International

This weekend I put the final touches to a report for the European Parliament on the retail trade in Europe. Things aren’t going well for this sector. Anyone can see the empty spaces in town centres, where independent shops have suddenly closed down. The process by which all town centres begin to look alike has been enormously accelerated by the economic crisis. Nobody wants this to happen, but it’s happening anyway. In my report I make a large number of recommendations as to how the diversity of shops could be maintained. For goodness’ sake no more shopping malls, especially of the ‘mega’, out-of-town variety. Let’s bring together whatever powers we can to save the small, independent shop.

Unrest in Turkey continues. The big question is this: what can the member states of the European Union, for membership of which Turkey is an applicant state, do? It’s obvious that Turkey’s accession is further away than ever, but beyond that, what should be done? It’s a dilemma seen often enough in relation to human rights policy: doing nothing isn’t an option, but doing too much can make matters worse. Last week in the European Parliament we condemned Erdogan’s actions in Istanbul. Although the EP hadn’t got all that much to say, Erdogan reacted as if a snake had bitten him, which is just fine. Further to this I’ll be strengthening my contacts with representatives from the various Turkish groups, so that they know that they don’t stand alone. In my view, however, sanctions would be premature.

This week will see a meeting at the European Parliament organised by two Italians in the name of their group, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), at which they will propose a solution to the financial and economic crisis: the establishment of tax-free zones in Europe, beginning with Sardinia. This fits with the neoliberal philosophy: government as small as possible and therefore taxes as low as possible. The SP knows better: big corporations evade taxes on a massive scale, while they make billion in profits. That’s why it’s completely reprehensible that fellow MEPs should come up with such an idea.

Scarcely noticed in the media, but nonetheless shocking: this week I received from the unequalled lobby watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) a copy of a letter which they had sent to the president of the European Parliament concerning the fact that the organisation of former MEPs is giving firms access to its annual dinner for a fee of €2500 for a table for eight. But more than that, they also offer guaranteed access to European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, who will give the speech at the dinner, and the right to ask her questions. In the business world this sort of practice isn’t unusual, but it’s totally unworthy of an institution which professes to represent the people. It is, moreover, in conflict with the recently adopted code of conduct for MEPs and ex-MEPs.