European Parliament

While Westminster has "Hansard", and the US Congress has  the "Congressional Record" - the European Parliament has "Verbatim Reports of Proceedings.

Producing a useable verbatim record is more complicated than for National Parliaments - the European Parliament allows speeches in any of the twenty four official languages of the the European Union. [English remains an official language] While there are translators in the chamber to give a simultaneous translation to people in the chamber; visitors and those watching the live feed of Plenary sessions - the official record takes longer to produce.

A first copy is available called the "Rainbow Edition". This records contributions in the language of each person speaking. Initially only a PDF version is available, but a few days later there is an HTML version - which allows searches.

The "Final Edition" is produced a little later. Again - it is in the languages used by whoever is speaking.

To search for a particular plenary session go to EP Verbatim Reports of Proceedings - the first part of this page covers the current plenary session, but if you scroll down you'll find "Search Verbatim Reports". This gives access to any of the Parliamentary debates from 1994. If you have a specific sitting you want to look at - enter that date in both boxes (Sittings from...to). Click on any of the individual results - and the next page give you the option to choose "Full Text". That will break the sitting down into individual items of business. 

You can watch a video of each speech, The full Verbatim Report can be downloaded as a PDF - it's a big document (February 10th 2021 is a file of 3590k and 162 pages ).

Watching the video of the speech (an example can be seen here) allows you to choose which language you listen to. - but there is a disclaimer "The interpretation does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings." Alternatively copy and paste the speech in the Verbatim Report into Google Translate

2020 has arrived - and Washminster has returned!

It takes a long time for a New Year to arrive - It first arrived in Samoa & Christmas Island at 10h00 GMT - Tuesday 31st December. New Zealand saw the New Year in at 11h00. China saw 2020 in at 16h00, and a large part of the European Union at 23h00.

London - which includes Greenwich - where the "Prime Meridian" runs through, welcomed the New Year in, five minutes before this was posted.

However it still has a long journey to go. It will reach the USA at 05h00 but the final welcoming of 2020 will be in parts of the US Minor outlying Islands at Noon on Wednesday (GMT).

Wherever you are reading this - and whether the New Year arrived many hours ago - or is still some time off, may I wish you a Happy New Year.

Washminster is back!

At first the posts may be separated by a few days - as I get back into the rhythm. It's been a long time since I was blogging on a regular basis. You can still look back at some of the earlier posts. The first was made on Wednesday 7th March 2007, and began as an exercise to get me writing on a regular basis, ahead of starting to study for a Ph.D. at the University of Hull. I was working at Westminster at the time , and was able to witness some of the key events of that decade. On the 27th June 2007 I posted a number of times from the Palace of Westminster - as Tony Blair stepped down and power passed to Gordon Brown.

I've posted about the various US Presidential Elections - and reported from Washington at the height of each one.

(Warning - this is me! But I'm pictured with a cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton - taken in a Democrat campaign office in Fairfax County, Virginia)


Many of my posts were written with my students in mind. But time moves on - and some of the law may no longer be applicable. Certainly the British Constitution has seen many changes in recent months.

So what will the new Washminster look like? It will of course continue to bring news and insights about the British Parliament and the US Congress - but won't stop there. While I continue to follow both - I am also interested in what is happening elsewhere - do expect to read more about the French Parliament; the European Parliament; and politics across Europe (especially France, Greece and The EU), the United States and China.

Much of my time will be spent exploring History - so expect lots of posts about areas that I will have been researching. These will include the ancient history of the very modern city that I live in (Milton Keynes); British History from the re-population of Britain after the last Ice Age to the death on the Battlefield of Bosworth of Richard III; Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome - and China (plus anything else that attracts my interest). I'm looking forward to going to the Troy exhibition at the British Museum - I had intended to go a lot earlier - but was otherwise engaged as a candidate in the Parliamentary constituency of Buckingham. The British Museum is a great place to visit - and is now one of the most places that I visit most frequently in London.

