Category Archives: Europe / International

Anything to do with European / international issues

Tim Purkiss

Opinion: Israel/Palestine – the current state of the ‘peace process’

By Tim Purkiss | Fri 14th December 2012 - 11:22 am

At 1900 GMT on Wednesday 21st November a ceasefire came into place between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip which, it was hoped, would signal at least a temporary halt to the bloodshed. Sadly, this ceasefire looks little more likely to last than previous ones have done and it would seem to be a good moment to reflect on the latest tragic and depressing episode in the Middle East and the ‘peace process.’

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Mark Valladares

Scottish Independence: one brief letter, one big problem for the Yes campaign?

By Mark Valladares | Fri 14th December 2012 - 10:21 am

Here at Liberal Democrat Voice, I have occasionally drawn the attention of readers towards the Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs and its inquiry into the economic implications for the United Kingdom of Scottish independence. And this week, the Committee appears to have obtained an answer to a question which has hung heavy over the debate until now, i.e. would an independent Scotland automatically become part of the European Union.

In response to an invitation from the acting Chair of the Committee, Lord Tugendhat (a former two-term European Commissioner), Jose Manuel Barroso wrote;

Whilst refraining from comment on possible future scenarios,

…

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NewsHound

This week in Europe… 10-13 December

By NewsHound | Fri 14th December 2012 - 8:51 am

European patent will boost UK businesses

Liberal Democrat MEPs have warmly welcomed Tuesday’s green light for the long-awaited deal on a unitary European Patent.

The European Parliament has voted to accept a hard-fought compromise package which has taken nearly forty years to negotiate. Two states, Spain and Italy, have declined to take part on the grounds that their languages are not included in the patent filing process.

Andrew Duff MEP, who represents the important cluster of science research in the East of England, commented:

Today sees a huge break-through for European innovation and competitiveness. The final agreement on a unitary patent

…

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Mike Green

Opinion: the case for intervention in Syria

By Mike Green | Fri 7th December 2012 - 3:51 pm

Being up all night does give me somewhat of an advantage as far as news goes. As I’m writing this even the BBC has not yet covered what’s been seen on NBC, CNN, Russia Today and others. Namely, the reports that Assad has had chemical and biological weapons prepared for use. Obviously, at this point we’re unable to establish if this is fact, what we do know however is that Syria is in possession of these weapons and Assad’s regime is clawing along on its last breaths.

I don’t need to establish how devastating chemical and biological weapons like these can …

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Mark Valladares

This week in Europe… 3-6 December

By Mark Valladares | Fri 7th December 2012 - 11:51 am

Europe fails on carbon storage and capture

Battersea Power StationHopes of Europe becoming a world leader in the development of a key technology to combat global warming have been dashed, and more than €1.5 billion of EU funding available to support carbon capture & storage (CCS) projects will now be diverted to new renewable energy schemes. The announcement today that steelmakers ArcelorMittal will not proceed with their Ulcos project in France means that not one single new CCS scheme is set to proceed.

Europe’s Prime Ministers declared in 2007 …

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Mark Valladares

Euro 2014 – a cause to fight for, not to hide from

By Mark Valladares | Tue 4th December 2012 - 4:55 pm

So, we’ve selected our candidates for Europe in England and Scotland, and a pretty good bunch they are too – people who are committed to the concept of a Europe of twenty-seven (soon to be twenty-eight) nations pooling some sovereignty for a greater good. So far, so good. But what are they going to do for the next eighteen months?

Past experience says, “not much to do with Europe”. Yes, they’ll be campaigning to a lesser or greater extent, but what will they be

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Jonathan Davies

European selection results – complete

By Jonathan Davies | Sat 1st December 2012 - 3:19 pm

The English Party is today counting the ballot to select our candidates for the nine English Euro Regions for the 2014 Euro elections. The Scottish and Welsh Parties are running their selections separately, and their results will be announced separately.

The results are listed below. The detailed STV results will be available later and we’ll put the web link in when it is available.

