do for me?" Since this is virtually neglected by the Westcountry's eurosceptic regional press, my blog covers the work that the six elected MEPs and the EU institutions do that affects my home constituency of the South West of England and Gibraltar - that is my 'niche', my mother (anyone else is a bonus) is my readership, and I enjoy maintaining my blog.

My blog is just one of many threads in the rich tapestry of discussion and debate that is the European 'blogosphere'. BloggingPortal currently numbers more than 900 blogs (not all active it must be said and regrettably not all that I am able to read for reasons of language inability) and a selection of must-read articles is promoted by a small team of co-editors that since June 2011 I have been fortunate enough to be one of.

Through BloggingPortal I have had the privilege of making some great friends, participating in discussions during the Hungarian Presidency about bloggers getting accreditation to attend and report on meetings of the European Council, attending an event hosted in London on EU-UK reporting, and even being invited by the European People's Party to attend one of their leaders' summits. And this is hopefully just the start.

Happy Birthday BloggingPortal.

For those interested (and I hope you are), BloggingPortal produces both a daily and a weekly newsletter (subscribe via the website) and posts links to articles continuously via RSS feeds and its Twitter account.

Posted by Andrew at 13:45.
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Egg on your Face(book)? MEP Girling takes her Good Egg Bad Egg campaign online

Monday, 23 January 2012
Conservative MEP Julie Girling has this week taken her Good Egg Bad Egg Campaign onto the social network Facebook and is calling on users to speak up for the 'Good Eggs' and name and shame the 'Bad Eggs'.

OK, OK please don't crack up, it may not be the most egg-citing issue but it is a serious one. As Mrs Girling explains "fourteen EU member states have failed to fully enforce the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive [which came into force 1st January 2012] and will face legal proceedings in the coming weeks". These countries are Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain.

All these countries, she explains on the page, have failed to make the grade and "EU inspection teams are now visiting to collect evidence of non-compliance to back up legal action and subsequent fines".

"All of the UKs major retailers have agreed to destock eggs from non-compliant countries; where do your eggs come from? Has your local store or supermarket stopped selling eggs from Non-Compliant Countries?"

Log onto the Facebook page now and join in this egg-cellent campaign.

[Dear reader, please egg-cept my apologises for the terrible egg puns - it was too hard to resist.]

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Posted by Andrew at 22:18.
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Dobrodošli u Europsku uniju: Croatia votes overwhelmingly in favour of joining the EU

Croatia is finally set to become the 28th Member of the European Union in 2013 after its citizens voted to join the EU by a sweeping majority in a referendum held at the weekend.

Despite the disappointingly low turnout (44%), the result delivered a greater than expected yes result than what had been predicted in the opinion polls.

With nearly all ballots counted, Croatia's state referendum commission said that about 66 per cent of those who took part in the referendum answered "yes" to the question: "Do you support the membership of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union?" About 33 per cent were against.

The result means that Croatia, who signed an EU accession treaty last December concluding seven years of entry talks, will become the EU's 28th member country in July next year.

Senior politicians in Zagreb have described the referendum as historic – only one had been held previously: on whether to secede from Yugoslavia (held May 1991).

In a joint statement, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, welcomed the result: "We welcome the positive outcome of the referendum on Croatia's accession to the European Union. With this vote, Croatia's citizens have given their endorsement to European integration. We congratulate Croatia and its people on their choice: EU membership will open up new opportunities for them and help secure the stability and prosperity of their nation.”

Similarly, Tanja Fajon, a Slovenian MEP and Vice chair of the Delegation to the EU – Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee, said that Croatians have “clearly decided to continue on the European path” and called it a “wise and brave decision which proves the maturity of the Croatian citizens who understand the great benefits of the European integration despite the difficult economic and financial situation in the EU”.

“Welcoming the 28th country means not only a stronger Europe but it is also a very important sign, especially for the countries of Western Balkan, that the EU enlargement process is moving on,” she said.

Dobrodošli u Europsku uniju Hrvatska!