As the year progresses, I also hope to visit a number of interesting places around the UK (and beyond?) - Ill be posting about those too.



Do subscribe to this blog - and send me your comments. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to invite some guests to post for a one-off or even a regular basis.

Just keeping watching this space.

Who's Who in the EU?

You can sometimes wonder who is the President of the EU. Is it Donald Tusk (as some of the media seem to think)? Jean-Claude Juncker? Antonio Tajani? or Joseph Muscat?

In fact there is no such official title. All the above though ARE Presidents within the EU institutions.

Donald Tusk is the President of the European Council. He presides over meetings of the European Council, which is made up of the heads of national Executives (so, Theresa May for the UK, Angela Merkel for Germany, the various Prime Ministers, and Presidents where they are the head of the Executive branch (François Hollande in France - but it can get complicated when there is 'cohabitation' with a President of the French Republic of one party and the Prime Minister represents the other party)). He will represent the EU abroad, as do the President of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. (Federica Mogherini). The President serves for a two and a half term year, which is renewable once. Tusk's first term ends on 31st May this year, but he was re-elected to a second (and final) term last month.

Jean-Claude Juncker is the President of the European Commission. (To complicate matters he was the previous President of the European Council). This is the Executive of the EU. He is is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle or dismiss them if needed. They determine the Commission's policy agenda and all the legislative proposals it produces. The President of the Commission serves a five-year term after being nominated by the European Council and formally elected by the European Parliament.

Antonio Tajani is the President of the European Parliament. He has recently succeeded (17th January 2017) Martin Schultz.  His job is to preside over the debates and activities of the European Parliament, and to represent it before both within the EU and internationally. In a sense he is the loose equivalent of the Speaker of the House of Commons. The President of the European Parliament has a renewable term of two and a half years.

Joseph Muscat is the President of the Council of the European Union. This used to be known as  the 'Council of Ministers'. He is from Malta (and is their current Prime Minister) which is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union for the period January to June 2017.  The presidency (held by the country, rather than the individual) changes every six months - but the previous, current and next presidency co-operate closely. They are referred to as the 'trios'.

There are other bodies within the EU system that have Presidents - such as the Court of Justice of the European Union (Koen Lenaerts); the European Court of Auditors (Klaus-Heiner Lehne); the European Central Bank (Mario Draghi) - amongst others.

How the EU ACTUALLY works

I've been a lecturer on EU Law for the last quarter of a century (I've also taught European Politics, been an assistant to a Member of the European Parliament,  and dealt with EU institutions as an assistant in the UK Parliament and in my own political work). There are a lot of misconceptions about what the EU does - and how it does it. It is that widespread lack of knowledge amongst British citizens that was the necessary foundation for the Brexit result. Much misinformation has been spread - and I'm glad to hear that Wikipedia has evaluated thre Daily Mail - and found it to be a wholly unreliable source.

So where does one go to find out accurate information?.

At an academic level - there are some excellent textbooks - these two are my personal favourites.






These can be expensive - and are, by nature, complex. There is a lot of FREE information available.

A free booklet from the European Parliament is well set out & VERY informative. It was produced in 2013, so information about the results of the 2014 election (which led to the current party makeup in the EP) are not included. It is available here.

There is a useful website at https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu_en

Key knowledge about the EU involves

- membership (currently 28 members) - in the media the EU (and its institutions, especially the Court) is often confused with the European Convention on Human Rights. That is part of the Council of Europe - a wholly distinct organisation with almost double the number of members.

- the key institutions. Each have their own role - and personnel. The European Commission is the Executive. Despite false assertions in certain parts of the media - it is not an all-powerful body. It may propose legislation - but the Council of Ministers and European Parliament must pass that legislation. Its members are nominated by the (elected) governments of the member states. Before appointment the European Parliament holds hearings, and individual commissioners regularly appear the Parliament. The Council of Ministers is made of government ministers from each member state.  (When Heads of Government/State meet - it is called the European Council, and together the democratically elected leaders of the 28 states set the agenda for the EU). The European Parliament is directly elected every five years. The Court of Justice of the EU is responsible for upholding the legal rules of the EU (interpreting and applying EU Law - and providing legal review of the acts of the institutions).

