European Union

I must confess to something of a bias when it comes to the Johnsons, because I rather like them. All of the Johnson family behave as if they feel obliged to be bright, and are often exuberant but with the typical nonchalance of the British upper class. I am a friend and former colleague of Stanley Johnson, Boris’s father and a convinced European. And I later had the opportunity to know Boris while he worked in Brussels as a reporter for the Telegraph. He was popular, exceedingly amusing and a uniquely colourful character in what is often a very grey setting.

“The problem with the Brexit supporters is not their vision of Europe, but their vision of Britain”

Many commentators have condemned his support for Brexit as mere opportunism, but I don’t agree. In taking this stand, he must of course have had his political future in mind. But I do think his decision is sincere, as his scathing view of Europe has old roots. Brussels often leaves a strong impression on those who become involved in European affairs. Some, like the late Lord Cockfield, arrive sceptical and leave passionate Europeans. Others are favourably disposed but leave disappointed. Nothing of that sort seems to have happened to Boris. As the person who led the work of the European Commission on the single market, I strongly resented some of his pieces, such as those on euro-standard condoms or the threat to Britain’s prawn cocktail-favoured crisps. I soon realised it was useless trying to explain to him that these stories were all rubbish; he knew it, but he was merely expressing his contempt for a construction he didn’t care to understand.

Boris says that he loves Europe and Brussels, but his ‘love’ reminds me of the condescending British aristocrats who in the 18th Century took a grand tour of the continent, daydreamt in front of old ruins, enjoyed the music, acquired a few paintings by the great masters and went home ever convinced that they should keep their island politically disengaged with the continent. So his position is hardly surprising. The Boris ‘manifesto’ in the Telegraph is long and convoluted, strangely so for such a sharp mind. Perhaps this was because he wanted to introduce an element of intellectual sophistication to a side of the debate that is frequently accused of offering nought but an expression of guts feelings. He must know, though, that a referendum is to a large extent a matter of guts, and his bet may sadly be the winning one.

“Self-delusion is not the stuff with which greatness is made”

Maybe the problem with the Brexit supporters is not their vision of Europe, but their vision of Britain. Many that I have met are little Englanders with the imperial dream of the country ready to defy Napoleon, Hitler and the entire world, for they dislike the Americans as much as they dislike us. For them, forty years of involvement with the continent has only been a source of endless compromises, and they hate compromises when the foreigners happen to be in a stronger position. One could respect, even admire, them if it wasn’t for their blind complacency about the state of a country that no longer rules the waves, or indeed anything else. Self-delusion is not the stuff with which greatness is made.

If the British vote to leave the EU, we on the continent shall feel regret not only for the turmoil that follows, but also because we shall lose the contribution of the best diplomatic service in Europe and possibly the world. All we can do is tell Boris Johnson that if he loves Europe, as he claims, we in turn love Britain: the country with a splendid past and an uncertain future at best. The continent does not only love Britain for its historic democracy and all that, but also for the legacy of the Beatles, the Stones and others among the best musicians of recent times. Incidentally, they were not upper class at all.

IMAGE CREDIT: CC / FLICKR – BackBoris2012 Campaign Team

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AMENDMENTS 1 - 169 - Draft motion for a resolution on the 2015 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

As Barack Obama brought the recent US-ASEAN summit in California to a close, the US President explained how the two sides had advanced their ‘shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means.’ His implicit reference to the South China Sea was no less than a declaration that the United States will not stand idly by as China unilaterally changes the maritime order. Such a statement has only strained tensions further.

It’s no surprise there are anxieties about the dispute in South China Sea; the stakes are very high. Though unlikely, the global economic chaos created by a war in East and Southeast Asia would be unimaginable, and would result in decades of human tragedy. Even a brief conflict could bring world trade – 50% of which passes through the region – to a jarring halt. To many in Washington and Beijing, the South China Sea dispute has become a proxy battle for influence over Asia. But ASEAN, arguably the world’s second most successful regional organisation after the European Union, has a pivotal role to play in this contest. It will take careful engagements from all three parties to resolve the disputes peacefully. Ultimately, the South China Sea dispute presents these players with three distinct tests, on the rules and norms, on resource management and an operational test.

“America’s credibility in advocating freedom of navigation and the law of the sea is reduced when Washington itself refuses to be party to the convention”

The rules and norms test requires that China respect international law when addressing the South China Sea dispute. As a peaceful and responsible permanent member of the Security Council, China – which has judges sitting in the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea – must not turn to the threat or use of force as a resolution to the maritime dispute. The world needs assurance that the newly-built islands in the South China Sea are not being militarised and are not to be used for power projection in the region.

The United States, which promotes freedom of navigation and adherence to global norms, must lead by example. The most effective way for the country to do this would be by ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). America’s credibility in advocating that nations abide by the principle of freedom of navigation and the law of the sea is reduced when Washington itself refuses to be party to the convention. The deteriorating situation in the South China Sea provides a much-needed push for the United States to get its act together.

ASEAN members involved in the dispute must also shore up the importance of rules and norms – smaller nations dealing with larger ones must rely on international norms and rules to advocate for themselves. To accomplish this, parties in the South China Sea dispute that have not done so need to streamline their claims under international law. They must clearly state the features, the names, the exact location and the legal basis of their claims. Practices incompatible with UNCLOS, such as Vietnam’s excessive baselines, need to be ended.

