George Lyon MEP writes: Lib Dem MEPs will resist secret EU vote

Last week the European Council agreed a new European budget that will, for the first time, see a cut in the amount of money that the EU spends.

Liberal Democrats at Westminster and in the European Parliament have made clear that the EU needs to live within its means. We are in favour of a sensible and realistic deal that reflects the tough economic times that ordinary people are facing. Some MEPs see things differently and oppose the idea of a degree of fiscal restraint in Europe.

People who oppose the cuts in the EU budget that have been put forward are perfectly entitled to their views. To be clear, there are legitimate debates to be had over the terms of the deal that was announced last week. We need, for example, to ensure that the money we are spending is delivering for the UK, helping us to create the stronger economy and fairer society that we all want to see. We also need to look at how we can give the European Parliament the flexibility to manage a smaller budget more effectively.

What is wholly illegitimate is the idea that these debates – and subsequent votes in the European Parliament – should be conducted in secret. Voting on the next EU budget is one of the most important decisions MEPs will take  in this mandate.  Scrutinising the terms of the deal that has been put forward is a key part of our work. It is vital that we are open and transparent in our decision making.

Politics is all about debate. The European Parliament accommodates MEPs who hold a diverse range of opinions on a wide range of issues. What is critical is that MEPs have the courage of their convictions. As elected representatives we have to take responsibility and account for the decisions we are taking and the votes we are casting.

It has been reported that that MEPs of the European Peoples Party, which is one of the largest centre-right groupings in Brussels, could seek to force a secret ballot using procedural rules. This is an idea that Martin Schulz, the socialist President of the EU Parliament, has also backed.

As the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons on Monday, the idea of a secret ballot is an extraordinary concept. Transparency is something that is absolutely central to our democracy. It is absolutely wrong that MEPs who are elected to represent the views of their constituents should seek to hide their votes in the manner that is being advocated by some in Brussels.

Since this first came to light, Liberal Democrat MEPs have made our views clear. We do not support a secret vote and will be working hard to persuade others that this approach is fundamentally wrong headed. For a secret vote to go ahead, 151 MEPs would need to sign up. No Liberal Democrat MEPs will be in that number and we will resist this anti-democratic measure.

* George Lyon is Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland and Vice President of the European Budget Committee.

Read more by or more about , or .
This entry was posted in Europe / International and Op-eds.
Advert

13 Comments

  • Simon McGrath 13th Feb '13 - 12:01pm

    Excellent. Can you tell us the position of ALDE ?

  • “… and we will resist this anti-democratic measure.”
    A first and very welcome admission from a Lib Dem, that the EU is inherently anti-democratic at its core.

  • @Dave Page
    Why would a supposed democratic institution, have in its structure, the ability to even consider, hiding its vote from public gaze?
    Answer : Because the EU wants the facility to hide its accountability, and therefore its deficit of democracy. Not only are secret EU votes wrong, it’s abhorrent to even have it as an option. But then it is par for the course, given that the EU is an abhorrent structure.

  • @Anthony :
    Why would an MP or MEP want to hide from their electorate, what they have vote for ?
    And how is an average voter to decide if a refreshing a candidates mandate, (MP or MEP), is appropriate, if you don’t know how they have voted on a particular issue?

  • Antony – there is a difference between private session and private votes. I think that Council votes are a matter of public record (albeit not all recorded) even when they are discussing the matter in closed proceedings.

    The only time I can recall a secret Parliamentary vote was the most recent speaker election.

  • John D – so how many votes, representing what proportion of the total, have been conducted secretly?

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Tim Leunig
    The EU has been pretty clear that we could join the customs union - not sure they would be so keen to have us in the single market. Baby steps to rebuild trust ...
  • Tim Leunig
    "The cost of living is spiralling, wages are stagnant" - not so, average pay rises have been higher than inflation for over a year now - https://www.ons.gov.uk/...
  • Tim Rogers
    Jenny Barnes. Trouble is millions of people understand simple answers and vote for it....
  • Mick Taylor
    Mark Frankel is always 110% on the side of Netanyahu and the Israeli state, but his comments are not wholly wrong. I do feel angry that far too many people try ...
  • Steve Trevethan
    Might it be appropriate to promote whole nation-beneficial policies and their marketing, rather than concentrate on attacking other parties? Might it help to...