I subscribe to daily emails from 'Politico' (an American political-journalism company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and internationally.)
Politico, European Edition
Brexit

And so back to work....

The summer is over (if you have been in Milton Keynes this last weekend, you'd know how true that is - it has rained, and rained, and rained - and I have been wearing a jumper!). Yesterday was the "Late Summer Bank Holiday", the last Bank Holiday here until Christmas Day.

Next week Parliament returns, and on the following Saturday the result of the Labour Party leadership election will be announced. It's time to put away the summer reading and get back to day to day politics.

Washminster returns - and this is the 2200th post. This blog has been running since March 2007. Do please free to look at some of the previous posts. They can be accessed in date order - or through the search function.

Autumn 2015 looks interesting - in the UK (where the major opposition party chooses a new leader, but faces an uncertain future) - This blog will follow the results - and (as in previous years) report directly from the Labour Party Conference at the end of this month. Parliament will be more closely monitored, as I do further research into the evolution of scrutiny. In the USA the long march to the 2016 elections continues - and who knows what further surprises are in store.

As part of my work, I monitor political stories (particularly relating to the work within legislatures - the UK Parliament; US Congress; French Assemblée nationale and the European Parliament) and teach Constitutional Law. Having twice run for the UK Parliament and once for the European Parliament (and participated in numerous elections - from local councils in the UK to three US Presidential elections) - I maintain a keen interest in the 'nuts and bolts' of elections.

So - whether you are studying Constitutional or EU Law or Political Science - or enjoy viewing politics on a comparative basis - or want to pick up anecdotes about history and politics - do become a regular, and welcome visitor to the Washminster Blog.

...and do tell your friends. Posts you like (or which infuriate you - I love a vigorous debate!) can be posted on Twitter and Facebook.

So here goes for a busy few months!!!!

Welcome to Washminster

Washminster is back!

... and thanks for your patience.

A little background. I now run two blogs - "Washminster" which covers matters related to the British Parliament; the US Congress; the European Parliament; and French politics generally. If you look back at previous posts you'll see that I interpret "matters related" very generously. The history behind each of them fascinates me - and helps an understanding of some of the quirks that are associated.

Do have a look at some of the previous posts - this blog has been running for over seven years - and has "reported" on trips to Washington and France - I have been a candidate for the European Parliament and worked part time at Westminster during that period. My paid work now is limited to teaching Law on two Open University courses - so there's quite a legal angle on some issues - and lots of revision and other learning material.

As Washminster revives do send me your comments - and suggestions for topics to post on.

Petitions to the European Parliament

EU citizens or residents of the EU may submit a petition to the European Parliament on a subject which comes within the EU’s remit.

The petition may present a request or a complaint concerning the application of EU law or it may appeal to the European Parliament to adopt a position on a specific matter.
Such petitions give the European Parliament the opportunity to draw attention to any infringement of a European citizen's rights by the authorities in any  member state or local authorities or by any other EU institution.

It is also possible for organisations and associations to petition the European Parliament

For more information on how to petition the European Parliament:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/00533cec74/Petitions.html

This useful piece of information came from the "New Europeans" website - for further information about the group and their campaigns go to - http://neweuropeans.net/

Recent News From the EU

MEPs approved European Commission proposals to revise EU air passenger rights rules. The text approved by the EP would force airlines to be less restrictive in carry-on baggage policies and would make it harder for airlines to avoid paying compensation for delays and cancellations. The revised rules clarify the term 'extraordinary circumstances', which airlines used to get out of paying compensation for delayed or cancelled flights. 

