Enfield Liberal Democrats

Sarah's bulletin: 12 October 2009

European Commission takes UK to court over sewage in the Thames

The European Commission has lost patience and got tough with the UK over pollution. It decided last week to take the UK government to the European Court of Justice over sewage overflows into the river Thames, a topic on which I have been campaigning for many years, see here.

The frequent discharge of raw sewage into the Thames is against a 1991 European clean water law, the 'urban waste water Directive', which stipulated that treatment facilities had to be in place in large cities by the year 2000. Yet not only is this not achieved a decade later, but the solution - Thames Water's 'super-sewer' interceptor tunnel to capture the flows and take them to treatment - will not be in place for another decade!

Trying to wriggle out of the necessary investment to bring a 19th century system into the modern age, the British government wasted years arguing that only big storms make London's Victorian-age sewers unable to cope so that an overflow of mixed rainwater and sewage is pumped into the river, and that it should not have to act for exceptional events. But in fact even moderate rainfall causes the river discharges, on average once a week. Between January and August of this year the equivalent of 4000 Olympic swimming pools of dilute but untreated sewage was pumped into the river. Thanks to the EU, the Thames will stop being an open sewer, but legal action could have been avoided if the government had not dragged its heels.

This issue has got quite a lot of press coverage over the last few days. You can read the Guardian article on the subject here, and ITV News also interviewed me for their evening news last Thursday, you can watch the clip here. Mayorwatch and Times Online also covered the issue.

Continuing the theme of EU standards forcing UK authorities to take action, Boris Johnson announced this week that he has decided to go ahead with the third phase of the Low Emissions Zone after all, mainly because otherwise London doesn't have any prospect of meeting European air quality standards. I "we told you so" from Brussels would not be completely amiss…

The Lisbon treaty is getting there…

Following the Irish 'Yes' vote to the Lisbon treaty by a massive 2 to 1 majority, the Polish President signed it on Saturday. But Cameron's mate, the Czech president Vaclav Klaus keeps throwing up new obstacles to his own signature, despite the fact that the Czech parliament has already ratified it. First a group of senators in league with him has made a last-minute bid to the constitutional court, and now Klaus wants an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights like the UK and Poland. Quite why right-wing politicians who are supposed to be wary of state/public authority power do not want their citizens to get protection through human rights instruments from EU-inspired abuses of power is a mystery….

The treaty is not only essential in making the EU more effective in advancing our real interests on big challenges like climate change, but it will have also give the European Parliament a full say at last on the EU budget, agriculture policy and most importantly in immigration and criminal law. This will make the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee, of which I am one of the longest-serving members, one of the most powerful committees in the European Parliament. At the time of writing this I am due to be on Radio 4's The World this Weekend on Sunday at 1pm in order to debate the Lisbon treaty, and you can listen again for up to a week after the programme was broadcast here.

All this has left the Tories arguing and dithering and their inability to take a clear stance on Europe is yet again tearing the party apart. They have also been suffering a lot of criticism concerning their allies in the European Parliament: (expelled) Tory MEP Edward MacMillan-Scott wrote earlier in the week in the Guardian about Cameron's alliance with "the extreme, marginal parties on the wilder shores of European politics", and how "Hannan's political adventure - whose ultimate motive is probably based on Lenin's "worst is best" theory - was rejected in turn by William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard". You can read the article in full here.

Tony Blair for first European Council President?

The press is awash with speculation about Tony Blair's possible appointment as first president of the European Council, a post that will be created by the Lisbon treaty. 'Chairman' is actually a more accurate term, as it is a non-executive post chairing the group of 27 prime ministers and not a President like in France or the US directly elected by citizens. The word 'president' in French has both meanings and from that flows not a little confusion!

Anyway, Blair is not fit to take the post. Of course he has a high profile but the EU is a entity rooted in respect for the rule of law, and he led a government which colluded with illegal rendition and torture, exaggerated the evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, invaded that country in breach of international law and with the consequence of hundreds of thousands of deaths, and hounded David Kelly - both before and after his death - when he dared to make the extent of this exaggeration public. If the EU were to do a 'leadership CRB check' on his background they would find that he is unfit for office. We can only hope that they do their homework.

Gary McKinnon loses his legal fight against US extradition

Yet another blot on Blair's government was the bad extradition agreement it signed with the US. Gary McKinnon, a UK citizen who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, has just lost his appeal to the (newly created) UK Supreme Court concerning his extradition. Gary McKinnon a few years ago hacked into Pentagon computer systems from his North London home and the US authorities issued an extradition request to put him on trial in a US court. He could be kept in a high security prison as a terrorist - as opposed to the UFO-spotting computer geek he seems to actually be - and given his fragile condition this could lead to suicidal tendencies. Chris Huhne and I have both campaigned for justice for Gary - such as prosecution in this country for hacking - but unless the Home Secretary at last intervenes to stop it, a gross injustice is set to be perpetrated on a vulnerable young man.