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Mark Valladares

This week in Europe… 26-29 November

By Mark Valladares | Fri 30th November 2012 - 3:50 pm

Lib Dems welcome the launch of free trade negotiations with Japan

UK Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder, the party’s European spokesperson on international trade, today welcomed the Council’s decision to authorise the launch of a free trade agreement with Japan, saying it could deliver additional EU exports to Japan worth €43.4bn (around £35bn). She said:

It is time to tap into the huge potential of a free trade agreement with Japan. It is the world’s third largest economy and crucial export market for the

…

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Mark Valladares

Are you free for a weekend in Istria in mid-May?…

By Mark Valladares | Fri 30th November 2012 - 2:21 pm

Now, you have to admit, that isn’t an offer you’re likely to get every day. If I was to add that most of your airfare will be paid (although not your accommodation), you might become a little more wary. “What’s the deal?”, I hear you ask.

It’s like this. The International Office of the Liberal Democrats is responsible for supporting the Party’s delegation to the Spring Council meeting of ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, formerly ELDR), and making sure that we send a full delegation of fifteen to take part. And, as part of that exercise, and to encourage a more diverse representation, they’ve asked me to invite you (yes, you!) to apply to fill any vacancies that might arise.

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Mark Valladares

Guy Verhofstadt probably wasn’t on Nigel Farage’s Christmas card list anyway…

By Mark Valladares | Fri 23rd November 2012 - 2:51 pm

It would be fair to say that Nigel Farage and the leader of the ALDE group in the European Parliament, former Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, are unlikely to be close friends. It’s rather less likely after this intervention on Wednesday. Sit back and enjoy…

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Eric Avebury

Bahrain – time for Britain to take a lead

By Eric Avebury | Fri 23rd November 2012 - 8:51 am

On November 5, thirty-one Bahrainis were deprived of their citizenship arbitrarily, without notice and without judicial process, contrary to customary international law. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that everyone has the right to a nationality and no-one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality. The victims can appeal these decision, but there is no point. The king has absolute power to grant or rescind citizenship, and the courts wouldn’t dream of overturning his decisions.

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Stephen Tall

4-in-10 Lib Dem voters inclined to leave EU, says poll – a reminder why our pitch should be ‘In Europe to reform the EU’

By Stephen Tall | Sun 18th November 2012 - 4:20 pm

‘If a referendum were held on the UK’s membership of the European Union, how do you think you would vote?’ That’s the question posed by polling company Opinium and published today in The Observer — with the following result reported by the paper:

Almost four out of 10 Liberal Democrat voters support leaving the EU, according to a new poll which shows that hardline euroscepticism has taken hold in Britain’s most pro-European party. An Opinium/Observer survey has found that 39% of Lib Dem supporters

…

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Mark Valladares

ELDR Congress – a quick catch up…

By Mark Valladares | Fri 16th November 2012 - 2:21 pm

Last week that unusual event, a keynote speech by a senior Westminster-based Liberal Democrat at an ELDR* event, as Nick Clegg made one of the speeches that opened this year’s Congress.

Europe needs liberals now more than ever. The shared challenges we face are ones that can only be tackled when like-minded people across Europe work together: how to create jobs, particularly for our young people, and bring back prosperity; how to tackle climate change and build the new, green economies we need for our future.

For the rest …

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Giles Goodall

Three cheers for the unsung heroes of Brussels

By Giles Goodall | Fri 16th November 2012 - 11:52 am

A new survey by European news portal Euractiv has ranked Sharon Bowles MEP as the most influential Brit in EU policy-making, eight places ahead of David Cameron and thirty-three above Nigel Farage. The UK40 survey also features Lib Dem MEPs Andrew Duff and Sir Graham Watson in the top sixteen. National politicians such as Cameron, William Hague and Nick Clegg make the top twenty, but often lose out in the ranking to less well known Brits in the EU institutions.

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Mark Valladares

#ELDRCongress – the rest of the resolutions

By Mark Valladares | Fri 9th November 2012 - 2:05 pm

One of the curiosities of an ELDR Congress is that the debate on policy that really matters takes place in working groups which, at breakneck speed, consider resolutions and amendments to them.

So, in an hour this morning, delegates recommended for adoption policies on LGBTI rights – the ‘I’ stands for intersex – global digital freedom, a more effective European Union and freedom of movement for same-sex couples across the EU.

In addition, working parties were set up to agree competing policies on fundamental European rights and on fighting the 2014 European elections.