The text adopted by MEPs would mean personal belongings such as coats, handbags or items purchased at the airport would not count toward their maximum cabin baggage allowance. Also, passengers would be entitled to: €300 for journeys of 3,500km or less which were delayed more than three hours. €400 for journeys between 3,500 and 6,000km which were delayed more than five hours. €600 for journeys of 6,000km or more which were delayed more than seven hours.  

 (From EU News Roundup - the European Movement)

The Sausage Machine

Otto von Bismarck is credited with the comment - ""Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made."

Perhaps that comment is understandable - making laws can be messy. As different views are expressed, it can look like endless argument. That is one of the reasons that many voters are put off politics. But it is necessary. In a democracy laws should not be handed down from on high. Members of legislatures are there to express the (very often) quite differing views of citizens. As a consumer I want my rights protected; "sharp" practices outlawed; dangerous products prohibited; and redress if my person or my property is injured by someone else's actions. A business wants "red tape" to be minimised or abolished. A right for me may limit your rights.

These things need to be discussed. Experience and "common sense" may need to be applied to an idea that a policy maker has come up with. Different perspectives need to be applied so that the danger of the "law of unintended consequences" is lessened.

The legislative process may be messy - it may be long - but it is vital. Citizens need to know how law is made - so that they can - when they need to - become involved in the process. They can ask their representative to support or oppose a particular measure - or advise of the consequences which the legislator may not realise. Often citizens only find out about a measure when it is too late to do anything. They might not know how or when to make their views.

Our democracy is enhanced when citizens know how it works.

(There are some excellent online materials available -

Parliament has a webpage dedicated to explaining the UK's legislative process - http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/.

The classic, "How Our Laws Are Made" for the US Congress is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-110hdoc49/pdf/CDOC-110hdoc49.pdf.

There is an informative video about the EU legislative process at http://youtu.be/2OQuvbOAb0o.

The French legislative process is explained on the Assemblee nationale (English) website.)

This Week in the European Parliament

This week the European Parliament debated & voted on the law regulating tobacco products. This interview came from EuroparlTV.

03 Sir Julian Priestley

Sir Julian was the Secretary General of the European Parliament from 1997 to 2007. "In his role as Chief Executive of the institution, he was responsible inter alia for organising the policy advice for MEPs and the parliamentary committees, at a time when the legislative powers of the Parliament were being strengthened. He had also to prepare the Parliament for the largest Enlargement in the history of the European Union.

A known advocate for the improvement of the quality of EU legislation, Sir Julian led the administrative negotiations with Commission and Council to prepare agreements on Better Regulation. He reorganised the work of the EP’s committee secretariats to improve assistance to MEPs in their legislative work.

Sir Julian’s wide experience in the EU, and particularly in the European Parliament, has included stints as a member of a committee secretariat (Budgets), head of a secretariat (Energy, Research and Technology), Director responsible for all committees dealing with internal market legislation, and head of the Private Office of EP President (Dr Klaus Hänsch)." [from the EPPA website]

05 Richard Corbett

Richard Corbett is an expert in the procedure and practice of the European Parliament. I have frequently recommended on this blog his book entitled "The European Parliament", which is in my view has been - in all eight editions (and I have used all of them over the years in my role as an EU Law lecturer and analyst on EU affairs) - the best guide to the Parliament available. It is currently jointly written with Francis Jacobs (Author of Western European Political Parties: A Comprehensive Guide - with extensive experience as an EU official) and Michael Shackleton (Another very experienced EU official)


.
Richard was an MEP from 1996-2009 and is Labour's second candidate in Yorkshire & Humber, behind the sitting MEP Linda McAvan in the 2014 election.

Norwich (and spying)

I've been away in Norwich this weekend, so haven't been able to post today - so just a little something until tomorrow.

