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G8 and peripherality
The BBC has just announced that itŐs hotter here than in the Canary Islands. I would not have imagined that to be possible unless I had recently visited Tenerife and found it lush green with forest and wonderful plants.
I hasten to add that European Parliamentary summer holidays, at four weeks, are much shorter than that of Westminster. My trip to the Canaries was strictly political business, courtesy of my European Liberal colleague, Isadoro Sanchez, who has the great good fortune to represent that lovely island. I was invited to speak to a conference on the role of peripheral regions in the European Union, a topic that my own duty to represent the East of England only partly qualifies me for.
Climate aside, the similarities between the two constituencies are quite marked. There they have a crisis in the banana industry, their staple crop, which is threatened by the liberalisation of world trade and the importation of much cheaper (and larger) bananas from the Caribbean. Here we have a crisis in the sugar beet industry, similarly threatened in the interests of helping some of the poorest countries on earth sell sugar cane to Western markets. In both cases there is the looming presence of American multinationals whose power to influence not only global markets but also the US government is great and getting greater. The danger that European interests are to be trodden over in the process of globalisation was, of course, one of the many factors that sparked the mayhem surrounding the G8 talks at Genoa. Those of us who work in the European Union see that challenge as one of our main priorities. How do we cope with more free trade without a strong system of global governance to ensure high levels of employment, good labour practices and a safe and clean environment?
Whatever G8 is the answer to, it is not that question. The leaders strike me as rootless and self-important. They have no accountability other than to each other. G8 has no executive, no parliament, no court. There is no subscription fee and no budget. Its ÔdecisionsŐ do not bind and will not stick.
In contrast to G8, the European Union excels. It works democratically as well as diplomatically. Driven well, the EU machine will create a strong regional power within the UN, IMF and other global organisations. Those of us who are committed to free trade want the European Union to play a much stronger role in world affairs. And far from being defensive about BritainŐs membership of the Union, one should lament that our country has so far played such a weak part in shaping European developments. With yet more dithering from the prime minister over the euro, I fear that this feebleness over Europe will continue.
G8 and peripherality And thereŐs another contrast with Spain, now preparing rapidly for the introduction of euro notes and coins. In the Canary Islands, the remoteness of the place has stimulated a strong desire to be included and to get involved in mainstream Europe. Indeed, I would say that the one marked difference between there and here is the degree of insularity. Poor, remote Porto da Santa Cruz feels in some ways more European than wealthy, comfy Hertford.
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Andrew's
work
in the European Parliament since 1999
Andrew is Vice-President of the European Parliament delegation to the Constitutional Convention on the Future of Europe.
Andrew drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights which has strengthened the rights of all the citizens of the European Union.
Andrew is working for improved links between the EU and Turkey, to encourage improvements in Turkey's human rights record and to enhance its democracy.
Andrew's campaigning in the East of England
Andrew has led calls for the Air Travel industry to be subjected to the same rigorous environmental criteria as other modes of transport
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