Posted by Andrew at 20:13.
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'Gibraltar, Español!' - new Spanish foreign minister’s jovial quip angers the Rock

Saturday, 21 January 2012
I think it's safe to say that Spain's new foreign minister José Manuel García-Margallo Y Marfil has certainly got off to a rocky start. Video footage has emerged of an ill-advised quip he made after a press conference in the European Parliament that was televised, streamed live online, and immediately caused upset on the Rock.

Following the conclusion of the press conference held in Strasbourg on Wednesday morning, British Conservative MEP Charles Tannock (a long-standing member of the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) in the Parliament) stepped up to the podium to congratulate the 67-year old Spaniard on his recent appointment.

However, in his reply, Mr Garcia-Margallo, smiling, quipped “Gibraltar, Español” - translated as "Gibraltar, Spanish!". Mr Tannock replied “We’ll have to talk [perhaps 'see'?] about that”.



Prior to his appointment as Foreign Minister, Mr Garcia-Margallo served for 17 years as an MEP making he and Mr Tannock long-term acquaintances. The comment was clearly made in jest and in a friendly manner, but nonetheless the video soon went viral on Twitter and local users were less than pleased to say the least.

While the Gibraltar Government has not commented officially on the Spanish minister’s choice of words, one source told the Gibraltar Chronicle: “He’s the head of Spanish diplomacy so you’d think he’d be, well, more diplomatic.”

Posted by Andrew at 21:59.
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Interesting Economist debate concludes 'this house does not believe Britain should leave the EU'

The Economist have been hosting a debate this week on their website with the motion for debate: "This house believes that Britain should leave the EU". Throughout the week there have been guest contributions both for the motion (Tory MEP and Telegraph columnist Daniel Hannan) and against the motion (Labour MP Douglas Alexander) as well of course as comments submitted by users, with an ongoing daily vote. Despite the odd choices for guest contributors, it proved an interesting debating ground and the public have ultimately had their say and despite the best wishes of UKIP and Roger Helmer to sway the vote have rejected the motion ruling that the UK should remain part of the EU. The margin of victory a very respectable 57% vs 43%.

@EconDebates
The EconomistThis house does not believe Britain should leave the EU. Final vote: Pro 43% | Con 57% http://t.co/mVNEEZ9L 23 hours ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto


For me, this result just goes to show that when the "UK-EU debate" is not played out across the front pages of the right-wing UK tabloids and dictated by UKIP press releases, you can have a reasoned debate and ultimately vote the right way. Encouraging.
Posted by Andrew at 09:47.
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MEPs call for urgent and coordinated measures to halve food wastage in the EU

MEPs in Strasbourg have this week called for urgent and coordinated EU-wide measures to halve food waste by 2025 and to improve access to food for needy EU citizens in a resolution adopted on Thursday. It is estimated that almost 50% of edible and healthy food gets wasted along the entire food supply chain each year.

To drastically reduce food wastage by 2025, the resolution says new awareness campaigns should be run at both EU and national levels to inform the public how to avoid wasting food, Member States should introduce school and college courses explaining how to store, cook and dispose of food and also exchange best practices to this end. It also calls for the year 2014 to be designated as "European year against food waste".

Commenting ahead of the vote on Thursday, Sir Graham Watson, Lib Dem MEP for the South West said: "It is outrageous that almost £50 worth of food a month is thrown away by the average household in Britain. This amounts to almost 6.7 million tonnes. And let’s not forget the amount of water, animal feed, packaging and labour that would have gone into producing it. With an estimated 100,000 of the South West's children living in poverty it's barmy to even contemplate throwing away so much of our resources at great expense.”

"To improve resource-efficiency at all stages of the supply chain we need both a coordinated European strategy as well as sharing of best practices across Member States,” he said. “Most importantly, however, all players in the food supply chain need to be brought on board and help devise guidelines to improve efficiency and minimize waste."

The report also asks the Commission to undertake a detailed analysis of the causes and economic, social and environmental effects of the disposal, wastage and land-filling targets by 2014.

The report’s rapporteur Salvatore Caronna (S&D, IT) described this as “an ethical but also an economic and social problem, with huge implications for the environment […] the ball is now in the Commission's court. We expect nothing less than a convincing EU strategy that will steer all 27 Member States to systematically tackle the issue."

(Quotes from audio produced by Quadrant for UK radio stations used with kind permission.)

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Posted by Andrew at 09:38.
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