Berlusconi threatening democracy and free press

The European Parliament had already scheduled a debate (which British Tories joined in trying to oppose - they like media barons such as Murdoch!) on Berlusconi's threats to freedom of the media. But it became even more relevant once the Italian Constitutional Court ruled that legislation giving Berlusconi immunity from prosecution is illegal and he launched an attack on the integrity of judges and the President. Dangerous stuff, memories seem to be short in Italy… This is about media pluralism but now also human rights and rule of law observance in an EU member state. You can read my press release and my contribution to the debate here.

A resolution is planned for next plenary session in 10 days time. But a large section of the centre-right European People's Party which includes Berlusconi's party will try to stop it. Last Saturday saw a large demonstration in the Piazza del Popolo in Rome along with a parallel demonstration here in London outside the Aldwych. Dinti Batstone, the No. 3 candidate on the London Euro-list for the Liberal Democrats in the last elections, who has dual Italian and British citizenship, was at the demo. You can see a video clip of her speaking (in Italian!) at the protest here.

European day against the death penalty

Saturday marked the World Day - and the third European Day - against the death penalty. All around the world there were events designed to educate people about how capital punishment is both ineffective as a deterrent and of course an unacceptable human rights abuse. An example is the case of Akmal Shaikh, a British national and former Londoner who was sentenced to death in China in November 2008 for drug smuggling despite the fact that he is clearly severely mentally ill. I joined others in lobbying the British government to make representations in his case, but whatever was done seems to have failed since reports from China indicate that tragically, he could be executed very soon. China has the highest rate of executions in the world.

Foreign Affairs committee back my opinion on Balkans visas

The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs committee has backed with a large majority my opinion on Balkan visas liberalisation, namely to include Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania in the present legal instrument so that their citizens get visa-free EU (Schengen zone) travel once it is confirmed those countries have made the necessary improvements to their border security and law enforcement. We are trying to avoid the need for a whole new draft Regulation sometime next year, which will mean delays and the risk of causing political division in Bosnia, especially. But we have a fight on our hands to convince all MEPs and the Council. This does not involve UK-bound travel as we are not in Schengen. You can read my press release here.

London School of Economics top specialist social science university

The World University Rankings, published today, found that London's very own LSE - the London School of Economics and Political Science - is the world's best specialist social science university. Being an LSE alumnus myself - I first did my undergraduate degree there in international history and later a Master's in European studies - and as someone who often recruits LSE graduates to work in my office, it is great to see the LSE get the recognition it deserves as a world-class centre for the study of economics, history, politics and government.

Fair Trials International seminar and Jesuit Refugee Service reception

This Wednesday I hosted a very useful seminar with Fair Trials International for MEPs and staff, to launch the FTI 'Justice in Europe' campaign or strengthened rights for suspects and defendants to match the prosecutors' powers under the European Arrest Warrant and for reform of the latter. I am 'rapporteur' on a current proposal for rights to translation and interpretation, a vital measure since it is impossible for people to get justice if they cannot follow proceedings, as I learned in Greece many years ago when I supported the planespotters who ludicrously were prosecuted as spies! I am also involved in trying to get justice for Andrew Symeou who is still in prison in Greece since his appeal against refusal of bail has still not been heard. Just because we support the EAW in principle does not mean we lose our critical faculties.

The same day I co-hosted with fellow London MEP Jean Lambert a reception on behalf of the Jesuit Refugee Service. Three refugees attended (one from the UK and two from Malta) the event and told their personal stories and the group agreed that we need to continue to strive towards a situation where refugees are not left destitute while their asylum claim is heard.

Airline bankruptcies: safeguarding passenger's rights

Passengers have in the past been left stranded at foreign airports without any kind of compensation. But this week my liberal colleague, Belgian MEP Dirk Sterckx, led the way in trying to ensure that in future passengers do not have to pay the price of airlines going bankrupt - as happened with the low-cost carrier SkyEurope. Passengers should have the right to information about what is going on, accommodation and some form of alternative transport or refund, and at the moment this is patchy at best.

Opposition to London City Airport expansion

The London City Airport meeting hosted by the Leyton and Wanstead I mentioned in my last bulletin went very well. In a packed hall with a very lively debate, the overwhelming conclusion was that Leyton and Wanstead residents should fight to prevent the planned increase in flights due to the noise disturbance and air pollution. Councillors present were urged to push for Waltham Forest Council backing for the legal challenge to Newham's planning permission decision launched by Fight the Flights. Sarah Ludford pledged to take residents' concerns to the European Environment Commissioner. You can read more about the meeting here.

Black History Month

October is Black History Month in the UK, a very important annual event to celebrate the rich black heritage in our country. There is a lot going on to mark the occasion - theatre, literary festivals, photography exhibitions, and seminars, all in celebration of the Afro-Caribbean community, see www.blackhistorymonthuk.co.uk . The BBC is screening a two-part drama series called 'Small Island' starting on 25 October. My only problem is ever being around to see the good things on the telly!

Best regards,

Sarah Ludford