Sarah's bulletin: 20 November 2009

Dear friends,

"The first EU president was crowned at a dinner party on 19 November 2009..."

So the history books will read. Late last night the 27 heads of state of the European Union announced their pickings for the new EU top jobs created by the Lisbon treaty. The current Belgian prime minister, Herman van Rompuy will be the first ever president of the European Council, and our own Baroness Catherine Ashton, the EU Commissioner for trade, will be foreign affairs high representative.

I congratulate the 96% male European Council - of the 27 premiers, 26 are male, with Angela Merkel the only woman - for having heeded the calls of ALDE MEPs (including our leader Guy Verhofstadt) for gender parity by choosing a woman for one of the two top jobs. I think Cathy Ashton will do a good job as "Mrs Europe", as she is a highly competent and effective albeit modest political operator. I learned that in the House of Lords of which she was leader, not least when LibDem peers including me worked with her on Lisbon treaty ratification last year. Her appointment also shows that if and when the UK participates constructively it can have a very powerful voice indeed.

Some will regret or criticise that fact that a pretty much unknown person has got the top external job, but that fact will put the onus on substantive common policies over personality. Ashton made a - perhaps pointed - comment that she is not an 'ego on legs'. She certainly does not have the super-ego of Nicolas Sarkozy, or the 'traffic-stopping' recognition of Tony Blair. But maybe now it is a good time in the European Union to focus on how to get things done with quiet efficiency rather than noisily flamboyant or self-important personalities.

Hillary Clinton already this morning welcomed "my new counterpart High Representative Ashton". Now that she - and indeed the rest of the world - knows who to call ought to improve the EU's coherence in the world, though only if the political will is there. It is remarkable to reflect that the transatlantic diplomatic relationship is now entirely in female hands!

There is also talk that the European Union may be given a "quasi-state" status at the United Nations now that it can hope for a more cohesive foreign policy. The Europhobes would want Britain to exclude itself from this joint exercise, but that is not in our interests. The EU is pushing for a special UN resolution that would give the EU its own seat and nameplate in the United Nations General Assembly, allow it to take part in debates and co-sponsor resolutions, but not vote. This very neatly illustrates the point about how the sum of the EU member states is more powerful than the whole.

So far, so reasonably good. But the process by which Van Rompuy and Ashton were chosen was appalling. Instead of an open, public and transparent contest between rival candidates, we waited for the outcome of a secret cabal akin to the selection of the pope. The EU should be ashamed of itself for this. It is undemocratic and fosters no connection whatsoever between the European citizenry and these top officials.

The British tabloid press' almost racist targeting of Herman van Rompuy for being Belgian was shocking; imagine substituting 'black', 'Asian' 'Jewish' 'gay' or indeed 'female' in those headlines. It exposed the prejudice and small-mindedness of their mentality. Certainly he is a low-key politician, but he was the one who after 7 months of political turmoil managed to put together a Belgian government. This experience means that he is well-placed to build consensus on the European level.

Data breaches, again

We learnt this week that T Mobile, one of Britain's biggest mobile phone operators, is being investigated for having illegally sold on thousands if not millions of people's personal details, including their names, mobile phone numbers and addresses and breaching data protection rules. Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, has gone on record to say that he wants to "close down the entire unlawful industry in personal data", to which I can only respond "Well go on then! What on earth is stopping you?"

This followed an earlier revelation that two NHS primary care trusts in Gloucestershire and Great Yarmouth have also fallen foul of the data protection act for keeping personal health records of over 3000 patients on desktop computers rather than a server. Surprise, surprise, the computers have now been stolen. This follows an incident in the summer when a laptop containing unencrypted personal data was stolen from the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust. Then there was a disciplinary case reported of an NHS worker entering false records to cover up her own incompetence. All of this shows that the more databases there are, the more our personal data is insecure. Roll on the abolition of Labour's planned ID database!

Obama criticises Chinese censorship

US President Barack Obama this week, in a talk to a group of 400 Chinese students in Shanghai, launched a surprise attack on what is known as the "Great Firewall of China", the virtual barrier that prevents Chinese citizens accessing banned (Western) websites, accompanied by a veritable army of internet policemen, who censor and blacklist websites and clamp down on dissent and criticism.

Obama chose his words very carefully, but was firm nonetheless:

"I'm a big believer in openness. ... The more freely information flows, the stronger a society becomes. Citizens can hold their own governments accountable. They can begin to think for themselves. That generates new ideas and encourages creativity."

It would be nice to hear EU leaders being so outspoken on human rights abuses in China.

Paris Trouser Ban

Little-known fact: it is illegal for a woman to wear trousers in Paris, unless "she is holding the reins of a horse" or "holding the handlebars of a bicycle". This is a perverse and archaic hangover from the 1800s, and is of course entirely unenforced. It is in fact compulsory for Paris policewomen to wear trousers, meaning that technically they are breaking the law every day of the year!

On paper this law actually makes Paris more hardline than Sudan in controlling what women wear, and as a trouser-wearing woman myself, I call on the Paris mayor to make every effort to get rid of the outdated and ludicrous decree! It just shows that the preoccupation with controlling what women wear is not new, but why don't we find something more essential to worry about and leave it to women's private choice?

Gordon Brown on British foreign policy

Gordon Brown said on Monday, in the traditional keynote foreign policy address at the Lord Mayor's banquet at the City of London:

"...and that is why I say our foreign policy must be both patriotic and internationalist: a foreign policy that recognises Britain's unique strengths to offer, defends Britain's national interests strongly - not by retreating into isolation, but by advancing in international co-operation."

I really couldn't agree more, but it's a pity that 12 years of Labour government, in undermining international human rights through the illegal Iraq war, and extraordinary rendition and torture have not lived up to that pledge.

Banana Wars

The good news is that the "banana wars" - the longest-running dispute in the history of the WTO - are very close to a solution, or as the Financial Times punned "close to fruition". The deal between European and Latin American representatives was facilitated by Cathy Ashton in her job until now of trade Commissioner and could soon be followed by a similar deal with the United States and facilitate the Doha trade round. It involves the EU making a huge cut in import duties on bananas and other tropical products from Latin America.

This is however bad news for the West Indies since the EU has historically given former French and British colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (known as the "ACP" group of countries) preferential access to EU markets. Caribbean producers will now be in competition with Latin America's much cheaper bananas. While liberalisation in this sector had to be realised, it is right that the West Indies will get an extra chunk of EU aid. Also, we do have a consumer choice on what bananas to buy, and I will make a point of buying mine from St Lucia, the Windward Islands and so on.

Neelie Kroes' "balls"

Further to last week's bulletin, the topic of "Steely" Neelie Kroes the Commissioner responsible for competition has again featured in the press. A letter in Wednesday's Financial Times declared that she, in fact, was the best candidate for the job of EU president: "my vote is for Ms Kroes, not because she is a woman but because she has got balls". I don't think I need to apologise these days for repeating this expression and it is a once-gender specific term that women can take ownership of (like "guys"). Although in this case a bit risqué, it has mellowed through use, since 'having balls' conveys a meaning that no other term quite matches...

ELDR Conference Barcelona

This week I've been attending the 30th ELDR conference which is being held in Barcelona (yes, it's a dog's life!). The ELDR is the pan-European federation of all the national liberal & democratic parties in the European Union. We have been discussing economic liberalism after the financial crisis and how to promote liberal values in a new post-Lisbon Europe, both very important issues. I've also had the chance to network with liberal parties from the Balkans, who need every encouragement they can get.

Next week I will be back in Strasbourg for another plenary session, and will report from there.

Best regards,

Sarah Ludford