Gary Titley, MEP - "Europe, the Party Conference and All That!"

This is the text of a talk given by Heaton & Lostock Branch member Gary Titley, MEP and Leader of the Brish Labour Group in the European Parliament at the Branch meeting on 12th October 2006.

Gary began by talking about European issues and the one which is dominating at present and will continue to dominate in the years to come – energy. Europe is increasingly dependant on non-EU sources of gas and oil. There are three challenges: ·

Security of supply

Maintaining a competitive industry

Caring for the environment.

The energy price increases we have suffered from in the UK are increasingly a global problem. In the EU there are a number of obstacles. Firstly there is not an open market and although the European Commission is pressing Governments to open up their energy industries there is still a long way to go.

Gary said that the EU needs to engage Russia as an entity, not as separate countries and we need to involve Turkey. There is also a need to improve connections and thereby energy transfer between EU Member States. However, it is and should be, up to Member States to decide their own “energy mix”. In many there is a desire to increase the amount of renewal energy and the UK is one which is doing a great deal in this area.

The existing Carbon Trading Scheme lasts until 2012 but needs to be extended beyond that with aviation becoming a part of it. Member States need to enforce energy saving measures and some are already doing this with varying degrees of success. There are energy saving regulations for new domestic appliances, motor vehicles and new buildings but much more needs to be done, e.g. regarding insulation of existing buildings.

Urban areas, not surprisingly, account for 75% of greenhouse gases and it is essential to reduce the use of private transport in cities with more, better and cheaper public transport. Gary mentioned the use of biofuels, artificial fertilisers (very energy inefficient compared with “natural” fertilisers) and the carbon cost of ploughing up of pasture land. He said that a real debate on energy needs and energy saving needs to take place.

Gary then spoke about the continuing discussion about EU enlargement. There are currently 25 member States and the present Treaty allows for 27. After that there will need to be a new Treaty which must change the way in which the Union works. There are a lot of issues connected with continuing enlargement. Several of the aspiring member States have dubious human rights records, poor economies and, especially in the case of the Balkans, only a very short period of stability. This is especially the case with Albania, Croatia and Serbia.

Turkey is, of course, the largest aspiring Member State but there are very serious questions about its possible membership relating to religious tolerance, human rights, recognition of minorities, etc. In the last round of accessions eight states joined and, as a result, migration has become a very big issue. Gary said that it’s important to realise that, although the UK and Ireland have allowed citizens from the Accession states to work in their countries, leading to mass migration, there have still been upwards of a million going to Germany, Austria, etc. and working illegally.

In the UK there have been 450,000 people coming from the Accession States to work legally and there are probably half as many in addition working without permits. Studies have shown that more than half of those who have, at some time, worked outside their home country have returned there. Gary said that people will go where the jobs are. More than 90% of those migrating from the Accession States have full time work. Admittedly there are some problems, e.g. with children’s schooling and housing. Gary was of the opinion that, despite legislation on workers’ protection, the minimum wage, etc. the UK is not strong enough at dealing with exploitation of migrant workers. One positive action is that of the TGWU which is recruiting Polish shop stewards and using them to get information on companies which are exploiting migrant workers.

Gary spoke about community relations, relations in and with the Muslim community and detailed a seminar on the topic held in Brussels in June (“European Muslims Influencing the European Debate – An Open Dialogue, Brussels, Tuesday 27th June 2006, The Socialist Group of the European Parliament – see www.eurolabour.org.uk). He said that the UK has a good record on community relations compared with some other EU Member States and that a number of issues were being debated:

Identity

The need for female role models. Muslim women in particular often suffer double discrimination

Concerns about who speaks for Muslim women

Different communities within the EU having different problems, language being one of them

Gary then spoke about the Party conference at which he had spoken and chaired the session on health.

He said that the Party is virtually bankrupt and if it had been a company it would have had to close down. As a result of the furore over loans made to the Party this source of funding had dried up. There have been wholesale cuts in staffing, the regional organisations have been restructured and we will hopefully be in a better position in the years ahead. He said that the way political parties are funded must be debated and there is real concern that we simply will not have enough money to effectively fight the next general election campaign. The conference had been held against this sombre backdrop.

September had been a very bad month for us with the bickering between the Blair and Brown camps regarding the former’s retirement date. He thought that there are some who are tired of being in government but he cautioned those who feel that way to heed Bill Clinton’s warning to not let others take over who will unravel all the good work that has been done.

Gary mentioned the health debate which he had chaired and which had overrun. It had been planned to have four speakers but, in the end, nine had been called and he had had to cut off one of the NHS trade union leaders who had seriously overrun his time limit. Real concern was expressed about very rapid changes taking place in the NHS without its workers being involved.

Gary continued to speak at length about the conference, including Blair’s speech which he described as “masterful”. His talk was followed by questions and discussion.

Bob:     Asked about energy strategy, the selling of carbon credits, world population growth and the effect that this has on a planet which has, according to some reports, passed its maximum sustainable population. He said that in some countries, usually the poorest on the planet, women are little more than baby producing machines. He believed that this was the major challenge for the world as a whole and wondered if the issue of overpopulation was one which the EU was debating.

George:     Nuclear power is undesirable but it is likely to be the only way in which we can provide enough energy without serious carbon emissions. The question about what to do with the waste- storage and/or recycling has to be resolved. But it seems that we will have little choice but to follow the “French path”.