Norwich is a fine city, with lots of history (see a previous post). This weekend was the Lord Mayor's Parade with lots of celebrations around the city. The weather was wonderful. We just caught the end of the parade - and enjoyed all the street entertainment and the "extra" markets around the city  (it has an excellent permanent outside market in front of the City Hall). If you ever get the chance - do visit Norwich - the canalised River Wensum is lovely to walk along; the Cathedral and its surroundings are beautiful; and the Castle is magnificent and contains a superb museum. There are lots of old churches and other historic buildings.

On the 'friends who spy on friends' issue. The European Parliament has posted this video.

The Coming Week in Strasbourg

This short video (sub-titles in English) sets out the coming week at the Plenary Session of the European Parliament.

The Making of European Law

These links demonstrate the process that a legislative proposal goes through (under the ‘CoDecision Procedure’) on its way to becoming an EU Law. It is a current proposal – for a Directive.
 
Title: Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the freezing and confiscation of proceeds of crime in the European Union

Legal Basis: TFUE/art 82 par 2, art 83 par 1 (All proposed legislation must show the legal authority in Primary Legislation for the proposed law) 

Explanatory Statement (which is from the European Parliament’s Report) 

The European Parliament has called on the Commission to propose new legislation on confiscation for a long time. By its own initiative report adopted in October 2011, the Parliament stressed in particular the need for rules on the effective use of extended and non- conviction based confiscation, rules allowing for the confiscation of assets transferred to third parties.  In addition, the Parliament encouraged the introduction of instruments in national legal systems which, under criminal, civil or fiscal law, as appropriate, mitigate the burden of proof concerning the origin of assets held by a person accused of an offence related to organised crime.
 
The proposal for a Directive on the freezing and confiscation of proceeds of crime in the European Union was adopted by the European Commission on 12 March 2012. This Directive lays down the minimum rules for Member States with respect to freezing and confiscation of criminal assets through direct confiscation, value confiscation, extended confiscation, non- conviction based confiscation and third party confiscation.   The Rapporteur generally supports the Commission proposal. The adoption of those minimum rules will harmonise the Member States’ freezing and confiscation regimes facilitating mutual trust and effective cross-border cooperation. It will also constitute a step towards strengthening the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders which is an important aspect of the fight against cross-border serious and organized crime in the EU.   With this report the Rapporteur intends to reinforce the provisions of non-conviction based confiscation and extended confiscation so as to make them more efficient in order to actually serve the purpose of preventing the use of proceeds of crime for committing future crimes or their reinvestment into licit activities.
   
Concerning the non-conviction based confiscation the Rapporteur notes that this system which was first used in the USA now appears to be more and more globally spread. Jurisdictions which have introduced non-conviction based confiscation legislation include: Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom, Albania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Australia, South Africa, the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario. At European level the existent systems of non- conviction based confiscation have been debated both in front of national Courts as well as the European Court of Human Rights and were considered compatible with national constitutional requirements and those of the European Court, provided that they are adopted by a judicial authority, with full respect of the rights of the defence and of bona fide third parties, and that they can be challenged before a court. These basic safeguards have also been included in the present Directive.
   
The provisions on extended confiscation were strengthened so that they provide for a single minimum standard which does not fall below the threshold set by Framework Decision 2005/212/JHA. 

The Original Proposal http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0085:FIN:EN:PDF
p2-5  Context
p6  Consultations
p7-8  Impact assessment
p8-10  Legal Basis; Subsidiarity; Proportionality & Respect for Human Rights
p10-13  Commentary
p13-24  Text of Proposed Directive

The Decision making and consultation process (PreLex is a website which allows anyone to monitor the progress of all proposed legislation) http://ec.europa.eu/prelex/detail_dossier_real.cfm?CL=en&DosID=201408 

European Parliament Report – [From its Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs] (sets out the proposed resolution for the Parliament to adopt – p5; and the amendments it proposes – with the original text next to it) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A7- 2013-0178+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN

How the EU Works

Useful guides to the EU Institutions can be found at

PARLIAMENT
(Video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpotSpz8t-w&feature=relmfu
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/00b3f21266/At-your-service.html (use the tabs at the top to navigate)

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/council?lang=en
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/toolbar/faq?lang=en

COMMISSION

http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/index_en.htm

COURT

http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/court-justice/index_en.htm

GENERAL
Fact Sheets about the EU: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/displayFtu.html

How Decisions are Made
http://europa.eu/about-eu/basic-information/decision-making/procedures/index_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/archives/snapshot_2010/index_en.htm

Does Law make a difference?