But the most lively debate was reserved for a proposal …

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Mark Valladares

ELDR Congress: I’m not about to craic up…

By Mark Valladares | Thu 8th November 2012 - 4:52 pm

Welcome to the former lair of the Celtic Tiger, a city of stories, some of them true, and enough cliche to bury an elephant, Dublin, the host city for this year’s ELDR Congress, hosted by Fianna Fail.

The focus of this year’s event is on energy transition and, given that the EU remains worryingly dependent on imports of oil and gas from some rather unstable corners of the world, it is a subject that might not be obviously sexy, it is one that has a huge impact on European citizens.

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Fiona Hall MEP

Fiona Hall writes: EU exit would jeopardise Britain’s global trade

By Fiona Hall MEP | Tue 6th November 2012 - 4:24 pm

For years Europhobes have been propagating the misconception that Britain has to choose between the EU and the rest of the world.

 However, this ‘choice’ between the EU and the rest of the world is a false choice. Indeed, being part of the EU is the best way to increase Britain’s trade with emerging markets.  As Nick Clegg pointed out in his speech on Europe last week, the EU has free trade agreements in force with 46 countries and negotiations with another 78 countries are currently under way. In addition, the European Parliament last week lent its weight to launching new negotiations with the USA and Japan.

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Merlene Emerson

A postcard from… China: a fly on the Great Wall

By Merlene Emerson | Tue 6th November 2012 - 10:25 am

Great Wall of ChinaIt was not my first visit to China (in fact my third time climbing the great wall) but certainly the most intense: ten days from 22nd October to 1st November.  Along with 26 other Overseas Chinese delegates involved in politics from eight nations in Europe and Africa, I was on a study visit at the invitation of the Chinese Government on the eve of the 18th Peoples’ Congress.

Amongst our number were an MP from South Africa, an ex-Minister from Mauritius, a special advisor to the Mayor of Cologne, Germany (twinned with Beijing), Councillors from the Netherlands and France, as well as representatives from all 3 major parties in the UK. Other Liberal Democrats included Councillor Sam Li from Lewes, Jerry Cheung from Sheffield and Anna Lo from our sister Alliance party in Northern Ireland.

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Nick T

“Standing up for the people of Britain by standing tall in our own backyard” – Clegg on Europe

By Nick T | Thu 1st November 2012 - 5:57 pm

Nick Clegg made a speech earlier today setting out his vision for the role the UK should play in the European Union.

You can read what Clegg had to say (minus, unfortunately, the “party political” segment which has been removed by the Cabinet Office) below, and what the Voice’s Stephen Tall thinks he should have said here. And here’s his fellow co-editor Mark Pack’s take on the speech.

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James King

Opinion: Four point plan for a liberal, democratic Europe

By James King | Sat 27th October 2012 - 2:35 pm

Europe is rising up the political agenda. It’s an issue that could bring down David Cameron or break-up the coalition. Yet the Liberal Democrats are strangely silent. The EU didn’t appear on the Brighton conference agenda and we no longer have a Minister in the Foreign Office. We need to develop a vision for a liberal, democratic EU and get smart about fighting for it.

Here’s my four point plan:

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Phil Bennion

Taking stock – 20 years of the Single Market

By Phil Bennion | Fri 26th October 2012 - 10:21 am

In the current “debate” over Europe, “loss of sovereignty”, and “power grabbing by the Commission” are the central themes… what an irony on the 20th anniversary of the single market – the key achievement of the EU which was spear-headed by a British Conservative European Commissioner, and cemented by a Conservative Government in 1992 under the Maastricht treaty.

Commissioner Arthur Cockfield in 1985 published a list of 300 recommendations needed to eliminate the barriers to real free trade within Europe, to make the (then) European Community more competitive and profitable for Member States.

Since 1992 the focus has been to “complete” this …

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Opinion: Who’s the odd one out?

By Charles Beaumont | Wed 17th October 2012 - 2:57 pm

Name the odd one out: Timothy Edmonds (convicted paedophile), Hussain Osman (convicted terrorist), Julian Assange (Wikileaks founder wanted for questioning by Swedish police) and Abu Hamza (Egyptian-born militant Islamist now facing terrorism charges in a New York court). Not too difficult – it’s Abu Hamza, who was extradited to the USA after an eight-year legal battle.