Paul:     said that EU policies often seem opposed to energy saving. For instance, cars are undeniably more efficient but most of the increased efficiency is lost because vehicles are much heavier, frequently as a result of EU specified safety equipment, safety measures, etc. EU policy seems to be facing in two directions. He questioned the situation regarding taxation of aviation fuel and also thought that Russia, a very strategic energy supplier, should become part of the EU.

Gary:     Regarding overpopulation he said that the greatest contraceptive is affluence! Italy, for example, is going in the opposite direction to many African nations in that its population is declining and this is likely to be a real problem in affluent countries. He cited this as one of the reasons why it is important to have immigration into the EU. Italy in particular has very poor childcare services whereas Denmark which is excellent in this respect has a growing population.

In relation to nuclear energy Gary said that he was coming round to the same way of thinking as George. Our problem is that our nuclear reactors are coming towards the end of their working lives and the government has to act pretty quickly to convince people that nuclear power is a good idea, find companies willing to build them and guarantee support in terms of electricity prices. He said that South Africa is building a number of small so-called “pebble bed” reactors supplying local areas and this seems a good idea. In addition people are beginning to install their own solar panels and small scale wind turbines and this is a trend that he hoped would continue and expand. However, the paradox is that we are buying more and more energy using equipment and gadgets, many of them of dubious real value.

Paul:     A lot of energy saving devices are added to cars, this increases their weight (an average car is 500 kg heavier now than 10 years ago) and reduces their efficiency. In fact the mpg of an average petrol car now isn’t much more than ten years ago.

Gary:     The question of taxing aviation fuel is a tricky one and wouldn’t be practical unless it was done universally. In many Member States there is a fear of undermining their own industries. Regarding Russia as a member of the EU Gary said that there were already strong ties between it and the Union but there is a lot of historical hostility amongst existing member States towards Russia that would need to be overcome. In the case of fuel, especially gas, from Russia, it wants security of demand as much as we want security of supply. The EU is trying to not put all its eggs in one basket by supporting the “Stans” with regard to oil exports.

Terry:     We need to increase our gas storage capacity now that North Sea supplies are declining. He said that the EU needs to spend €1 trillion on energy infrastructure.

Bob:     What is the EU doing about France’s continued “protectionism” in relation to its state and former state industries?

Gary:     This is not as bad as it used to be. There are some very heavy legal requirements on all EU States to open up their economies.

Bob:     Asked about people trafficking in the EU.

John:     Emigration from Poland is having a serious effect on that country’s economy. Even though there is high unemployment they now have to allow immigration from surrounding non-EU States.

Terry:     Do all EU countries have a minimum wage? If not, why not?

Graham:     The minimum wage is a national matter, not one for the EU.

Paul:     Polish immigration is sucking in very skilled workers from that country, often to do menial work here in the UK. This will have a major impact on Poland in the future. Also, what is the balance between legal and illegal immigration from the Accession States?

Bob:     Migration Watch says that the published figures just don’t stack up. Wages are continuing to rise and repatriation of money to their home counties earned by immigrant workers is having a major impact on local economies. Hence there is no simple position. Poles working in the UK send money back to Poland; Ukrainians working in Poland send money back to the Ukraine.

Gary:     Yes, depletion of skilled professions is a problem that the Accession States, especially Poland, have to face but it won’t be solved by stopping immigration. The standard of living for workers, especially in the service industries would decline drastically. Gary agreed that the minimum wage is a matter for individual states. There have always been differences in the cost of living across Europe and this is reflected in different minimum wages in countries which have such schemes. It’s almost impossible to judge how many people from the Accession States are in the UK working illegally. Not surprisingly, they don’t declare themselves too readily.

George:     Cameron’s speech will need to be outdone (?). Pauline added that we seem quite able to destroy ourselves without Cameron. She was appalled by the disloyalty shown by party members who are supposed to be seasoned and serious politicians. It seriously affects us, the foot soldiers of the Party in terms of our morale and people’s attitudes towards us. Brown shouldn’t be too overconfident of being elected as Party Leader – he is seen as taking the Party members for granted, telling us what to do.

John:     Gary, who will you be supporting for the Party leadership?

Gary:     Brown. We have a 24 hour media driven society and someone such as Blair who has been in power for a long time is bound to have made enemies, especially in the media. People claiming to “be in the know” have made certain statements which for certain are just untrue and this has been very unhelpful.

One member present thought that Brown lacks confidence and sees conspiracies where none exist.

Gary said that it has been a long summer and a lot of MPS have had a rough time from their constituents and Party members over the Iraq war and the very bad way in which the government handled the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. MPS have been shocked at the ferocity of Party members’ attitudes towards this and it has made them “calm down and think a bit”. They have come to realise that it doesn’t look very good if they are portrayed as trying to hound the Prime Minister out of office

Gary talked more about Cameron, his so-called “green credentials” and his probable appeal to the middle classes who deserted the Tories for Labour in 1997. In the European Parliament he wants to align the Tory MEPs with the far right and we need to expose differences such as these. Yes, he rides a bike but his shoes are being carried in the car behind him!

The discussion was concluded and the meeting was declared closed at 9:35 pm. Gary was thanked for attending and talking to us and Graham and Anne were thanked for the use of their home and their hospitality.

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