“The six countries of the Coral Triangle Initiative have demonstrated that collaboration is possible without having settled maritime boundaries”

The resource management test requires the individual claimants themselves, the greater ASEAN community and possibly the United States to collaborate on the conservation of marine resources in the South China Sea. The absence of a regional fisheries management organisation in the disputed area has led to there being no information on the depletion of fish stocks or the deterioration of the sea’s health. This could lead to food insecurity, increase the poverty of coastal communities and increase illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

While the idea of joint development of mineral resources is wishful thinking, the six countries of the Coral Triangle Initiative – two of which, Malaysia and the Philippines, are South China Sea claimants – have demonstrated that collaboration to manage the health of the largest coral reef on Earth is possible without having settled maritime boundaries. The security, safety and environmental management of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore do not require a definitive maritime boundary or even the successful settlement of sovereignty disputes.

“No one country can handle the myriad of global threats or the burden of international order”

The operational test requires the United States, ASEAN and China to devise a mechanism to reduce the risk of collision or conflict at sea. The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting would be an excellent platform to establish a practical mechanism aimed at defusing tensions, preventing escalation, managing maritime emergencies and increasing operational safety. The three parties could establish sub-regional naval collaboration for joint exercises and joint operations other than war to create, strengthen and maintain trust. The sharing of experiences in regional maritime law enforcement could also create the needed trust.

Each of these three tests will need to be passed by all those involved if they are to avoid the South China Sea dispute becoming an historic tragedy. No one country can handle the myriad of global threats or the burden of international order by acting unilaterally; not even the collective power of the five permanent members of the Security Council can do so. International challenges require international cooperation and solutions.

IMAGE CREDIT: CC / FLICKR – Times Asi

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A protestor holds up a copy of Poland's constitution during Thursday's demonstration

Almost since the day it retook power in October, Poland’s Law and Justice government has courted controversy over policies party boss Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said are part of a plan to “fix” the country. At the centre of the squabbling has been a law passed in December that overhauls the way Warsaw’s constitutional court operates, changes that critics say limits its ability to strike down government policies it finds objectionable.

The law has drawn scrutiny from Brussels, which launched its first-ever review of a member’s government for possible violations of the EU’s “fundamental values” after the measure was passed. The Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, which was asked to review the law as well, came down hard on Warsaw in a draft decision that was leaked to a Polish newspaper. This week it was the turn of the court itself, which ruled that the laws curbing its powers were unconstitutional. But in a decision that stunned many, Poland’s prime minister, Beata Szydlo, announced she would not allow the court’s ruling to be officially published, meaning it will not be enforceable. “This is not a judgement, it is a political position,” said Poland’s foreign minister.

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Presentation by Shingo Yamagami, Director General, Japan Institute of International Affairs
Presentation by Vineta Mekone, NATO Strategic Communication Centre of Excellence
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs debated the proposed EU-Turkey deal to manage the refugee crisis as well as the way in which European countries have been handling the issue during this week's plenary session in Strasbourg. Women refugees and how to support them better was debated on Tuesday to mark International Women's Day 2016. Read our story for more on this and the other plenary issues debated and voted on by MEPs.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs debated the proposed EU-Turkey deal to manage the refugee crisis as well as the way in which European countries have been handling the issue during this week's plenary session in Strasbourg. Women refugees and how to support them better was debated on Tuesday to mark International Women's Day 2016. Read our story for more on this and the other plenary issues debated and voted on by MEPs.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Commission and the European Supervisory Authorities should conduct an in-depth assessment of the effect of increasing capital requirements in current and future legislation on credit supply, especially to small and medium sized companies, Parliament says in a resolution on the state of the Banking Union which was adopted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Commission and the European Supervisory Authorities should conduct an in-depth assessment of the effect of increasing capital requirements in current and future legislation on credit supply, especially to small and medium sized companies, Parliament says in a resolution on the state of the Banking Union which was adopted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 88 - Draft report containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of the Philippines, of the other part
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The authors of the Study "The future of EU Defence Research" will elaborate on their methodology and their findings regarding the funding of defence research under the next multiannual financial framework of the EU.
Further information
draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : To fight the growing resistance of bacteria to today’s antibiotics, the use of existing antimicrobial drugs should be restricted, and new ones should be developed, said the European Parliament on Thursday. In a vote on draft plans to update an EU law on veterinary medicines, MEPs advocate banning collective and preventive antibiotic treatment of animals, and back measures to stimulate research into new medicines.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : To fight the growing resistance of bacteria to today’s antibiotics, the use of existing antimicrobial drugs should be restricted, and new ones should be developed, said the European Parliament on Thursday. In a vote on draft plans to update an EU law on veterinary medicines, MEPs advocate banning collective and preventive antibiotic treatment of animals, and back measures to stimulate research into new medicines.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : If the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia can break its current political stalemate, hold free and fair elections soon and put its reforms back on track, then there should be no further obstacles to starting EU accession talks with it, say MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. In a separate resolution, they welcome Montenegro’s steady progress towards EU accession.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP