The week’s parliamentary session in Strasbourg had the usual mix of the sublime, the ridiculous and a dash of unexpected drama. Above it all hung the usual question of what we were doing here by the sunsoaked Rhine. That was given added spice by the revelation by the Green party that the monthly commute to the French city gives off as much carbon as a small island state about to be drowned by global warming.

The drama came on Wednesday when Bronislaw Geremek, the Polish former dissident who has become the conscience of the parliament in the last few years. His refusal to sign a further declaration that he had not collaborated with Communist secret police draw a rare standing ovation. Party leaders rallied to his defence denouncing witch hunts and Stalinism. His 53 Polish colleagues, who have signed the declaratons, were noticeably quieter - except those from the ruling Law and Justice party who howled because the deputy speaker stopped them answering the charges. They - like Geremek - are desperate not to be seen as Euro-quislings. If he has his mandate revoked; the ex-foreign minister said, he could return to Poland and have direct contact with the people, continuing his fight at home. That day also saw a climactic vote to allow medicines derived from embryonic stem cell research on to the market, after a debate that pitched liberals against moral conservatives.

There also was interesting news for air travellers.

MEPs, who are as fed up as the rest of us with long queues and having their whisky confiscated because of the ban on big bottles of liquid, said new security measures should be reviewed every six months. They also called for sky marshals - or air cowboys as one termed them - to be strictly controlled. Governments in all states flown over by an aircraft that carry a marshal must agree. They also voted that, while passengers should foot the bill for minimum security standards at EU level, national authorities should pay for any goldplating.

It seems MEPs forget where governments get their money - the taxpayer. Surely those who can afford to fly and choose to do so should pay for the privilege of being protected. MEPs will now enter talks with EU governments, who oppose the measures.

Meanwhile the British Conservatives claimed barge tourism was about to be priced out of existence and librarians were threatened with jail for photocopying books.

The first problem was solved by an amendment reducing the cost of insurance for canal boats. Maritime safety legislation sought to put domestic traffic on the same footing as that between EU members.

The second threat remains, after MEPs approved criminal sanctions at EU level for the first time. They cover counterfeiters and infringers of intellectual property rights. Nicola Zingaretta, who authored the report, said that teenagers and other small-scale downloaders and photocopiers will not be targeted.

The debate is academic for the moment as plenty of national governments have no desire to see it enter into law and it requires unanimous approval.

The parliament also had a crack at the “politicised” UN human rights council and called for the head of Paul Wolfowitz.

They also signed a motion demanding the release of Alan Johnston, the BBC Gaza correspondent held hostage, as colleagues continued to highlight his plight. Richard Howitt, who brought the motion, had met Johnston himself on trips to the region, as had many other MEPs.

In a more practical move, MEPs led by Karin Riis-Jorgensen and Simon Coveney proposed a Europe-wide hotline for victims of human trarfficking, often forced into prostitution in third countries. This was a practical measure asked for by campaigners working with victims. Many do not speak the language of the country they have been taken too so even if they can reach a phone cannot call for help. The line will be staffed with who can co-ordinate with police. A similar one for abused children, financed by the Commission, has worked well.

Riis-Jorgensen, a no-nonsense Dane, said: “This is still a taboo subject. We care about pigs being transported in cages and people will collect signatures in the street to end that but we don’t care about women being exploited.” Two hundred years after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, there are more than ever, say campaigners.

April 27th, 2007 in MEPs | Permalink