Each year Parliament (and Congress/the European Union) produces lots of legislation. But does it actually change anything?

Research has established that:

• After smokefree legislation was introduced  in England, there was a significant drop in  non-smoking adults’ exposure to  secondhand smoke.

• Hospital admissions for heart attacks  dropped significantly, with 1,200 fewer  admissions in the first year following  legislation (after controlling for other  factors), saving the NHS £8.4 million.

• Emergency hospital admissions for asthma  among adults dropped significantly, with  1,900 fewer admissions in each of the first  three years following legislation.
You can read the research paper here.

You'd expect then that if law can change things - then people who profit from the existing position will seek to influence lawmakers and policy makers not to act. And that's where multi-million pound lobbying operations come in. [Just think of the implication of this - people who profit from killing and injuring others are trying to influence our representatives to put their commercial interests above the life and health of people who can't afford a skilled & well paid lobbying organisation to speak up for them]

The University of Bath (Institute for Policy Research) has produced a brief on the political strategies being used by tobacco companies to reduce the impact of these findings on public policy - and to hold up or defeat legislation that might produce similar effects.

The Institute's research paper can be accessed here.

Law can make a difference - and so who is influencing the decision makers, and how - is a matter we should all be concerned about.

The Future of Europe

On Tuesday I attended the Hansard Society/Parliamentary Affairs Annual Lecture. Andrea Leadsom, Co-Chair of the All-Party Group on European Reform and joint founder of the Fresh Start Project gave an interesting address entitled, "The European Union and the Democratic Deficit". I can't say that I agreed with all of it - it reflected an ideology and world view that I have profound problems with. However I was encouraged to hear much greater emphasis put on tackling the 'democratic deficit' at Westminster.

I have been involved for many years with both the European and Westminster Parliaments. I'm impressed with the independence of the European Parliament. It takes its job of scrutinising legislation seriously, and is not subservient to the Executive. [By this I mean the European Commission]. It is directly elected (though I do think that there are problems relating to EU citizens - we still tend to vote at European Elections on the basis of our feelings about national politics, rather than on European issues; the Parliament and the elections are not adequately covered by the national media; and the party list system in huge constituencies doesn't help), and its members have a much greater opportunity to develop legislation than backbench MPs at Westminster.

But I would agree with Ms Leadsom that transfering more powers to the European Parliament won't tackle the real democratic deficit. It is a strengthening both of scrutiny, and direct involvement in European issues, at Westminster which will do that.

We do a scrutiny system - for further information follow these Links
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/european-scrutiny-committee/ [House of Commons]
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/eu-select-committee-/[House of Lords]

Ms Leadsom proposed some useful reforms, which included -

• Encourage greater specialisation within the committees (have permanent sub-committees which specialise in particular subjects) - particularly in the Commons
• Have more pre-legislative scrutiny
• Have MEPs and EU Officials make reports to the committees
• Give the committees power to veto appointments to the Commission or UKREP [the Civil Service body representing Britain to the EU Institution]
• Encourage closer work with MEPs

She also suggested that the Europe Minister should be a cabinet post. These are all ideas worth exploring.

The Hansard Society hopes to have the recording of the meeting available on its website. At the time of writing it was not available - but try here.

How does the EU work?

One way of getting to understand the working of the European Union - is to watch it's "television channel"



This shows highlights from last week - the homepage is at http://europarltv.europa.eu/en/home.aspx