The other three are currently, or have been in the past, the subject of European arrest warrants. All of them, if Theresa May gets her way, would have been able to evade justice for as long as

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Simon McGrath

Opinion: Abu Hamza isn’t Gary McKinnon but we should still be concerned about his extradition

By Simon McGrath | Tue 16th October 2012 - 4:42 pm

The extradition of Abu Hamza and 4 other men to the US seems to have given almost universal pleasure and there is no doubt that he seems an extraordinarily unpleasant man, with a long criminal record and deeply repellent views.

But it is in just these sorts of cases that a Liberal needs to be careful and not just go with popular opinion. When you look at what crimes he and the other men involved are accused of it is impossible not to be concerned. It is, interestingly enough, quite difficult to find exactly what they are accused of; the best summary I have found is here.

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Paul Haydon

Opinion: We shouldn’t take peace in Europe for granted

By Paul Haydon | Tue 16th October 2012 - 3:50 pm

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU on Friday was met with predictable derision from the likes of Nigel Farage, who described it the decision as “baffling,” and leader of the Tory MEPs  Martin Callanan, who said it was “a little late for an April Fools’ Joke.”

Admittedly, the current social unrest across Southern Europe made the award seem a little incongruous, especially coming just days after Angela Merkel’s visit to Greece was met with violent protests in Athens.

Yet in fact, this was …

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Mark Pack

The European Union deserves the Nobel Peace Prize

By Mark Pack | Sun 14th October 2012 - 10:50 am

Something I wrote back last autumn is rather applicable to my views of the Nobel Peace Prize going to the European Union:

Sat on a shelf a few metres away from me is a box containing the various military medals won by my relatives over previous generations. The medals criss-cross Europe, coming from different countries, over the three wars that had a German-French conflict at their centre. To British eyes that count of three wars may seem odd at first, but for the German and French politicians building new European structures in the aftermath of the Second World War, their

…

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Mark Pack

Nick Clegg blocks Tory bid to opt out of European policing measures

By Mark Pack | Sun 14th October 2012 - 8:25 am

More on the story here.

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Mark Valladares

Lib Dems vote against 6.8% increase of EU 2013 budget

By Mark Valladares | Thu 11th October 2012 - 10:22 am

Liberal Democrats in the Budget Committee of the European Parliament voted against a proposed 6.85% increase in the EU 2013 budget yesterday. George Lyon, MEP for Scotland and Vice President of the Budget Committee, said:

There is still much uncertainty over the Commission’s estimates on what it needs in 2013 to pay the bills from Member States. The prudent approach at a time when there is huge

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Mark Pack

David Cameron: the pro-Europeans’ secret weapon

By Mark Pack | Mon 8th October 2012 - 11:24 am

Writing for the European Council on Foreign Relations, YouGov’s Peter Kellner highlights an important polling finding:

In July this year, YouGov asked this question: ‘Imagine the British government under David Cameron renegotiated our relationship with Europe and said that Britain’s interests were now protected, and David Cameron recommended that Britain remain a member of the European Union on the new terms. How would you then vote in a referendum on the issue?’…

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Suzanne Fletcher

After the ending of child detention – what next?

By Suzanne Fletcher | Sun 7th October 2012 - 2:15 pm

After the moving and amazing presentation and big “thank you” to the Lib Dems from Citizens UK on the Sunday morning of conference, for ending the detention of children of asylum seekers, what could possibly follow it?

The next day the newly formed “Liberal Democrats for Seekers of Sanctuary”, along with Citizens UK, met in a nearby Church Hall. Those who had been, and were going through, the asylum process in the UK and were connected with both Citizens UK and Movement for Justice had come down to tell their stories. There to listen were members of the House …

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Paul Walter

Romney campaign: Writing the “How not to” manual

By Paul Walter | Mon 1st October 2012 - 1:24 pm

The Mitt Romney campaign in the US has an interesting approach to some of the accepted campaigning golden rules:

Before televised debates, you lower expectations of your candidate

…That way when they do reasonably well, everyone is surprised and your campaign gets a bit of a lift. So what did Romney’s campaign do? Well for weeks we have been told that Romney is closeting himself away with advisers for long sessions to prepare

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