Sarah's bulletin: 27 July 2009

Published on Mon 27th Jul 2009

Liberal Democrats MEPs back into action!

Welcome back to my bulletin following the constitution of the new European Parliament: we returned to Strasbourg last week for the first formal session of the European Parliament since the election. I reiterate my sincere thanks to all who helped me get reelected, and my sadness that we did not mange - in rather trying circumstances - to get Jonathan Fryer as our second London LibDem MEP.

Our new ALDE group leader is the former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, who you may remember spoke at party conference a few years ago. I think with his experience and high profile, we have made a good choice. ALDE remains the third biggest group in the Parliament, although we will not be quite so well-placed as before to 'make the difference' since the Socialists are fewer in number and the centre-right more dominant so there will be fewer balanced votes where our votes determine the outcome.

We had some excitement over which top committee the ALDE group would get the chairmanship of. Our top priority was to retain the Civil Liberties, Justice & Home Affairs Committee which we have presided over for the last decade - in which case I would have become the chair - but it was not to be, since the Socialists were higher up the pecking order of claims and chose to take it. I am please however to keep my role as the UK Liberal Democrats' European justice & human rights spokeswoman. I'm also hoping to be on the US delegation, able to help foster a good transatlantic partnership on security but also on justice and human rights, in an era which under Obama is so much brighter for the rule of law.

But congratulations go to Sharon Bowles who has taken on the chairmanship of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee which the ALDE group did secure. Sharon is extremely well-qualified to take on this post and I wish her every success. Fiona Hall has taken over as leader of the Liberal Democrat MEPs (LDEPP) delegation, with me remaining deputy leader

I'm very much looking forward to working with such a strong Liberal Democrat team over the next five years and we have every reason to be ambitious about what we can achieve.

A very bad week for the Conservatives…..poor things!

Whilst the European Liberal Democrats had everything to feel positive about this week, the Conservatives have been marred by infighting and chaos. Obviously there are still some Tory MEPs (those few not purged) who remain sane, regard Cameron's decision to take them out of the very influential European People's party group of Merkel and Sarkozy (the Parliament's biggest) as completely bonkers and are very unhappy indeed in the new grouping with a ragbag including Polish homophobes and Czech climate change deniers which is only joint fourth biggest.

One of those sane Tories is the amiable and reasonable Edward McMillan-Scott, their longest serving MEP (25 years!). But he has been expelled from the party after he defied orders to give Polish MEP Michal Kaminski a free run at becoming one of the EP vice-presidents and stood himself as an independent. Edward won and Kaminski didn't, with the Tories' new group left as the only one without a vice-president. Polish fury meant that group leader Timothy Kirkhope got turfed out in favour of Kaminski, so the Tories don't even now lead 'their' new grouplet. To cap it all, Kaminski has a shaky past which appears to involve anti-semitic 'patriotism'.

It could be a rocky few weeks, months and maybe years for the Conservatives as they attempt to smooth over internal tensions surrounding the group they are allied with and try to reconcile their affiliations with the hard and socially illiberal, even anti-semitic, right in Europe with their attempts at cultivating a new fluffy image in the UK.

LGBT rights in Lithuania

This week the Lithuanian Parliament rejected a Presidential veto and has confirmed a 'Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information'. This bans the "propaganda of homosexuality and bisexuality" from schools and other youth facilities. Seems familiar? - yes, it's section 28 reincarnated!

We have acted in protest: the European Parliament's Intergroup on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (of which I am a member) has urged the new President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek to condemn the adoption of such a homophobic law in Lithuania. Secondly, the parliamentary group of the Liberal Democrat-allied party of Lithuania, the Liberals Movement, has filed an appeal with the country's Constitutional Court, and their MEP, Leonidas Donskis, who has joined me on the EP human rights subcommittee, is a strong justice champion. Thirdly, the ALDE group has tabled oral questions to both the European Commission and the Council of Ministers calling for pressure to comply with European human rights and anti-discrimination norms

Commenting on the development earlier this week I said:

"In the UK we are only just recovering from the ill effects of section 28 which made illegal the so-called promotion of homosexuality in schools. Whilst section 28 is now behind us it is incredibly disheartening to see such similar pieces of legislation being enacted elsewhere in Europe."

Recess

I go to Brussels for a couple of days this week, mainly for a meeting of the Civil Liberties

Committee though also for loads of bureaucracy and form-filling. I can tell any journalist who wants to know that of the 4 weeks (only) I will then have as recess away from Brussels (back there on the UK's August bank holiday Monday!), I will spend 1 week with my elderly mum, 2 weeks holiday with my husband, and 1 week in London.

Best regards,

Sarah Ludford